Parshas Truma – Verse 25:2 – starts on Page 5

This past Wednesday night was Avrohom Chase’s Bar Mitzvah.  He is Mayer and Chanie Chase’s son.

Shabbos was at  the Adas, Rabbi Kaufman’s Shul.  I davened shabbos at the Bar Mitzvah and had an Aliyah.

Sidney Glenner, Lisa Glenner, Esther Chase, Pesach Chase, Mitch Morgenstern, Serka Morgenstern

Mordy Siegal, Meyer Chase

Mordy Siegal, Itamer Yaakov Siegal

Aron Hoch, Sholem Chase, Pesach Chase, Yaakov Chase (Lakewood)

My Torah:

I love the opening Rashbam on this Parsha:  פרשיות של משכן חשן ואפוד אקצר בפירושן וימצאו בפירושי רבינו שלמה אבי אמי ז”ל.

The second pasuk in Truma Verse 25:2 states:

דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃

The plain meaning of the Pasuk is that Moshe should speak to the Jews and they should take (from their possessions) a donation from every man who generously offers that gift, you should take My donation.

Questions:

1 – the last three words of  תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי are redundant.

2 – The Alsich and many others ask why does is say  וְיִקְחוּ and not  ויתנו?

These are answered by the  אפּריון.  See details below.

Both answered  

3 – Rashi says on the word לִ֖י – the word לִשְׁמִי.   What does Rashi exactly mean?  I do not have a good answer for Rashi.  I did see somewhere that Rashi means do not give donations to the Mishkan because of social pressures or for other reasons, give only to serve God.

The Seifsei Chacomin explains why Rashi says לִשְׁמִי because   לִ֖י cannot mean “take 

from your possessions for me” because everything in the world is His, [therefore it

cannot mean, “so it will be Mine.”]  This is difficult because in this world people 

have ownership rights and people have a right to make decisions on their property.

Translations of this Pasuk:

Almost all of the English translations translate “Li” with the plain meaning “Me”.  Only Rabbi Kahane brings in Rashi.

JPS 2006

Tell the Israelite people to “bring Me gifts”; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart is so moved.

Mesudah:

Speak to the B’nei Yisrael and have them “take for Me” a terumah-offering. From every man whose heart impels him to generosity shall you take My terumah-offering.

Rabbi Charles Kahane:

Tell the Children of Israel to appoint collectors for taking a voluntary gift for “My Name’s sake”; you shall take My voluntary gift from every man whose heart willingly offers the donation.

Only one who brings in Rashi.

Artscroll

Speak to the children of Israel and they shall “take for Me” a portion, from every man whose heart will motivate him you shall take My portion.

The  אפּריון   based on the Tanna Dvei Eliyahu:

Speak to the children of Israel.  And they will “take My gifts”; (this is done) by Moshe taking donations from all people whose heart will motivate him.  Ther Aperion will be explained below.

My Torah:

I want to start off something I read in Paul Newman’s autobiography this Shabbos morning, how coincidental.

Last year and today, I learned and analyzed the following  אפּריון.  See my blog post from last year.

Synopsis of the Torah of the Aperion:

Verse 25:2 – First Verse in the Parsha

דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃

Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart is so moved.

The plain meaning is that the Jews in the desert were to give donations to build the Mishkan.

The אפּריון starts by bringing down a Tanna Dvei Eliyahu that says that when the Jewish people said we will do and we will listen, immediately Hashem said וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה.  What is the connection?

By explaining the connection in the Tanna Dvei Eliyahu we can answer the Alshich’s question of why didn’t the Torah say, give me a gift.

Answer:

First Step:

Chana and Eli, the High Priest.  Eli misunderstood Chana.

The following verses in Shmuel 1:13-15 are explained.

וְחַנָּ֗ה הִ֚יא מְדַבֶּ֣רֶת עַל־לִבָּ֔הּ רַ֚ק שְׂפָתֶ֣יהָ נָּע֔וֹת וְקוֹלָ֖הּ לֹ֣א יִשָּׁמֵ֑עַ וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ עֵלִ֖י לְשִׁכֹּרָֽה׃

Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙ עֵלִ֔י עַד־מָתַ֖י תִּשְׁתַּכָּרִ֑ין הָסִ֥ירִי אֶת־יֵינֵ֖ךְ מֵֽעָלָֽיִךְ׃

Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Sober up!”^-e

וַתַּ֨עַן חַנָּ֤ה וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אֲדֹנִ֔י אִשָּׁ֤ה קְשַׁת־ר֙וּחַ֙ אָנֹ֔כִי וְיַ֥יִן וְשֵׁכָ֖ר לֹ֣א שָׁתִ֑יתִי וָאֶשְׁפֹּ֥ךְ אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃

And Hannah replied, “Oh no, my lord! I am a very unhappy woman. I have drunk no wine or other strong drink, but I have been pouring out my heart to the LORD.

When accused of being drunk, Chana’s first response should have been, “I did not drink” and then she should have said, “I am a very unhappy woman”.  However, she reversed the order.

Step 2:

Describing people through their actions and why the purpose and result of their actions is the true definition of that person, not the action itself in a vacuum.  Meaning Chana was not a drunk, even if she drank at that time she only drank because of her bitterness.  This is what Chana is telling to Eli.  

