Terumah
תרומהBuilding the Mishkan
39 translated essays · 74 total
תרל"א(1870)
Receiving Torah through emunah and ratzon· Essay 1
In the Midrash on "And they shall take for Me" — this is the meaning of "For I have given you a good acquisition (lekach tov)" — there is in it silver, there is in it gold; from the broker (sarsur) it became known what the buy was; the sell…
Sincere will draws down divine completion· Essay 2
Moshe found the Menorah difficult [to fashion], and Hashem showed it to him. The Midrash relates that Moshe could not grasp how to make the Menorah, so Hashem showed him a fiery image of it. And afterward it is written that it was made by i…
Berachah reveals the holiness in every thing· Essay 3
In the Gemara: "The earth is Hashem's" (Tehillim 24:1) — this is before a berachah; and one who derives benefit without a berachah commits me'ilah (misappropriation of the sacred); "and the earth He gave to mankind" (Tehillim 115:16) — this…
תרל"ב(1871)
Acquiring Torah by elevating all deeds to Hashem· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "A good acquisition (lekach tov)… do not abandon the purchase… it contains gold, silver, fields, vineyards… is there any [other] purchase where the seller is sold along with it?…" — see there. The Midrash plays on the pasuk …
Hashem as the Place of all existence· Essay 2
My grandfather and teacher, of blessed memory, said regarding the month of Adar — based on the aforementioned Midrash — "And I shall dwell (v'adur) among you." The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim), who linked the name…
Berachos: recognizing all is from Hashem· Essay 3
My grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory, taught that the hundred berachos one recites each day correspond to the hundred sockets (adanim) that were the foundation of the Mishkan… The Sefas Emes opens with his grandfather's …
תרל"ג(1872)
The will to give elevates every mitzvah· Essay 1
"And they shall take for Me…" — in the Midrash: "A good acquisition (lekach tov) I have given you…" The parashah opens "Veyikchu Li terumah" ("they shall take for Me an offering"), and the Midrash links it to "I have given you a good acquis…
Building the Mikdash within through ratzon and emunah· Essay 2
In Rashi: "And they shall take for Me a terumah" — they shall set aside for Me from their money a free-will offering (nedavah), etc. The Sefas Emes opens with Rashi's comment on the command to bring terumah for the Mishkan: each person sets…
תרל"ד(1873)
Inner generosity elevates every deed· Essay 1
"And they shall take for Me a terumah (offering)." The Sefas Emes opens with the puzzling wording: why does the Torah say "take" rather than "give"? And it is difficult, for it should have said "they shall give." An offering is something on…
Concealment preserves what is for Heaven· Essay 2
"One who wishes that his possessions endure should plant among them the adar tree" (Gittin 67a). The Sefas Emes cites Chazal's counsel that property is preserved through the "adar" — a hint to the quality of concealment and inwardness rathe…
Small gifts that reveal the Shechinah· Essay 3
"And I shall dwell among them... according to all... the form... and so shall you do" (Shemos 25:8-9). The Sefas Emes opens by citing the verses of the command to build the Mishkan, where Hashem promises to dwell among Bnei Yisrael. The wor…
תרל"ה(1874)
Torah reveals the hidden light of creation· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "I have given you a good teaching (lekach tov)…", as it is written, "How abundant is Your goodness (mah rav tuvcha)…" The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash linking the Torah, called a "good acquisition," to the "abundant goo…
Torah as the vessel to grasp divine fire· Essay 2
There is also an explanation that "lekach" (taking) is related to the word "melkachayim" (tongs), which Rashi explains is a clamp; since one cannot take fire with one's bare hands, the vessel is called "melkachayim." The Sefas Emes plays on…
תרל"ז(1876)
The wakeful inner point of generosity· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "I am asleep but my heart is awake" (Shir HaShirim 5:2) — "I am asleep" in the cheit of the Eigel, and Hashem knocks upon me: "Let them take for Me a terumah (offering)…" (Shemos 25:2). Even while Bnei Yisrael "slumbered" in…
Revealing the Shechinah in every act· Essay 2
On the pasuk "And they shall make for Me a Mikdash... according to all that I show you... the form of the Mishkan... its vessels, and so shall you do..." — we have already written of this elsewhere, and the root of the matter is based on th…
Sincere readiness lets Hashem complete the deed· Essay 3
On the pasuk "And see and make, according to their pattern" (Shemos 25:40). The Sefas Emes opens on the command to Moshe to "see and make" the vessels of the Mishkan after a heavenly pattern. Rashi wrote that Moshe Rabbeinu found the making…
תרל"ט(1878)
Elevating the holy good in everything· Essay 2
In the Midrash: "A good acquisition (lekach tov) I have given you" — in it there is silver, in it there is gold, and so on. The Midrash reads the pasuk about the Mishkan's donations of silver and gold as a hint to the Torah, which is called…
Moshe draws the Mishkan's root downward· Essay 3
