English translation — ויקהל ב

A.

In the verse where it says the command of G-d¹

(which Moshe transmitted)

to Jews: "Take from yourselves a portion for G-d, every generous-hearted person shall bring the portion of G-d" — the commentators ask²,

that at first glance there is a contradiction in the verse from its beginning to its end: from the beginning language "Take from yourselves a portion for G-d" it implies that the portion should be <b>taken</b> from them,

that is, even against their will,

and from the language "every generous-hearted person shall bring" it implies that every Jew should bring it of his own accord with the generosity of his heart.

And it is explained³

that the verse speaks about two types of giving⁴

: at the beginning of the verse "Take from yourselves a portion for G-d" it speaks about the portion of the half-shekel per head, that this portion was an obligation on each and every one, and they had to <b>demand</b> it from each one; and the continuation of the verse "every generous-hearted person shall bring" speaks about the portion that each one brings with the generosity of his heart,

not waiting that one should demand from him and take from him the portion.

One must however understand: this verse is already speaking about the command of Hashem as Moshe transmitted it to Jews — how does it come,

that <b>earlier</b>,

in the command of Hashem itself

(which the Most High said to Moshe)

at the beginning of Parshat Terumah⁵

it stands only

"Speak to the children of Israel <b>and they shall take</b> for Me a portion from every man whose heart motivates him <b>you shall take</b> My portion and this is the portion which <b>you shall take</b> from them",

and there is not mentioned there the matter of "every generous-hearted one <b>shall bring it</b>"?

And even though in the verses of the command there are "three terumot mentioned"&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt;,

not only the two terumot which are obligatory

("the terumah of the half-shekel per head from which the sockets were made"&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt;

and "the terumah of the altar, a half-shekel per head for the coffers to purchase from them communal offerings"&lt;sup&gt;7&lt;/sup&gt;),

but also&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;

"the terumah of the Mishkan, the &lt;b&gt;donation of &lt;/b&gt;each and every one" for the needs of the Mishkan&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt;,

nevertheless — regarding the terumah in the verse it is not explicit that each one should bring it as a donation of his heart

(as in the verse here),

rather it is stated in the language "from every man whose heart motivates him&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;

&lt;b&gt;you shall take &lt;/b&gt;My terumah",

that one should &lt;b&gt;take&lt;/b&gt; it&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;.

B.

At first glance one can say that this depends on another difference between the verses

(in the beginning of Parshat Terumah)

at the command of Hashem to Moshe,

and the verses

(in our parshah)

in the command of Moshe to Bnei Yisrael:

In parshas Terumah it says that the Almighty commanded "Speak to the children of Israel,"

In our parshah, however, it says "And Moses assembled the entire congregation of the children of Israel,"

The assembly and the speech "to the entire congregation of the children of Israel" was not only to convey the warning of Shabbat and "to say" that the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbat¹¹,

But also in order to convey about the work of the Mishkan¹²,

And as it is explicit in the verse

(Not only at the beginning of the parshah,

But also separately at the command regarding the work of the Mishkan)

"And Moses said to the entire congregation of the children of Israel"¹³.

And the difference between them can be said: In the expression "Speak to the children of Israel"

(And not in the manner as also in parshas Kedoshim where the command of G-d was "Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel"¹⁴)

It is not emphasized that it is a command to all the children of Israel,

And simply one must learn¹⁵,

That this was the command that the treasurers should take¹⁶

All three donations from the children of Israel,

In contrast, when Moses conveyed the command "to

"All the congregation of the children of Israel",

and speaking to all Jews¹⁷

(not only that one should select treasurers to take the offering)

he in this command set forth how the manner of the offering must be — also¹⁸

and mainly as it is in relation to Jews "everyone whose heart motivates him shall bring it, the offering of the Lord".

It is, however, still not smooth: it is understood simply,

that when conveying the command of the Lord to the children of Israel, Moses did not add to the speech of the Lord anything that the Almighty had not told him — Moses certainly said nothing on his own authority — so why is the aforementioned detail not stated

(everyone whose heart motivates him shall bring it)

in the command of the Lord to Moses?

And even though that one finds in many places¹⁹

that Moshe told the Jews several details which the Torah does not specify in the command that the Almighty told Moshe,

and the reason: since it is a clear matter that Moshe did not say anything on his own authority,

it is simple and understood by itself that not one of all the details of the statements that stand in the command of Moshe to the children of Israel was missing in the Almighty's message to Moshe,

rather, in the Torah not all are explicitly also in the command of Hashem to Moshe

But in addition to this,

which itself requires a reason also in every place — our case is not similar to the other cases in many places.

