Terumah: Rebbe Nachman, Esther and the Power of Choice

Dear friends, welcome to this week's virtual Dasha. This week we have the incredible privilege of Paras Truma. And with it, we begin the incredible journey into the Mishka. A journey that will span the parish of Truma and Sav and then Vayak Pak where the Torah spares no detail, the fabrication of the Mishka, the structure itself, the creation of the utensils, the khanic vestments, the big day kuna. But I want to draw your attention to the opening phrase or the second P of this week's parish. Hashem says to Moshabenu, remember you can't build the Mishkan without a fundraiser. So we have to do the fundraiser. This is chapter 2025 verse two. Hashem says to Moshe, "Speak to the Jewish people, take a take a gift offering, take right, take charity, take the contribution from every person whose heart impels him to give. Take shall you take shall you take the offering from them." As many of them are intrigued by this, Moshe, go around and collect collect. It's a fundraiser. You got to collect the money from why do you have to say take for me? So says that was telling Moshe is something amazing. I don't just want the people to give without specific intent. I want them to give lushma. I want them to give because that act of connection, that act of giving brings them closer to me. That act of giving is a fulfillment of of of adherence to the divine will. That act of giving is something so much higher. I don't want them to give because of peer pressure, social pressure, mosh knocking on their door. I want them to give with a complete heart. I want them to give because they want to give. I want them to give because they feel that that act of giving to the mish is in and of itself a form of divine service. And that's why he says when you take it from them, when you collect it from them, it has to be has to be from it has to be asks a very interesting question. And he says, "I don't understand why does the act of have to be thema." So in other words, remember it would appear that Hashem is kind of creating a paradigm here for how we give that apparently when it comes to it's not enough to give, but you have to give with the right intent. You have to give with the right. You have to give to make sure that you understand that it's a service of that it's not it's not a burden to give. It's a privilege to give. It's not it's not it's not a it's not annoying to be asked but it's the greatest privilege to be asked because if you could support if you could help that's wants us to do it with the right intentions is a divine act of service why why in fact the posit says I think actually is probably the one mitzvah that does not require any on the part of the giver why not and listen to the words of the he says Because the act of giving stuck is meaningful even if you don't have intent for the service of God. Why not? Because whether you give with intent or not with or not for a higher purpose or not at the end of the day you're doing something good. Right? The the Reb illustrates this with an act of giving to a poor person. If I give money to a poor person, so whether again I have all the most beautiful cavanas in the world or have absolutely no cavanas, right? Whe whether I have intentions, no intentions, whether I do it because I want to do it or because I'm forced to do it, they're compelled to do it or social pressure to do it. Who cares? At the end of the day, your act did something positive. There was a poor person. Now the poor person has money. And by the way, it's not just with a poor person. You can extend logic into everything. When you give sudaka, by definition, you have affected change with your generosity. So right whether you're helping the you're helping a yeshiva you're helping a shul you're helping an organization what whatever it is that you're doing whether you have kavana specific intent higher intent holy intent or not the act in and of itself by definition is constructive helpful and meaningful so the goes on he says something amazing he says therefore I think the is coming to teach us something different so see understand that every p in the Torah has its stated meaning and then of is epinemius there's a deeper meaning is teaching us an additional lesson by the listen to this he says take it for me take take it right I want I want you to take it for my sake the posit is not talking to the giver rather it's talking to the recipient see the giver doesn't need cavana whether he has kavana doesn't have kavana his act stands alone as a profound act of generosity that is going to affect good in this world. But who does need kavana? The recipient needs kavana. The recipient. The person who receives requires for the sake of hashem. What does that mean? And the reb says very interestingly theb says that ultimately again that if a person accepts a person should never accept for the sake of funding a luxurious lifestyle. Other words, the Reba goes on and says you're allowed to take stuck and you have to take stuck if you don't have what you need in order to meet your needs, your basic needs in life. But if you're taking stuck because you want luxuries, you're taking stuck because you want excess, that you're not allowed to do. And the Reb that's if you're going to take if you're going to take then it has to be it has to be for the right purposes. So amazingly enough as much as everyone understands the holy is talking about the giver says no there's no of lashma there's no obligation of specific holy intent by the giver because even if the giver doesn't give with intent his act is still cathartic his act is still holy his act his act still affects change but who does have to have kavana who does have to have specific intent the recipient the if you're going to take if you're going to take it's got to be lee It's got to be thema. It's got to be for sake of a mitzvah. Has to be because you actually need it. And not because I'm trying to go ahead and indulge some additional appetite for excess. If you need it, absolutely unequivocally take it. And it's a mitzvah to do so. But if you're not, if you don't need it, you can't take it. It's got to be the act of taking has to be a beautiful idea. But perhaps we could also understand the words of a little bit differently. You know, I want to want to draw your attention for a moment to migilster. And there's because it's already so we have to begin to get ready for the there's an incredible episode. After Mori sends word to Esther about the decree of Hammon and Esther hears what is about to happen to her people and her maid servants come in. They tell her everything that's happening and the migill says as follows. Esther was like shaking to her core. And what did she do? She sent a change