Shlomo had been waiting and preparing for this day for months. He was a born athlete and had spent many years training and developing his running skills. He had participated in many sports events, races, and competitions and had won many of them. But this was different; he had finally been admitted into the national marathon and was hoping to win.
All the contestants were set to go, Shlomo among them. They all waited expectantly for the eight-lap race to begin. The starters orders rang out and they all began the race. Shlomo had practised well and soon took the lead. He was puffing and panting but managed to hold his position.
He finally completed his first lap. The crowd began clapping and cheering him on, but the race was far from over. His competitors would be pushing him all the way. Beginning to tire, Shlomo began losing ground - one of his rivals was about to overtake him. Despite his best efforts he couldn’t stay ahead and ended the first lap in second place.
Shlomo was a little discouraged. However, he knew that there was still time to regain the lead. He kept up a consistent pace, and then, with a spurt of energy, overtook the frontrunner and finished the third lap back in first place.
As the race progressed so did the competition between them. At times Shlomo was leading, at others his competitor. However, Shlomo eventually felt his strength dwindling - he had fought so hard and didn’t feel he could manage much longer.
As he completed the seventh lap and began the eighth and final lap he felt like he no longer had the strength to continue. He had fought for the lead for so long; perhaps now it was time to take a rest, he thought to himself....
The Final Week
In every competition, race, or mission, it is the final stretch that is the hardest. It is the fight after a great deal of fighting, the challenge following many challenges, when we are tired and worn out, that we feel like we want to give up. However, we must be aware that this is precisely the time to give that final push, put in every last ounce of strength, to get over the line. These final, vital moments are the deciding ones, the time that will define the success of the mission.
We are about to begin the final week of the glorious period of Shovevim Tat - the special weeks of teshuva, closeness to Hashem, and overcoming our yetzer ha’ra. We have spent seven weeks fighting the yetzer hara. At times we were victorious, at other times he took the lead. At this final stage we might feel, in our exhaustion, that we need to leave the battlefield, however, this would be a big mistake. These are the deciding moments. If we keep going, if we give one final push at this critical time, we will reach the finishing line and receive the tremendous sechar that awaits us.
Gold From Heaven
In this week’s parsha the Torah relates that Klal Yisrael all came rushing with donations to the mishkan; they came bearing huge amounts of gold, silver, copper and many other precious materials that were needed to construct the House of Hashem. It was perhaps the most successful charity campaign in history.
Where did all this money come from? The gemara (Yoma 75) relates that it did not come from the bizas ha’yam (the spoils from the Yam Suf); it came down with the mon - a gift from shamayim.
This raises an obvious question. Why did Hashem direct the precious materials to Klal Yisrael in order to donate to the mishkan, rather than send it directly to Moshe for that purpose?
To answer this question we will outline an important concept. Klal Yisrael had previously sinned by fashioning the egel ha’zahav. The mishkan was meant to serve as a kapara for that avera, and a means to reconnect to Hashem. Why does Hashem place us in situations where we are tempted to sin? Further, why does he need us to build a place of connection to Him? Does he not have a Kisey haKavod and a myriad malachim and serafim to serve Him?
The answer is that indeed, Hashem does not need our gold and silver - “ki li ha’kesef v’li h’azahav”. What He wants is for us to take something that is ours and give it to Him as an expression of love and devotion.
Hashem could certainly have sent the gold etc. directly to Moshe to be used for the mishkan. However, that would have defeated the objective. He specifically placed it in the pockets of every Yid so that they would each feel attached to it, feeling that it was theirs, and would be tempted to hold on to it. When they all overcame this temptation and came with great nedivus ha’lev to donate it, the objective of the mishkan was achieved.
Taking from Ourselves
The passuk uses the expression “yikchu es terumasi” rather than “yitnu es terumasi”, focusing on the taking of the donations rather than the giving. The reason for this is that Hashem was not seeking what we had to give Him - He was looking for us to take from ourselves. He wanted us to take those things that we had become attached to and for us to give them to Him. This would create a strong connection between us.
As we come to the climax of Shovevim Tat, as we begin the final stretch, we may wonder why we need to fight such difficult battles. Why has Hashem given us such great challenges? Why can't it be easier?
The answer is that this is precisely the moment when the avoda began in the early parshiyos of Sefer Shemos, is coming to its climax. The conclusion of yetzias Mitzrayim and Shovevim is bi’levavi mishkan evneh - creating a mishkan and a place for the Shechina to dwell within our own hearts. How do we achieve that? By taking something we dearly want, something we do not want to give up, and giving it to Hashem.
We are faced with challenges constantly. We would like to do, yet we say no. We would like to look, yet we say no. We feel like giving in but we remain steadfast, looking to give that final push towards the finish line. We refuse to give in - “vayima’en” - and continue to give to Hashem from within ourselves, building an astounding mishkan - a sanctuary - for Hashem within our hearts.
At a siyum we say a special tefilah thanking Hashem for allowing us to be “yoshvey beis hamedrash” and not idle people on street corners. We then make the following, fascinating declaration: “she’anu amelim ve’hem amelim, anu amelim u’mekablim sechar v’hem amelim v’enam mekablim sechar”.
These words are difficult to understand. It is true that our toil leads us to the ultimate sechar of Olam haBa, but surely their toil also brings them reward - in Olam haZeh?
The New Tailor
The Chafetz Chaim offers a powerful answer by way of a mashal:
Yanki was in dire need of a good job to feed his large family. After looking into many professions he saw that his good friend Avi, the tailor, was making a good living. People would order a suit and it would take Avi less than a day to sew it, earning him 12 rubels. Yanky decided to try his hand at being a tailor.
After finding a good location, buying the equipment and setting up the store, Yanky was ready to go. The sign was up and the first customer, Akiva, arrived. Yanky took his measurements and told him that he would inform him when the suit was ready.
Yanki began working, measuring the material, cutting it vigorously, and carefully sewing it. He lacked a lot of experience and made a number of mistakes, meaning that he had to begin again in the middle. The suit was only ready after a week of hard work.
Yanki invited Akiva to pick up the suit. Akiva tried it on, but it didn’t fit at all. Despite all of Yanki’s careful measurements and vigorous cutting, the right arm was too long, the left too short, and the trousers completely wrong. “This suit is worthless - it should be thrown in the garbage”, exclaimed Akiva.
Yanki was distraught. He had spent an entire week on the suit and was not being paid anything for his work. Avi, by contrast, barely spent a day on each suit and received the full value for his work. But this is the way of the world - people pay for results, not effort.
Hashem, however, does not work that way. “Ki lo machshevosa machshevosechem”. If you work hard on a sugya, work out a peshat that takes a long time, but it ends up being wrong, you get the full sechar. If you work hard on anything, regardless of the results, Hashem rewards you for all of your toil.
This is the intent of the words “anu amelim v’hem amelim”. Everybody toils. But we receive sechar not only for the results but for every drop of effort and toil as well.
Current Times
In the upcoming days, as we gear up for the last and final special week of Shovevim, the yetzer ha’ra will surely try to impede us for he knows the importance of the time. We must remember that giving up something for Hashem - something from ourselves - builds the Mishkan. Also, Hashem does not only reward us for the results but for every little effort we put in.
Let us, therefore, begin this final week with renewed energy and with full force, not allow the yetzer ha’ra to get in our way, and merit to build a wonderful mishkan of connection to Hashem deep within our hearts. Let us build on the nedivus ha’lev of overcoming our nisyonos out of love for our dear Father in heaven.