Further, in the Midrash: from the broker's commission it becomes known what he took (sold). The Sefas Emes cites a Midrash that uses the image of a sarsur (broker): just as you can deduce what a broker sold from the commission he was paid, …
Unity from joining the particulars· Essay 4
Further, in the Midrash: "Make Me one small chamber (kiton)..." as it is written, "And this is the terumah (offering)" (Shemos 25:3). The Sefas Emes cites a Midrash on Hashem's request that Bnei Yisrael make Him a single dwelling-chamber, t…
תר"מ(1879)
Torah's power to consecrate the physical· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "A good acquisition (lekach tov) I have given" (Mishlei 4:2). The Midrash applies the pasuk "a good lekach" to the Torah, and the Sefas Emes will unpack the word "lekach" (literally "a taking"). "It has silver… it has gold… …
Mishkan sanctifies all everyday deeds· Essay 2
On the pasuk "And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell among them, according to all," and so on. The Sefas Emes opens with the command to build the Mishkan so that Hashem's presence rests "among them" (Shemos 25:8). "And so …
תרמ"א(1880)
תרמ"ב(1881)
Mishkan unites vision and action· Essay 1
"And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary... according to all that I show you... and so shall you do." (Shemos 25:8-9) The Mishkan is to be built exactly as Hashem shows Moshe Rabbeinu — and the Sefas Emes will explain how "showing" and "doin…
The soul-root that yearns to reunite· Essay 2
And in the Midrash: "I am asleep but my heart is awake" — she is asleep in galus, but her heart is awake to redeem her. The Sefas Emes reads the verse from Shir HaShirim as describing Bnei Yisrael in exile: outwardly dormant, yet an inner p…
תרמ"ג(1882)
Unity awakens generosity within Klal Yisrael· Essay 1
On the pasuk: "And they shall take to Me a terumah (offering) from every person whose heart moves him to give" (Shemos 25:2). The Sefas Emes begins with the call for each person to contribute to the Mishkan out of a willing, generous heart.…
Elevating action through bittul lishmah· Essay 2
A further explanation of "from every man whose heart moves him [to give]." The Sefas Emes offers another reading of the Torah's call for donations to the Mishkan given by a willing heart. That the heart should donate the whole person, in me…
תרמ"ד(1883)
Undated
Teruma 5631· Essay 5631
תרל”א במדרש ויקחו לי הה”ד כי לקח טוב כו’ יש בו כסף כו’ זהב כו’ מן הסרסור נתודע מה לקח כו’ מוכר נמכר עמו כו’ The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 31:1) explains how when Bnei Yisrael received the Torah, …
Teruma 5632· Essay 5632
במדרש לקח טוב כו’ אל תעזובו את המקח כו’ יש בו זהב כסף שדות כרמים כו’ א”י מה לוקח כו’ המוכר נמכר עמו כו’ ע”ש. The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 31:1) On the pasuk (Mishlei 4:2) “For I have given you a …
Teruma 5633· Essay 5633
תרל”ג ויקחו לי כו’ במד’ לקח טוב נתתי לכם כו’. “You shall take a teruma for me”, (see above תרל”א Midrash Shemos Rabba 33:1) quoting the pasuk (Mishlei 4:2) “I have given you a good לקח instruction (connec…
Teruma 5634· Essay 5634
תרל”ד ויקחו לי תרומה. וקשה דהול”ל יתנו. (Shemos 25:2) “They shall take a donation for me”. The word “take” is difficult, it should say “give” ופי’ רש”י ז”ל יפרישו לי מממונם נדבה. Rashi (25:2) Explai…
Teruma 5635· Essay 5635
תרל”ה במדרש לקח טוב נתתי כו’ דכתיב מה רב טובך כו’. The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 33:1) “It is a good instruction… as it says How great is your good that you have hidden for those the fear You” דאיתא אור שנברא בשימ&…
Teruma 5637· Essay 5637
במדרש אני ישנה ולבי ער אני ישנה בחטא עגל והקדוש ב”ה מרתיק עלי ויקחו לי תרומה כו’. The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 33:3) explains the pasuk in Shir Hashirim (5:2) “I am asleep and my heart is awake”. This refers to Bnei Yisrael …
Teruma 5639· Essay 5639
במדרש לקח טוב נתתי כו’ יש בו כסף כו’ זהב כו’. The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 31:1) explains how when Bnei Yisrael received the Torah, it was unlike any other ‘purchase’ that a person normally makes. Usually if one buys s…
Tuma 5640· Essay 5640
במדרש לקח טוב נתתי. יש בו כסף כו’ זהב כו’ מוכר נמכר עמו כו’ The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 31:1) explains how when Bnei Yisrael received the Torah, it was unlike any other ‘purchase’ that a person normally makes. Usually…
Teruma 5641· Essay 5641
בפסוק ויקחו לי תרומה. ובמדרש כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם. On the Pasuk (Shemos 25:2) “And they shall take a terumah for me” The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 31:1) explains that when Bnei Yisrael received the Torah, it was unlike any other ‘purchase…
Teruma 5642· Essay 5642
ועשו לי מקדש כו’ ככל אשר אני מראה אותך כו’ וכן תעשו. כי קודם החטא היו בנ”י מוכנים להיות למעלה מהטבע כמלאכים. ואח”כ עשה השי”ת אתנו חסד שיהי’ נשאר הארה מהתורה בהתלבשות העשי’. ועל ידי נדיבות שנמצא בלב …
Teruma 5643· Essay 5643
בפסוק ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כ”א אשר ידבנו לבו. פי’ שצריך כ”א ליקח מן הכלל מכל פרט ופרט. כדאי’ איזהו חכם הלומד מכל אדם. שנמצא בכ”א נדיבות מיוחד שצריכין הכל ליקח זאת ממנו. וע”י התאחדות ונעשין א’. יכול כ&…
Terumah 5644· Essay 5644
במדרש לקח טוב נתתי אל תעזובו את המקח כו’ יש בו זהב כסף כו’. פי’ שע”י התורה יכולין ליקח הטוב ולהעלות כל הדברים שבעולם למצוא הטוב בהם. כי הלא כל מה שברא הקדוש ב”ה יש בו הטוב כמ”ש וירא אלקים כו’ כל אשר…
35 more essays from this section await translation.