Help Me, Help Yourselves!
"And Hashem spoke to Moshe . . . speak to bnei Yisroel
and they should take terumo for Me . . . " (Shemos
25:1- 2).
The Yalkut (#363, parshas Terumo) comments: "He of whom
it is said, "The earth and all that fills it is Hashem's,"
"the sea is His and He made it," (Tehillim 24:1, 95:5)
. . . Does He need [donations given by] flesh and blood?!"
How is it possible, asks the Medrash, that Hashem, to whom
everything in existence belongs, makes such a request -- "and
they should take . . . for Me?"
The Medrash answers, "However, His desire is for Yisroel,
to have His Shechina rest upon them, like a father who cherishes
his son; that is why the posuk says, "and they should take
. . . for Me."
If we look at a father or a mother when they feed their young child,
we see that when the child opens his mouth to eat, the parent also
opens his or her mouth. In other words, when the child eats, the parent
feels that he is eating as well. This is part of a parent's natural
instinct. A child very often refuses to eat and when he finally opens
his mouth, it is as though he is doing his parents a favor and they
feel that they are eating themselves.
In the same way, HaKodosh Boruch Hu requests, "they should
take terumo for Me," begging bnei Yisroel to build
a mishkan for Him -- this is amazing to consider!
The Medrash concludes with the following: "If, when speaking
to bnei Yisroel about the mishkan [whose purpose is]
to bestow honor and atonement on them [for their own benefit], HaKodosh
Boruch Hu [nevertheless] uses an expression of appeasement [i.e.
"Speak to bnei Yisroel . . . " -- Moshe Rabbenu
was not told to command them to take terumo but to speak to
them so that they would then go and take the terumo themselves,
and this therefore denotes conciliatory speech] as the posuk (Yeshaya
40:2) says, "Speak to the heart of [the inhabitants of] Yerushalayim,"
[where the command "speak" also refers to words of appeasement
and conciliation], then what [can we imagine] will be the fate of
the Nations, who oppress Yisroel and take their money away from them
against their will? For whoever takes [another's] money, is like he
has murdered him, as the posuk (Yoel 4:19) says, "From
the injustice [monetary] of bnei Yehuda, who spill the blood
of the innocent in their land [i.e. taking their money is equated
with spilling their blood]."
Chazal compare HaKodosh Boruch Hu's request to bnei Yisroel
to give the half shekel, for which He found it necessary to
appease them, with the destruction of Yerushalayim, where He commanded
the novi, "Speak to the heart of Yerushalayim," in
the parsha of "Comfort, comfort My people (Nachamu,
nachamu ami)." Just as comforting was necessary after the churban,
it was also necessary when the mishkan was to be made. The
corresponding "sorrow" was the loss of money that building
the mishkan involved, even though the mishkan's sole
purpose was to sustain bnei Yisroel and to sanctify and purify
them!
HaKodosh Boruch Hu however, knows full well how difficult it
can be to overcome the yetzer hora -- for even He called
it ra, evil, and He therefore appeased them over their monetary
loss when He commanded them. This too is fearsome and amazing!
Bnei Yisroel had just come out of Egypt and Chazal tell us
that each one of them had eighty Libyan donkeys loaded with gold and
silver. They possessed such wealth, yet they had to be comforted about
giving up half a shekel . . . see how attached a person is
to his purse when it comes to parting from his money!
And when bnei Yisroel had the feeling that giving the half
shekel was for their own benefit, in order to sanctify them
-- as the posuk (Shemos 25:8) says, "And they shall
make for Me a mikdash and I will dwell among them" --
then they gave voluntarily, with willing hearts and with love for
Hashem. They went on taking from their gold and silver to the point
where the Torah tells us that, "The work [they had done in preparation]
was enough for all the work [that needed to be done] with more leftover"
(Shemos 36:7), and other pesukim in parshas Vayakhel
which speak about the generosity of bnei Yisroel.
