The Effects of Giving | Parshas Terumah

okay so one time the rabbi of the show he's looking at the list of donors he notices the richest guy in the whole town has never given anything nothing not $18.00 nothing so he calls him up says mr. Goldberg we were looking at our records and you know we hear that your business Monica Shem is doing very very well and yet we've never received any support from you for your local shul so mr. Goldberg says well if you did so much research to find out my business is doing well maybe you completed your research maybe you found out that my mother is very very ill and has extremely expensive medical bills maybe you maybe your research showed you that my brother is disabled and is unable to work maybe your research showed you that my sister's husband passed away and left her with six orphans the rabbi says no I didn't know any of that he says well that is that's the situation and if I don't help any of them why do you think I'm gonna help you okay so this week's Pasha is Pasha what's the name trauma very good okay true ma means donation it's called partial donation we have a simple question sample question why is it called partial donation is donation the most important idea here in the parsha yeah they raised funds and resources building materials with which to make the what are they what they use it all for clothes the purpose the Mishkan thank you okay building campaign so they made the michigan or the mix - depending on your how your fred torry calls it both the sanctuary or the the holy abode the portable temple that they built in the wilderness so that was really the point and then the Sheena presence comes down and fills the the sanctuary so why is it called trauma meaning donation which is really just a means to an end the point is that they made a Michigan they made a they made a mikdash they made a holy abode seemingly the parsha would batter have been named Pasha's mikdash now you might say to me well the reason is because you have right at the very beginning of the parsha via Dominic ml measure limit it's the beginning right Hashem spoke to Moses saying dabio Bernice will speak to the children of Israel equally true ma they should take from me a donation Oh tournament right there in the very beginning of the parsha and you don't have the word McGowan till well that's verse 2 if you go to verse 8 then you have what also li mikdash let them make a sanctuary for me we should hunt EB say come and I will dwell within it which is the real point make from your sanctuary now dwell within it so maybe you're gonna say well because the word drama is in the first posture core the second posture and and the word Mick dosh isn't until the eighth posix the eighth verse so that's why but then I asked then I could ask the same question just ask a little bit differently okay since the main point of the parsha is the building of the sanctuary meaning what they did with the donations not the fact that they collected donations so then why isn't the word Mick Dutch earlier on in the parsha okay I also want to just explain a little bit of the background of this question this question presupposes that the name of a parsha is significant I should also mention that this week as pretty much every week the DVAR Torah is based on a at least an aspect of a seha from from Lakota citizen la bocha rabbit so this is the lava Travis question one of many questions in in a circle in hey look a left volume 21 of Lakota series antosha stroma and and just to give you a background to explain the rabbit will often ask you know what's the deal with the name of the parsha and that presupposes that there's a there's an intrinsic or inherent significance to the names the partials are given first of all everything is I should go how about this everything in the world is divine providence so you know everything has to have a significance but even more so something that is a minute you swirl tighter he it is a Jewish custom to refer to these these these portions with these names and and since it's it's a Jewish custom it has the significance of Torah and Toyota itself is that you know as the building is theirs is the building plans for the for the world so there's nothing's happened and everything has a deeper meaning plus add to that the fact that names in general are very important in Torah special when you understand according to see this the idea that Hashem speaks the world into being so the name that everything is called is actually the formula for the life-force of that thing and so what I want to get into a whole discussion of that that's for another time but the idea is that a name I mean you even see it not not not in panini oscillator you even see it niggler de Toyota in in in in Gomorrah for instance mikesh McCain who the idea that the name should be significant or the rabbi meir was able to deduce the character of people based on their names the whole story in the gamora about that and specifically according to see this Aeneas a Toyota a name is mater ala Exim like it says in sherry Carver Mona in the second volume of Tanya so you have a name of a partial it's a it's a serious thing why is the name of this parsha trauma which means donation which is a means to an end is the way they gathered the materials why isn't it mikdash which was the purpose for which they gathered the materials that's the question good ok so I'm going to tell you a story that has many versions and I I don't really know which one is correct but the main gist of it is pretty much