פרשת תרומה
In this week’s parsha, G-d instructs the Jewish people to build the Mishkan. This marked the beginning of a new era in world history. G-d’s presence manifesting itself in a constant and intimate way was a privilege which no other nation had been granted. The idea that anyone who needed inspiration and spiritual renewal only needed to walk down the street to “G-d’s House” is something of which we can only dream.
In the opening of this week’s parsha, G-d tells Moshe who should donate to this ambitious project. “From every person who has a generous heart you shall take My contribution.” Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, the Mashgiach of Ponevitch, points out that the Gemara in Bechoros 5 says that every Jew that left Egypt left with 90 Libyan donkeys laden with silver and gold. Also, the Yalkut Shimoni in Dvarim says that after the war of Og the King of Bashan, the Jews didn’t even bother taking any of the spoils, since they were so rich and didn’t find any special valuables that they didn’t already have. If so, how “generous of heart” did the Jews really have to be in order to donate to the Mishkan? Especially since they didn’t have too many expenses in the desert!
Rav Levenstein answers that when G-d asked that only someone who was “generous of heart” should give, He was specifying a very special kind of person. Such a person would have to be so pure that his act of giving would have no motive other than to build a Mishkan for Hashem’s sake. No other money would be acceptable for use in the construction of G-d’s palace on earth. Only the purest of intentions would be appropriate for such a sacred endeavor. We can see that G-d’s command, “From every person who has a generous heart you shall take My contribution,” demanded donors of the highest level.
We can see in our own lives that it’s very hard to give purely for the sake of others, without having our own benefit in mind. Honor is definitely one of the biggest challenges to being altruistic. Sometimes one can be honored for his contributions by having a building named after him, being honored at a dinner, or just being thanked by a beggar on the street. All of these honors are an obstacle to giving with pure intentions. Sometimes it’s embarrassing not to give, so instead of giving because it’s a mitzvah, a person merely reacts to what could possibly turn into a humiliating situation for him. Nobody wants to be looked on as a miser. This is not the kind of giving Hashem really wants from us. Even giving in order to “get a mitzvah” is not ideal. It’s true we should give because G-d commanded us to, but we shouldn’t be thinking about ourselves when we’re giving. Jewish giving requires thinking about the other person and not yourself. Additionally, even if a person can whole-heartedly give to another, he still may experience pain while giving. People are profoundly attached to their money. The Gemara in Brachos 61 says that some people would rather give up their lives than give up their money! To feel pain in one’s heart while giving surely disqualifies one from being considered “generous of heart.” We can clearly see here that even the Jews in the desert, who were rich, who could surely afford it, and who wanted to support such an important project, were challenged by giving their money and hearts solely to G-d. However, the fact that they were able to give with the noblest of intentions should inspire us and give us hope that we, too, can give in such a way.
The Gemara in Bava Metzia 86 says that because of Avraham Avinu, the Jews merited to have many miracles performed for them in the desert. Because Avraham served the angels butter and milk, the Jewish people were given manna. And because Avraham acted as the angels’ waiter and stood over them, the Jewish people were given a pillar of cloud to lead them. And because Avraham served them water, the Jewish people were given Miriam’s Well. It’s incredible to see how far chessed goes. However, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz asks, what makes Avraham Avinu so special? Jewish people do chessed like this all the time! Did he put something special in the butter? Rav Chaim answers that it’s true that we Jews serve and give to others all the time, but we still don’t give the way Avraham Avinu did. Avraham put his entire being into serving and giving to others and did so completely selflessly. That’s what made even his simple acts of chessed so great that their merit extended to distant generations, granting them miracles in times of need. Even though many of us haven’t reached the level of Avraham Avinu (yet), we still should appreciate the power of selfless acts of giving and where they can take us.
Rav Aharon Kotler adds that one who is “generous of heart” should be overjoyed to give. If you don’t understand what a privilege it is to give and how lucky you are to be a giver, the giving that you do is not a complete giving of yourself. There’s still a part of you that’s holding back. The prophet Micha says in chapter 6, “What has G-d told you? Do justice and love chessed…” The Chofetz Chaim points out that the verse doesn’t say that G-d asks that we “do chessed.” He asks us to love it. And how do we love it? We look for opportunities to give. Meaning that one should keep his eyes peeled for people in need, being ready to help and give in any way. The enthusiasm you show for giving and your happiness to give, just because it’s good to do so, is clear testimony that you are truly a person who is “generous of heart.” This is what the prophet says Hashem expects of us.
So how do we train ourselves to love giving? Especially if we have an inclination to be stingy? One thing we can do is use the old psychological trick of “conditioning.” What you should do is have a set time every day when you give an amount of money to tzedaka that is a little bit more than you would normally give. At first, it will be painful, but if you do it every day, you’ll soon find it’s not so difficult at all. All of a sudden, you’ll realize giving up money isn’t such a scary thing after all, and you can even learn to enjoy it. We can also add an idea based on chapter 7 in the Mesillas Yesharim that teaches us that outer actions arouse us internally as well. If one puts on a smile, shares a kind word, or runs to give, even if he thinks he’s fooling himself, he will certainly reap benefits in the long-term. Eventually, the smile will come from true joy and the kind word will be heart-felt. Then we can be like our forefathers, who gave so beautifully.
May we all be zoche to be “generous of heart”!!!