It is related that the Chofetz Chaim zt'l, went to collect
firewood for the poor of his town at the height of a winter snowstorm,
because there were people sitting in their homes freezing from the
cold who had no money to buy wood. As he went from house to house
collecting, the Chofetz Chaim arrived at the home of a certain miserly
Jew, whom he also intended to approach for a donation. He banged on
the man's door, and when the man opened up, the Chofetz Chaim continued
standing outside, while the door remained open. The man begged him
to come in so that he could close the door and stop the cold from
entering but the Chofetz Chaim told him, "I want the two of us
to feel the cold in our bones -- that is how the poor feel all
the time, day and night, because they have no wood to burn. That way
you'll really feel their pain and you'll donate some wood for them
. . . "
A Father's Love
The following occurred to me, based upon the medrash (Shemos Rabba
parsha 30:10), "Rabbi Acha said, HaKodosh Boruch Hu
wanted to give them [the generation of the flood, mentioned earlier
by the Medrash] four things: Torah, suffering, the sacrifices
and prayer, but they did not want them, as the posuk (Iyov 21:14-15)
says, `And they said to G-d, "Turn (sur) away from us,"
this refers to suffering (yissurim) -- "and we do not
desire knowledge of Your ways," this refers to Torah -- "and
what is the A- mighty that we should serve Him?" this refers to
the sacrifices -- "and what will be gained if we entreat Him?"
this refers to prayer.'
"HaKodosh Boruch Hu said to them, `What is the cause of
your being lost from the evening of this world and from the morning
of the next? It is because you did not accept the Torah, which contains
judgment, as the posuk (Iyov 4:20) says, "From morning
to evening they will be smashed." Why? because -- "without
mesim, putting, placing. (Here this means "without taking
to heart" but it can also allude to the mishpotim, which
Hashem told Moshe Rabbenu to "place" before us, in which case
the posuk is saying that they are without the Torah's laws),
they will be lost forever."
We can explain that it was bnei Yisroel who accepted these
four things, instead of the generation of the flood. They accepted
the first thing, suffering, by giving the half shekel. This
can certainly be regarded as suffering for we have seen that on account
of this "suffering," HaKodosh Boruch Hu comforted them,
using a similar expression to the one used in comforting Yerushalayim
after the churban.
Chazal also said, "To what [degree of distress] can the term suffering
be applied? To anyone who puts his hand into his purse in order to
take out three coins, and takes out four." The gemora there
goes on to ask, "Why should such [a minor] matter be considered
suffering? Because anyone who goes for forty days without [experiencing
any] suffering should fear that he has received his world -- i.e.
all his spiritual reward in this world (Rashi)." Here, where bnei
Yisroel gave the half shekel from their own pockets, it
can certainly be considered as suffering which they accepted, as opposed
to the generation of the flood who did not.
I am reminded of a story concerning HaRav Yisroel Salanter zt'l,
(yahrtzeit 25 Shvat) which is related to this topic. Reb Yisroel
once heard the people whispering to one another that a princess, the
wife of the poritz, was staying in the town. It was said that
the princess had an only child, a son, whom she would indulge in all
kinds of unheard-of pleasures, for example, she would sprinkle sugar
over where he was going to place his feet, so that he would not have
to tread on the hard ground. Out of the mother's great love for her
only child, she bought him all kinds of toys, treats and delicacies.
Reb Yisroel told his informants that he was interested in visiting
the princess and witnessing how she behaved towards her child. He
came to her house and saw all the child's games and pleasures and
he asked the princess how much she would be willing to give her son,
so that he would never experience any distress whatsoever. She answered
that she would even be willing to give him all her property. Reb Yisroel
then asked her if she saw that her son was distressed because he had
wanted to take a handkerchief out of his right pocket and had only
found it in his left, how would she go about removing such a source
of distress. To this she responded, "Is that called distress?"
After leaving the princess' house Reb Yisroel returned to the people
who had told him about her and said to them, "Let's think for
a moment. You told me that the princess has unlimited love for her
son. I asked her whether she would feel any distress when her son
was upset at not finding his handkerchief where he thought it was,
and she answered, "Is that distress?" On the other hand, lehavdil
a million times, see how great HaKodosh Boruch Hu's love for
Klal Yisroel is. When a single Jew is experiencing distress,
HaKodosh Boruch Hu says, "Woe is My arm, woe is My head,"
and Chazal tell us that "distress" even includes taking the
wrong number of coins from one's purse. Even that is called suffering!
"And in His unbounded love for Klal Yisroel, HaKodosh Boruch
Hu suffers from every situation where we suffer, whereas this gentile
woman, who says that she loves her son to the point of sacrificing
everything for him, said that there is no suffering involved in looking
in the wrong pocket for something!" It is fearsome and amazing
to consider how great Hashem's love for us is!
The Stature of Royalty
To return to the four things which the generation of the flood refused.
The second thing is the sacrificial service, which bnei Yisroel
accepted, as the posuk says, "And they shall make a mikdash
for Me," where sacrifices will be brought. The third thing too,
Torah, concerning which the generation of the flood said, "and
we do not want to know Your ways," whereas Klal Yisroel's
acceptance of the Torah is especially prominent in this week's parsha,
as the Torah commands, "And they shall make an Oron for
Me from shittim wood," where the luchos were placed,
upon which Torah and mitzvos were written. Thus was fulfilled the
posuk (Mishlei 8:15) "in Me Kings will rule," for "Who
are the kings? The rabbonon" (Gittin 62). Through Torah,
talmidei chachomim attain the level of royalty.
I will tell you a story about a great talmid chochom, the Rov
of Tchebin zt'l, who spent his final years living in Yerushalayim's
Sha'arei Chesed neighborhood. The Tchebiner Rov was one of the great
geonim of Galicia of the previous generation, and he was fluent
in every area of Torah. It is said that when he was exiled by the
Communists to Bucharia, he worked as a shepherd. There were no seforim
available so he copied the entire Shas from memory.
When he came to Eretz Yisroel, they examined his manuscript and found
just two mistakes in Rashi! (I cannot take responsibility for the
accuracy of this story but this is what I was told.)
The following story however, is one which I heard from the Rov's attendant,
who had the fortune of serving him for a number of years. This gabbai
was once helping the Rov put on his coat when the latter suddenly
began to cry out in pain. It turned out that a pin that was sticking
out of the coat had pricked the rav. When the gabbai saw the
pin, he also cried out, "Oi! I'll never get out of Gehennom
for having hurt the Rov!"
The Tchebiner Rov told him, "Don't worry, I'll take you out of
Gehennom!"
Many years later, when the Rov fell sick in his final years, he summoned
the gabbai and said, "Do you remember my promise to take
you out of Gehennom? Try and make sure that I won't have any
great difficulty in doing so!" It is amazing to see how the Rov
did not utter a single idle syllable -- everything he said had
a purpose -- to the point that he remembered something he'd said
many years earlier.
Means of Instruction
The medrash (Bamidbor Rabbah, parshas Mattos 22:7), tells us
that, " . . . three gifts were created in the world. If a man
merits one of them, he thereby obtains all the precious things of
the world. If he attains wisdom, he attains everything; if he attains
might, he attains everything; if he attains wealth, he attains everything.
When is this? When these gifts come to him from Heaven, and they come
because of the Torah. The wealth and the might of flesh and blood,
however, is nothing, as Shlomo Hamelech said (Koheles 9:11),
"I recanted and in observing life saw that the light-footed did
not take the race [their swiftness did not stand by them], nor the
mighty the battle [their strength did not stand by them], also that
the wise did not have bread or the men of understanding wealth . .
. [i.e. they were unable to rely on their gifts]."
The message which this medrash wishes to convey -- that
when a man attains wealth he also attains every other blessing, so
long as his wealth comes to him from Heaven, because of the Torah
-- is not so easily understood. Is there such a thing as wealth
that chas vesholom does not come from Heaven? And what is meant
by "coming because of Torah"?
By "coming from Heaven" the Medrash is speaking from the viewpoint
of the man who attains the gift. He must realize the source of what
he has been given, and not attribute it to his own power and strength,
which amounts to actual idolatry R'l -- "For He is the
One who gives you the power to attain . . . " (Devorim 8:18).
Everything comes from HaKodosh Boruch Hu. Your gift was given
to you for you to recognize where it comes from: not through your
own power and strength but through Hashem's direct providence. If,
upon attaining wealth, a man recognizes this, then he has truly attained
everything thereby, as the Medrash says, for there is no greater
attainment than the awareness that everything comes from Heaven. In
this way, man gains the knowledge of Hashem and trusts in Him and
His direct providence.
