ויקחו מלפני משה את כל התרומה אשר הביאו בני ישראל למלאכת עבדת הקדש לעשת אתה והם הביאו אליו עוד נדבה בבקר בבקר
“They took from before Moshe the entire portion that the Children of Yisroel had brought for the work for the labor of the Mishkan, to do it; but they brought to him additional gifts every morning.” (Shemos 36:3)
When describing Bnei Yisroel’s generous response to Moshe’s request to donate the materials with which to construct the Mishkan, the pasuk uses the phrase, “ba’boker ba’boker — every morning.” The Gemara (Yoma 75a) takes note that the same phrase is used when Bnei Yisroel collected the manna (Shemos 16:21). According to the Gemara, the Jews brought gifts every morning for the Mishkan — from the items they collected every morning. From here we see, says the Gemara, that precious stones and pearls rained down along with the manna.
Corroborating this, the Gemara goes on to give us a different interpretation for a pasuk found earlier in Parshas Vayakhel (35:27), “Ve’hanesiim heivi’u eis avnei hashoham ve’eis avnei hamiluim la’Eiphod ve’laChoshen — The princes brought the shoham stones and the filling stones for the Eiphod and for the Choshen.” Though nesiim is usually translated as princes, the Gemara, citing a pasuk in Mishlei (25:14), defines the word as clouds. Hence, it was the clouds that brought the shoham stones and filling stones.
The simple understanding of both parts of this Gemara is that some of the materials needed for the Mishkan’s construction rained down each morning, together with the daily portion of manna.
In his sefer Luach Erez, Rav Yitzchak Kunstadt suggests a metaphorical explanation for the Gemara’s comment. When the Jews witnessed on a daily basis — “ba’boker ba’boker” — the miraculous way in which they were supported, they acquired a new and more realistic perspective on wealth, and its true value and source. They were treated to a live demonstration of the words that Moshe used in reference to the manna: “Ki lo al halechem levado yichyeh ha’adam ki al kol motza fi Hashem yichyeh ha’adam — That not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the Mouth of G-d does man live” (Devorim 8:3). Recognizing their utter reliance on Hashem for their basic needs, Bnei Yisroel reevaluated the true worth of the jewels and precious metals in their possession, and overcame the normal obsession with the material that makes it difficult to part with one’s wealth. Thus, not only did the precious stones fall along with the manna, but their value fell in the eyes of the Yidden. With this perspective and outlook, the Jews were able — each and every morning — to make generous donations to the building of the Mishkan.
The Luach Erez then weaves this novel understanding into the pasuk from Mishlei cited in the Gemara: “Nesiim ve’ruach ve’geshem ayin — Clouds and wind without rain...” Instead of translating geshem as rain, the author interprets it as gashmiyus, materialism. Hence, “Nesiim ve’ruach”: with the descent of the stones from the clouds; “ve’geshem ayin”: materialism was no more. By seeing how HaKodosh Boruch Hu provided both food and riches from the clouds, the significance of gashmiyus disappeared.
Bnei Yisroel learned, on a daily basis, all they needed to know: As long as we keep close to Hashem, He will provide our needs.
There is another lesson here. As tasty as the manna may have been, only a single day’s worth was collected each morning. It provided exactly what the body needed and no more; nothing was excreted. For their personal needs, Bnei Yisroel had a very small and austere amount. But along with the manna, precious stones and metals rained down, and these stones and metals found their way into the service of Hashem.
Typically, people use the bulk of their resources for their personal needs while assigning a smaller amount for loftier, spiritual requirements. Yet in the Midbar, Klal Yisroel acted otherwise. The Mishkan and its keilim were ornate and bedecked with priceless jewels and metals, while their physical nourishment was modest. Perhaps they were providing us with a model of how to distribute our resources: Torah, mitzvos, and service to Hashem should be our first priority when allocating our time and money.
This lesson can also be derived from the first pasuk in Parshas Tetzaveh. When discussing the shemen zayis zach — the choicest and first of the oils — used for the Menorah, the Kli Yakar (Shemos 27:20) points out how many people err and use their prized resources for eating, drinking, and enjoyment purposes, while the inferior goes for avodas Hashem. This, he says, can be compared to Kayin, who brought a korban to Hashem from the worst of his crops. Rather, exhorts the Kli Yakar, we should strive to be like Hevel, who brought a minchah to his Creator from the best of his flocks (Bereishis 4:3–4).
We must learn to save the first and best of our “oils,” our resources, to light the “Menorah,” meaning to serve Hashem. And like in the Mishkan, where the second pressings were used for the korban minchah (which the Kohanim could eat), we should use the second best for our materialistic needs. The assets we reserve for avodas Hashem, concludes the Kli Yakar, become an “eternal light,” as the pasuk says, “le’haalos ner tamid — to light a lamp continually.”(R’ Avraham Bukspan, Classics and Beyond)
