Practice Parashat Terumah with TropeTrainer
Follow along with Hebrew text, trope cantillation marks, and audio at your own pace.
Parashat Terumah - פָּרָשַׁת תְּרוּמָה
Terumah (“Donation”) opens as God tells Moses to collect donated materials in order to build a dwelling place for God called the Mishkan (Tabernacle). God describes how to build the vessels that will fill the Mishkan - including the ark, table, menorah, and sacrificial altar - as well as the Mishkan’s walls and curtains.
Torah Portion: Exodus 25:1-27:19
Parashat Terumah is the 19th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. Next read on February 13th, 2027 / 6 Adar I 5787
- Annual Reading
Read Annually
1:
25:1 - 25:16· 16 p’sukim
2:
25:17 - 25:30· 14 p’sukim
3:
25:31 - 26:14· 24 p’sukim
4:
26:15 - 26:30· 16 p’sukim
5:
26:31 - 26:37· 7 p’sukim
6:
27:1 - 27:8· 8 p’sukim
7:
27:9 - 27:19· 11 p’sukim
Maftir:
27:17 - 27:19· 3 p’sukim
Haftarah:
I Kings 5:26 - 6:13· 20 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 1
February 21st, 2026
1:
25:1 - 25:5· 5 p’sukim
2:
25:6 - 25:9· 4 p’sukim
3:
25:10 - 25:16· 7 p’sukim
4:
25:17 - 25:22· 6 p’sukim
5:
25:23 - 25:30· 8 p’sukim
6:
25:31 - 25:33· 3 p’sukim
7:
25:34 - 25:40· 7 p’sukim
Maftir:
25:37 - 25:40· 4 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah:
Zechariah 2:5 - 2:17· 13 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 2
February 13th, 2027
1:
26:1 - 26:3· 3 p’sukim
2:
26:4 - 26:6· 3 p’sukim
3:
26:7 - 26:11· 5 p’sukim
4:
26:12 - 26:14· 3 p’sukim
5:
26:15 - 26:21· 7 p’sukim
6:
26:22 - 26:25· 4 p’sukim
7:
26:26 - 26:30· 5 p’sukim
Maftir:
26:26 - 26:30· 5 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah:
I Kings 6:1 - 6:13· 13 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 3
March 4th, 2028
1:
26:31 - 26:33· 3 p’sukim
2:
26:34 - 26:37· 4 p’sukim
3:
27:1 - 27:3· 3 p’sukim
4:
27:4 - 27:8· 5 p’sukim
5:
27:9 - 27:12· 4 p’sukim
6:
27:13 - 27:16· 4 p’sukim
7:
27:17 - 27:19· 3 p’sukim
Maftir:
27:17 - 27:19· 3 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah:
II Samuel 7:1 - 7:16· 16 p’sukim
About Parashat Parashat Terumah
Terumah marks a turning point in Exodus: after the revelation and law-giving at Sinai, the Torah pivots from commandments to construction, devoting chapter after chapter of precise detail to building a sanctuary. Its central idea is divine immanence - the radical notion that a transcendent God seeks a dwelling among the people, captured in the command "Make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8). The portion also elevates voluntary, heartfelt giving: materials are gathered only "from every person whose heart so moves him" (Exodus 25:2), so the sacred space arises from communal generosity rather than compulsion. Finally, the parashah treats meticulous craftsmanship and exact specification as expressions of holiness, serving as the foundational text for the Tabernacle and, by extension, the later Temple and Jewish sacred architecture.
The Haftarah
In most Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities the regular haftarah for Terumah is 1 Kings 5:26-6:13, which recounts King Solomon's construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. The thematic link is direct: where the parashah lays out God's blueprint for the portable, wilderness Mishkan, the haftarah describes the permanent Temple - both are essentially construction accounts of a dwelling place for God, tracing an arc from the wandering Tabernacle to the fixed sanctuary. The haftarah's promise that God's presence will rest within the structure if Israel keeps the Torah (1 Kings 6:11-13) echoes the parashah's stated purpose. Note that when Terumah coincides with a special Shabbat - most commonly Shabbat Shekalim, which can fall on or near Rosh Chodesh Adar - the regular haftarah is displaced by the special reading, so the exact text varies by year and rite; check a current calendar to confirm.
Notable passages and verses
The best-known verse is Exodus 25:8 - "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (v'asu li mikdash v'shachanti b'tocham) - often read to mean that God dwells "among them," within the people, rather than literally within the building. Exodus 25:2, which names the terumah (offering or contribution) given by those "whose heart so moves them," gives the parashah its name and is also frequently quoted. Terumah is the 19th weekly portion in the annual cycle and the 7th in the Book of Exodus, comprising Exodus 25:1-27:19 (96 verses). It enumerates the donated materials (commonly counted as roughly thirteen items, including gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple, and crimson yarn; fine linen; goat hair; tanned skins; acacia wood; oil; spices; and gemstones) and the vessels of the Mishkan - the Ark with its golden cover (kapporet) and two cherubim, the Table for the showbread, the seven-branched golden Menorah, and the copper-overlaid altar - all designed to be dismantled, carried, and reassembled as Israel journeyed.
Frequently asked questions
What is Parashat Terumah about?
Terumah (Exodus 25:1-27:19) is where God instructs Moses to collect voluntary donations and use them to build the Mishkan (Tabernacle), a portable dwelling place so that God may dwell among the Israelites. Beyond the plot, it is about divine immanence, communal generosity, and treating precise sacred craftsmanship as an act of holiness. On TropeTrainer you can hear and practice this reading with its trope, chanting it the way it is read in synagogue.
What is the haftarah for Terumah?
In most Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities the haftarah for Terumah is 1 Kings 5:26-6:13, describing King Solomon's construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem - a fitting parallel to the parashah's plans for the Tabernacle. When Terumah falls on a special Shabbat such as Shabbat Shekalim, this haftarah is replaced, so confirm the reading for your year and rite. TropeTrainer lets you listen to and practice the haftarah with its cantillation.
What are the main themes of Terumah?
The portion's major themes are divine immanence (God seeking a home among the people, per Exodus 25:8), voluntary and heartfelt giving (donations from everyone "whose heart so moves him," Exodus 25:2), and the idea that meticulous, God-specified craftsmanship is itself an expression of holiness. Together they make Terumah the foundational text for Jewish sacred space. With TropeTrainer you can hear and practice the reading with trope to learn it by heart.
What does the word Terumah mean?
Terumah means "offering," "donation," or "contribution," and the parashah takes its name from Exodus 25:2, where God tells Moses to receive a terumah from every person whose heart moves them to give. The materials gathered - metals, dyed yarns, linen, wood, oil, spices, and gemstones - become the building blocks of the Mishkan. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice this reading with its trope.
Where to go next
Open a sample Torah reading with full Hebrew text, trope marks, and audio to see how TropeTrainer works.
See the complete list of weekly parashot with links to every reading and detail page.
Work through guided lessons on Torah trope cantillation, from basic symbols to advanced phrase patterns.