Because even if one would learn,

that that which the Torah does not mention at all the command of Hashem to Moshe,

or says it in a general and brief manner,

is this because the Torah relies on the details of the statements in the command of Moshe to the children of Israel,

and one will understand that all this was by the word of Hashem to Moshe —

In our matter, however, it is so difficult to say: here is indeed the command of Hashem explicit and detailed in the Torah &lt;b&gt;in particular and in the finest details&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;,

both the generalities of the work of the Mishkan,

and also the command regarding the donation for the Mishkan,

and nevertheless, here is not explicit the detail of "every generous-hearted person shall bring the donation of Hashem"!

3.

And one can explain the explanation in this: the purpose of the Mishkan is an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf,

as Rashi says&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

the reason why it is called "Mishkan of Testimony" — "testimony for Israel that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave them for the deed of the Golden Calf, for He caused His Shechinah to dwell among them."

that also the

command of Hashem to Moses²³

"And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst" was

(after the sin of the calf)

on Yom Kippur,

and also according to the opinion²⁴

that the Almighty said the command "And they shall make Me a sanctuary" before the sin of the calf,

but the Jews heard the command from Moses our teacher

(and brought the donations of the Mishkan)

only after Yom Kippur²⁵].

How did the Jews with this

(the building of the Mishkan)

bring out their complete repentance on the sin of the Golden Calf — with this, that instead of the gold that they had previously given with alacrity for the calf&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;,

they now gave gold&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;

with extraordinary generosity of heart for the building of the Mishkan,

so that there should be the indwelling of the Divine Presence among them — "And I will dwell in their midst"

(the opposite of the sin of the Golden Calf).

And how they indeed actually demonstrated the great alacrity&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

and generosity of heart for the work of the Mishkan,

as related in the verses and at length in the midrashim of our Sages&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;,

until that there was&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

"The people are bringing more than enough

to bring from the work for the labor",

and "the work was sufficient for them and more".

And in this itself: when the repentance of the Jews and their desire that the Almighty should dwell among them willingly and with a complete heart is brought out in inwardness and in truth — this is not so much in the donation of "a half-shekel per skull",

in which all Jews were <b>obligated</b> equally — because even when one fulfills such a command of G-d with alacrity,

which indicates desire of the heart,

this still does not bring out in a prominent way the true desire and complete heart,

since one can attribute the alacrity to the <b>obligation</b> incumbent upon him; specifically in the donation³¹

which has no obligation and fixed measure,

rather every Jew gives it from feeling and generosity of his heart — in this specifically is expressed the complete repentance,

the desire and complete heart for the dwelling of the Divine Presence

(opposite the sin of the [Golden] Calf).

And this is the reason that in the command of Hashem to Moshe regarding <b>the </b>terumah it is stated only about the detail <b>the taking </b>"from every man whose heart motivates him <b>you shall take</b>",

and not about the detail <b>the giving and the bringing </b>on the part of the Jews

("every generous heart <b>shall bring it</b> etc.")

: the command of Hashem fits

(mainly)

on the taking

(which is done by the treasurers),

but not so the bringing, its entire essence is that the Jews give in a manner that it is heard

(not the command and obligation,

but)

only the feeling and generosity of <b>the heart</b>,

in which specifically is expressed,

the "as water reflects a face"³²

— just as "the Holy One, blessed be He, was appeased toward Israel

with joy and a whole heart"

(regarding the sin of the calf)³³,

so too among the Jews was the will "with joy³⁴

and a whole heart" toward the Almighty.

4.

The matter of the above,

the generosity of heart of Jews for the work of the Mishkan,

not as it is connected with the command from above,

pertains not only to the atonement for the sin of the calf,

but also and primarily to the essence of the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Mishkan — within the children of Israel:

It is explained in several places³⁵,

that although the Jews at the giving of the Torah saw matters most sublime — "And the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai"³⁶,

"You have seen etc."³⁷

— and they were so elevated until their impurity ceased³⁸,

nevertheless the Jews afterwards failed in the sin of the calf³⁹

(at first glance,

how is it possible?)

