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HEART OF GOLD

Written by Ben Rose

So as you know in this weeks parsha we find that Hashem asks Moses and Bnei yisroel to build the Mishkan… the Sanctuary where Hashem will ‘rest his presence’ I want you to keep in mind two psukim or phrases used in this parsha!! ”Veyivku Li Terumah – Take for me a portion” (shemos 25:2) and ”the INSIDE of the ark was lined with Gold aswell as the outside!!” Remember to keep in mind both of these phrases the whole time!! So Hashem says to Moshe ”Take for me a portion”. Why does he use the word take and not say give me a portion?? We actually learn alot from this one phrase, many rabbis and the Rishonim have

commented on this one pasuk! Giving is what a person can do to look good, he may do it to make his name known or just so people can say ooh did you see how much so and so gave to the mishkan!!! Hashem didn’t want this he wanted to rest His presence in a pure and heartfelt donated Mishkan. When you have something taken from you without force you feel it a lot more and you are actually giving it with a pure heart!! Rav Sorotkin notes that a major quality of the Mishkan is that every donation was given in the most generous way with a pure and sincere heart! When Hashem says take He didnt mean He was forcefully going to take it, it means that by giving the donations and in our every day lives giving charity means that we will TAKE more from life whether that be monetarily or in other ways!! Rashi says that Motivation is important in everything that we do!! If we do every Mitzvah we get reward but if we do some Mitzvahs with the best intentions and motivations then we will TAKE more from life and in the world to come!! Rabbi soloveitchik says that money we earn isn’t ours until we have TAKEN some aside to be as donations to charity!!

What we own is temporary but good deeds are eternal!!! Remember the second thing i asked you to remember??? The gold lining was put on the inside aswell as the outside to teach that a person may preach goodness on the outside but if your good on the outside it could all just be for show, you have to have a heart of gold aswell. The gemara in Yoma 72b says that people should be on the inside what they claim to be on the inside!! The biggest and greatest jewish teachers in the world only get the name Talmid Chochom if they are known to be on the inside what they are on the inside and the practice what they preach!! Like when we daven, if we daven and just read the words but dont feel anything inside the chances are our prayers will not be answered positively, however if we really feel it and daven with kevonnoh and meaning and intent then we have a much better chance of getting our tefillah answered!!! If you read the posuk ”take for me a portion” imagine it is you who is the ”me”!!! and by giving you will be taking!!

So when you do a mitzvah or give charity, dont do it jut cos you have to, do it because you feel it and it is in your heart, and when your kind and caring, dont do it cos you have to do it cos its in your heart because you know you have a HEART OF GOLD!!!

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