The story is told that in a certain city, a group of men was once
sitting and drinking all the way through the night of Purim. One of
the group was a wealthy man, who began to speak words of heresy R'l,
saying, "If HaKodosh Boruch Hu were to take away from me
the buildings which I have bought, I would still remain the owner
of a number of estates . . . and if He were to take those away chas
vesholom, I would still have millions left in the bank . . . "
I don't even want to repeat all the things he said, which only served
to display his lack of faith. Under intoxication, he revealed what
he really believed, that all his wealth was attributable to his own
powers R'l.
When the time arrived for shacharis, the man was still under
the influence of the wine and instead of going into the beis haknesses,
he entered the Christian church which stood opposite it. The priest
saw that man wearing his tallis and tefillin, and asked
him whether he had come to mock them. The priest then shut the man
in a room, telling him that only if he accepted the Christian religion
would he be freed and if not, he would be burned in the town square.
Well, the man was terror stricken and he came to his senses. He certainly
didn't want to sink so low as to apostatize R'l. He explained
that he was a wealthy man and begged the priest to set him free in
exchange for half his property but the priest would not agree to this.
The man then offered him almost all his property, leaving over for
himself just enough to live on. The priest would not give in however,
unless he received every penny of the man's property, without him
keeping so much as a needle for himself. Well, what won't a person
give up in order to remain alive? The man agreed and signed on a document
alongside the priest's official seal and he was then released.
He ran to the rav of the city and, weeping profusely, he told him
the whole dreadful story. The rav responded that this was a punishment
from Heaven for the way he had spoken on Purim night, when he declared
that he wasn't afraid of ever being destitute because whatever he
lost, he would always have plenty left. Heaven was showing him that
in a single moment, he could lose absolutely everything R'l,
retaining nothing for himself. Then the rav added, "It's true
that Heaven has shown you that you erred in speaking this way, yet
you can still repent. The Rambam writes that `Nothing stands in the
way of teshuvah.' "
Although it was Purim, the rav allowed him to say the viduy,
and the man began: "Oshamnu . . . " When he reached,
"We have spoken slander," he wept and repented completely.
While he was saying viduy, the fire alarm sounded. A blaze
had broken out in the church and both the bill of transfer and the
priest went up in flames. The man's wealth remained intact! Of course,
there was great rejoicing among the Jews over his salvation and the
man then properly understood how it is that attaining wealth enables
one to attain everything, so long as one recognizes that everything
is a gift from Heaven! Whoever contemplates this story will see how
amazing it is.
Taking and Losing
The medrash continues, pointing out that when these gifts are
not recognized as coming from Heaven, they will ultimately cease and
it goes on to list pairs of individuals upon whom Heaven bestowed
extraordinary gifts, all of whom nevertheless met bitter ends despite
their advantages. "Our teachers taught: there were two men of
wisdom in the world, one from Yisroel and one from the nations. Achitofel
. . . and Bilaam . . . and they both disappeared from the world; there
were also two strong men . . . Shimshon . . . and Golyas and they
both disappeared . . . ; there were also two wealthy men . . . Korach
. . . and Homon and they both disappeared from the world. Why? Because
their gifts were not [acknowledged as coming] from Heaven, instead
they grabbed them for themselves."
What does the medrash mean by saying that they grabbed these
gifts? Again, is it within man's power to grab something by himself
[unless Hashem wishes him to have it]?
The explanation is as above. A man who has been granted wealth has
to know that HaKodosh Boruch Hu has appointed him a guardian
over this money, so that he should use it for tzedokoh and
for supporting Torah. The correct outlook is that one is merely looking
after a deposit. This was not the case with the men mentioned by the
medrash. They "grabbed" their gifts for themselves.
With this in mind, we can understand what Chazal meant when they said
that, "The money of righteous men is more precious to them than
their own bodies because they do not put their hands out to rob."
Why only mention tzaddikim? Money is precious to all men.
I once heard a plumber talking. He was an elderly man who had fallen
sick R'l. He told me, "All my life I worked hard and abused
my body, working day and night in order to make money. Now, when I
no longer have the strength to work, I'm paying all my money out for
the sake of my health, running every day to doctors."
In other words, when this man was young, he sacrificed his health
for the sake of money and later in life, he was forced to sacrifice
his money for the sake of his health. Most people are like this, so
why only mention that money is precious to tzaddikim?
