הלב מחשבת

משפחת מאת ל" זצ קויפמאן יוסף חיים 'הר

ויקהל פרשת

לבם נדב אשר ואשה איש כל) ...ל"ה ,כ"ט(

This posuk is seemingly superfluous, as the prior p’sukim already enumerated Klal Yisroel’s myriad donations. What, then, is this verse adding? The Shach al HaTorah, a talmid of the Arizal zt”l, explains as follows. Some people were able to give larger donations than others. It's entirely possible that there were some that struggled to offer even a minimal amount.

Thus, their donations were considerably less than those of the wealthy. The poor, who had nothing extra, could barely scrape together the מחצית השקל, but they possessed something that was more precious and more valuable; the rotzon, the willingness to partake in the ןבני המשכן. It was for them that this posuk, אשר נדב לבם, was written. They had the cheishek, the heart; even if they didn't have the financial means. And that was so beloved by Hashem... more than anything else.

This can also explain a perplexing line in the Ramban on Parshas Terumah regarding the making of the הקודש ארון. The Torah there says, ועשו - plural, as opposed to ועשית - singular. The Ramban quotes the Midrash that says that HaKadosh Baruch Hu wanted everyone to have a part in contributing to the Aron. How is that possible? He says three options. The last one is ויכוונו לדבר. They should have kavana for its construction. What does that mean? In light of the above, perhaps the answer is simple. Utilizing the above-mentioned cheishek – desire to have a part in the Aron, ... מעלה עליו הקדוש ברוך הוא כאילו. Hashem considered it as if he had partaken in its actual construction. Additionally, from the Ramban, it seems that these are all equal and viable options לכתחילה, and not just בדיעבד.

This machshava should infuse us with the realization that no matter what we actually possess, or do not possess, no one can take away our rotzon. And that is ultimately what Hashem really treasures!

May we very soon see the binyan bayis hashlishi!