An interesting thing happens as siblings choose which items to take from the home of a deceased parent; they are simultaneously giving and taking. When we say to another, “Here, take this Kiddush cup,” we are giving to each other, but there is an assumed taking in the process; by assuming those rights, we are taking ownership of my mother’s possessions. It’s fascinating to observe that all of us are more focused on the sharing, the giving, than the taking. I found it difficult to take anything other than pictures. One sister insisted that I take something, which I did, and, although I look at the item and feel connected to my parents, I still feel as if I took something away. Taking is harder for us than is giving.

Which leads me to the famous question on this week’s portion: Why does the verse instruct Moshe to, “Take a portion for Me,” rather than “give” to Me? There are many wonderful and enriching answers, but as I experienced the freedom to take to give even while having difficulty taking for myself, I realized that there is a skill to taking.

The verse is telling us that it is in the taking from my possessions that the item becomes holy. It does not become holy when given, but when taken. A coin separated for charity is holy when set aside for charity, even before it is given to a person or organization. When I choose to take time to pray, the time becomes holy before I begin praying.

The Chassidic Masters loved to teach that when the verse tells us, “When you lend money to My people, to the poor person who is with you (Exodus 22:24),” that the proper way to read the verse is, “When you lend money to the poor, the money remains with you forever,” it becomes yours only when you take it to lend to the needy.

This is similar to the story in the Talmud of Munbaz, “Our Rabbis taught: It is related of King Munbaz that he dissipated all his own hoards and the hoards of his fathers in years of scarcity (by giving it all away to the poor). His brothers and his father’s household came in a deputation to him and said to him, ‘Your father saved money and added to the treasures of his fathers, and you are squandering them.’ He replied: ‘My fathers stored up below and I am storing above, as it says, ‘Truth springs out of the earth and righteousness looks down from heaven.’ My fathers stored in a place which can be tampered with, but I have stored in a place which cannot be tampered with, as it says, ‘Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.’ My fathers stored something which produces no fruits, but I have stored something which does produce fruits (Bava Batra 11a).”

The power is not in the giving but by taking it and setting out to use it for good. This is the idea of making a blessing before we eat; it is our taking the food, and by reciting a blessing we are honoring the taking of the food to make a blessing as holy, even before we eat.

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Rav was careful to fulfill the Biblical directive of “Dei Machsoro” – the community must provide for the specific needs of each poor person. That is until one day…

One day, a poor person knocked on the great Rabbi’s door and asked for some food and wine. He was obviously a poor man without much, and Rav’s heart went out to the pitiful beggar. Mindful of his obligation, Rav asked the poor man to what was he accustomed to eat.

The dirty man raised his broken body and his threadbare clothes with great dignity and requested some fine fatted fowl and some valuable aged wine.

Rav, was taken aback. “Is that not quite a demand that you are making on the community?

“No. Not at all,” replied the distinguished drifter. “I am not asking that you spend a penny of your money.”

“I see,” said the intrigued rabbi. “And how to you expect me to pay for your food if not with my money.”

“It isn’t your money. It’s God’s! The verse even says, ‘The eyes of all look to you (plural) and you give them, – plural again – their bread – plural again – in its time – singular.’ Why does the verse switch to the singular? Because God prepares what is necessary for each individual. I am not asking for any of your food, but what is mine.”

At that moment, Rav’s sister, whom he had not seen in two decades, arrived for a surprise visit bearing a gift of some fine fatted fowl and some valuable aged wine. The poor man was served his requested meal, and Rav was served an important lesson about charity.

Whose food was it? Whose money is it?

“Veyikchu Li Terumah” – “Collect Terumah for Me” –“ Make it Mine”, says God, Mine, not yours. Make it Mine by acknowledging that I will direct each penny to its proper place. Make it Mine and I will direct your form of some fine fatted fowl and some valuable aged wine to you.

Was this not the message of the Mishkan: That God will take our efforts, whether an animal, fowl or flour offering, incense, donations etc. etc. and transform them by directing them to repair, build and create worlds?

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The last communal building project had not turned out very well. It was, of course, the Tower of Babel. It too began with a unified community. It was also an attempt by limited beings to achieve great heights. When we examine the story closely we will discover something strange: they decided to make bricks before they even thought of building a tower. It was as if their goal was to manufacture bricks and then they had to decide what to do with them. Their focus was on their creativity. They were searching for independence of God. They did not want to relay on the One Who could one day decide again to flood the world. Their bricks; the first use of bricks in the Bible, were a statement to God that they were not using His stones and rocks to build whatever they wanted.

Moshe does not begin with the creative instructions how to build the structure or manufacture the vessels. He began by instructing the people to collect what they already had; their gold, their silver, their precious stones, whatever they had and dedicate them to God.

Moshe began the process of building the Mishkan, and it surely was a process, by teaching the people that one can succeed in such great endeavors by appreciating the potential of the things he or she already possesses. We do not need to look for what we need. We do not need to wonder if we have the creative gifts to build a House for God. We simply must appreciate the potential of the things we already have.