Chana, even if she was drunk cannot be called a drunkard because if she had drunk, it was only because she was bitter.

Step 3 – Just like Chazal says that if the Omer is brought on the second day of Pesach Hashem will bless the crops, so too the Mishkan and its vessels bring down “Shefah” – goodness.  This is the mean of our verse of “וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה “.

Step 4:  The Gemara in Shabbos:

The Gemara relates that a heretic saw that Rava was immersed in studying halakha, and his fingers were beneath his leg and he was squeezing them, and his fingers were spurting blood. Rava did not notice that he was bleeding because he was engrossed in study. The heretic said to Rava: You impulsive nation, who accorded precedence to your mouths over your ears. You still bear your impulsiveness, as you act without thinking. You should listen first. Then, if you are capable of fulfilling the commands, accept them. And if not, do not accept them. He said to him: About us,

88b

who proceed wholeheartedly and with integrity, it is written: “The integrity of the upright will guide them” (Proverbs 11:3), whereas about those people who walk in deceit, it is written at the end of the same verse: “And the perverseness of the faithless will destroy them.”

Step 5 – As it says in the Gemara in Shabbos, when the Jews said “we will do and we will listen”, we understood that everything God does for us is good and we do not hesitate to say, we will do before we will listen.

Step 6 – so too the idea of giving the donations to the Miskan was to receive blessings, so it was appropriate for the Torah to use the language of taking.  Had the Jews not said “we will do and we will listen” then the appropriate language would have been “ויתנו”.  

The language of the Aperion:

Although the Jews were giving money for the Mishkan, the ultimate goal was to take blessings from God.

The  אפּריון based on the Tanna Dvei Eliyahu is translating the Pasuk, וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה, that the Jewish people are to take gifts from God.  They do this by giving donations for the construction of the Mishkan.

The Pasuk is thus translated:

דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃

Speak to the children of Israel.  And they will take My gifts; this is done by Moshe taking donations from all people whose heart will motivate him.

Analysis of Tanna Dvei Eliyahu:

Chapter 17:

כיון שקבלו ישראל עול מלכות שמים בשמחה ואמרו כל אשר דבר ה’ נעשה ונשמע מיד אמר הקב”ה למשה שיאמר לישראל 

שיעשו לו משכן שנאמר (שמות כה) דבר אל בנ”י וגו’ ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם וגו’. 

This Tanna Dvei Eliyahu is the source for the following Daas Zekeinim:

ויקחו לי תרומה. פרשה זו נאמרה בתוך ארבעים יום שהיה ממתן תורה וצוהו הקב”ה להיכן מניח’ שיעשו משכן ובית קדשי הקדשים ובתוכו ארון ובתוך הארון לוחות ושם תשרה שכינה וישראל סביב כמו המלאכים סביב כסא הכבוד ושכינה ביניהם וכן כתוב ושכנתי בתוכם כמו בתוך המלאכים ועל זה נאמר אמרתי אלהים אתם ובני עליון כלכם להיות שכינתי ביניהם:

The Oz Vehadar Chumash in their Perush of the Da’as Zekanimu says that the source of the above Da’s Zekanim is this very Tanna Dvei Eliyahu:

Da’as Zekanm translated into English:

ויקחו לי תרומה, “they shall take for Me a contribution;” this portion had been told to Moses during the forty days that Moses was on Mount Sinai, immediately after the revelation at that Mountain, [In other words, before the smashing of the Tablets, and the golden calf episode. Ed.] G–d, at that time, had already told Moses where to erect the Tabernacle, and that it would house the Holy Ark, inside the Holy of Holies, symbolizing G–d’s presence on earth. He told him that it would contain the Tablets, and that the Israelites would be encamped around the Tabernacle. This is what is meant in verse eight of our verse where G–d described Himself as residing in the midst of the people, i.e. as if surrounded by angels as He had been in heaven. Concerning this state of affairs, David had said in Psalms 82,6: אמרתי אלוהים אתם ובני עליון כולכם, “I had said: ‘you are the children of G–d all of you children of the Supreme Being.” [David bemoans the demotion of the Jewish people that followed the golden calf episode in the verse following. Ed.]

Continuation of the Tanna Dvei Eliyahu:

באותה שעה אמר הקב”ה בלבבו שמא לא יביאו בנ”י נדבתם לפני ושמא יהיו אומרים כלפי מעלה וכי לכסף וזהב הוא צריך והלא כל כסף וזהב ואבנים טובות ומרגליות וכל כלי חמדה שלו הוא שנאמר (חגי ב) לי הכסף ולי הזהב נאם ה’ צבאות. ומפני מה אומר לבני אדם הביאו לי נדבה ועשו לי מקדש אבל מה שביקש הקב”ה מישראל נתנו לו ישראל והוא עושה לישראל מה שאמר להן. וכשעשו ישראל רצון הקב”ה במדבר והקב”ה מצא בהן קורת רוח כמה שנאמר בהן (שמות לה) ויבואו כל איש אשר נשאו לבו וכל אשר נדבה רוחו אותו וגו’. ו