Last in the list of items donated for the Mishkan mentioned in the opening of P' Terumah are the precious stones of the avnei milu'im and avnei sho'ham. Chazal (see Kiddushin 31) tell us that these stones literally cost a fortune. So why are they mentioned last? Why not give these gifts the prominence they deserve and mention them first, at the beginning of the list of donations?
The Ohr haChaim gives two answers, both elaborated on by R' Chaim Shmuelevitz in his Sichos Mussar (5732 #22). I want to focus on the second answer.
Rashi in our parsha (35:27) tells us that these precious stones were donated by the nesi'im, the princes of the tribes, after everyone else had given their gifts. The nesi'im said: let everyone else donate, and whatever shortfall is left, whatever is needed to complete the job, we'll make it up. Because they procrastinated, says Rashi, the word nesi'im in our parsha is written chaseir, missing a letter "yud." And, writes the Ohr haChaim, because they waited until the end of the collection to bring their gifts, these gifts are recorded last on the list, as if they were lacking in importance.
What do you think the reaction of a yeshiva administrator or shul president would be if someone were to tell them that whatever the budget shortfall for the year is, they will cover it, no matter what the amount? That gvir just made that administrator or that shul treasurer's year! No more having the plead people for money, no more worry about cash flow, about spending, etc.
What's so wrong with what the nesi'im did?
Answers R' Chaim Shmuelevitz: it's a wonderful cheshbon, but when you love something, you don't make cheshbonos. When you love something and are passionate about it, you can't stop yourself from being involved from the get-go.
I want to add two points.
A) R' Chaim Shmuelevitz sees this idea as a general principle in avodas Hashem. I would like to suggest that it may be especially relevant, if not exclusively applicable, to the Mishkan. "V'asu li Mikdash... k'chol asher ani mareh oscha... kein ta'asu." (25:8-9) The sentence starts "v'asu...;" why repeat "v'kein ta'asu" at the end? Answers Ramban: ba ha'keifel l'chizuk u'l'ziruz. The Torah repeats to add emphasis because the command to build the Mishkan must be fulfilled with alacrity and with zealousness.
Maybe the cheshbon of making up the shortfall is not such a bad idea when you deal with your local yeshiva or local shul, but when it comes to building the Mishkan when there is an explicit command to act with zerizus, then all bets are off, all cheshbonos should fall by the wayside.
B) Why do we need a command to act b'zerizus with respect to building the Mishkan in particular? I would suggest as follows: Rashi in last week's parsha writes that the people thought Moshe Rabeinu was late in coming down from Har Sinai and they went into panic mode. They thought Moshe was dead, they thought they were leaderless, and the rest is history -- cheit ha'eigel.
But they had an excuse -- by their estimation, Moshe had not come back!?
That excuse is no excuse. If you love someone, then what's a few extra hours, an extra day, of waiting to see if they will come back? If you love someone, how do you so easily give up hope of seeing them again?
The Mishkan is a kapparah for the cheit ha'eigel. If the sin of the eigel was because we did not love Moshe Rabeinu enough to wait for him just a little longer before throwing in the towel. The tikun has to be showing our love and passion for the Mishkan, for Hashem. The way to do that is by rushing to give, not making cheshbonos.
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"The nesi'im said...we'll make it up"
ReplyDeleteonly then could ish and isha -- divided* at pesukim 23 and 25 by a world out of whack [owing to delay by the nesi'im] -- make up, and return to** ish v'isha***, pasuk 29; only then could they enjoy "a new house look" (D.C., Feb. 11 '19, 2)) with the very three items [oil, spice, precious stones] that are "part of the mitzvah of binyan ha'mishkan"
* by pasuk 24
** return to Bereishis 2:23
*** these two, if not the nesi'im, "are passionate about it", and normally "involved from the get-go"
"missing a letter"
the case of the nervous yud, which even in Bamidbar 7:10 moves from tentative [at the end of the word, first occurence] to decidedly up front ['lifnei', nun-sin-yud-aleph, second occurence, in a world in whack]
"did not love Moshe Rabeinu enough"
ki-zeh Moshe ha'ish, 32:1 -- not 'Moshe our redeemer', not 'Moshe your brother' [to Aharon to whom they spoke], not simply 'Moshe' and not even 'Moishe', but 'that guy Moshe'
Re your second point. I noticed that as well, but I saw it from something else. When a leader dies, when Miriam or Aharon died, Klal Yisrael mourned. Longer, shorter, whatever, but at least some sadness at the passing of a leader. Moshe came down, and he saw them dancing.
ReplyDeleteNow this could be because they barely knew him - he wasn't among them when he lived in Mitzrayim, and from the time he returned till Mattan Torah was only fourteen months. But he deserved at least a few days of commemoration, if not mourning.
"could be because they barely knew him"
Deletethough maybe the Levi'im sensed a serious loss, even a political one, until Moshe's late return?
{could be that 1) when surrounding slavery was at its worst, a mashgiach ruchani of shevet Levi ended each day's learning with a loud, threefold question to the tribe: 'mi la'Hashem?', (when came the reply) 'anachnu!' [ko'r'im]; 'mi la'Hashem?', 'anachnu!' [mishta'chavim]; 'mi la'Hashem?', 'anachnu!' [modim]*; that 2) Moshe knew of this**, and used the catchphrase at 32:26 knowing full well who would reply}
*once Yehoshua caught wind of all this, the Aleinu -- this time over against the heathens -- wrote itself
**either by visiting the Levite encampment as prince, or heard of it later from Aharon, or even heard an ongoing practice of these questions & answers bamidbar early on