agreed upon in various traditions and it is a story about it was a story about a donation I mean there there you go i telegraphed it to you that's the punchline it's about a donation there was a couple across an ekala they were both orphans and they were engaged to be married and on the day of the chuppah the local draft office of the Czar's army did they drafted the Husson the groom for 20 years of military conscription and of course the caller was distraught she was completely beside herself and you know they they were offering so they didn't have family connections they had nothing even the wedding itself was being paid for by a Kenosha scholar there were Teddy Kim who figured prominently in the story in one moment we'll talk about them they had gathered the funds to pay for the hasanah so this caller was totally distraught she went to one of the tsadikim who gathered the funds to pay for the fastener there are different versions of who they were but one of them was probably Livia to a ditch affair another one was probably Mendel Hut a docker or Mendel Vitebsk it and the third one was certainly an option as Amon of Lee ideally Alta Reba the the ballot Anya at anyway she went I believe to Mendel horrid occur and she poured out her heart and said that her groom is being taken away on the day of the the chuppah so he he saw she was distraught and he said don't worry it'll be taken care of she was unconsolable so he says I swear to you it'll be taken care of he marched down to the draft office and he he said to the officer there what do we need to do over here he says nothing to do he says you know you know how things work you know what well how much do you need he says what you're trying to bribe me I could send you to prison for trying to bribe an officer of the Czar and if you don't get me 500 rubles by sundown that's exactly what's gonna happen okay so so the Mendel comes back today I believe gets cook and he says we need to raise 500 rubles by sundown okay how do you raise 500 roubles by sundown that's a lot of money that's a fortune there's not that much money in town we got to go door-to-door we got a bag everybody liquidate all your assets and and hope that we can scrape together that much money so they mentioned it to dalta Deba the ballot Anya lives near Zalman and asked him if he would help so he says I will help he was the youngest of the three he says I will help but I have to be the organizer and you have to promise you're gonna listen to my plan whatever I say so they said fine no problem so the alte Revis says fine let's make a list of everyone in town they said a list of everyone we don't have time to make a list of everyone so we need to go pound on the doors and go get the money he says not we're gonna make a list you said you're gonna do my way this is my way of making a list and they made a list after they made the list well today but looks at it he says you're missing a name they said we wrote down everyone in town he says you didn't write down Valvo I said valve oh yeah Belleville Oh valve oh no you can't go to him he says yeah you have to put him down on the list who was velvel there was a guy who became wealthy and he actually left the Jewish community and he lived in the non-jewish part of town and he was known he was renowned as being a miser and he wouldn't give any money to anything and the alte device has put him down on the list and we're gonna go to him first they said please we don't have time we have to go he says you said you're gonna do it my way okay fine so they go across town all the way across town to the non-jewish section of town there's a big mansion there knock on the door and the butler answers and somehow they get there they get past the butler and they get to velvel and the three rabbis are standing there and they say look we're in dire straits there's a caller an orphan marry I'm about to be married to a hoss and also an orphan the draft office you know it has has taken him away we need 500 roubles by sundown or you know tragedy so he says oh that's very moving you know it's a very moving story so it's just just wait a second he gets up from his desk he goes back to another room and they could see him and he opens up a safe oh he's opening the safe okay maybe it's gonna give us something good surprise you know so he opens up the safe and he comes back he has something in his hand he comes back and he presses his hand into the hand of Reb Mendel and a Mendel opens up his hand and there's one rusty moldy copper penny he's shocked I mean doesn't even know how to respond so the alte rebus says to him the velvel we thank you so much for your donation thank you and emotions to the other tooth tsadikim let's go they turn around and they walk out you walk out of the house as they are leaving the property they hear velvel running behind them they turn around Volvo says to them I'm sorry I'm sorry that really wasn't an appropriate contribution come back please come here come come back yet sit sit back down so they're already saying to the altar Deborah we don't have time we have to go we have to go we have to go knock on the doors I mean what is this is this guy's right the cup you know he's he's wasting time doctor says let's go back in they go back in they sit down he says I'm sorry please let me help you in a better way he gets up he goes back to the safe comes back with again with his hand presses it into Mendel's hand there Mendel opens it up Oh a few silver coins okay I mean not a lot but at least more than more than