Rabbi's Blog

This Dvar Torah is sponsored by Suzanne Levin in memory of her mother Ruth S. Levin, Rivka Yentl Bas Velvel Yitzchok on her Yahrzeit 29 Adar

Prayer is a pretty scary concept, especially if you know what you're saying! A beautiful Tefilla that we say on Shabbos morning between the Haftorah and putting away the Torah is Yekum Purkan. It concludes with a special blessing, the Mi Shebeirach, for those who dedicate their lives to learning, teaching, and giving to uphold Torah:The "Mi Shebeirach", which translates as "The One Who Blesses" and is summarized as follows: ...particularly those who establish synagogues for prayer, and those who come to pray, those who give candles for lighting and wine for Kiddush and havdala, who give bread for the guests and charity for the poor. All who involve themselves in communal work with faith will be rewarded by Who will remove all illness from them and heal their bodies and reward the work of their hands.

This Tefilla is designed for those who take care of community needs and the needy on a daily basis. Perhaps we need to substitute some of those items as they might be outdated. For example, our Shul does not solicit people to donate wine or candles for lighting, but general funds are collected and purchased with that money. Nevertheless, with any type of giving, when it is personalized or directed for a specific purpose, it affords more satisfaction to the giver. Conceivably, the donating of wine and bread may be substituted for donating tissues, coffee, or besamim to the Shul. There are many detailed items that a Shul -especially Beth Jacob San Diego- offers to members, non-members and wayfarers which do not constitute part of official synagogue services. There are things that we do which are above and beyond the mandatory items a Shul normally provides. In other words this blessing is still available to anyone who wants to make use of it in today's day and age.

In Jewish thought it's not how much you give, whether it's a lot or a little, as long as your heart is doing it for the sake of heaven. The synagogue or Shul of today is a Mikdash M'at, a small sanctuary similar to the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. Our giving today resembles the giving of charity towards the Mishkan itself. We find a similar concept of giving in this week's parsha Pekudei. In Shmos 40:34,35 the Torah states: "Viyichas HeAnan Es Ohel Moed Uchvod Hashem Malei Es HaMishkan" "V'lo Yachol Moshe Lavo El Ohel Moed, Ki Shachan Alav He'Anan, U'Chbvod Hashem Malei Es HaMishkan". "The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. And Moshe was not able to come to the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan". Why couldn't Moshe enter the Tent of Meeting?

The answer is actually very simple. Moshe could not enter because there was no room - Hashem 'filled' the entire Mishkan. The real question is: Why and what caused Hashem to completely fill up the Mishkan, leaving no room for Moshe or anyone else for that matter? Reb Yakov Aryeh of Rahdzmin explains that the Mishkan was full of Ahavas Yisrael, the love of every Jew, and their monies were all from the most sincere places. The Jews donated from their hearts, as the Torah stated "Kal Nediv Lev" - all of the gifts from the heart which was the solid and undying premise of the Jew. As a result of their eagerness to give from the depths of their hearts, God's presence descended upon the area where such giving took place. There was no space that didn't have the feel of giving from a Jew, and that is the greatest honor to Hashem. God wants to be present where such love between Jews takes place, therefore allowing no room for anything else. Sefer MiMaayanos HaNetzach explains that at that moment of totally selfless giving to the Mishkan, Hashem loved the Jews so much that He could not leave any area of the Mishkan devoid of His divine presence. And so the honor of Hashem filled the Mishkan, leaving no space for anything else.

The Shaar Bas Rabim asks "how do we understand Hashem filling up the Mishkan? Doesn't it say in Tehilim that the Heavens are reserved for Hashem's dwelling? How is it possible for Hashem, who is completely spiritual, Who dwells in heaven, to come down to earth and appear in a physical place? "The Shaar Bas Rabim responds by comparing God's strength and existence to a piece of coal and a flame. The source of the heat, represented by the coal, is Hashem living in heaven, while the flame reaches out even extending into the physical world, making its place in the Mishkan. The actual reason we refer to the 'Shechina' as God's presence is because the root of that word means 'to dwell'. The words Shochen, a neighbor, Shechina, God's presence, and Mishkan, the Tabernacle, all share the common root of living.

The Medrash Shmos Rabbah 33:9 states that at the time Hashem spoke to Moshe about the details of the Mishkan, Moshe said to God, "Master of the Universe, are the Jewish people able to do this? Are they able to build the Mishkan?" HaKadosh Baruch Hu answered Moshe, "Even ONE Jew is able to build the entire Mishkan." The verse states: 'Within each person's heart from which he gave is what built the Mishkan'. It is sometimes the small change that makes the difference in a large campaign. If you try to fill up an empty space with big boulders and rocks, they will pile onto each other, but there will still be gaps between them. By contrast, when small rocks, pebbles, and dirt are used, all the cracks and crevices are filled to capacity. Do not underestimate the value of the small donations. They all add up, actually completing or filling the gaps between the large donations.

Who knows if it's the big donation or the many smaller donations that keeps a Shul or a Yeshiva open and provide all the services? The lesson of building the Mishkan is to understand the value and importance of the many donations of all sizes and the subsequent joy of Hashem, leading Hashem to occupy the Mishkan to the degree that even Moshe Rabbeinu could not squeeze in. May we all appreciate and never underestimate the power of giving, no matter how big or small as long as we give for the right reasons and for the sake of heaven. Through such giving we will merit to see the building of the third Beis Hamikdash speedily in our day.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky