Eternal love of Hashem planted in the heart

ויקחו לי כו'.

"And they shall take for Me [a terumah] …" (Shemos 25:2).

The piece opens with the command to bring a terumah (offering) "for Me" — for Hashem.

איתא במדרש כל מקום שנאמר לי קיים לעולם.

It is brought in the Midrash: wherever it says "for Me (li)," it endures forever.

The Midrash teaches that anything the Torah designates as "for Me" — for Hashem's sake — has an everlasting quality.

א"כ זה הנדיבות נמצא לעולם בישראל.

If so, this generosity (nedivus) exists forever within Yisrael.

Since the terumah is "for Me," the generous-heartedness it expresses is permanently implanted in Bnei Yisrael.

ויכולין תמיד להרים זאת התרומה.

And they are always able to raise up this terumah.

Because that generosity is eternal, every Jew can, at any time, "raise up" this offering of the heart.

שזה הרצון והתשוקה בלבות בנ"י שנטע הקב"ה בנו בקבלת התורה.

For this is the ratzon (will) and the yearning in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael that Hashem planted within us at the receiving of the Torah.

The terumah is fundamentally an inner will and longing for Hashem, a desire that He planted in Jewish hearts at Matan Torah.

ונק' מטבע של אש כמ"ש כה דברי כאש.

And it is called a "coin of fire," as it says, "Are not My words like fire?" (Yirmiyahu 23:29).

This implanted yearning is likened to fire — a burning passion — just as Hashem's words are compared to fire.

וז"ש אהבתי אתכם כו' ואוהב את יעקב.

And this is the meaning of "I have loved you … and I loved Yaakov" (Malachi 1:2).

The prophet's words express Hashem's love — but the Sefas Emes will read "and I loved" as an active planting of love.

ואוהב פועל יוצא שנטע ביעקב להיות אהבת ה' קבוע בלבם.

"And I loved" (va'ohav) is a transitive verb — that He planted in Yaakov that the love of Hashem be fixed in their hearts.

Reading "va'ohav" as transitive ("I caused to love"), the verse means Hashem implanted love for Himself in Yaakov, fixing ahavas Hashem permanently in their hearts.

כמ"ש אוהבם נדבה.

As it says, "I will love them freely (nedavah)" (Hoshea 14:5).

This love is "nedavah" — freely given and generous — the same root as the terumah's nedivus.

נדבה הרי זו.

"Nedavah" — this is it.

The free-willed love of "nedavah" is precisely the generosity of the terumah being discussed.

שנטע בהם האהבה שאינה משתנית לעולם.

For He planted in them a love that never changes.

The love Hashem implanted is unchanging and permanent — it cannot be uprooted.

ועלי' נאמר מים רבים לא יוכלו לכבות.

And of it is said, "Many waters cannot extinguish [the love]" (Shir HaShirim 8:7).

This fixed love is so deep that no flood of worldly distractions can put it out.

ובמד' אני ישנה ולבי ער.

And in the Midrash: "I am asleep, but my heart is awake" (Shir HaShirim 5:2).

The Midrash applies this verse to Bnei Yisrael, expressing how even when outwardly "asleep," their inner heart remains awake to Hashem.

ישנה ממעשה העגל.

"Asleep" — from the deed of the Golden Calf.

One reading is that "asleep" alludes to the slumber of the sin of the Golden Calf.

אך אמרו במד' דשיר השירים ניתן לשבחן של ישראל.

However, they said in the Midrash that Shir HaShirim was given for the praise of Yisrael.

But since the Midrash holds that Shir HaShirim speaks Israel's praise, a more favorable reading is called for.

ולכן יש לפרש ישנה ממעשה העוה"ז והטבע.

Therefore one may explain "asleep" as referring to the affairs of this world and nature.

The praiseworthy reading is that Bnei Yisrael are "asleep" to the lures of this material, natural world — indifferent to its pull — while their hearts stay awake to Hashem.

