קחו מוסרי ואל כסף ודעת מחרוץ נבחר, "accept my discipline instead of silver; accept knowledge instead of gold.⁠" (Proverbs 8,10).

In this verse Solomon warns man that he should harness his powers of alertness and energy for the pursuit of the ethical values of Torah rather than for the amassing of silver and gold. The reason is that the values Torah has to offer are useful both in this world and in the hereafter whereas silver and gold are useful only in this life. Not only that, a surfeit of silver and gold is potentially quite destructive and brings with it many causes for worry. This is what the sages said in Avot 2,7: "he who amasses silver (money) increases his worries.⁠" The only thing which cannot be amassed to excess without negative results is Torah. The meaning of the words: "and knowledge is preferable to gold" is "accept the knowledge dispensed by Torah for it is superior to gold.⁠" The reason Solomon employed the word קחו for the acquisition of ethical imperatives is that just as material benefits are acquired by the owner "taking" them, i.e. they are not usually the result of a windfall, so a similar effort is required to obtain proficiency in Torah knowledge and for the student to embrace its ethical message. Anyone displaying laziness in his attitude to the acquisition of Torah is liable to punishment even if he does observe the relevant commandment. If he were to pay lip-service to the importance of Torah-study and implementing its teachings but he relates to it with a lukewarm heart, he is guilty of a sin too great to carry. On the one hand, he does perform (go through the motions) the commandment, but on the other hand, he is subject to punishment for the disdain he displayed in the manner in which he fulfills the commandment.
The same applies to people who say their prayers regularly, but as a form of routine, possibly even thinking of their business affairs while uttering the holy words of the prayers as composed by our sages. Anyone who acts in this manner is almost guilty of violating the commandment (20,23) "You shall not make (gods) of what is with Me, either out of silver or even out of gold.⁠" We have already explained that the principal meaning of this line is that "while you are standing in My presence, addressing Me, you shall not think of either silver or gold, i.e. your private affairs.⁠" Any petitioner, or even person who simply offers up praises to the Lord, estranges himself from God by doing so. It is something one would not dare do during an audience with a mortal king, a king of flesh and blood; how much more offensive is it when done vis-a-vis the King of Kings. When a person wears his phylacteries and is too lazy to take them off before going to sleep, he is guilty of a similar severe offense against God. Similarly, one must not pass gas while wearing the phylacteries. Anything the sages legislated with regard to proper respect for the phylacteries applies to the performance of the other commandments also.
You have now learned that even while performing a commandment one may become guilty of a sin by the very manner in which one performs the commandment because of the lazy manner in which one performs it. The matter is comparable to vinegar drunk by people at the physicians' urging. This drink may be beneficial to one's health or it may even be detrimental. It all depends. While it may cure one's stomach, it may harm one's teeth. Similarly, the heat of a fire may be gut-warming and may dissipate the effects of winter. At the same time, the accompanying smoke and its inhalation may cause harm to one's lungs. What follows from all this is how important it is to ensure that one's mitzvah-performance does not result in unwelcome side-effects. This is the reason Solomon always condemns laziness, considering it a very negative character trait. (compare Proverbs 10,26: "as vinegar is to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy man to those who send him on a mission.⁠") Another verse in which Solomon expresses his disdain for the lazy is Proverbs 13,4: "the soul of the lazy man desires but has nothing;⁠" What Solomon means is that if someone desires something and comes to the conclusion that he does not lack anything worth desiring, this is proof that he is lazy. Had he made a serious effort to find things which need improving he would have found such matters. [An example would be someone looking to do charity but not finding a person in need of charity. Ed.] Our sages (Megillah 6) phrase it thus: if a person says to you: 'I have tried but could not find, do not believe him'; if he said: 'I did not try but I did find, do not believe him either.' If, however, he says: "I have tried to find and succeeded in finding, do believe him!⁠" This is why Solomon was so insistent that laziness is a very bad character trait. Another occasion in the Book of Proverbs where Solomon makes the point of exhorting us in the name of the Torah to be diligent is in Proverbs 6,6: "go to the ant, you lazybones; study its ways and wise up!⁠" The ant is to serve as an inspiration to man. Although it is one of the most inferior of all the crawling insects it uses the summer in order to stock up for a winter without being forced to do so by a ruler.

