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It's rainbow unicorn time again!
 

Terumah (understood as "gift," "offering," or "sacrifice") is this week's parsha and, in it, Moses receives God's commandments on stone tablets as well as instructions for the building of the Mishkan, i.e., the portable sanctuary that the Israelites will carry with them through the desert. With the construction of the Mishkan, the Israelites, previously held at bay from God's presence, are now tasked with making an intimate earthly space within which God will dwell. How are they to do this? Essentially through making offerings of their own belongings: gifts given by whoever's heart is moved to do so. These gifts include gold, silver, copper; blue and purple and crimson yarns, fine linen, and....a rainbow unicorn??  Once constructed, the Mishkan is to contain a number of ritual objects, including the ark that will hold the stone tablets upon which is marked God's covenant with the people. The ark will be topped by cherubim, who are to "confront one another...like a man to his brother." God promises that it is in this face to face encounter of the cherubim that the divine will be made present. To learn more about how we might make the world holier through freely offering of ourselves in face to face encounters ~ and to learn what's up with that rainbow unicorn, read more here.