That Moses's name does not appear in this week's portion of the Torah is important in that it shows that no one is indispensable. We can all be replaced. This does not mean that we should do nothing. We have a job to do. We might not complete it but we still have to do it.

Teruma teaches us to prepare to build the Tabernacle for a better life. The month of Adar teaches us to be happy and that we are not victims no matter what comes our way.

God commands us to build Him a home so that He can dwell among us. What God really wants is for us to have a just society. That we treat each other with respect.

The reason that God wants us to help in the building of the Tabernacle is to show us that this is a partnership with God. That our job is to bring God down to this world through the commandments.

The key to a just society is that the judges follow the law. That they do not favor either the wealthy or the poor. All are equal before the law and cases can only be tried on the facts or the evidence. Not on anything else.

That we get societal laws right after the revelation at Mt. Sinai teaches us that the spiritual laws are important but is our society is unjust then the spiritual laws will not matter.

The Third Commandment states that we cannot take God's name in vain. This means that we cannot commit a sin in God's name. That we can do the right thing for the wrong reason but never the wrong thing for the right reason.

The Second Commandment is against idolatry. This does not just mean worshiping statues but ideology. We have to be careful not to allow our politics, or even our religious practice to make us lose site of the real goal. The Torah was given to make us better people.

Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, arrives and sizes up the situation. He sees that Moses has taken a lot on himself. He gives some constructive criticism for leadership. Moses realizes that this is all meant for the good and accepts it.

The week's portion ends with the attack of Amalek. Amalek has no reason to attack the Jews. Just pure hatred. And they attack the weakest in society. That is why we have to defeat Amalek whenever they raise their hand against us.