Reply To: Short & Sweet

Vayakhel: Seize the Opportunity

Rashi famously tells us that the נשיאים were criticized for their response to the fundraising for the Mishkan. “Come to us when you’re done fundraising”, they said, “and whatever you’re missing – we’ll make up.” Enough money was raised from Bnei Yisroel that their contributions were not needed.

But what is wrong with such a response? Isn’t it every fundraisers dream to have somebody guarantee the success of their campaign?

Perhaps the problem was how the נשיאים viewed the request. Their response showed that they thought it was up to them to get the job done; they saw this as Hashem asking for their help. Yet in reality, the opposite was true.

‎לי הכסף ולי הזהב, Hashem has all the money in the world – He does not need your help. If so, why did He ask for donations for the Mishkan? The answer is that He is not requesting our assistance – He is offering us the opportunity to get involved.

When the nation finished the project on their own, the נשיאים realized that had been left out. They then realized that the Mishkan didn’t need them – it was they who needed a way to connect to the Mishkan.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום