Musar do Wyjścia 25:2

ויקחו לי תרומה The Torah contains 40 letters [I suppose this means when we consider the various vowels and semi-vowels in addition to the 27 consonants including the five final letters. Even Shoshan lists 13 vowels in his abbreviated grammar. Ed.] This is because the Torah was given over a period of forty days. The Torah is alluded to in the construction of the Tabernacle, since the purpose of building the Tabernacle was to house the Holy Ark which in turn contained the tablets inscribed by G–d Himself. Study of the Torah is something equivalent to all other virtues. Just as the 22 basic letters of the Torah are divided into three groups as explained in the ספר יצירה, namely the three letters א,מ,ש, and seven כפולות, i.e. ב,ג,ד,כ,פ,ר,ת, and 12 פשוטות, i.e. ה,ו,ז,ח,ט,י,ל,נ,ס,ע,צ,ק, so you will find during the construction of the Tabernacle that the holy vessels were made of three kinds of metal; they were made of gold, silver, and copper, corresponding to the three letters א,מ,ש. The seven lamps of the candlestick corresponded to the seven letters ב,ג,ד,כ,פ,ר,ת.

ויקהל משה את כל עדת בני ישראל. Why are all the members of the nation included here, whereas when the donations are discussed in chapter 25 Moses was content to receive gifts from כל איש, every man? The Zohar Sullam edition Vayakhel page 3 asks and adds a further question. Why did Moses describe the donations for the building of the Tabernacle (35,5) as קחו מאתכם, "take from you," whereas when Moses was commanded about this in Exodus 25,2 G–d described the donations ויקחו לי תרומה, as "a donation for Me?" The answer given is that Moses first received this commandment prior to the sin of the golden calf. At that time G–d included the mixed multitude in the list of people from whom He would accept these donations, hence the emphasis on מאת כל איש, from everybody. Moses relayed this instruction to the Jewish people on the morrow of the Day of Atonement, after the episode of the golden calf. That whole episode was caused by the mixed multitude. This is why the Torah emphasised that Moses assembled "the whole congregation of the Children of Israel," thereby excluding those converts who were not descended from Jacob. In order to emphasise this further, Moses instructed: "take from you, not from the mixed multitude."