— because the revelation at the giving of the Torah was from the side of Above⁴⁰,

that is,

that the clarification and elevation that then occurred among Jews was not from their side themselves,

but from the side of Above — the Supernal One,

and as the language of the Midrash⁴¹

"The upper ones descended to the lower ones <b>and I begin</b> as it is said 'And He descended etc.'"

That is, that since this was not the accomplishment of the Jews themselves

(in their preparation and their service)

— it was after this,

after the revelation of the Giving of the Torah, that the possibility of a descent could exist,

up to the sin of the Golden Calf.

that at the time of the Giving of the Torah,

at the time when "The Lord descended ...

upon Mount Sinai"⁴²

there was drawn into the physical entity of Mount Sinai such a high holiness,

until that "whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death"⁴³

; but immediately afterwards,

"when the horn is drawn out" — the sign of "the departure of the Divine Presence" — "they may go up into the mountain"⁴⁴,

Mount Sinai again became an entity from one extreme to the other — completely profane⁴⁵].

And the activity of Jews from their own side,

that through this they become vessels fit to receive the light of holiness in a permanent manner,

was expressed in the giving of the donation with "joy and a complete heart" — by giving their gold, silver, and copper for the Mishkan,

not from a command from above but from generosity of heart,

the indwelling of the Divine Presence among them became a permanent matter,

this also permeated the physicality of the body and the world,

that holiness became fixed in the object

(physical)

of the Mishkan and its parts forever and ever⁴⁵.

5.

Based on this, one can also explain another difference between the two portions:

The wording in parshas Terumah,

speaking about the terumah that comes as a voluntary offering

it says "from every &lt;b&gt;man &lt;/b&gt;whose heart motivates him etc.",

which simply refers only to men&lt;sup&gt;46&lt;/sup&gt;

; in contrast, in our parshah it says in the wording "every generous-hearted person shall bring the offering of the Lord",

which "generous-hearted" simply means both men and women.

And in particular, that the command "every generous-hearted person etc." was said to "<b>the entire assembly of the children of Israel</b>"

(which Moses had assembled),

in which are included not only men but also women

(as the Ramban says on the spot⁴⁷),

And as is related in the continuation of the portion,

that in the donation for the Mishkan there actually participated

(not only men,

but)

also women⁴⁸,

And moreover "the men came with the women"⁴⁹

(the men attached themselves to the women⁵⁰).

It is not understood: why is it not mentioned earlier in Parshas Terumah that also women are included in the terumah?

(Footnote)?

And.

And the explanation of this:

It is known that ish and ishah also allude to the two aspects of mashpia and mekabel.

Therefore the Above and Jews are called

(Knesset Yisrael)

compared to ish and ishah⁵¹,

chatan and kallah.

This is also the explanation of that which the Written Torah is called "the discipline of your <b>father</b>" and the Oral Torah — "the Torah of your <b>mother</b>"⁵²

: the difference between Written Torah and Oral Torah is,

that the Written Torah was given entirely from Above,

it is the revelation of Torah that is from the aspect of the "mashpia"; but the <b>revelation</b>⁵³

of the Oral Torah is through <b>Jews</b>,

who toil in Torah and are <b>mechadesh</b> in Torah,

so that in the course of the generations more and more of the Oral Torah becomes revealed.

And therefore they attribute the Oral Torah to "your mother" — <b>ishah</b>,

mekabel⁵⁴

— because⁵⁵

the revelation of the Oral Torah is from the aspect of the mekabel,

ishah.

From this the matters become channeled down until to ish and isha &lt;b&gt;literally &lt;/b&gt;— that in the Jewish people itself the women have an advantage

over the men&lt;sup&gt;56&lt;/sup&gt;

In this,

that by them is more revealed the matter of service from the aspect of the receiver.

As we see tangibly that women do not need to have as much zealousness in matters of Judaism as men,

because by them,

from their nature,

faith in G-d is easier*⁵⁶

(and they have fear of G-d)

more than by men,

to such an extent that this affects their actual deed⁵⁷.

And as we find it by the first commandment that is stated in the Torah⁵⁸

— Be fruitful and multiply:

Upon the command of "be fruitful and multiply" only the man was commanded,

but the woman is not commanded on being fruitful and multiplying⁵⁹.

And the reason for this is

— not because this is not part of the role of woman on earth

(that one of

The explanations of this is⁶¹,

that this is)

therefore that she is subjugated to her husband to do his needs and her role is to manage all matters of the house]

— it is indeed on the contrary and on the contrary: specifically in her is dependent that the man should be able to carry out his command⁶².

