Rabbi's Blog

During the past decade there has been a see-saw effect on the economy of the world. (Objectively speaking, this economic cycle affects the world on a continuous basis.) One of the main reasons the economy was hit hard the last go around was due to the credit crunch. In simple terms Americans were borrowing much more than they could ever pay back, which resulted in a lending freeze and an overall tightening of the credit system, vital for a society to grow its economy.

I, like many Americans, was over-extended. In my humble opinion it was a good idea to tighten up credit limits and encourage people to learn to live within their means. It can definitely be an inconvenience at times to not have a credit line available, but in the end a little pain or restraint now results in a lot of gain later. A great lesson that I learned is that it is good to have credit available, but bad if you use it and can't pay it back. The biggest irony in today's day and age is that having too much credit and not using it can also be detrimental to your overall credit/financial picture. Having too much credit may not be so bad in the physical world, but in the spiritual world even having too much is not good.

In the first of the two parshios this week, Parshas Vayakhel/Pekudei, the Torah states 36:5,6 "Vayomru el Moshe laymore, marbim ha'am lhavee midei haavoda lamilacha asher tziva Hashem laasos osah. Vayetzav Moshe Vayaaveeru kol baMachaneh laymore ish v'isha al yaasu ode melacha l'trumas HaKodesh, Vayikalei Ha'am May'Havee" ; "And they said to Moshe, as follows, The people are bringing more than enough for the labor of the work that Hashem has commanded us to perform. Moshe commanded that they proclaim throughout the camp, saying, 'Man and woman shall not do more work toward the gift of the sanctuary!' And the people were restrained from bringing". The second Gerrer Rebbe, known by his work Sfas Emes, tries to explain this lengthy discussion regarding the surplus of funds that was collected for the Mishkan. The Sfas Emes reveals a critical consideration and warning when it comes to service for Hashem. He feels that the influence on a person wanting to serve God may be tainted by a personal agenda unbeknownst to that individual.

One must keep in mind the building of the Mishkan and all of its components. Every aspect of the construction needed to be on a consistently holy and pure level without a trace of damaging thoughts. Behold, when the sages and righteous leaders saw the influx and overwhelming outpouring of generosity, they became concerned. They suspected smidgens of false inklings of service that were not for the sake of God but rather for ulterior motives.

It is said in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer, thata person must see to it that all of his efforts in his service to Hashem are reached with fear and Boosha - shame. Often a person becomes haughty after finishing a job or a big project, taking credit for all that he did. To avoid such a situation, a person must 'look behind him' and think about who is he standing in front of and for whom he working? Sometimes a person must stop in the middle of his work and remind himself who he is standing in front of: he is standing in front of Hashem. When he stops and contemplates who he is truly working for, who he is serving, he will consistently adjust his own actions and refine his mindset. This, in essence, is what the Torah means when stating 'and the people were restrained from giving'. They immediately stopped giving too much, and instead stopped and thought about why and to whom and for what reason they were donating to the Mishkan. Their efforts were exclusively for the sake of building the Mishkan; they were not giving in order to show off to others how much they gave!

We are all familiar with the idiom 'Da lifnei mee ata omade', 'Know before Whom you stand' refers to prayer. This explanation goes beyond the spiritual plane of davening in a Shul and associates it with mundane work and particularly with donating charity for worthy causes. No matter how much a person gives to charity, he must be careful, continuously reminding himself of this precept.

The Chidushei HaRim, the first Gerrer Rebbe, explains the passuk in Shir Hashirim 7:2: "Your footsteps were so lovely when shod in shoes, o daughter of nobles..." the word for nobles -'N'div' - can also be read as a 'Nedava', a pledge. A person's pledges and donations also need the protection of a "shoe" so that the intentions and purpose of the donations don't go astray. With this we can come to understand the first Mishna in Shekalim 1:1: 'On the first of Adar the Beis Din proclaim regarding the payment of the shekalim (half shekel everyone donated on a yearly basis) and regarding kilayim (making sure the seeds of their fields did not contain any forbidden mixtures)'. What do these two mitzvos of giving a half shekel and kilayim have to do with one another? Chidushei HaRim answers that the donation of the half shekel should be pure, it should not contain any other foreign mixture (intent and thought, kilayim). The Hebrew word 'kilayim' comes from the same language of 'Vayikei Ha'am', 'And the people stopped giving'. There needs to be restraint and a holding back (not of the money) of the ulterior reasons for which a person may give charity. By the giving of the half shekel, the Torah dictates that the rich cannot give more and the poor cannot give less. The wealthy person can't give more because we are afraid his intentions may not be pure.

When we are told to live within our means, it is reflective of both our physical world and our spiritual world. With too much credit one can easily borrow too much and not be able to pay it back.

It's good to have the credit at your disposal, but you don't necessarily have to use it all up. In the realm of Mitzvos and giving Tzedakah and the like, a person also must be careful in his 'giving' lest he forget why he is giving. Every penny or half shekel must be entirely L'Shem Shamayim, for Heaven's sake. It must be without a tinge of benefit in even the minutest way for the donor. The Jewish people were restrained in order to remind them to give for the right reasons and with proper motivation.

Ah Gut Shabbos Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky

*Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847-1905), also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes, was a Chasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) and Rav of Góra Kalwaria, Poland (known in Yiddish as the town of Ger).He succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as Rebbe of the Gerrer Hasidim.