When a person is diligent in perfecting his character traits he will experience that he enjoys constant personality growth. He will find that every day he is walking in a forward direction, never regressing (Jeremiah 7,24). Concerning the people mentioned by Jeremiah, Solomon said (Proverbs 15,19): "the way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is paved.⁠" A lazy man has prevented himself from making progress by his very laziness. Instead of progressing morally and ethically he regresses using his lethargic manner to prevent him from accomplishing anything. If we were to compare such a man to a wheat field with all its potential to produce a useful crop, he would instead produce only nettles. Solomon employs this parable when saying in Proverbs 24,30-31: "I have passed by the field of the lazy man, and passed the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding. Here it was, all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles, its stone fence was broken down. Solomon compared a person who is too lazy to perfect his personality to a farmer who is too lazy to tend the various forms of labour required to produce a crop. Seeing that most people do have the energy to bestir themselves in the pursuit of silver or gold, Solomon demands that they apply themselves with equal vigour to the study of Torah and the ethical imperatives contained in the Torah. Torah is also called מוסר "ethical teaching,⁠" as we know from Proverbs 6,23 ודרך חיים תוכחת מוסר, "instructive rebukes are a way of life.⁠" By applying these teachings to oneself man acquires eternal life in the hereafter where he will feast on the glory of the Shechinah. Our sages in Proverbs 2,21 interpreted the words: "for the upright dwell on earth, and the blameless will remain on it,⁠" to mean that the word ישכנו in that verse is a reference to these people enjoying the glory of the Shechinah when their time comes to move to the celestial regions. The Shechinah is always close to the Torah. When God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai the Torah wrote (Exodus 24,16) וישכון כבוד ה' על הר סיני, "the Shechinah of God rested on Mount Sinai as the attribute of כבוד, 'honour, glory.'" "It", i.e. the Torah, is the cause that the Shechinah rested on Mount Sinai when God revealed Himself there, and the word וישכון refers to a hidden presence of the Shechinah, whereas the word כבוד refers to the revealed nature of that appearance of the Shechinah during the giving of the Torah. This was confirmed when the Torah described this manifestation in Exodus 24,17 as ומראה כבוד ה' כאש אוכלת בראש ההר לעיני בני ישראל. "Now the Presence of the Lord appeared in the sight of the Israelites as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain.⁠" Later on, when the Tabernacle was constructed, this Shechinah was hidden inside the Holy of Holies and in order to proceed with the construction of the Tabernacle housing the Shechinah the people were bidden to bring their respective contributions.

ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי, "and from every person whose heart so moves him you shall accept the gifts for Me.⁠" The plain meaning of the text is that these gifts were dedicated to God's name. The word תרומה means something set aside. In other words, the Israelites were to set aside a voluntary contribution for the building of the Tabernacle each out of his or her own funds. The whole concept of the Tabernacle has to be understood as an internalized version of what transpired during the revelation at Mount Sinai (based on Nachmanides). The very attribute כבוד which rested on Mount Sinai for all to see afterwards was manifest inside the Holy of Holies on the ark between the cherubs on an ongoing basis. The principal difference was that it could no longer be seen. Moses had said in Deut. 5,21 "here the Lord has shown us His majestic Presence כבוד וגדלו,⁠" and this has been repeated in connection with the Tabernacle twice more. Once in Exodus 40,34: "and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.⁠" In the verse immediately following, the Torah also writes that Moses was unable to enter the Tabernacle as the cloud had settled over it and "the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.⁠" Just as the Torah wrote in connection with the Mount Sinai experience (Deut. 4,36) "From the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; on the earth He let you see His great fire; and from amidst the fire you heard His words,⁠" so a parallel experience is described in connection with the Tabernacle in Numbers 7,89: "he (Moses) would hear the voice addressing him from above the cover that was on top of the Ark of the covenant between the two cherubs; thus He spoke to him.⁠" If, at Mount Sinai, the "nobles" were described as: "they saw the God of Israel,⁠" we find something similar in connection with the Tabernacle in that the God of Israel "sat" on the cherubs (Samuel II 6,20). This is also what the prophet Ezekiel reported as seeing in his vision (Ezekiel 10,19-20) וכבוד אלו-הי ישראל עליהם מלמעלה, היא החיה אשר ראיתי תחת אלו-הי ישראל בנהר כבר ואדע כי כרובים המה, "and the glory of the God of Israel was above them; this was the Chayah which I saw beneath the God of Israel at the river Kevar.⁠"

