Acquiring Torah by elevating all deeds to Hashem

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.

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 "For I have given you a good acquisition (lekach tov)" (Mishlei 4:2), describing the Torah as a purchase so precious that, uniquely, the One who "sells" it — Hashem Himself — comes together with the merchandise.

פי' המדרש כי העיקר הלקיחה תמיד מחדש להשיג בתורה תמיד עד אין שיעור וסוף.

The explanation of the Midrash: the essence is that one must constantly "acquire" anew, to keep grasping more and more of the Torah, without limit or end.

Torah is not a one-time purchase that one owns and sets aside; it must be re-acquired fresh every day, for its depths are infinite.

כי הכל יש בתורה כמ"ש תורת ה' תמימה כו'.

For everything is contained in the Torah, as it is written: "The Torah of Hashem is perfect (temimah)…" (Tehillim 19:8).

Because the Torah is complete and all-encompassing, there is always more to discover; one never exhausts it.

ועד שזוכה לראות כי אין להשיג עמקי התורה.

Until one merits to see that the depths of the Torah cannot be fully grasped.

The highest level of understanding is the very recognition that the Torah's depth is beyond complete comprehension.

ואז כשיראה ויבין עומק התורה כמ"ש נעלמה מעיני כ"ח כו'.

And then, when he sees and understands the depth of the Torah, as it is written: "It is hidden from the eyes of all living…" (Iyov 28:21).

True insight into Torah brings the humbling awareness that its inner essence remains concealed even from the wisest.

אז יזכה יותר עד שהקב"ה יהי' עמו כמ"ש נמכר עמו כו'.

Then he merits even more, until the Holy One Himself is with him, as the Midrash said: "the seller is sold along with it…"

The deeper one's humility and longing, the closer Hashem draws — He "comes along with" His Torah and dwells with the one who seeks it.

וז"ש א"ת את המקח שיש לשמור תמיד לחפש יותר ויותר.

This is the meaning of "do not abandon the purchase" — that one must always be careful to seek more and more.

The mitzvah is never to let go of the pursuit of Torah, but to keep searching ever deeper.

וליקח עצמו מחדש בכל יום ושעה.

And to acquire oneself anew every day and every hour.

This renewal applies not only to Torah but to the person himself — he must re-dedicate himself constantly.

שידע תמיד כי עודנו מבחוץ.

So that he always knows that he is still on the outside.

A person must retain the humility of knowing he has not yet entered the inner chambers of Torah, which keeps him striving.

והדקדוק ויקחו לי דהול"ל ויתנו לי.

And there is a precision in the wording: "Let them take for Me (veyikchu li)" (Shemos 25:2) — whereas it should have said "Let them give to Me (veyitnu li)."

When Bnei Yisrael bring terumah for the Mishkan, the Torah speaks of "taking" rather than "giving," which begs explanation.

אך עפמ"ש האיש אשר עשיתי.

But it can be understood based on what is written: "the man whom I have made (asher asisi)."

The Sefas Emes brings a Chazal that reframes who is truly giving and who is receiving.

ודרשו חז"ל יותר משבע"ב עושה עם העני העני עושה עמו כו' [כמדומה שכ' במ"א].

And Chazal expounded: "More than the householder does for the poor man, the poor man does for the householder…" [it seems this was written elsewhere].

When one gives tzedakah, the giver gains far more spiritually than the recipient gains materially — so the "giver" is really the one who "takes."

אך האמת הוא כי צריך להיות הלקיחה מכל דבר רק לצורך הנתינה אליו ית'.

But the truth is that the "taking" from everything must be solely for the purpose of giving it back to Him, may He be blessed.

Whatever a person takes hold of in this world should be taken only in order to elevate it and offer it back to Hashem.

וזה ויקחו לי שכל פעולה ומעשה שמתקבלת לאדם ורוצה לעשותה ולהתדבק בה.

This is "Let them take for Me" — that every action and deed that a person is drawn to and wishes to perform and attach himself to,

Every act we engage in, every involvement we feel pulled toward,

יהי' רק לשמו ית' שיצמח מזה נ"ר אליו ית'.

should be solely for His Name, that there grow from it nachas ruach (satisfaction) before Him.

The intention behind every deed should be that it bring pleasure to Hashem — that is what makes the "taking" into a giving for Him.

וממילא כשכוונה זו בכל דבר.

