Rabbi Frand on Parshas Terumah
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape #362: The
Mechitza: How High? Good Shabbos!
The Only Thing You Can Take With You Is Your Dining Room Table
The parsha begins with the first 'building campaign' in the history of the
Jewish people. "...and let them take for Me (v'yikchu li) a portion from
every man whose heart motivates him..." [Shmos 25:2]. Many of the
commentaries are troubled by the verb "v'Yikchu" [let them take]. The more
appropriate language would be "v'Yitnu" [let them give] a donation.
A number of the commentaries who discuss this choice of words arrive at
the same conclusion, namely that the Jewish viewpoint regarding giving
charity is different than the common or secular viewpoint. The common
attitude towards making a contribution is "I am 'giving'. It is my
hard-earned money. I will GIVE some of my money to charity."
However, when G-d gave the command to build a Mishkan [Tabernacle], and the
"building committee" came to collect money, it was made very clear that
nobody was really giving anything of their own. This is because a Jew is
supposed to believe that everything that he has in this world is from G-d.
This concept can be referred to as prudent stewardship. G-d has made us
custodians of His money. He has entrusted it to us. When we make a donation,
we are not giving. Rather, the charity collector is taking back that which
really belongs to G-d.
Technically, when a charity collector comes to collect money, he should not
use the expression "Can you please GIVE me a donation". Rather, he should
say, "I want to TAKE a donation" (I would not advise this from a practical
standpoint). This philosophy should make it easier for us whenever we need
to give. First of all, it is not 'ours'. Secondly, there is a famous cliche
-- and so true it is -- we can't take it with us. The only thing a person
will ever take with him from this world will be the mitzvah that he got when
he gave to charity.
There is a very powerful Rabbeinu Bechaye later in the parsha. The pasuk in
Yechezkel says, "The Mizbayach [Altar] was of wood, three cubits tall and
its length was two cubits including its corners; its surface and its sides
were of wood. He said to me, 'This is the Shulchan [Table] that is before
Hashem'" [41:22]. The pasuk begins talking about the Mizbayach and ends up
speaking about the Shulchan. Our Sages say [Brachos 25a] that this hints at
the fact that when the Bais HaMikdash [Temple] was standing, a person
achieved atonement via the Mizbayach. Now that the Bais HaMikdash is no
longer standing, a person achieves atonement via the Shulchan.
However, the question can be asked: Why does the Shulchan help more than the
Aron? When the Bais HaMikdash is no longer standing, the Shulchan that
existed in the Bais HaMikdash no longer exists either. Why is the Shulchan
better than the Aron, when we have neither of them? The intent is that one's
own dining room table provides atonement.
One's dining room table can be one's ticket to the World to Come. The
kindness that one performs around his dining room table (by inviting guests
and feeding those in need) will be the means by which a person achieves
atonement nowadays that we do not have an Mizbayach.
Rabbeinu Bechaye adds that it was the custom of pious people in France to
use the wood of their dining room table as building materials for their
own coffins. Imagine -- being buried in one's dining room table! Why? The
purpose was to teach them that they would not take a dime with them.
Nothing will escort us to the next world except the charity that we gave
during our life and the kindness that we showed towards others around our
table.
This seems to have been an accepted custom in Europe. People wanted to
take an item with them which would argue on their behalf as they
approached the Heavenly Court. I once heard from Rav Pam, that the honest
tailors in Europe used to request that they be buried with the yardstick
by which they measured material. The way to 'cheat' in the tailoring
business 200 years ago in Europe was for the tailor to take as much
material for himself as he could get away with (from the material that
their customers would bring to them to make clothing). The honest tailors,
who never used the yardstick to cheat customers, asked that the yardstick
be included in the coffin with them -- as a critical defense attorney on
their behalf, when they faced their final Judgment.
The only thing we can take with us to the next world is our dining room
table -- not the physical dining room table, but what we did with it and
around it. This is the lesson of 'taking Terumah'.
Nothing really belongs to us. In the final analysis, nothing will really
help us other than the charity that we did around our table.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Terumah are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
