Every man whose heart inspired him came, and everyone whose spirit made him willing brought Hashem's donation offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. The men came with the women; all whose heart was willing brought nose rings, and earrings, and finger rings, and bracelets, every golden vessel, every man who waved a wave offering of gold to Hashem. (35:21-22)
The pasuk here discusses three types of willingness: בל תא ישנ, בל תבידנ, חור תבידנ, translated above as people whose “heart inspired them”, “spirit made them willing”, and “heart was willing.” The only one demanded in Parshas Terumah and above (v. 5) is נִדביֵלב, a willingness of heart, which is the third quality mentioned here.
Let us first focus on the first two qualities. The ibn Ezra and Ramban explain that these are actually two separate groups of people: A) Every man whose heart inspired him came – refers to the wise men who did the work. B) everyone whose spirit made him willing brought Hashem's donation – refers to the generous souls who donated to the Mishkan. The commentators note that saying you are ready and able to do a job requires a בל תא ישנ, an uplifted, exalted heart. There is a certain confidence, perhaps even an audacity, in saying that you are prepared to do a job even when you do not have the qualifications. This is in distinction to a willing spirit, to give from what you already have. Elsewhere, the Ramban points out how wonderous it was to find skilled craftsmen who were ready to do such delicate among this group of slaves, especially considering the rough labor they had spent most of their lives performing. There is a lesson to be learned from this, and it is really a Mishna in Avos (2:5), “םיִׁשָנֲא ןיֵאֶׁש םֹוקְמִבּו ׁשיִא תֹויְהִל לֵּדַּתְׁשִה, in a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.” True, there is a time for humility, a time to take the back seat. But sometimes there is no one else to do the job. Then you must step forward. In such circumstances you should not be deterred by your lack of capability – as the Rambam says, if there is no one to teach you, you must learn on your own. That is nesias lev. And in the end, those people who dedicated themselves to the work, found themselves capable.
Now, what is נחור תביד, a willingness of spirit? The Ramban seems to equate it with בל תבידנ, a willingness of heart. However, the Alshich differentiates between the two terms (in v. 21). He writes that there are two types of people who give: those who need to fight with themselves but give anyways, and those who give willingly, without any internal struggle. One, רֶׁשֲא ָבְדָנה חּורֹו תֹאֹו whose “spirit made him willing” is giving because his spirit understands that this is the correct thing to do, even if his other desires disagree, while one רֶׁשֲא אָׂשְנֹו ּבִלֹו whose “whose heart inspired him” is not plagued by internal conflict. He gives with a unity of purpose, body and soul. The Alshich does not discuss where the third term, ִדְנבי ֵלב, willing of heart, falls on this spectrum. The Ohr Hachaim similarly says that one whose spirit made him willing is a person who give according to his means (the Ohr Hachaim adds that he does not feel that he is losing out), while the one who is carried by his heart gives beyond his means; he gets carried away by the cause and his heart leads him to act as if he has much greater means at his disposal.
The Targum consistently (v. 22, above v. 5, and 25:2) translates ִדְנבי ֵלב as יִעְרְתִאְּדּהיֵּבִל, one whose heart inspires him, or more literally, one whose heart causes him to want. Interestingly, here he translates רֶׁשֲא אָׂשְנֹו ּבִלֹו the exact same way (presumably arguing on the Ramban).
On the other hand, he translates ֹכְול רֶׁשֲא ָבְדָנה חּור as ּהיֵּמִע ּהיֵחּור תַמיֵלְׁשַאְּד לֹכְו, and every one whose spirit filled him. Rabbi Binyamin Posen (Parshegen) suggests that the Targum is focusing on the source of the inspiration, when it comes from the heart, it is internal, and always translated as a ן ו צר. Spirit, חור, on the other hand, comes from above, and fills a person, like Betzalel, who was “filled with a spirit of widsom”. This is bolstered by the Targum Yonasan who renders it ה י מ י עד התא ו ב נ ב ה י ח ו ר תמ י לשאד לכ, everyone who was filled with the spirit of prophecy. Perhaps, then, the Targum has the same two categories as the Ramban, but assigns them to the opposite terms.
We find the term רּוַח ָביִדְנה used synonymously with prophesy (ךשדק חור חור ,ן וכנ) in Tehillim (51:14). That kapitil is focused on teshuva, and it is in that context that Dovid Hamelech is asking for a חור נידהב, inspiration from Hashem to hold him on the straight, upright path. (See Shaarei Teshuvah 1:42). It is in this sense that we ask for a ידנ חורהב in the Selichos on Yom Kippur at the end of Neilah, ְּבִצלְךָ ׁשֶֶֽבת ׁשִָבים ַקּבֵל ְנָדָבה. ּבֵיְתךָ ַיְפִֽריחּו ְולֹא יֹוִֽסיפּו זָא .הָבֵהְ דַמּ ו ׂשֵ גֹ ונ תיִ ּבְ ׁשַּת חָ ּדִ נְ ו דֵבֹ וא .הָבֲאַ דְל הָביִ דְנ ַחּוֽ רְ ּב ּואָרֵיְ ו ּולֲעַי, In Your shadow, shelter all who repent, receive them as a free-will offering. Let them flourish in Your House, and sorrow no more. [For] those who are lost and dispersed, abolish [their] oppressors. Then they will go up and appear with a generous spirit.
It is appropriate, then, that this concept first makes an appearance here, in the verses that most clearly show how the donations to the Mishkan were an atonement for the Eigel.
In Menucha v’Simcha, it says, הֶנְׁשִמְּב םֶחֶל ׁשּוּדִקְו הָּבַר, הָביִ דְ נ ַחּורְ ו םיִּמַעְטַמ בורְּב. It is not clear to me what ruach nedivah has to do with Shabbos and it’s taanugim.