Come and see how great is the power of peace. For in the beginning of the creation of the universe the Holy One Blessed be He employed Himself in the creation of an instrument of peace, as it is written (Bereshith 1:3): "And G-d said: 'Let there be light' — and there was light." And how do we know that light is peace? For it is written (Isaiah 45:7): "He fashions light and creates darkness; He makes peace and creates evil." On this basis, our teachers of blessed memory ruled (Shabbath 23b): "As between a candle for his house and wine for kiddush, to sanctify the Sabbath [if he can afford only one], a candle for his house takes precedence because of the peace of his household." What is more, our sages enacted many ordinances in pursuit of the paths of peace, viz. (Gittin 59a): "They declared the following in pursuit of the paths of peace: 'The Cohein reads first [in the Torah], then the Levite, then the Israelite, because of "the paths of peace."'" An eruv [a halachic enabling device] is placed in an old house, because of "the paths of peace." The pit nearest the irrigation canal is filled first because of "the paths of peace."'" And so is it written (Proverbs 3;17): "Its [Torah's] ways are ways of pleasantness and all of its paths are peace." And thus did our sages of blessed memory say in the aggadah (Bamidbar Rabbah 15:13, Tanchuma Beha'alothecha 11): "There are thirteen things that the Holy One Blessed be He loved, and of all of them, He "doubled" [in profusion of love], only "peace." They [(the thirteen)] are: Cohanim, Levites, Israel, Sanhedrin [the high court], the first-born, the offerings of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the oil of anointment, the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, the kingdom of the house of David, and the silver and the gold. The Cohanim — (Shemoth 28:41): "And they shall be priests unto Me." the Levites (Numbers 3:41): "And I shall take the Levites unto Me." Israel — (Shemoth 19:6): "And you [Israel] shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests." Sanhedrin — (Numbers 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men." The first-born — (Shemoth 13:2) "Sanctify unto Me every first-born." The offerings of the tabernacle — (Ibid. 25:2): "And they shall take unto Me an offering." The sacrifices — (Numbers 28:2): "You shall heed to sacrifice unto Me in its appointed time." The oil of anointment — (Shemoth 30:31): "The holy oil of anointment shall this be unto Me for your generations." The Land of Israel — (Ibid. 19:5): "For unto Me is all the land." Jerusalem — (I Kings 11:36): "The city that I have chosen unto Me." The Temple — (I Chronicles 17:12): "He shall build unto Me a habitation." The kingdom of the house of David — (I Samuel 16:1): "For I have seen in his sons a king unto Me." The silver and the gold — (Chaggai 2:8): "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold." But, of all of these, none was doubled [in profusion of love] but "peace," as it is written (Isaiah 27:5): "Or let him take hold of My strength. He shall make peace unto Me; peace shall he make unto Me." Great is peace, which takes precedence to praise of the Blessed One Himself. For when Yithro came to Moses, immediately (Exodus 18:7): "And each made inquiry of the other's peace," whereas only afterwards (Ibid. 8): "And Moses related to his father-in-law all of the miracles that the Holy One Blessed be He had wrought for Israel." What is more, for all of the mitzvoth that the wicked perform in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He gives them their reward in this world — such as wealth, property, years, honor, and the like — except peace, which He does not give them, as it is written (Isaiah 57:21): "There is no peace, says my G-d, for the wicked." And, what is more, the Holy One Blessed be He gives peace as a reward to the righteous, as it is written (Ibid. 32:17): "And the reward for righteousness shall be peace…" What is more, it is with peace that He draws near to Him converts and penitents, as it is written (Ibid. 57:19): "He creates the utterance of the lips: 'Peace, Peace,' for the far and the near, says the L-rd, and I will heal him." Great is peace, for in regard to all of the journeyings in the desert it is written "And they journeyed and they rested," journeying in strife and resting in strife. But when they came to Mount Sinai, they made one great "resting," as it is written (Shemoth 19:2): "And Israel rested there, before the mountain." (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "The Holy One Blessed be He said: 'The time has now arrived for Me to give Torah to My children.'" For as long as they are at peace with one another, the Shechinah is among them. And thus is it said (Devarim 33:5): "And He was a King in Yeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered, together with the tribes of Israel." When does the kingdom and the Shechinah of the Blessed One abide in Israel? When they are all gathered together as one. Come and see how great is the power of peace; for it is through the power of peace that the world endures. For thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Avoth 1:18): "On three things does the world stand: on judgment, on truth, and on peace, as it is written (Zechariah 8:16): 'Truth and a judgment of peace shall you judge in your gates.'" What is more, when there is peace among men, there is blessing in their fruits, as it is written (Ibid. 12): "For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give its dew, and I shall bequeath all of these to the remnant of this people." And thus is it written (Psalms 147:14): "He makes peace on your borders and sates you with the fatness of wheat." Our sages have said (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for if one erases one letter of G-d's name, he transgresses a negative commandment, as it is written (Devarim 12:3): 'And you shall wipe out their [the idols'] name from that place,' followed by (Ibid. 4): 'You shall not do so to the L-rd your G-d.' Yet to make peace between a man and his wife, the Torah says (Numbers 5:23): 'And the Cohein shall write these curses [containing G-d's name] in a book and erase them into the bitter waters.' The Holy One Blessed be He says: 'Let My name, which was written in holiness, be erased by the waters.'" And Chazal have said further (Vayikrah Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for all of the goodly blessings and consolations that the Holy One Blessed be He convokes upon Israel conclude with "peace." The Shema — "He spreads a canopy of peace." The Amidah — "He makes peace." The priestly blessing — "And He shall repose peace upon you." "Therefore, my sons, be circumspect in this trait — to love peace and to pursue peace. For there is no end to the reward for loving peace and pursuing peace." Until here, the language of Ma'aloth Hamiddoth.

