“And they came, each man whose heart lifted him up, and all whose spirit made him willing, and they brought the L-rd’s offering to the work of the Tent of Meeting, and for all the service and the holy vestments.”
The Ohr Hachaim says that cherishing one’s possessions, can occur on four different levels.
The highest level is the contents of one’s home; the furniture, utensils, jewelry, and so on.
The next level is anything made of gold.
The third level is anything a person possesses that others do not. In other words, the more unique an item, the more one values it.
The fourth and lowest level, is anything else that he possesses or owns.
When the people brought the donations for the Mishkan, they brought that which they cherished the most. They brought the most prized and precious jewelry as well other items.
In ‘Od Yosef Chai, Chacham Yosef Haim, ‘a”h, speaks about the term נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ.
“וַיָּבֹאוּ כָּל־אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ”, (and they all came, every man, whose heart lifted him up). We learn from this, that when giving charity or when making donations, one’s heart has to lift him up. When a person gives charity, there is a tendency to feel that one has given much and to feel very good about oneself and, therefore, a little bit arrogant.
What we should do, however, is feel that we are actually a lot richer than we really are. That way, we feel that we have not donated sufficiently based on our financial situation. This, in turn, removes all traces of arrogance, and encourages us to give more and be more generous.
That is how it was at the time of the Mishkan. Everybody gave, but when they gave they felt that they could give a lot more then they did and, as such, there was no arrogance in the giving. It was the perfect way of giving charity.
He tells a story about two partners who were in business together and were very successful. One day they had an opportunity to make a lot of money. They had access to certain merchandise which they were asked to export to a foreign country, where they would receive far more than they paid for it.
They used their own capital of 10,000 gold coins and borrowed another 40,000 gold coins from the bank. They then bought the merchandise with the 50,000 gold coins and shipped it overseas. They were very happy, because they expected to sell the goods for at least twice that amount which would translate into profit for each of them of 25,000 gold coins. It took time for the ship to arrive at its destination, during which time the value of the goods fell dramatically. You can imagine the shock when they received a telegram telling them that their goods had been sold for a mere 30,000 gold coins. Not only was there no profit, but there was an effective loss of 20,000 gold coins.
One of the partners was sick with worry. How would they repay the loan — how would they survive — put food on the table and so on. He hardly slept that night and in the morning arrived, bleary eyed, at the office.
His partner walked in a little while later, well rested and happy as a lark. “What are you so happy about?” the first man demanded. “Did you unearth a large treasure?”. “Indeed, I did”, he replied. “So where is it?”, asked the first, “And don’t forget to share it with me. After all, we are partners”.
The second partner told him that the treasure was in the merchandise. It was not as the other felt, that they had lost 20,000 gold coins. On the contrary, they probably had made 20,000 gold coins profit. His explanation was as follows:
The agent who sold the goods for them, was not going to send them the 30,000 gold coins. Rather, he would by merchandise with it, of the type that they instruct him to buy. When it arrives in their city, they would be able to sell it for 70,000 gold coins, giving each of them 10,000 gold coins. They will each have received twice their initial investment.
It is all an attitude of mind. It all depends on whether the heart lifts a person or not.
Just as the partner’s heart lifted him to feel happy and think more clearly, so too, when it came to giving for the Mishkan, peoples’ hearts lifted them to give generously.
Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe is a renowned author and lecturer, whose Shiurim continue to inspire thousands around the world. Many can be seen at www.NonstopTorah.com. His daily Torah Minutes are eagerly anticipated by thousands every morning. They can be seen at www.ATorahMinute.com. Rabbi Menashe is the spiritual leader of Midrash BEN ISH HAI. More information is available at the Midrash website, www. Midrash.org.
Attitude Of Mind
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