Moreover,

the main matter of procreation is carried out specifically through the woman and she is called the mainstay of <b>the house</b> — only the reason for the matter is —

because she is the one who gives: by a man a command is required for procreation because were it not for the command of the Torah one could not rely that he from his nature⁶³

will occupy himself with procreation; but a woman does <b>not need to have</b> a command for this — because feeling that her mission on earth is to be the mainstay of the house and to establish generations of Jews

(and to ensure the continuation and existence of the people of Israel),

she does this <b>from herself</b>.

In that as an introduction to the giving of the Torah the Almighty told Moses&lt;sup&gt;65&lt;/sup&gt;

"Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob —

These are the women, you shall say to them in a &lt;b&gt;gentle&lt;/b&gt; language"

(Not like to the men that "and you shall declare&lt;sup&gt;65&lt;/sup&gt;

to the children of Israel ..

things hard as sinews")

— because by women also a statement in a &lt;b&gt;gentle &lt;/b&gt;language is sufficient to activate in them the readiness for receiving the Torah].

7.

And this is also the explanation in our matter: the superiority of the donation of the women over the donation of the men is related to the terumah of the third,

which is not a donation with a <b>fixed</b> measure and obligation etc.⁶⁶,

but a terumah that comes from the generosity of the heart of the giver <b>from himself</b> — and in <b>this</b> are women on a higher level than men.

And therefore: in the portion of Terumah,

where the main content of the terumah is as it is <b>by the command of the Holy One, blessed be He,</b>

(as above),

there is not the place for emphasis that also women are included in this;

Specifically in our parshah,

where it speaks about how the terumah came out &lt;b&gt;in actuality from the side of the Jews&lt;/b&gt;

(and &lt;b&gt;their&lt;/b&gt; generosity of heart as above),

therefore here is explicitly emphasized the advantage of the women over the men.

And the superiority of the women expressed itself

(not only regarding the &lt;b&gt;quantity&lt;/b&gt; of the donations,

but)

also in relation to the &lt;b&gt;type&lt;/b&gt; of the donations &lt;b&gt;and quality&lt;/b&gt; of the donations:

א)

The women brought not only their most precious jewelry,

but they "invested" into the donations of the Mishkan their vitality and soul powers,

Until that "And every woman <b>wise of heart</b> with her hands spun, and they brought spun yarn etc."⁶⁷,

And "all the women whose <b>heart lifted them</b> up <b>in wisdom</b> spun the goats" — "a superior craft, they spun it directly from the goats"⁶⁸.

That is: they gave and invested their wisdom and senses and talents in the donation of the Mishkan⁶⁹.

b)

as told at the end of the portion⁷⁰

there is in addition to the copper of the wave-offering⁷¹

the women donated the “mirrors of the legions” for the laver and its base,

and as Rashi brings down⁷²,

that the “mirrors of the legions” were the mirrors that the women of Israel used in Egypt to raise up “great legions in Egypt”⁷³

— and specifically about <b>this</b> donation did the Almighty say “these are <b>most beloved to Me of all</b>”,

because specifically in <b>this</b> is expressed the virtue of the donation of the heart that comes entirely from the side of the recipient: from their own feeling of the necessity to raise up the legions of G‑d,

the women endeavored with the help of the mirrors of the legions,

until they carried this out in practice.

ch.

According to this explanation — in the distinction between men and women — one can also explain a perplexing Zohar in our portion:

On "Vayakhel Moshe" the Zohar says&lt;sup&gt;74&lt;/sup&gt;

: Rabbi Abba opened "Hakhel"&lt;sup&gt;75&lt;/sup&gt;

the people, the men, the women, and the infants; just as there [it is] the entirety of all Israel, so here the entirety of all Israel, and who are they? Six hundred thousand.

What is seemingly not understandable: he says that the Hakhel here at the command of the donations was similar to how it was at

(the commandment of)

Hakhel — "Gather the people, the men, the women, and the infants,"

that there was here "the entirety of all Israel" exactly as there — and immediately concludes "and who are they? Six hundred thousand,"

which is the number only of the males from twenty years old and upward&lt;sup&gt;76&lt;/sup&gt;,

and certainly &lt;b&gt;not &lt;/b&gt;of the women and infants&lt;sup&gt;77&lt;/sup&gt;

And one can say the explanation of this: The number of sixty myriads stands at the Exodus from Egypt⁷⁸

"About six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children"

And in this way this number is emphasized regarding the Giving of the Torah in several [statements] of our Sages, may their memory be blessed⁷⁹.

