Giving What You Got

A close friend of mine, Yehoshua Shapira, the son of Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, the Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz HaRav, gave an interesting twist to a well-known question, when he spoke in shul this Friday night: "How is that the Jews were asked to give out of the generosity of their hearts for the building of the mishkan, while simultaneously being commnaded to give?" It would seem, on the face of it, like he said that the two are polar opposites; if you are commanded to do something, you do not do so willingly, or generously; if you are not, then you can be altruistic, and do so with a free hand. 

Among the different answers he gave, the one that struck me the most was the Abarbanel, the 14th century biblical commentator from Lisbon, Portugal, who reconciled the seemingly paradoxical command by averring that Moshe gathered the heads of the tribes and commanded them to make a call-out to their tribe: Whoever would like to give, is welcome to do so. These are the materials we need...

Though scintillating, and particularly insightful it would seem that that, though, is not the simple meaning of the text. I think that everyone was commanded to give, but had the carte blanche to decide what to give. Everyone had a large choice of possible things that he could give, from furs, to threads, wood, and metals, gold, silver and copper. Everyone had the ability, materially, to give something, be it an ounce of copper, a little bit of dye etc. Not everyone could afford the most lavish of gift, but it would seem that the generosity of heart applied to the decision of what to give, which essentially reflected the extent to which one gave whole-heartedly. 

I'll never forget a friend who studied with me at Schappel's, a yeshiva where I myself studied for but a month and a half before finding a place, Machon Meir, which much better suited myself and my learning needs. The friend was of very meager means; typically, we were hosted for Shabbat, and every student who was hosted tried to bring something to the meal at which he was hosted, some, fruit, a cake, others a bottle of wine. This friend said to me, one time, on the way to a meal, "I really can't afford to bring anything, but still, my contribution to the meal is a dvar Torah - I spend the time preparing a dvar Torah so I can participate and give my part because that is what I have to give, and I hope that it pleases the people who have invited me to their home." 

It was a very poignant thing to say, and I think that it has helped me understand better what it is to give out of the fullness of your heart, whatever you can, with a fullness of purpose and true generosity.  

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