And, there’s more…

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How interesting! The commandment is not to “separate Terumah”, but a communal obligation to collect Terumah. “And they shall collect Terumah.”

Moshe descended from his 40-day time capsule in the Highest Heavens. He brought a gift with him; the Mishkan. The people were empowered by God to build a house for him. Moshe had clear and detailed instructions from God. Each detail was designed to correspond to the secrets Moshe had seen in Heaven. Only Moshe knew the plans. Only Moshe was granted the gift of seeing a “Model of Fire” of each part of the structure, each vessel, each piece of cloth and each piece of clothing.

What was his first job? What was the first step Moshe had to take in introducing the Mishkan, in describing this heavenly gift and unsurpassed opportunity?

To have the community establish a fund! No speeches. No lectures. No television mini-series describing the building. No campaign pamphlets.

Moshe’s job was to teach the nation that the community began by establishing a Terumah Committee.

The first step was for the community to function as a community. The first goal was to connect with each other. To accept mutual responsibility. To design a structure. To lay the foundation on which everything else would come.

The Mishkan – The Tabernacle – did not begin with the building, or even with the collected gold, silver and more. The House of God, the House for God built by the people began when they accepted to function as a community.

And there’s more…

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Phaedrus (Plato) speaks of “Four Kinds of Divine Madness”: Socrates begins by discussing madness. Madness given as a gift of the “god” provides us with some of the best things we have, and some of the most difficult.

There are, in fact, four kinds of divine madness:

1. From Apollo, the gift of prophecy;

2. From Dionysus, the mystic rites and relief from present hardship;

3. From the Muses, poetry;

4. From Aphrodite, love.

It is Dionysus’ gift, the madness of mystic rites, that most frightens me. History is chock full of stories of people lost in their mystic rites. Idol worship often led to uncontrolled dangerous passions. Religions spawn fiery-eyed adherents willing to plunder, rape and murder, in the name of God.

I believe that this is why the Altar was just outside the Sanctuary of the Mishkan and Temple. We tread a fine line even when we slaughter an animal as an offering. The Altar remains just outside, in order to maintain the peace and calm of the Sanctuary and protect it from the madness of mystic rites.

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“I am consumed by a more general sense of dread, of imprisonment within the dreary world of work and home,” he said in describing why he wanted to talk.

We can travel the world, share fascinating experiences, explore the countless avenues of life and still feel imprisoned by our circumstances, and more so, by ourselves.

I asked the young man if he would feel free if he could hop on a spaceship and visit other planets. “I would love to do it, but, at most, it would be an escape. I want to feel free of the walls around me, here, without having to run away.”

The Mishkan recreated the boundaries of Sinai. It was at the center of the camp, at its deepest point inside. Its courtyard was the first boundary. The Sanctuary was the second boundary, and the Holy of Holies, the third and innermost boundary. All the boundaries were inside. They were not walls that enclosed or imprisoned us. The boundaries were not outside the camp, keeping us in. The only walls on the outside were clouds of protection, and certainly not of containment.

We are so accustomed to perceiving the outer boundaries of our existence, and they can frustrate us as they do for the man of our story. Yet, the Mishkan focused us on the boundaries within, it zoomed our vision in toward the center of the camp and our existence, away from boundaries that imprison.

We could cross the first boundary by achieving higher spiritual purity. Most of us could never cross the second boundary into the Sanctuary, but even those who did, the Kohanim, could do only for us. Only Moshe and Aharon could cross the third boundary into the Holy of Holies, but they too, entered as our representatives, not as individuals.

When we turn our gaze from the outer boundaries, walls of clouds, toward our inner boundaries, we realize that they are all boundaries that we can cross; they never hold us back. (Crossing Boundaries)

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I recently read a story that made me think of the Mishkan:

A soldier’s little girl, whose father was being moved to a distant post, was sitting at the airport among her family’s meager belongings.

The girl was sleepy. She leaned against the packs and duffel bags.

A lady came by, stopped, and patted her on the head.

“Poor child,” she said. “You haven’t got a home.”

The child looked up in surprise.

“But we do have a home,” she said. “We just don’t have a house to put it in.”

(“have a little faith” by Mitch Albom, page 111.)

There are times when the verse describes the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, as a house, but there are also times when God says, “Beiti,” “My Home.”

Perhaps part of the Mishkan’s challenge was to ask us whether we perceived it as a house or a home.

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My father zt”l always told me that until I understood what motivated some Japanese during WWII to slice open their stomachs in order to protect their pictures of Emperor Hirohito, would I understand what it means to relate to God as king.

I tasted the experience in the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Only royalty could see the art. There is a hallway one must enter as he approaches the main throne room that serves, even now, to intimidate anyone who passes through it walls. The sound of your footsteps echoes and bounces around you, increasing in volume as you approach the Throne room. The armor displays are intimidating. And then, one enters the throne room. The floor and the ceiling match to teach that the Czars power on earth matches God’s Power in Heaven, and that his reign is Divinely granted and blessed. The room, the rhyme and design, were my first true taste of the greatness of a king.