כי ישנ"ה גי' שס"ה.

For "yesheinah" (asleep) has the numerical value (gematria) of 365.

The word "asleep" equals 365 in gematria, hinting at the 365 negative commandments.

ושס"ה ל"ת ניתנו לישראל שעי"ז לא יתקשרו במעשה גשמיות.

And the 365 negative mitzvos (lo sa'aseh) were given to Yisrael, so that through them they not become entangled in physical deeds.

The 365 prohibitions correspond to "asleep": they keep Bnei Yisrael from being bound up in coarse, physical involvements — a holy sleep to the material world.

ונגד שס"ה ימים בשנה שהוא בחי' הזמן והטבע.

And they correspond to the 365 days of the year, which is the aspect of time and nature.

The 365 prohibitions also parallel the 365 days of the solar year — the realm of time and nature that the prohibitions guard against.

ולבי ע"ר גי' רמ"ח וכ"ב אותיות התורה.

And "v'libi er" (but my heart is awake) has the gematria of 248, plus the 22 letters of the Torah.

"But my heart is awake" equals 248 (with the 22 letters of the alef-beis), pointing to the 248 positive commandments.

שמצות עשה רמ"ח ניתן לישראל שעי"ז יזכרו בתורת ה' ואהבתו.

For the 248 positive mitzvos were given to Yisrael, so that through them they remember the Torah of Hashem and His love.

The 248 positive mitzvos correspond to the "awake" heart: they actively keep Bnei Yisrael mindful of Hashem's Torah and the love planted within them.

ושניהם בחי' זכור ושמור.

And the two of them are the aspects of "Remember" and "Guard."

The positive (248, "awake," remember) and negative (365, "asleep," guard) mitzvos parallel "Zachor" and "Shamor" — the active and the protective dimensions of avodah.

וא"כ פי' ישנה ממעשה העגל לשכוח מעשה העגל כמ"ש אלה תשכחנה ואנכי לא אשכחך בחי' עשרת הדיברות שיהיו חקוקין ונזכרין בלב איש ישראל לעולם.

And if so, the meaning of "asleep from the deed of the Calf" is to forget the deed of the Calf, as it says, "these may be forgotten, but I will not forget you" (Yeshayahu 49:15) — the aspect of the Ten Commandments, that they be engraved and remembered in the heart of every Jew forever.

Combining both readings: being "asleep" to the Calf means letting that sin be forgotten, while "I will not forget you" assures the bond endures. The Aseres HaDibros remain engraved in every Jewish heart permanently — the "awake heart" that outlasts any sin.

זה ולבי ער.

This is "but my heart is awake."

The engraved, ever-remembered Ten Commandments are precisely the "awake heart" of Bnei Yisrael.

רק שצריך אדם להוציא זה הנדיבות הלב מכח אל הפועל.

It is only that a person must bring this generosity of the heart from potential into actuality.

The implanted love and generosity are always present in potential; one's task is to activate them, to bring them into actual deed.

כמ"ש ידבנו לבו שהלב ימשוך כל האדם אל זה הנדיבות:

As it says, "[every man] whose heart moves him (yidvenu libo)" (Shemos 25:2) — that the heart should draw the entire person toward this generosity.

The terumah is brought by one "whose heart moves him": the inner generosity must take hold of the whole person and translate the planted love into action.

Summary: Because the terumah is "for Me," the Midrash teaches it endures forever — meaning the generous yearning for Hashem is permanently planted in Jewish hearts since Matan Torah, an unchanging love that "many waters cannot extinguish." Reading "I am asleep but my heart is awake" as Israel's praise, the Sefas Emes shows by gematria that "asleep" (365) parallels the 365 prohibitions that keep a Jew detached from the material world, while "my heart is awake" (248) parallels the 248 positive mitzvos that keep him mindful of Hashem's love — together "Guard" and "Remember." The Ten Commandments remain engraved in every heart, and the avodah is to draw this latent generosity into actual deed, "whose heart moves him."