Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Terumah "A Unique Acquisition" Volume 24, No. 19 6 Adar 5770 February 20, 2010 Sponsored by Eli, Rachel Adina, Daniel Avraham, Yonatan and Chana Rutstein in honor of the birthday of wife and mother Galit Rutstein The Katz family on the yahrzeit of Gitel bat Chaim Eliezer Hakohen Katz a"h Today's Learning: Nach: Yechezkel 1-2 Mikvaot 7:1-2 O.C. 424:1-425:2 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Sanhedrin 8 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Berachot 39 The Midrash Rabbah on this week's parashah opens: "They shall take for Me a portion"--Thus it is written (Mishlei 4:2), "For I have given you a good teaching; do not forsake my Torah." Do not forsake the acquisition that I have given you. Ordinarily, if a person makes an acquisition, if it is gold it will not have silver, and if it is silver it will not have gold. In contrast, the acquisition that I have given you [i.e., the Torah] has silver, as it is written (Tehilim 12:7), "The words of Hashem are pure words, like purified silver," and it also has gold, as it is written (Tehilim 19:11), "They are more desirable than gold." [Tiferet Zion explains: Silver is used to make currency, while gold is kept as an investment. Like silver, the Torah provides dividends in this world. Like gold, the Torah is an investment stored away for the World-to-Come.] The midrash continues: Some people buy fields, but not vineyards, while others buy vineyards and not fields. The acquisition that I have given you has both, as it is written (Shir Ha'shirim 4:13), "Your fields are pomegranate orchards." [Tiferet Zion explains: Fields provide necessities (i.e., grain), while vineyards and orchards provide items that bring joy to man (e.g., grapes for wine, fruits). Through Torah study, one merits both. Why does the verse choose pomegranates as a metaphor? Because the edible part of a pomegranate is the seed, which is a potential tree. So, too, from every word of Torah, one plants "trees" in the Eternal World.] The midrash continues: Sometimes, one buys an item whose essence and value cannot readily be appreciated by outsiders. Nevertheless, from the broker's commission, one can get an idea of the item's value. Similarly, the Torah's essence is unknowable, but one can get an idea of its worth from Moshe Rabbeinu's "commission," as it is written (Shmot 34:29), "Moses did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant when He had spoken to him." [Tiferet Zion explains: Material man cannot appreciate the worth of the spiritual Torah, but the spirituality that is manifested in this world gives us some hint of what awaits in the World-to-Come.] The midrash continues: Sometimes one buys something and the seller comes with it. So, when Hashem gave the Torah, He came with it, as it is written (in our parashah), "They shall take for Me a portion." [Tiferet Zion explains: It is not written, "They shall give to Me a portion," but rather, "They shall take [for] Me a portion."] This may be compared to a king who married off his daughter but could not part with her, so he asked his son-in-law to build an apartment for him in their home. So, too, Hashem gave us the Torah but, so-to-speak, could not part with it. Therefore he commanded (in our parashah-25:8), "They shall make a Sanctuary for Me -- so that I may dwell among them." ******** "This is the portion that you shall take from them - gold, silver, and copper." (25:3) Our Sages note the fickleness of Bnei Yisrael--when they were asked to donate to the mishkan, they donated, and when they were asked to donate to the Golden Calf, they also donated. Indeed, for the Golden Calf they gave only gold, the finest metal, while for the mishkan they gave gold but also inferior metals, as our verse relates. R' Zalman Sorotzkin z"l (1881-1966; rabbi in Poland and Israel) notes that Bnei Yisrael's donations can be interpreted in a favorable light. The midrash Otiot D'Rabbi Akiva states that the words "zahav" / gold, "kessef" / silver and "nechoshet" / copper or bronze are acronyms for three types of gift-givers. "Zahav" is an acronym of "Zeh ha'notein bari" - "This is one who gives a gift when he is healthy." "Kessef" is an acronym of "ke'she'yeish sakanat pachad" - "[One who gives a gift] when there is a state of fear." Finally, "Nechoshet" is an acronym of "Notein choleh she'amar tnu" - "One who gives when he is ill and commands that the gift be given [after his death]." To the mishkan, Bnei Yisrael gave all three precious metals. This reflects the fact that Jews turn to the House of G-d in all of life's situations, when they are healthy, when they are afraid, and when they are, G-d forbid, ill or dying. In contrast, to the Golden Calf, they gave only gold, which indicates health and well-being. Generally, Jews turn to false gods when things are going well. As the Torah says (Devarim 32:15), "Yeshurun became fat and kicked; you became fat, you became thick, you became corpulent -- and it deserted G-d its Maker." But when problems arise, Jews generally turn to back to the House of G-d, where