As far as the half-shekel contribution was concerned every Jew being counted, i.e. every ראש was equal. Since the word תרומה appears three times in this paragraph, it is clear that the Torah alludes to three distinct contributions to be made. One of these contributions is a voluntary one, described by the Torah as given to G–d, i.e. לי, "for Me," such as when the Torah described the donations made for building the Tabernacle in 25,2. When you combine the word לי there, with the word ראש used by the Torah here, you have the word ישראל. When all the Jews have made both their mandatory and their voluntary contributions the result is שבת קודש לישראל, meaning that the 600,000 Israelites have each joined their mate, the holy Sabbath, i.e. the seventh day. Tragically, when the Israelites sinned by worshipping the golden calf, an episode introduced by the Torah (32,1) with the words וירא העם כי בשש משה, normally translated as "the people noticed that Moses was late," the word Boshesh can be read as ba-shesh that the people regressed to the spiritual level of six instead of seven. Our sages all refer to the word meaning that Moses was six hours overdue or something to this effect, as mentioned already by Rashi. Israel's conduct discredited both the name of G–d and His throne. Their action was the equivalent of unhitching one of the four animals pulling G–d's chariot. This is the meaning of ופני שור מן השמאל לארבעתן, "the face of an ox to the left of the four" (Ezekiel 1,10). The ox is one of the four חיות described in the vision as pulling the chariot. [You are aware that the connotation of "left" is one that symbolises the domain of Satan. Ed]

I have already written about G–d sometimes revealing Himself, other times remaining totally concealed. I had defined the very Being of G–d as manifested by His actions and, in contrast, His remaining concealed as part of His Essence. This is why G–d does not operate in public in His capacity as the Ineffable Name. In the Temple, however, an area which is holy, i.e. separate, secluded, G–d does operate in His capacity as the Ineffable Name, י-ה-ו-ה. Just as one can sometimes smell the fragrance of some flower or spice without actually seeing the source of the fragrance, so G–d's Ineffable Name operates within the confines of the Tabernacle and we become aware of this through its "fragrance." There is a Midrash which says that the words in 25,2: ויקחו לי תרומה, "They shall take a contribution for Me,” are to be understood as a metaphorical gift to G–d in His capacity as the Ineffable Name, the concealed. This had to be mentioned, since, when it comes to the Tabernacle, we deal with the revealed as well as with the concealed. The construction of the Tabernacle, its furnishings, all in accordance with G–d's instructions to Moses, represented the revealed dimension of the Tabernacle. The concealed dimension involved the planning, i.e. מחשבות that Betzalel had to have in order to be able to carry out all G–d's instructions. We referred to this earlier when we explained that Betzalel was able to manipulate the letters in the Torah in a manner similar to the way they had been used when the universe was created. We may therefore perceive of the Tabernacle as קודש, holy, in its visible dimension, and as קודש קדשים, holiest of holy, in its invisible dimension.

This comment is based on the wording of Exodus 25,2: ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש, "They will take a donation for Me from every person." Immediately afterwards the Torah refers to this same donation as תקחו את תרומתי, "You will take My donation." Why did the Torah first refer to this gift as being the donor's and immediately afterwards as being G–d's? The answer is that the requirements for the building of the Tabernacle were very great and in many instances the materials exceeded what the Jewish people possessed at that time. The gold had to be pure, something the Israelites did not possess. The same applied to other components required. In spite of all this the Torah reported that the sum total of the donations exceeded what was needed so that Moses was forced to call a halt to further contributions (36,6). This was due to the blessing G–d bestowed on all the donations so that small amounts grew into larger amounts. The cause of this blessing was the generous impulses of the donors at the time they made their contributions. Any person who donated, say, one ounce of gold, felt sorry that he was not able to contribute two ounces. Since G–d knew the thoughts of every donor, He translated the good intention of the donor into an actual and increased the amount in accordance with what the donor would have given had he been able to. Thus the excess was G–d's contribution, and thus G–d became man's partner. This is why the Torah speaks about "take My contribution." Since the Tabernacle, as we have explained, represented a re-enactment of the work of creation, all those who had contributed generously had become partners in the work of creation.