Our Sedra begins a series of Parshiyot dealing with the construction of the Mishkan, the traveling sanctuary that would serve as "G-d's House" & the source of the Shechina (Hashem's presence).

As the flow of Jewish history moves from focusing on the individual to focusing on the nation as a whole, a place is needed as the "center" of organized devotion to Hashem. This is the portable Mishkan, later concretized into the Bet HaMikdash.

Our portion details the construction of the objects in the Mishkan & the actual Mishkan. The people donate all the precious materials used in the Mishkan, gold, silver, fancy cloth & fine wood. Among the holy items described in our Parsha: The gold & wood Aron Kodesh that housed the 2 sets of the Ten Commandments; the Ark-cover with the baby-faced Kruvim; Shulchan which held the 12 loaves of the Lechem HaPanim; the ornate Menora fashioned from one block of pure gold; the finely embroidered curtains & partitions; the copper Mizbeyach, & the sturdy outside walls.