The difference between the former and the latter however is that while
ordinary people love [any and all] money, even that which belongs
to others, it is their own money that is precious to tzaddikim,
for it has come to them in a permitted way, through Torah. They know
that they only have the status of guardians. If a guardian is negligent
with a single penny that was entrusted to him, he breaks his conditions.
The tzaddik therefore looks very carefully after what has been
entrusted to him and this is the meaning of the reason, "because
they do not put their hands out to rob." The gaon HaRav
Isaac Sher zt'l, said that this means not only refraining from
outright robbery but that even when there is a slight doubt of a sum
of money's belonging to someone else, a tzaddik will not take
it.
It is related that a very fine esrog was once brought to the
Chofetz Chaim zt'l, who examined at it and pronounced it to
be outstandingly beautiful. He then asked how much the esrog
had cost and he was told that it had cost forty rubles. The Chofetz
Chaim was taken aback and said that while the esrog was certainly
beautiful, who knew whether the forty rubles received for it were
beautiful and whether they were kosher money? That is
the extent to which tzaddikim are careful with money.
HaRav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt'l, the Beis Halevi,
remarked once that though he had been a rov for twenty-five years
and had many shailos directed to him, he had not yet been asked
by anyone whether the ruble in their pocket had been earned honestly.
Unfortunately, there are people who are extremely scrupulous about
mitzva observance, yet when it comes to money, they begin relying
upon all kinds of leniencies, not concerning themselves with whether
they might be cutting off someone else's source of livelihood or damaging
him in some other way. Let these few words suffice for this topic!
The posuk says, "From the injustice of bnei Yehuda,
who spill innocent blood in Yerushalayim." Chomos, injustice,
is distinct from gezel, robbery. Whereas with the former, the
perpetrator does make payment for the article, the owner must accept
the money even against his will, while in the latter case, he simply
takes, without paying at all. Though there may seem to be less wrong
in the former case, the posuk still equates it with the spilling
of innocent blood R'l, may Hashem preserve us!
The Deal is Off!
I will now relate a story that illustrates how tzaddikim refrain
from even the slightest trace of taking what is not rightfully theirs.
In Petach Tikvah there lived one of the thirty-six hidden tzaddikim
(it was the Chazon Ish who designated him as such). His name was HaRav
Elya Dushnitzer zt'l, and he served as mashgiach in
the Lomza Yeshiva. Reb Elya's son owned an orchard, which he had received
as his dowry when he married in Petach Tikvah. Those were very hard
times for orchard owners and the cost of maintaining the orchard was
greater than its income. Reb Osher -- Reb Elya's son - - was finding
it very hard to keep the orchard. Reb Elya had pity on his son and
with the small amount of capital that he possessed, he bought the
orchard from Reb Osher, who left for America.
Reb Elya was left with the orchard and the constant expenses of its
upkeep. He found the financial burden extremely hard to bear and the
debts which he had to incur because of the orchard kept on growing.
Reb Elya worried all the time. "Nobody knows when his time to
ascend to the world of truth will come," he would say, "and
if one leaves debts to others behind, one takes the sin of robbery
with. Woe is me! What shall I do?"
He asked that Tehillim be said twice a week in the yeshiva,
for him to find a purchaser to whom he could sell the orchard and
pay his debts. Several years passed like this.
An avreich who was an alumnus of the yeshiva had married and,
in search of a means of livelihood, had begun to deal in real estate
in Yerushalayim. One day, he was approached by a Jew who had come
from America who asked him to help him find an orchard that he could
buy. The avreich immediately thought, "Reb Elya has an
orchard which he wants to sell and this Jew is looking for one to
buy. Here is an opportunity to help them both and I will also make
something on the deal."
He immediately travelled to Petach Tikvah and brought Reb Elya back
with him to Yerushalayim. He called his client and the three of them
took a taxi to Tel Aviv, for the orchard was situated in one of its
suburbs. As they sat in the taxi, Reb Elya began telling the prospective
buyer about the orchard, enumerating all its drawbacks, and sounding
as though he was trying to dissuade the man from buying it. He did
this for a simple reason. Were he not to have made the man aware of
any shortcomings, it would be likely that he would transgress the
Torah's prohibition against tricking another in business. The first
step in discussing the deal was therefore to specify the orchard's
weak points.