a copper penny a few silver coins they're not sure really how to take it out that ever looks at the velvel he says in a velvel thank you thank you so much for your generosity this is going to help tremendously take the money the emotions with the other two sodium let's get up let's walk out they'll walk out they leave the house they're leaving the property as they're at the edge of the property again Devils running behind them come back come back please please I'm sorry now it's very nice he wants them to come back but again they're trying to think here we have to raise 500 rubles okay we don't really have time to play around all day with the you know the chump change that Reb velvel is giving us but they'll today the motions to them like let's go back in so they go back in they sit down again there there there are shrill kiss this is wasting time we got to go we got to go that Volvo says please let me get something like get something for you he gets up he goes back to the safe he comes back this time he's got gold coins okay now that's that's a significant contribution all right now it's 1% of what they have to raise but now at least we're you know we're getting in you know a normal sized donation and Altan ever again he says Valvo thank you so much we really appreciate it it's very very kind of you they get up and they walk out they get to the edge of the property same thing happens again now a third time he's chasing them and this goes on over and over and over again and each time they come back in he gives them more money until finally after who knows how many times absolvo says what is it again what's the total what's the total it brings out a sack of coins he says here it is they're related they're ecstatic that's it they raised the amount remember goes running to the draft office he pays off the the officer there they released the the Causton they're able to make the husana water Hashem everything works out perfectly okay later on they go to the Alta rabbit and they asked the Alta rabba what happened I mean how did you know that that was the way to raise the money and he says I want you to know that I didn't do any miracles there was no miracle involved whatsoever he says when you told me the situation I knew three things one I knew there was not enough money in this town even if everyone in this town would liquidate all their assets sell all their jewelry everything there was not five hundred rubles of assets in this town that's one thing I knew second thing I knew is the and we didn't have time to go to another town because we needed to finish by sunset second thing I knew was the only one who had access to that kind of money was Volvo and the third thing I knew is that AB Mendel had already sworn that he was going to come up with the money and if he had already sworn then from heaven it was going to happen well how is it going to happen I had to put two and two together and I realized we're gonna have to get the entire amount from Volvo we have no other choice now what was the background what was the story a velvel here's what the miser revealed he told them this that when he was a child he always had Anna Sian he always had a struggle with with giving up money even as a little child he he was pained to give sadaqa know different people have different natures personalities that was his personality he couldn't part with money and he said it just became more and more intense and then when he became a young man he started earning money and he you know then it became even more of an obsession I earned this money how can I let go of it so he told them at one time f2 who's already pretty successful and he was already living on the non-jewish side of town he had his mansion and everything that a somebody came by one day to collect money and a Jew had who walked all the way across town from the Jewish section to the non-jewish section through the wind and the snow was in the middle of the winter and he said please I'm desperate I need money and velvel said I really didn't want to give him anything so I reached in my pocket and all I had was a penny so I gave him the penny and this is good this guy had just slept all the way across town and he when he got when he got the penny he was so insulted he threw it in my face so after he stormed off he the velvel says I picked up the penny that he threw in my face and I said this this is the best proof that you should never be generous because people are ungrateful and he says that's it that's all I'm ever giving anybody says I put that penny in my safe and I made a policy anyone comes asking for anything I'm giving them that penny that's it and he says and I did this for years he said you know how many times I had that penny thrown back in my face he says but something happened when I gave you that penny and he said thank you and you took it something began to melt something began to shift and I couldn't help myself I wanted to give more I couldn't give much more but I gave you you know a few silver coins and then you took that and then I want to give more and they gave gold coins and so on and so forth until now I feel that my heart is open to giving it's interesting so that's the story you know the Rambam says that it's important to to give tadaka repeatedly on multiple occasions in other words theoretically let's say you had a certain amount of money that you can you can give to sadaqa and it's not like a situation where the people need the funds immediately obviously then you give it all at once but let's say