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Beit Midrash
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Why does G-d tell Moshe to instruct the people to
"take" donations for the building of the Mishkan?
Would "give" not have been a more appropriate verb?
There is a common misconception that one feels
love for someone from whom he receives & derives
benefit. But in truth, love is generated through
giving; counter-intuitively, a person loves most
someone to whom he has given abundantly. The love
that husband & wife feel for one another grows
over the course of their marriage in direct
proportion to their giving to each other more &
more. (Thus the root of "ahava – love" is "hav" – to give).
Sports fans feel an intense attachment to their
favorite team because of the time, money &
emotional energy they invest into that team.
Indeed, the average price paid for a ticket to
this week’s sold-out Super Bowl was $8600! As the
Gemara teaches, a person is happier with the $100
that he earned by his own efforts than with
$1,000 that came to him effortlessly.
The more that one invests into a given person or
item, the stronger an emotional attachment he
will feel towards that person or item. G-d
therefore specifically tells Moshe that Bnei
Yisrael should "take for Me a donation."
Towards the end of Parshat Mishpatim, Bnei
Yisrael declare their blind acceptance of the
Torah without any knowledge of what this
entails. But Hashem wanted to ensure that they
would proceed to carry out this great commitment
with love & excitement, rather than with a sense
of burden or resentment. He therefore commanded
that they give generously to G-d & donate
expensive materials towards the Mishkan, thereby
engendering a strong feeling of attraction to & affection for the Almighty.
In this sense, then, their "giving" was indeed an
act of "taking." By donating to the Mishkan, the
people walked away with a feeling of both love &
personal connection to the religion they have now
accepted upon themselves. This ensured that they
would observe the Torah not as a forced
obligation, but rather willingly, with genuine fervor.
Many of us, for most of the time, tend to
"sleep-walk" through the Mitzvot, adopting a
daily, almost mindless routine of conducting
ourselves according to the dictates of the Torah
& Halacha. But Judaism should never be "routine;"
it should be observed with an ongoing, ever-new excitement & wonder.
If you want to soar like Eagles, heed their
advice: "Any kind of love without passion is no kind of loving at all."
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
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D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
