בּ“ה
Parshas Vayakhel
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‘And Moshe assembled the entire congregation of the Bnei Yisroel. . . And Moshe said to the entire congregation of the Bnei Yisroel. . . “Take from with yourselves a Portion for Hashem.”’ (Shemos 35:1,4,5)
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Says HaRav Avraham Leib Scheinbaum shlit”a: In the first passuk of Parshas Vayakhel, Moshe Rabbeinu is addressing the entire nation b’hakhel, all-inclusively -- men, women and children -- and instructing them regarding the privilege of constructing the Mishkan.
The Mitzvah of erecting the Mishkan is a communal Mitzvah. Building a place where the Shechinah will dwell, a place from which all of Klal Yisroel will draw inspiration and holiness, must be done through the Tzibbur (community) -- together as a unit.
HaRav Baruch Sorotzkin zt”l explains that for the entire Jewish People to derive spiritual inspiration and influence from the Mishkan, it is essential that they feel they have a part in it. Therefore, even the poorest Jew was compelled to contribute towards the Mishkan, so that they would have a share in this edifice.
The Adanim -- which were the silver bases into which the Kerashim, wooden beams, were fitted -- were derived from a special collection from all of Klal Yisroel. This was because the foundation of the Mishkan had to originate from everyone equally.
We find later in Parshas Pekudei, that Moshe gave a complete reckoning of the silver, its proceeds and exactly how it was spent. This was done to indicate that there was exactly enough silver, and every bit of it was used for the adanim. This was unlike the gold and copper, which had a surplus. Every individual had to feel that he had an equal share in the Mishkan’s foundation.
(Peninim on the Torah; sixteenth series)
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Notes HaRav Yehoshua Kalish shlit”a; the Torah seems to reiterate a lot when dealing with the Mishkan and the donations for it, the phrase ‘as Hashem commanded’ or something similar. Why the repetition?
Explains Rav Kalish; according to the opinion of Chazal which Rashi zt”l quotes, the command to build the Mishkan, although listed before the sin of the Golden Calf, came chronologically after it, and was like an atonement for it.
Now, the Beis HaLevi takes an interesting approach to the Cheit ha’eigel, saying that the root of it was that the Bnei Yisroel were trying to make their own way to serve Hashem -- unfortunately, one that wasn’t at all the proper way.
Putting these things together, Rav Kalish expounds that this is perhaps one of the messages of the commonly recurring refrain mentioned above: It emphasized that the Mishkan, etc., was done and made exactly according to how Hashem had said, which was a complete atonement and correction for the Cheit ha’eigel, when Bnei Yisroel tried to serve Hashem in a way they made up, not the way Hashem proscribed.*
(Heard from Rav Kalish shlit”a)
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* See Hegyonah Shel Torah on Shemos 25:5
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‘And every man whose heart lifted him came, and all whose spirit inspired him, brought the Portion of Hashem for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service, and for the holy garments.’ (Shemos 35:21)
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Explains the Chida {HaRav Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai zt”l}: It is known that the nature of people is that at times, there awakens in their heart the desire to do a good thing. But after some time, the inspiration “cools down,” and in the end, the person may not even do the good thing they thought to.
It was not so with the Mishkan: The Torah praises the contributors to the building of the Mishkan that ‘every man whose heart lifted him came, and all whose spirit inspired him, brought the Portion of Hashem’. The Bnei Yisroel actually upheld what they thought to do at first!
(Vi’karasa L’Shabbos Oneg)
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‘And they brought to him [Moshe Rabbeinu] further contribution every morning.’ (Shemos 36:3)
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We are taught that the Bnei Yisroel brought their contributions early in the morning while people were still sleeping so as to not be noticed [and to give in the optimal form -- anonymously].
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|~Maaseh~| It is related that once, a bochur was caught smoking in secret on Shabbos. This caused a great uproar. The Chofetz Chaim zt”l was approached and asked what should be done with the bochur; should they remove him from the Yeshiva, or let him stay? The Chofetz Chaim invited the bochur to his room, and spoke to him for around ten minutes, and when the bochur left, he was crying and regretting what he had done. No one else knew what had gone on in Rav Yisroel Meir’s room, and the matter remained a secret for a long time.
After some years, a Rav told over the story before the congregation, and in conclusion of his words he said: “It is too bad, very much so, that we did not ask the bochur what the Chofetz Chaim said to him, so that we would learn thereof how to deal with bochurim.” At the end of the Drosha, the congregation began to leave, each person going to their own house -- except for one person, who remained, and their head was inclined on the chair. The Rav approached him to wake him up because he thought that he was asleep, but he discovered, to his surprise, that the Jew had fainted! He immediately poured water on him and treated him, until his “spirit returned.”
When the man came to, the Rav asked him why he had fainted; perhaps he wasn’t feeling well? But the man answered that he had caused him to faint, when he told over in his Drosha about the bochur who was with the Chofetz Chaim. The Rav wondered and asked; what connection did the story have to him? Answered the man, that he himself was the bochur whom the Rav had told about.
The Rav begged the man to tell him what the Chofetz Chaim had really said to him, and how he succeeded in influencing him.
The man replied: “When I entered near the Chofetz Chaim, he took my hand and grabbed it with warmth with both his hands; he looked into my eyes with a gaze of compassion and great love, and he began to cry and to say: ‘Oy Shabbos Kodesh! Oy Shabbos!’ Such did the Chofetz Chaim cry throughout ten minutes. In those moments, I trembled and I felt a stream of holiness that passed inside of my body. I broke into a cry and I regretted from the depths of the heart about what I did, and I accepted upon myself complete Teshuva until this day. Therefore, when you told the story, I was very moved, because I remembered the stirring occasion with the Chofetz Chaim, and therefore I fainted.”
(Ne’imos Netzach II, quoted in Peninei HaTorah)
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Gut and meaningful Shabbos to all!
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