When Moshe taught Betzalel how to build the Altar, he did it by describing the Altar in Heaven. Moshe explained exactly what happened on the Altar – The Mizbei’ach – in the Hevenly Temple as Betzalel and his workers listened intently, mesmerized, hypnotized. Moshe brought the angel Gavriel to life as he told his story. “I know,” he said. “I saw it. I was there.”

The people who lovingly built, passionately shaped, and devotedly layered the Mizbei’ach, were not only building an altar, they were building the Heavenly Altar so powerfully described by Moses to them.

This is what the Midrashim and Zohars mean when they speak of God observing the Mitzvot of the Torah, or of God studying Torah with us. The Sages want us to give Tzedaka the way “they” give Tzedaka in Heaven. They want us to not simply open a book and study Torah, they want us to picture the Almighty sitting in the Yeshiva in Gan Eden, studying Torah, and then to desire to study with the same passion and clarity.

The Sages want us to imagine what Shabbat is like in heaven and to then, not simply observe the Shabbat, but to make a Shabbat Table that is just like God’s Table in Heaven. To sing as the angels sing at the heavenly Shabbat Table. To discuss important ideas as they do at the table at which God is sitting at the head. Ours is not just Shabbat, it can be the replica of God’s Shabbat shared with His angels.

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Perhaps I was wrong about the plaques. I would definitely hate seeing plaques in the Third Temple, although if one of you, my dear friends, wants to dedicate the Weinberg Holy of Holies, or even better, the Weinberg Foundation Stone, I will be honored! Embarrassed, but honored. Humble, of course, but honored. The correct spelling is W-E-I-N-B-E-R-G.

It would be tacky and distasteful, but in an important way, it wouldn’t make a difference.

“V’ asu li Mikdash, vishachanto bisocham” “Make a Sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell inside of them.” God does not say that He will rest His Presence on the stones, wood and metal of the Tabernacle and Temple, but rather inside the hearts of all those who participate in its construction and upkeep. The Divine Presence on the walls and vessels and clothes is only a reflection of the level of the Divine Presence that rest inside the hearts of Israel.

The plaques do not belong on the walls, but inside the hearts of those who want to participate in this great endeavor. There will be a Weinberg Holy of Holies, I least I hope so, but the plaque will be in my heart if I can achieve that level of awareness of God’s Presence in my life. And there will be a Teitelbbaum Holy of Holies, and a Rosenberg Holy of Holies and a Gutmacher Ark, and a Sher Foundationstone and a Salvay Incense Altar and a Rosenberg II Menorah etc. In our hearts. Bisocham.

The sanctity of the items I dedicate in a synagogue or school or soup kitchen is only a reflection of the level of Presence in our hearts.

And there’s more…

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My cousin invited me to a Sheva Berachot celebrating his daughter’s recent marriage. My uncle, Rabbi Avraham Pincus zt”l, a truly righteous scholar, my Tante Chava z”l, one of the three greatest human beings I ever met, were there, and I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to spend time with them.

As with most such celebrations, there were numerous speeches. They all ended with the same phrase, “May they merit to build a Bayit Ne’eman, a Reliable Home, in Israel.” I didn’t want to speak, and few of the participants wanted another speech, but my uncle and aunt insisted that I speak.

I decided to begin where everyone else ended: “May they merit to build a Bayit Ne’eman in Israel. Yet, before we had a Bayit, a permanent home in the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple, we first had a tent, the Ohel Moed, which moved around from place to place. Eventually, the tent remained in a fixed place in Shiloh for 310 years, with permanent walls, but still covered as a tent. It took many years before the Tent became a House. It happens in stages. So, while I join all of the distinguished speakers in wishing the bride and groom that they succeed in building a Bayit, a permanent home, I add that they should merit to begin as an unfixed Tent, eventually achieving a sense of a permanent House and home.”

My uncle immediately rose to explain why I was wrong. “You cannot even suggest that there is anything temporary about their marriage!” He then proceeded to give a lengthy discourse on the difference between the Mishkan and the Beit Hamikdash.

Everyone was stunned. It is rare that anyone listens to the numerous speeches at such gatherings. Everyone responds with “Yasher Koach,” and then forget about what was said. Certainly, no one stands up to debate another speaker!

Uncle Avraham was a giant of righteousness and scholarship. He was the most gentle of men. No one expected his public response.

I disagreed with all he said, but chose to remain silent out of respect for the great man.

As we were all leaving the celebration, I said to him, “Uncle Avraham, your entire life has been devoted to being a Tent in which people can find Torah speaking to their particular circumstances and issues. Your wife studied with Sarah Schneirer in Poland specifically to learn how to teach American girls who were so different from their Polish contemporaries. The Holy Ark with the Luchot has a place in the Tent, in fact, even more so than in the House. The Torah is the constant, but its presentation begins and thrives in Tents, not Houses.”

“Yes, but it was your being rooted in the House of your youth that convinced you to respectfully remain silent even as I publicly challenged you.”

“But, Uncle Avraham, I always thought of the place of my youth as a tent.”

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