And consequently, when this intention is present in everything,

Once this kavanah (intent) infuses all one's actions,

שוב כל הדברים מסייעין לו.

then all things assist him,

everything in the world becomes a help toward serving Hashem rather than a distraction.

ומצליחין בידו אל עבודת השי"ת כמ"ש טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו.

and they succeed in his hand toward the avodah of Hashem, as it is written: "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning" (Koheles 7:8).

When deeds are oriented to Hashem, their outcome surpasses their start, for they ripen into genuine avodah.

ועי"ז יוכל להרים באמת הכל אליו ית'.

And through this he can truly raise up everything to Him.

This intention enables a person to literally elevate all of his deeds and the world around him to Hashem.

וז"ש ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל.

This is the meaning of "Let them take for Me a terumah (offering) from every [person]" (Shemos 25:2).

The word terumah comes from "to lift up" (le-harim) — the offering is the act of raising things to Hashem.

ממש להרים הכל אליו.

Literally, to raise everything up to Him,

The terumah is not merely a donation but the elevation of all one's deeds.

ע"י הפרשת דבר מכל מעשיו לשמו ית'.

by setting aside something from all of his deeds for His Name.

Just as terumah is separated from the produce, a person dedicates a portion of each of his actions to Hashem, sanctifying the whole.

גם פי' מאת כל איש להיות כל מעשה האדם בכללות ישראל כדי להיות לו ית' נ"ר מבנ"י.

Also, the meaning of "from every man" is that all of a person's deeds should be within the collective of Klal Yisrael, so that Hashem have nachas ruach from Bnei Yisrael.

A person should not act as a lone individual but as part of Klal Yisrael, so that his deeds give Hashem pleasure as part of the whole nation.

וכשמכניס עצמו בכלל ישראל.

And when he brings himself into the collective of Yisrael,

By joining himself to the Klal,

מעשיו מתרוממים אליו ית'.

his deeds are elevated to Him.

An individual deed gains the power of the whole nation and rises to Hashem.

וכל איש הוא כלל ישראל כמ"ש כל איש ישראל.

And every man is [potentially] the whole of Klal Yisrael, as it says "every man of Yisrael."

Each individual contains within himself the entirety of Klal Yisrael when he aligns himself with it.

אשר ידבנו לבו.

"Whose heart moves him [to give]" (Shemos 25:2).

The offering must come from a willing, generous heart.

כי מי שאינו כך אינו בכלל איש ישראל כי כפי הכנת עצמו זוכה להיכנס בכלל איש ישראל.

For one who is not so is not within the category of "a man of Yisrael," because according to how a person prepares himself, so he merits to enter the collective of "a man of Yisrael."

Belonging to Klal Yisrael is not automatic; one earns it by readying his heart and nullifying his self toward the whole.

ואא"ז מו"ר ז"ל פי' המשנה אם אין אני לי מי לי וכשאני לעצמי מה אני.

And my grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory, explained the Mishnah: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But when I am for myself alone, what am I?" (Avos 1:14).

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim, on Hillel's famous teaching about the self and the collective.

כי כל איש נברא על דבר מיוחד.

For every person was created for a particular purpose.

"If I am not for myself" — each individual has a unique mission that only he can fulfill.

ומ"מ לא להיות לעצמו רק לבטל מעשיו להכניס עצמו לכלל ישראל כנ"ל.

And nevertheless, he must not be for himself alone, but rather to nullify his deeds and bring himself into the collective of Yisrael, as above.

"When I am for myself alone, what am I?" — yet that individual mission must be performed in bittul (self-nullification), as part of Klal Yisrael, not for self-aggrandizement.

והוא כלל הצריך לפרט ופרט הצריך לכלל.

This is "a general principle that requires a detail, and a detail that requires the general principle."

The individual (perat) and the collective (klal) depend on each other — neither is complete without the other.

וז"ש כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו כו' ובזוה"ק פי' כל איש להיות כל חיות וחשק ורצון האדם רק אליו ית'.

This is the meaning of "every man whose heart moves him…" And in the holy Zohar it is explained: "kol ish" (every man / all of a man) means that all of a person's vitality, desire, and will should be directed solely to Him.

The Zohar reads "kol ish" as "the whole man" — every part of one's life-force and longing must be devoted entirely to Hashem.

ובגמ' ילפינן קיחה קיחה משדה עפרון שאשה נקנית בכסף כו'.

And in the Gemara we learn a gezeirah shavah (verbal analogy) of "taking"-"taking" from the field of Efron, that a woman is acquired with money… (Kiddushin 2a).

