בּ"ה
Parshas Terumah
Why is the part about the taking of a portion for the making of the Mishkan right after Parshas Mishpatim, which deals with monetary laws and stuff like that? Answers the Beis HaLevi {HaRav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik of Brisk zt”l}; to teach us that there is no value to something donated for the Mishkan that came from money acquired in a way forbidden by the Torah.
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‘From every man whose heart motivates him, you shall take My Portion.’ (Shemos 25:2)
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The question is asked; why was the donating to the Mishkan a voluntary thing; why was it not made an order or a Command? Answers the Avnei Nezer {the Sochochover Rebbe -- Rebbe Avraham Borenstein zt”l}; the Mishkan was something that brought closeness with Hashem; and in order to feel that closeness and love, we must have a burning desire to do so. It cannot be forced. And so, he explains, contributing to the Mishkan was a voluntary thing -- people had to have a burning desire to do so.
Adds my Rebbe, HaRav Binyomin Goldstein shlit”a, beautifully: In the absence of a Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, we are told (see below) that we must make our hearts into a Sanctuary for Hashem. But this cannot be done without the desire to serve Hashem -- the passion and feeling. If someone has a burning desire to bring Hashem into their heart; nothing can stand in their way. However, he says, if the desire for closeness is not there (Chas V’Shalom), it is essentially impossible to make the Sanctuary for Hashem. We can “go through the motions” of keeping the Commandments -- but if the desire of the heart is not there, then the task of building an inner-Sanctuary for Hashem cannot be accomplished.
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‘And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell in their midst.’ (Shemos 25:9)
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Our Gedolim note that Hashem does not say ‘in its midst’, but rather ‘in their midst.’ And this teaches us that Hashem dwells also in the heart of every single Jew -- who makes in their lives a “dwelling place,” so to speak, for the Shechinah. (See further in Beis Aharon).
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‘And they shall make an Aron’ (Shemos 25:10)
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Why with all the other things made in the Mishkan, Hashem says ‘and you shall make’; but with the Aron, He says ‘and they shall make’? Says Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shalom zt”l: HaKadosh Baruch Hu said; “Let everyone come and engage in the Aron,* in order that they will all merit [a share in] the Torah.”
(Midrash Shemos Rabbah Ch. 34)
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* See Ramban and Rabbeinu Bachya zt”l.
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|~Maaseh~| There was a boy who would learn Mishnayos with his father every night, but he wasn’t able to remember almost anything. The father was frustrated. He was hoping that his child would become a great Talmid Chochom (Torah scholar), and his son seemingly had a weak mind.
The father’s concerns increased with the following episode: He was walking through the marketplace on Friday morning with his son, to buy fruits and vegetables for Shabbos. The son was looking around, spellbound by all the sights, listening to the vendors trying to outshout each other. One was yelling that he has the sweetest melons; another was shouting that he has the cheapest prices, and so on. That Shabbos afternoon, the father overheard this son chanting; “Get your sweetest melons here. . . We have the best prices. . .” The father realized that his son was able to repeat verbatim probably a hundred words he heard from the vendors. But he didn’t understand: His son does have a good memory, so why can’t he remember Torah? Could it be, Chas V’Shalom, that there’s some blockage in his son's mind when it comes to holiness? Perhaps he is so attached to the things of This World, that he can’t understand anything spiritual? That thought frightened him, and he asked his Rabbi about it.
The Rabbi wisely explained, however: “You don’t have to worry about your son. He has a good memory, and he can learn Torah as well. If you will learn Mishnayos with your son with the same passion and excitement as the merchants sell their wares, he will remember every word of the Mishnayos as well.”
(Related in Torah Wellsprings)
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Gut and meaningful Shabbos to all!
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