Torah Thoughts on Parshas Terumah by Rabbi Jeremy Bekritsky
"וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵאמֹר: דַבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת כׇּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְבֶנוּ לִבּוֹ תִּקְחוּ אֶת תְּרוּמָתִי" שְׁמוֹת כ''ה:א'-ב'
“And God spoke to Moshe, saying: ‘Speak to Bnei Yisrael, and they shall take to Me a portion; from every man whose heart will motivate him, you shall take My portion.’” Shemos 25:1-2
In reviewing the commentaries on these verses, two readings emerge. Simply read, there is only one subject of Moshe’s directive – those who will be giving the Terumah. Much Torah has been said about the unique use of the word "וְיִקְחוּ", literally translated as “and they shall take”, to express what we understand to be “and they shall give”.
The Sforno and the Netziv (in his commentary on Chumash-Ha’amek Davar) understand this verse a bit differently. They translate "וְיִקְחוּ" literally, and understand that there are two subjects in the pasuk. The first subjects are the treasurers or administrators responsible for collecting the Terumah. It is they who “take” the donations. The second subjects are the generous donors of the Terumah, and it is they who “give”. According to this reading, the translation is as follows:
“And God spoke to Moshe to say: Speak to the Children of Israel (namely the treasurers who will be responsible for administering the collection) that they shall take for Me a Terumah. From whom should they take a Terumah? From whoever’s heart is motivated by generosity to give, they (these collectors) should take My Terumah.”
Based on this, the Netziv asks a question that first requires familiarity with a question from Rashi. Rashi asks regarding the words "וְיִקְחוּ לִי", as explained by the Sifsei Chachamim, how it is that we can give anything to Hashem. Is not everything in this world His? Rashi answers that the command is not to give anything to Hashem. Rather, the command is that Bnei Yisrael were commanded to give (or take) for the sake of Hashem – L’shem Shamayim.
The Netziv explains that there were two phases of giving – one compulsory and one voluntary. For the compulsory part, the collectors had to have intent L’Shem Shamayim to properly ensure the sanctity of the collection. However, for the voluntary donations, the sanctity was imbued by the intent of the people donating.
I would like to suggest that perhaps we can answer less technically to his question. We, in fact, need the element of “lishmah” from both the administrators and the donators? In the ideal Jewish institution, the Mishkan, we need the administrators, executives, and leaders to be perfectly L’Shem Shamayim, as well as those participating and contributing to the institution. A classic example of the breakdown of this is by the sons of Eli HaKohen, Chafni and Pinchas, in Sefer Shmuel. There, the navi calls them "בְּנֵי בְלִיָעַל", and the commentaries note that they specifically lacked serving in their leadership roles L’Shem Shamayim. The navi describes how they would abuse those giving korbanos by taking more than their allotted portion of the Korban and taking it before the prescribed time. This, among other flaws of Bnei Yisrael at that time, resulted in the Aron Kodesh being captured by the Plishtim – an awful breach in the holy institution that was the Mishkan.
A lesson emerges from this that the success of all our communal institutions: shuls, schools, yeshivos, tzedakos, gemachs, etc., is dependent on both the leaders and participants having intent L’Shem Shamayim. Hopefully, when this is achieved, all of our institutions will be blessed with the brachah that Moshe Rabbeinu says about the Mishkan – "וִיהִי נֹעַם ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָה עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנֵהוּ" – “And may the beauty of God, our Lord, be upon us, and may You firmly establish the work of our hands upon us. And may you firmly establish the work of our hands.”
Rabbi Jeremy Bekritsky graduated from Fasman Yeshiva High School in 2004. He learned in Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh, HTC, and Lander’s Beis Midrash L’Talmud, where he received Semichah. He holds a degree in biomedical engineering from the City College of New York and works in the medical device manufacturing industry. Rabbi Bekritsky and his family currently reside in Waterbury, CT.
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