The same word "taking" used for terumah is used for kinyan (acquisition), linking marriage, the purchase of Efron's field, and the offering for the Mishkan.

כסף הוא החשק והתשוקה אליו ית' בכל החיות.

"Kesef" (silver/money) represents the yearning and longing toward Him with all of one's life-force.

The word kesef is related to "kisufin" (longing) — the true "money" of acquisition is passionate desire for Hashem.

ועי"ז יכולין להתדבק בו.

And through this one is able to cleave to Him.

This longing is the means by which a person attaches himself to Hashem.

ג"ש משדה עפרון ללמוד מגשמיות איך לעשות רצונו ית' בכל לב.

The verbal analogy from the field of Efron teaches us to learn from physicality how to do His will with all one's heart.

The lesson drawn from a worldly transaction (Efron's field) is how to invest oneself wholeheartedly in serving Hashem in the physical world.

כמ"ש עשה רצונו כרצונך כו'

As it says: "Make His will like your own will…" (Avos 2:4).

One should pursue ratzon Hashem with the same intensity he pursues his own desires.

ובמד' משל לבתו של מלך כו' יחידה היא ליטלה ממך א"א שהיא אשתך זו טובה עשה לי בכ"מ שאתה הולך עשה לי קיטון ואדור ביניכם כו'.

And in the Midrash there is a parable of a king's daughter… "She is an only daughter; I cannot take her from you, for she is your wife; do me this one kindness — wherever you go, make me a small chamber and I will dwell among you…" (Shemos Rabbah 33).

The parable: Hashem gives the Torah to Bnei Yisrael like a king giving his only daughter in marriage, and asks only that wherever they go they make Him a small dwelling (the Mishkan) so He can dwell among them.

פי' לפי מה שהתורה דבוקה באדם שלא נשכח ממנו כלל.

The explanation: to the extent that the Torah is bound up with a person so that it is never forgotten by him at all,

When the Torah becomes so much a part of a person that he never forgets it,

ממילא יוכל לזכות להשראת השכינה כמ"ש לפרוש א"א.

he is consequently able to merit the resting of the Shechinah, as the parable said: "to part from her I cannot."

Because the Torah ("the daughter") stays inseparably with him, the Shechinah comes to dwell with him as well.

אך וודאי כי היא למעלה מהטבע.

But certainly she [the Torah / Shechinah] is above nature.

This resting of the Shechinah is supernatural, beyond the grasp of ordinary perception.

והתעיף עיניך בו ואיננו.

"You let your eyes fly upon it, and it is gone" (Mishlei 23:5).

If one tries to seize it directly with the "eyes" of the ego, it vanishes — the holy cannot be grasped by self-assertion.

רק אם א"א ליטלה ממך שהיא אשתך כנ"ל.

Only if "it is impossible to take her from you, for she is your wife," as above.

The Shechinah remains only when the bond is so deep and intrinsic that it cannot be lost, like a marriage.

אז ע"י שבכל מעשיו מניח מקום ע"י הביטול להש"י כ' ואדור ביניכם.

Then, since in all his deeds he leaves a place [for Hashem] through bittul (self-nullification) to Hashem, it is written: "and I will dwell among you."

By making room in every action through self-nullification — the "small chamber" — a person allows Hashem to dwell within his very deeds.

וכמ"ש אל תעזובו מכלל שצריך עבודה תמיד שלא לעזוב כמ"ש בזוה"ק ע"פ ואתה ה' אל תרחק כו':

And as it says: "do not abandon [the purchase]" — implying that constant avodah is required so as not to abandon it, as it says in the holy Zohar on the pasuk: "But You, Hashem, do not be far…" (Tehillim 22:20).

The whole matter demands unceasing effort: one must continually work to keep Hashem near and never let go of the bond, as the Zohar teaches on the plea that Hashem not be distant.

Summary: The Torah is a "good acquisition" that must be re-acquired endlessly, for its depths are infinite and the One who gives it comes along with it. The Torah's "Let them take for Me" teaches that whatever we take hold of in this world should be taken only in order to elevate it back to Hashem, with the intention of giving Him nachas ruach. By acting in bittul as part of Klal Yisrael, directing all one's life-force and longing toward Hashem, a person leaves a "small chamber" in every deed — and there the Shechinah comes to dwell, provided he never abandons the constant avodah of keeping that bond alive.