תקחו את תרומתי, "take (accept) the contribution for Me.⁠" After the Torah had first mentioned whose heart would be moved by generosity of spirit the Torah informs us that such a spirit results in the gift being described by God as "My gift,⁠" as if it were God's own contribution. God feels close to people who are of generous heart whereas He hates people who are stingy by nature. Furthermore, the word תרומתי, is meant to teach that once the donation has been made (promised), it belongs to God, and if the donor does not pay it he is liable to punishment as he has stolen from God. Once the gift has left the domain of the donor, he is no longer responsible for what happens to it.

It is possible to explain the fact that the word תרומה occurs here three times in two verses as meaning that the Torah speaks of three different contributions by means of which the world is elevated. They are: חכמה, תבונה, ודעת, "wisdom-insight-know-ledge.⁠" This is based on Proverbs 3,19-20: "God founded the earth with wisdom; He established the heavens with understanding. By His knowledge the depths were broken up.⁠" The reason why these facts were alluded to here was that the construction of the Tabernacle was comparable to the construction of the universe (Bamidbar Rabbah 12,13). The first of these gifts was the one mentioned here which was used for the construction of the Tabernacle. The second תרומה consisted of the half-shekel which every male over the age of 20 had to contribute after the sin of the golden calf for the construction of the sockets of the beams making up the walls of the Tabernacle (Exodus 30,13). The third was the contribution known as תרומת המזבח, the half shekel contributed by all the males for financing the cost of the daily public offerings to be brought on behalf of the entire people. This is the תרומה mentioned in Numbers 1,2 where Moses was commanded to count the males above the age of twenty. The counting took place by means of each Israelite contributing a coin of a half-shekel. Of these three תרומות, contributions, two were considered sacred (the money), whereas the third, the one mentioned in 30,13 was not of sacred character as the occasion was the need to atone for the donor's part in the sin of the golden calf. This is spelled out in detail by the words ונתנו איש כופר נפשו, "they shall each contribute (the half shekel) as an atonement for his soul" (30,12). When the Israelites entered the Holy Land they were once more commanded three times to contribute a תרומה. Two of these contributions were sacred in character, whereas the third was profane. The third, i.e. חלה, was profane seeing that it is applicable not only in the Holy Land but also in the Diaspora. The reason that the commandment of חלה, a תרומה for the priest, is the exception in that it also has to be set aside in the Diaspora is to ensure that the knowledge of this commandment will not be forgotten during the long years of exile the Jewish people experienced. In order to make it clear to us that the Tabernacle's construction equaled that of the creation of the universe the Torah mentioned all the three תרומות which contributed to the founding of earth (as per the verse in Proverbs) at the beginning of the portion before we hear the details of the materials and quantities and measurements required. This is why the Torah writes about Betzalel the master-craftsman in charge of the construction of the Tabernacle: "I have filled him with a Godly spirit, with wisdom, insight, and knowledge, and with every craft" (Exodus 31,3). According to Berachot 55 Betzalel was able to combine the letters of the alphabet or of the Torah in the manner in which they had been used to create the universe. The wording of our verse is what I have just quoted, and the wording in Proverbs is: "God founded earth with wisdom, etc.⁠" Our sages wanted to hint when writing all this that there was a parallelism of the wisdom required in creating the universe and in the wisdom required to carry out the instructions pertaining to constructing the Tabernacle and its contents.