you have an option of giving one lump sum or paying it out over time it provided that you know the recipient doesn't desperately need it right now then that album actually says it's better to give it to space it out because he says the preponderance of deed the Tamiya actually has a sort of a therapeutic effect a transformative effect that it changes a person so you know it's the same lumps and it's the same amount as the lump sum it's the same dollar amount but personally it has a different effect on you because the act of giving actually transforms you into a giver right there's a difference between the an act of giving which could be isolated you might not reflect your personality and becoming a giver what a funny thing is the act of giving one repeated actually it's like a muscle that you exercise and it turns the person into a giver okay so let's go back to our original question why is this parsha called donation seemingly it should be called sanctuary that was what they did with the donations that was the point of the donations they made a sanctuary where else only McDuffie she can t be Ceja make me a sanctuary where I can dwell within it's as a sham so here's the answer bringing hashem down to this world is actually not a novel idea in this parsha they brought hashem down to this world a few partials ago remember how she sees Roy at the time of Martin Toyota the time of the revelation at tyre seen I it says that Hashem came down upon the mountain so Hashem was in this world just a couple couple weeks ago a couple partials ago so that's not the kiddush that's not what's original or distinct or characteristic about this parsha that's not it what's original or unique or distinct about this parsha the difference in which Hashem comes into the world in parsha see Roy Martin Toyota revelation at har Sinai its unilateral from above Hashem decides it's time he's coming into the world and what happens Hashem comes into the world and automatically instantaneously everything is transformed right what does it tell us that that Hashem voice as he spoke the 10 commandments was heard from all directions in the world off for the compass points and up and down it was overwhelming it was all over the entire world omnipresent it said everything shut down everything else was silent the meadows not a bird was chirping not an ox bellowed right so all of a sudden who is this intense overwhelming revelation of godliness and then what happened as soon just as abruptly as it came on it was over it was Oh in fact we see this major banner tells the people before the giving of the Toyota don't go near the mountain don't even touch the mountain because it's holy and then right after the revelation is over he says now you can touch the mountain again in other words the mountain didn't change there's no permanent effect on the mountain during the revelation oh I'm Toyota right but as soon as it was over back to normal why because when something comes from above to below like that it's intense it fills the whole world but it's easy come easy go it's not transformative it's not transformative it comes out intensely it has a massive effect but then it's gone as quickly as it came contrast that with what with the idea of us creating a holy space but also li mikdash you the Jewish people make for you make me a holy place you gather the materials you go put it together when there's a donation meaning when a person has to overcome his own selfish Drive his own ego and he has to take from something that he owns and he has to sanctify it he has to dedicate it he has to say this is for a Shem so now we were talking about something completely different we're talking about instead of above to below we're talking about below to above when it's below to above each individual working on themselves to be as generous as possible now the effect is permanent and that's indeed what happened the mission the mission became permanently whole in fact even after the 40 years in the desert the Michigan was interred in the catacombs under the underneath the basin McDo senior shall I am it continues to be there that's where Malik will be built catacombs under the base of English and the Michigan the parts of the Michigan continue to be there and continue to be holy so think about it hi-c nigh the mountain became holy for as long as the revelation will ensued but as soon as the revelation was over the mountains no longer holy why because above to below it's instant it's intense but then it's gone the Mishkan that was a project that we did that was our work so therefore it was permanently transformative that's the Hitler's thats the novel point of this parsha it's about holiness that comes about in the world from below to above therefore the point of the parsha is not that there is holiness in the world McDuck from the world Kadesh the point of the parsha is trauma donation which to Norma also means uplifting to lift up the point of the parsha is that a person can reach within himself overcome his ego overcome his selfish instinct and give something to a Shem when you do that when you have to overcome your own internal struggle like velvel what happens is you become transformed you become the giver you become a different person so through the act it's not just the value of the act itself it is the after effect that it leaves in this world so you should remember that when we're doing good it's not just the momentary benefit doing good helps us to become more of a sanctuary we become the Mik - for Shem in this world