The Gemara (Beitzah 15:) says, "If a person wants to guarantee his ownership over his properties, he should plant an adar [tree], as it states (Tehillim 93:4) 'ה במרום אדיר, "Hashem is mighty on high."
The Sfas Emes (Rosh Chodesh Adar) explains, "If a person wants his spiritual and material properties to remain with him, he should plant an אדר. This means he should always remember and recognize that 'ה במרום אדיר, and everything is from Hashem. With this awareness, he will succeed in everything he does.
The Meor Einayim teaches that אדר stands for דר א, the Alufo Shel Olam, the Master of the world, dwells in this world, and everything occurs through His decree.
The parashah begins with (25:2) ָהְּרוּמת לִי ְ חוּוְיִק ... "Take for Me a donation; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My donation." This collection was for the building of the Mishkan.
The miforshim ask: (1) Shouldn’t the Torah have written "Give a donation," rather than "Take a donation?" (2) The pasuk begins with giving "a donation" (תרומה) and conclude with the word "My donation" (תרומתי)! (3) Why is the contribution called "My donation"? Isn’t it the person's donation?
Ginzei Yisrael (from Rebbe Yisrael of Chortkov zt'l, year 5685) answers that when a person donates, it is really Hashem Who gives the donation. Hashem gave him money so he could give it to Tzedakah. Therefore, the pasuk says ָהְּרוּמת לִי ְ חוּוְיִק, take the donation. You are not giving; you are taking My money and giving it where I want you to.
However, the Torah warns to take donations only from those who know the money is Hashem's. If a person donates to the Mishkan and thinks he is giving his money, don't accept the donation. כָּל ֵתֵאמ ... ִׁישא, accept the donations only from those who know that it is ִיָתְּרוּמת "My contribution".
It states in Pirkei Avos (3:7) ָּהַתֶאׁש ,ֶלּוִֹּׁשמ לוֹ ֶּןת ... "Give to Him from that which is His, because you and what you own are His. As Dovid Hamelech said (Divrei Hayamim 1, 29:14) כִּי ָ ךְל ַ נּוּנָת ִָיָּדְךוּמ ַכֹּלה ְָּךִממ, 'for all is from You, and from Your hand we have given it to You.'"
When a person hits a dog with a stick, the dog will bite the stick. The dog thinks the stick is guilty and doesn't realize it can't do anything without the person wielding it. Similarly, a person feels that this person or that person did something to him, or he thinks he did something to himself, and he fails to realize that both the good and the bad, nothing can occur without Hashem.
A couple was about to finalize a shidduch for their daughter. The husband said to his wife, "We didn't tell your mother about the shidduch. She will feel honored if we tell her what we are considering." When this elderly woman was called, she immediately became involved in the shidduch. She called someone who knew the family and requested information. Then she called back to her daughter to tell her the wonderful things she heard about the family and the bachur. The joyous vort took place later that night.
The husband thought, "My mother-in-law is sure she made the shidduch, thanks to her phone call and the positive information she relayed. She doesn't know we planned to complete the shidduch tonight anyway." And then another thought entered his mind: "I also think that I made the shidduch. I don't realize it wasn't me, but it was from Hashem. Hashem made the shidduch, but He let me choose so I could think that I made the shidduch."
Generally, when someone is collecting money, he first says why there is a collection, and then he requests a donation towards this cause. Here, by the Mishkan it was in the opposite order. The parashah begins with תרומה לי ויקחו that Yidden should donate, and at the end, it states the reason for it, ועשו מקדש לי, "they shall make for Me a sanctuary."
Reb Moshe Feinstein zt'l teaches that this unusual order isn't only in the pasukim but also in the collection that occurred at that time. First, Yidden were told to donate, but they weren't told why they should donate. Afterwards, they were told that the purpose of the donation was to build the Mishkan.
Reb Moshe Feinstein explains that the order was changed so that the money would come from people who know their wealth isn't theirs and understand that their money was given to them to donate to Hashem. Reb Moshe explains that when one knows the reason for the collection, he understands the importance and feels that the donation is his, and his choice. But when he isn't told the reason for the collection, and he gives anyway because he knows that this is Hashem's will, it shows that he believes that whatever he has isn’t really his. It is Hashem's money, and if Hashem says to donate, he will do so.
The Imrei Noam (letter 20) teaches that the limbs of a human body move about and perform actions, but everyone understands that the heart is what gives them the strength to do so. Without the heart, there is no life. The limbs won't move, and there is no activity. Hashem made it that way to give us an example of a higher lesson. We think that man carries out actions when actually, it is Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Who is called the “heart of Yisrael,” as it states (Tehillim 73:26) צור לבבי, "the Rock of my heart..." Without Hashem, a person can't do anything.
The Imrei Noam writes that this is the meaning of the pasuk (25:2) ָהְּרוּמת לִי ְ חוּוְיִק, etc. The Imrei Noam says that ָהְּרוּמת refers to התרוממות, a person’s greatness, wealth, and financial success. One must realize it isn't his; instead, it is from Hashem. To prove this, consider, לִבּוֹ ֶנּוּיִדְּב ֶרֲׁשא ִׁישא כָּל ֵתֵאמ, everything man does is because of his heart. Without the heart, he couldn't do anything. ֶתא ְ חוִּּקת ִיָתְּרוּמת, learn from this that your התרוממות, greatness, and success is also from Hashem, called "the Heart of Yisrael."
The Imrei Noam writes, "The people whom Hashem elevated and gave them all kinds of kindness, much wealth and honor, shouldn’t think that their many efforts brought them their success, because (Shmuel 1 2:9) איש יגבר בכח לא, "For not by strength will man prevail." Rather, it is Hashem's hashgachah, (Tehilim 75:8) ירים וזה ישפיל זה, "He lowers this one and elevates that one."
I heard the following from a respected rav in America who helps people with medical-related issues. He told me that someone was experiencing chest pains. The first thing the Hatzalah volunteers who rushed to the scene did was to check his pulse. The man protested, "My pain is in my heart, not my wrist." They replied, "When we check the pulse on the wrist, we know what's happening in the heart." The same can be said with regards to hishtadlus. By the extent one invests in hishtadlus of his hands, one can determine what is happening in his heart, whether he trusts in Hashem or not.
The words of Chazal (Tanchuma Shemini 8) are המנורה בעשיית רבינו משה נתקשה, "Moshe had difficulty [understanding] how to make the menorah." There are several kinds of מתקשה, hardships. For some, it is פרנסתו קשה, hard to earn parnassah. For others, it is אדם של זיווגו קשה, hard to find a shidduch, and there are other קשה, hardships. Sometimes, his hardship and question is, "Why is this happening to me?" He wonders why he suffers so much when it appears to him that others have a much better life than him. In response to Moshe's struggle, Hashem told him to throw a block of gold into אש, into the fire. ש"א is roshei teivos for שלימה אמונה. Have complete emunah, believe that this is how things are supposed to be, and all your questions and your struggles will be fixed מאליהן, on their own. Nothing helps more than emunah. Having emunah is mesugal for salvations.
It states (in Shemonah Esrei) ישעוה ומצמיח, which indicates that the salvations sprout and grow like a plant growing from the earth. So, which seed do these plants grow from? Chazal (Shabbos 31.) state, זרעים סדר זה אמונה, that emunah is the seder of Zeraim, seeds. So, we see that emunah is the seed from which salvations sprout. With emunah, you will experience many yeshuos.