You will find in Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 3 that Solomon employed all of these three elements (wisdom, insight, and knowledge) to build his Temple. You find in Mechilta 7,14 that Chirom (compare Kings I 4,13-14) "was the son of a widowed woman from the tribe of Naftali whose father had been a coppersmith in the city of Tyre. He was endowed with חכמה, תבונה, ודעת,⁠" exactly the same talents as mentioned in connection with Betzalel and mentioned by Solomon in Proverbs. In the future, when the third Temple will be built, the same three attributes will also be employed in its construction. The precise wording is (Proverbs 24,3-4) "a house is built by wisdom; it is established through understanding; its rooms are filled with knowledge.⁠" God will endow the Israelites with all three as a gift as we know from Proverbs 2,6: "for the Lord will grant wisdom, etc.⁠" You will note that Solomon did not speak about wisdom having been granted but about wisdom which will be granted in the future. All of these three attributes will be granted to King Messiah as we know from Isaiah 11,2: "a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and valor; a spirit of knowledge and reverence for the Lord.⁠"

A Midrashic approach: "What do the words ויקחו לי תרומה, "and they will take a gift for Me mean?⁠" After I, God, already have given them My gift, i.e. the Torah, in which is written כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם תורתי, "for I have given you good instructions, My Torah, etc., I ask you to bring Me a gift" (compare Proverbs 4,2). How are we to understand the words כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם? Tanchuma Terumah 2-3 describes the following parable. There were two merchants. One had pepper the other had silk. They exchanged their respective merchandise, the former one taking the silk, the latter took the pepper. As a result of these transactions, each of the merchants now lacked what he had previously possessed. Not so with Torah. If someone studies tractate Moed this will become his property. If another studies tractate Zeraim this will become his property. He who has mastered tractate Moed can now teach the one who had not learned it as yet without giving up what he already possesses. This is the meaning of "for I have given you good instruction.⁠" You will retain it. It happened once that a certain person found himself on a boat together with many merchants each of whom carried his wares with him. Seeing that the scholar did not have a bundle they asked him: "where is your merchandise?⁠" He answered them: "my merchandise is superior to yours.⁠" The other merchants searched the whole boat without being able to locate that scholar's merchandise. They began to ridicule this merchant (scholar) who did not have a bundle. In the meantime the boat was attacked by pirates who stole all the other merchants' wares. When the boat docked and everyone went ashore, the other merchants found themselves in a strange country without money or food, etc. The scholar, however, went to the nearest Torah Academy where the local Jewish population received him with great honour. When the merchants became aware of this they went to the scholar asking his forgiveness for their rude behaviour towards him. They then asked him to do them a favour and to intercede on their behalf with the local population so that they would receive food and lodging. They appealed to him to tell the local people that they had been robbed and were not penniless beggars. Thereupon the scholar turned to them saying: "did I not tell you that my merchandise was superior to yours? Yours has ben lost whereas my merchandise endures. Not only this. Anyone who deals in tangible merchandise can do so only at certain hours on certain days. Customers do not always come to buy. My merchandise is available at any time and I can deliver it both by day and by night. Torah is a standby not only in this life but also in the hereafter.⁠" All this is included in the verse כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם תורתי.

A Kabbalistic approach: the words ויקחו לי תרומה may be understood as an invitation for the כנסת ישראל, the spiritual concept of the Jewish nation to gather around God. They are to be considered as a gift to God, collectively. It is the כנסת ישראל which is referred to by the word זאת in verse 3. This is why the Torah wrote here: וזאת התרומה אשר תקחו מאתם, "and this is the gift you are to take from them.⁠" The word וזאת is also featured in Genesis 49,28 where I have explained this in detail. We have a verse in Psalms 118,23 מאת ה' היתה זאת, "the זאת is from Hashem,⁠" which makes a similar point. The reason for the wording ויקחו לי "let them take for Me,⁠" is that it is an invitation to bring together the celestial forces with those on earth and vice-versa. Seeing that in all such matters the driving force is the heart and the mind, the Torah states that in order to attain such an objective it is necessary מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו, "for every such person to be motivated by his heart.⁠"

This is all alluded to in the Tanchuma 24 on Emor where the point is made that the Torah did not merely write ויקחו תרומה but ויקחו לי תרומה. According to that Midrash the word לי may be understood as אותי, as if the Torah meant: "you will take Me.⁠" God meant, so to speak, "take Me to take up residence amongst you.⁠" Another penetrating comment found in Shemot Rabbah 49,2 is that the words mean that it is the כנסת ישראל which is the תרומה, the gift. The Midrash bases this on the verse קדש ישראל לה' ראשית תבואתו, "Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of His harvest" (Jeremiah 2,3).