true salvation can be found. (Oznaim La'Torah) ******** "They shall make an aron / ark of acacia wood . . . You shall cover it with pure gold, from within and from without shall you cover it . . ." (25:10-11) The aron, which held the Torah, symbolizes Torah scholars. Just as the aron was gold-plated inside and out, so, says the Gemara (Yoma 72b), a Torah scholar who is not the same inside and out [i.e., his behavior is not befitting his level of learning or his actions are hypocritical] is not a Torah scholar. R' Shmuel Bondi z"l (Mainz, Germany; 1794-1877) identifies other lessons that can be learned from the design of the aron. The aron was made of wood, a substance that degrades relatively easily, but it was plated with gold inside and out. If a person were to say, "I am mere flesh and blood--how can I hope to house the holy and pure Torah within me?" we would answer him: "If your outside--your deeds--and your inside-- your thoughts--are `gold-plated,' then you can be a housing for the Torah." R' Bondi continues: The Torah commands (verses 16-17), "You shall place in the ark the Testimonial [i.e., the luchot] that I shall give you. You shall make a Cover of pure gold . . ." Rashi (to verse 21) explains that the luchot were placed in the aron before the cover had been made or, at least, before the cover had ever been placed on the aron. Why? R' Bondi answers: This teaches that, notwithstanding that a Torah scholar must be gold-plated inside and out, one should not wait but rather should begin to fill himself with Torah before he is "complete." (Torah Ohr) ******** "Ve'natata / You shall place in (literally: `give to') the aron / ark the Testimonial-tablets that I shall give you." (25:16) R' Moshe Alshich z"l (Turkey and Israel; 1508-1593; known as the Alshich Hakadosh) asks: Why did the Torah use a word that literally means, "You shall give to the aron"? He explains: The aron was made of wood plated with gold. As pretty as it was, it was hardly a fitting receptacle for the holy and priceless Torah! Therefore Hashem said to Moshe, "Give the Torah to the aron as a gift. Likewise, I will give the Torah to man as a gift although he is not worthy of it." Indeed, notes R' Alshich, the Gemara (Shabbat 89a) applies to Moshe Rabbeinu's sojourn on Har Sinai the verse (Tehilim 68:19), "You ascended on high . . . you took gifts." (Torat Moshe) ******** "See and make [the vessels], according to their form that you are shown on the mountain." (25:40) "You shall erect the Tabernacle according to its manner, as you will have been shown on the mountain." (26:30) R' Moshe David Valle z"l (Italy; 1697-1777) explains that the design of the mishkan reflects deep mystical secrets. Thus, Moshe had to be sure not to change any detail and not to base any detail on his own reasoning, lest the mishkan on earth not reflect the "mishkan above." R' Valle adds: Sometimes people think they can "improve" on a mitzvah or make it more meaningful [in a way not contemplated by halachah], but that is not what Hashem wants. It does not accomplish the intended tikkun / rectification and is meaningless to Hashem. Notably, R' Valle writes, the initial letters of the Hebrew phrase "Asher hor'eta ba'har" / "as you will have been shown on the mountain" spell "Ahav" / "He loved." What G-d loves is when the mitzvot are performed as He gave them so that they parallel the "upper order," not when people who know nothing of the worlds above try to "improve" on the mitzvot. (Brit Olam p.419) ******** From the Shabbat Zemirot "Always help those who desist from plowing and harvesting on the Seventh, who walk on it in small strides . . ." (From the zemer Kol Mekadeish) The phrase, "who walk on it in small strides," alludes to the halachah that one may not run on Shabbat except for a mitzvah, for example, when going to shul. But why did the author of the zemer single out one who observes this particular law of Shabbat as worthy of receiving Hashem's help always? R' Nachum Eisenstein shlita (Lakewood, N.J.) suggests: Not running on Shabbat is a fine detail of the laws of the day. One who is so meticulous in observing the laws of Shabbat that he observes even those details is certainly deserving of Hashem's special attention. We find similarly that Hashem promises great rewards for the observance of small details. Thus, we read (Devarim 7:12), "This shall be the reward eikev / in the wake of your listening to these ordinances, and when you observe and perform them- - Hashem, your G-d, will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers." Rashi z"l comments that the word "eikev" (which can mean "in the wake of" but also can mean "heal") refers to the "small" mitzvot that people typically tread upon. Alternatively, R' Eisenstein writes, the zemer refers to one who takes small strides on a weekday, i.e., he does not pursue his livelihood as aggressively as he previously did but instead increases his Torah study and mitzvah performance, because he has absorbed Shabbat's message that Hashem is the Creator and we should place our trust in Him. (Rinat Yaakov al Zemirot Shabbat)