It is simple,

that the Torah was given not only to the sixty myriads of men

(from twenty years [old]),

but also to the

(all men,)

women and children

"Thus shall you say to the <b>house</b> of Jacob — these are the women" and only afterwards "and tell the <b>children</b> of Israel

(the males)

"; and in this way — specifically through the guarantee of "<b>our children</b>"⁸⁰

did the Most High give the Torah to the Jewish people]

— and nevertheless they emphasize the number of sixty myriads specifically,

in which women and children are <b>not</b> included.

This is understood according to the above: At the Giving of the Torah, there was the indwelling of the Divine Presence from the side of the Upper One,

and at the time of the revelation that comes from the side of the Upper One, then the virtue of the recipient is not considered,

only the virtue of the bestower,

the recipient is automatically drawn after the bestower,

and therefore it came out regarding the women that their elevation was not considered

(as "recipient"),

and therefore they are not counted by themselves,

they are included in the general number of six hundred thousand⁸¹

men — their families⁸²

: the women

(and children)

are a detail of

(and secondary to)

the head of the household — the family.

In connection with this, the Zohar explains,

that regarding "Vayakhel" which stands as an introduction to the donation of the Mishkan,

there was "the collective of all Israel",

but not in a manner like at the Giving of the Torah — where the women and children were included in the collective of the men — rather women and children as an important part by themselves:

Regarding the manner of the mitzvah of Hakhel,

which is not only for men

(and women and children are included and drawn after the men),

rather each category comes and participates in the "Hakhel" as a category in and of itself — as emphasized in Chazal⁸³

"Men come to learn, women come to hear, children ...

to give reward to those who bring them";

And similarly regarding the donation of the Mishkan: since at that time the virtue of the service and the donation of the heart began, as it is from the perspective of the recipient,

therefore then the women and children were distinguished in their virtue in and of themselves — even though they are included

(also then)

in "those six hundred thousand"⁸⁴.

And so it was also literally,

that women gave for the donation of the Mishkan on their own⁸⁵,

and also children gave for the donation of the Mishkan as it says in Avot d'Rabbi Natan⁸⁶.

9.

From the matter mentioned above,

as from all matters in Torah,

one extracts a directive in the service of each and every one:

Every Jew has the task and the mission to erect a Sanctuary to Him, blessed be He, in the environment where he finds himself,

By bringing close there the Jews to G‑d and to His service, may He be blessed.

Sometimes a Jew can make himself a calculation: the main thing is after all to effect,

that the husband,

the head of the family,

should draw himself near and become close to Torah and mitzvos — just as at the Giving of the Torah,

where the main thing had to be the count of six hundred thousand men — and the women and children will be drawn along automatically;

But to exert oneself that one should speak separately with the woman, the mainstay of the home,

that also she, from her own side, should become close and observe Torah and mitzvos; who even speaks that one should "lower oneself" and occupy oneself with the child — this

(he holds)

is not befitting his honor,

and furthermore — it is a waste of time,

meanwhile he will be able to speak and learn Torah with another man,

a head of a family.

On this is the clear lesson from our parshah Vayakhel and the donation of the Mishkan: upon each one lies an obligation and a merit that the Divine Presence should remain permanently,

that the entire family and household should become a Mishkan for Him, blessed be He,

a place where the Supreme One rests,

through the study of Torah and the fulfillment of the commandments.

And this can be achieved specifically when one is not satisfied with the involvement of the man and head of the household,

rather there must be a separate involvement

(in a manner that is appropriate and permitted according to

Torah)

also with the woman, the mistress of the house,

and also to do with investment and exertion with the children, that more Jewish children should be included in proper education up to education in holiness.

And through the involvement with all Jews who are counted in the assembly "the men and the women and the children",

is in addition to the effect on men,

women and children themselves,

will each of them add even more in the repentance of the others — the women on the men⁸⁷

and the children on the fathers, as it is written⁸⁸

"And he shall turn the heart of fathers to children — through children",

And one brings the "great assembly shall return here"⁸⁹,

with the coming of our righteous Messiah,

which "will build the Sanctuary in its place and gather the dispersed of Israel"⁹⁰,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the talks of Shabbat Parshat Vayakhel 5741,

Shabbat Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei 5742)