of clothing to Morai. But Morai wouldn't accept it, right? Because remember again beforehand Morai heard already before what Hmon was going to do and Morai dawned sackcloth. He was sitting sackcloth. He tore his clothing. He was mourning. He was crying. He was dabbing. So Esther hears the news. She's shaking to her core. And the first thing she does is send a change of clothing to Morai that he should change out of his sackloth. And the great dumps asks a very simple question. He says, "I don't understand. Why did Esther send the change of clothing to Morai? We understand why Morai was wearing sackloth. Sackloth is is symbolic of mourning. I understand was he was broken. He just heard about the decree to annihilate his people. So Esther like what why exactly are you sending him a change of clothing and listen to the words of the Reb writes he says because Esther is ultimately when Esther hears that Mori is crying and screaming for the plight for the impending destruction of what happens she sent him clothing telling him you got to take off your sackcloth perish You can't be sad. You can't be sad. The sackloth represents profound personalistic sadness. You got to remove your sackloth rather. Why? because at the end of the day there is only one way to deal with challenge and that is why because says an incredible play on words you can't come before the king in sackloth the king representing if you want to affect change with that the way to do it is not with sacloth the way to do it is with beautiful proper clothing. Now, dear friends, sim doesn't necessarily mean a big smile on your face and clicking your heels. Sim means a sense of hope, a sense of optimism. That Esther was saying to Mori, when a Yid faces crisis, we do not crumble. When a Jew faces overwhelming circumstances, I don't curl up in the fetal position and rock back and forth in the corner. That's not what we do. We don't put on the sackcloth and pretend or not pretend or make it look like the sky is falling even if it feels like the sky is falling. The understands that the way to go ahead and deal with any crisis in life is not that's yes that's true also but with a sense of optimism a sense of hope a sense of belief I got this we got this no matter what it is we will figure it out I what's the plan I don't know what the plan is how you going to resolve it I have absolutely no idea but here's what I do know that if I take the sackcloth approach and I just I'm all broken all mournful, all sorrowful, all dark, all depressed, nothing gets done. Sir Esther, amazingly enough, after she is shaken to her core about the impending destruction of her people, gathers herself together, sends Morai a change of life, said, "Mori, get it together." We're not sackcloth Jews. That's not what we do. That's not how we deal with it. Put on beautiful clothing. Come before the king. Gird yourself with a sense of hopeful optimistic sim and let's go incredible and overwhelming and perhaps that's what Rabbi Aman is saying over here as well. What does it mean that the poor person has to accept? So the Reb says what it means is only take what you need. If you're taking, you can't take for excess, but perhaps taking stock of the Schma means something else. If anyone's ever been on the side of of the recipient, it's a very unpleasant place to be. And it's not just with money. Not just the money. You know, anytime you're in a difficult situation and you need other people to help you. For most of us, that is a very uncomfortable feeling because if I need someone else, that generally means that I'm deficient in some way. There's something that's lacking from me. Whether it's actual money or whether it's other emotional or intellectual resources that I don't have, I need someone else. And that feeling of needing someone else and not feeling whole could often be incredibly difficult. Perhaps could also be teaching us is when you have to receive from someone else. When you need help because you just don't have it together. when you need help because things are just not going the way that you need them to go. The if you're going to take Lee, let it be the Schma. And perhaps the Schma means for the sake of Hashem means with an incredible and overwhelming sense of optimism and of hope. If you find yourself in a ka, if you find yourself in a situation in life where you can't right now solve your problems, some circumstances that you're encountering are just so incredibly overwhelming. And I don't even know what to do and I'm going to need help. Whether it's financial, emotional, whatever it might be, it is so easy in those moments to put on your sackloth to just cry, to just mourn, to just say wo is says, "No, Moshe is the tell that when they are in a mat of of need, when they are in a mat of a situation of difficulty, remind them, leave, put on your clothing, get rid of the sackcloth, reject the sackloth, Gird yourself, clothe yourself with intention for with beautiful holy intentions, with a sense of optimism and hope. When you encounter crisis, there's only one way forward and that is the path of hope. That is the path of optimism. I don't mean false hope and false optimism because that could be delusional, but a real feeling that somehow things are going to come together. How? I don't know. I'm not exactly sure how, but I believe it. I have to believe it because if I don't believe it, the other only other alternative is to put on my sackloth and to literally again just fall into a pile of depression, sadness, and despair. So those are the options. Life comes down to one of two wardrobe choices. You can wear sackloth or you can wear clothing. That's what Esther Mak told Mori it's what she whispers in our ear as well. There are times in life when we're really in need. There are times in life that are really overwhelmingly difficult. There are times in life that are incredibly challenging. How do you approach those circumstances? Lee lmi with that with holy intention with kavana. But what kind of kavana? The kavana of optimism. The kavana of hope. the kavana that says, "I got this. Some way, somehow, I'm going to power through. Some way, somehow, I'm going to make it to the other end of this difficulty, of these trials and tribulations. Some way, somehow, I'll get to a place of sin again." Morai took Esther's advice, took off his sackloth ultimately later on, not immediately. Not immediately, right? In the beginning is a low key bell. He wouldn't accept it. But later on he accepts the clothing. May we have the courage in those difficult circumstances to reject the sackloth. Put on the beautiful garments of hope and optimism and find a way through even the most acute of life challenges. Wishing everyone a good nar of Shabas and a beautiful Shabas kesh.