"Listen Reb Yid," Reb Elya said. "Chazal say that someone
who is interested in throwing away his money should hire workers and
not remain with them. If you yourself will not be able to be in the
orchard when it is being worked, then it is a waste of your money
to buy it. There is a tree in one place which is rotting while another
has a heap of stones around it which need to be cleared . . . "
Reb Elya went on, enumerating a long list of faults. The agent was
squirming as he listened. What was the mashgiach trying to
do? For years, he had been trying to sell the orchard and now that
he finally had a customer, he was describing it in a way that would
surely put the man off completely!
In the meantime they arrived and Reb Elya said, "Hearing doesn't
compare to seeing. I have only told you about the orchard but now
I can actually show you it. Here is the tree that I told you is rotting
. . . here is the one with the stones . . . "
As they were conversing the American Jew took a small bottle from
his pocket and swallowed something from it. "What is that?"
Reb Elya asked him. The Jew answered that it was a medicine which
his doctor has prescribed for him because of his heart condition.
"If you suffer from a heart condition then Hashem should send
you a complete recovery, but I will not sell you the orchard. I told
you earlier how important it is for you to be here and if you suffer
from your heart, you won't be able to . . . "
The man lost his patience and turning to Reb Elya he said, "If
I want to buy the orchard, what do you care?"
"I beg your pardon," Reb Elya responded. "You don't understand
how much work needs to be done here and I do not want there to be
any doubt of my having deceived you chas vesholom, and I won't
sell it to you."
And what became of the orchard? Several years later I happened to
be in Tel Aviv and I met Reb Elya near the Central Bus Station. He
said that he had something to ask of me. A friend of mine, Rabbi Ploni
(who had also learned in the yeshiva and had been greatly influenced
by our rebbe) had opened a talmud Torah and some time
ago, Reb Elya had asked him to gather his talmidim after their
learning hours on one or two days, and say Tehillim for five
minutes, so that he would succeed in selling the orchard. Apparently,
Rabbi Ploni was so busy that he had forgotten about it and the mashgiach
requested that I go and remind him.
I asked Reb Elya how he knew that Rabbi Ploni had forgotten and he
said, "Because I haven't sold the orchard yet." (Anyone with
a heart will learn mussar and understanding from our rebbe's
tangible emunah).
When I returned to Yerushalayim I hurried to meet Rabbi Ploni. It
was midday and I met him in the middle of the street, hurrying on
his way to the bank. I stopped him and told him our rebbe's
request. He clutched his head and said, "Yes, I forgot about it!
I am very sorry. I won't go to the bank now but to the talmud
Torah. I'll gather the talmidim to say Tehillim."
Approximately a week later, Reb Elya sold the orchard!
It is about tzaddikim like these that Chazal say "their
money is more precious to them than their own bodies," as we have
explained!
The Power of One Mitzva
I will tell you a story that my son told me. My son used to deliver
a shiur to some householders and after the shiur, they
would learn mussar. One of the regular participants used to
come almost every night from Bayit Vegan to Beis Yisroel for the shiur.
Once, when my son had been telling the men about the righteousness
of Reb Elya Dushnitzer, this man said that he had known Reb Elya and
that he owed him an immense debt of gratitude.
As a boy of fifteen, the man said, he had been living in Petach Tikvah
and one erev Yom Kippur, he had gone out riding on his bicycle.
Towards evening, he saw Reb Elya Dushnitzer entering an outhouse,
waiting there for a time, then coming out and entering the next one.
(At that time, such facilities were built outside and were arranged
in rows, one next to the other.)
"I asked Reb Elya why he was going from one outhouse to another
and with his gentle way he told me, "You know that on Yom Kippur,
many people come to pray in the yeshiva and on Yom Kippur it's forbidden
to carry toilet paper, so I'm tearing sheets of paper and preparing
them for the people."
"I was amazed to see that an elderly and distinguished man was
busy on erev Yom Kippur with preparing toilet paper for strangers,
while everyone else was busy with their pre<196>fast meals. I thought
about the implications of there being such a righteous man and I decided,
"He tears papers and I will tear my heart and do complete repentance!"
I discarded my bike and went to join the bnei yeshiva in their
prayers."
May his merit protect us and all of Klal Yisroel!