In the Sefer Habahir item 103 you will find the following explanation of our verse: "they shall take for the Holy One a gift which is equivalent to י i.e. the tenth. How do I know that the tenth is holy? Because we read in Leviticus 27,32 "the tenth shall be holy for the Lord.⁠" What precisely is the meaning of קדש,⁠"holy?⁠" Ezekiel 44,30 explains וראשית כל בכורי כל וכל תרומת כל, "All the choice first fruits of every kind and all terumah of any kind-of all your terumah gifts;⁠" the word ראשית is equivalent to חכמה, compare Psalms 111,10 ראשית חכמה. Thus far the Sefer Habahir. [I believe the intention of the author as well as the author of Sefer Habahir is to read the word לי as "ל"י "as a tenth.⁠" Ed.]

When the Torah writes a little while later on (verse 9) ככל אשר אני מראה אותך, the meaning is that God showed Moses all this already while he was on the mountain (27,8). The word אני refers to he attribute of Justice in this instance. This is not the only time the attribute of Justice appears in connection with the Tabernacle or Temple. We find the same, also in connection with construction of a Temple, in (Chronicles I 28,19) where David says that הכל בכתב מיד ה' עלי השכיל כל מלאכת התבנית. "All this the Lord made me understand by His hand on me, I give you in writing- the blueprint of all the works" (David speaking to his son Solomon). The words יד ה' in that verse also refer to the attribute of Justice.

You should realize that beginning with the words ויקחו לי up until the end of that verse the Torah speaks about a תרומה עליונה, a gift to heaven, whereas the words in the following verse dealing with gold, silver and copper, etc., refer to a תרומת המשכן the contributions to be made for constructing the Tabernacle. The meaning of all this is that when the Israelites would bring such contributions as gold, silver, copper etc., they would be considered as having made simultaneous contributions to the celestial regions. This concept enables us to understand the words ועשו לי מקדש. The contributions for the Tabernacle are considered as making a Temple for God, as a result of which ושכנתי בתוכם, "I will dwell within them,⁠" i.e. this is the result of the תרומה עליונה, the spiritual aspect of the gift, the motivation of generosity. The mystical dimension of the words יביאה את תרומת ה', "he will bring God's gift,⁠" is that this gift will come with the terrestrial gift. The Shechinah moving to earth and taking up residence inside the Tabernacle will be the result of the תרומה עליונה. The gift of gold, silver, etc., only provides the location for the Shechinah if we merit its presence amongst us. To sum up: donating materials without the gift representing the right spirit will result in an empty Tabernacle, one in which the presence of God is not manifest.

זהב וכסף ונחשת, "gold, silver, and copper.⁠" The Torah mentions three types of metal and three types of wool (different colours). We do not find that silk was used in the construction of the Tabernacle. The reason is that silk is the product of the body of a שרץ, a worm, and the only materials which were found suitable for forming part of the materials used in the construction of the Tabernacle are those that originate in ritually pure animals (compare Shabbat 28). In this connection it is well to remember that our sages explain in connection with Tachash (Shabbat 28) that the color derived from such worms as the shamir is not derived from the actual body of the respective animal/worm but from a berry which was also inhabited by a worm which took its name from the berry. This applies also to the expression תולעת השני which does not mean that the red color was taken from the worm but that that worm used to lodge in a berry from which the red color for dying the wool was taken. Afterwards the Torah lists שש, another name for flax, i.e. linen. Immediately afterwards the Torah mentions contributions of עזים, i.e. goats' wool, not the skins or the animals themselves. This is also the reason that Onkelos does not translate the words as עזיא, goat, but as מעזיא a product of the goat. The product in question is the hair, i.e. the wool. Even though the Torah has prohibited the combining of wool and linen, the priests when they entered the holy precincts had to wear garments in which wool and linen were interwoven. I shall explain the mystical dimension of this in Parshat Kedoshim where the prohibition is written.