Parashat Terumah

The Midrash teaches us that this week’s parasha, Parashat Terumah, did not actually occur immediately after Mattan Torah, but rather after the Cheit HaEigel. After receiving the Torah, Moshe went up to Har Sinai for forty days on three separate occasions, and the last day of that third trip was Yom Kippur, the day we were finally forgiven for the Cheit. The Midrash Tanchuma comments that as soon as we were forgiven, Hashem began instructing Moshe regarding the construction of the Mishkan; therefore, this week’s parasha actually takes place on Yom Kippur.

Strangely enough, this parasha doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Yom Kippur. It was the Machatzis HaShekel that served as a full Kapara for the Cheit HaEigel, not the material donations that went to build the Mishkan. The theme of Kapara doesn’t even appear once this week, though it is mentioned over and over in next week’s parasha, Titzaveh. Why connection then does the Midrash see between Yom Kippur and the Mishkan; what makes the command to build a Mishkan such an urgent matter that Hashem began instructing us immediately?

Hashem’s command to build the Mishkan is itself a strange request. The pasuk says “ViYikchu Li Tirumah,” take a donation for Me, and Rashi explains that while the donation of money and materials for the Mishkan was entirely voluntary and not a mitzvah, that the word “Li” in the pasuk does not mean “to Me” or “for Me” but rather “Lishmi,” or “in My name.” Where does Rashi see this within the words of the pasuk? Why can’t it just mean “to Me” or “for Me” like it does almost everywhere else in the Torah? What inspires Rashi to comment here on such a basic word.

The Mizrachi, troubled by this question, attempts a possible answer. Since Hashem owns everything, the Mizrachi reasons, it would be impossible to give anything to Him. Therefore, the word “Li” makes no sense within the context of the pasuk and must mean something other than its usual meaning. The Levush HaOrah is troubled by this answer; just because Hashem owns everything, people can still possess objects as well. That’s how we donate our property to Hekdash or bring an animal as a Korban. Instead, the Levush HaOrah suggests, Rashi is troubled by the use of the word ViYikchu instead of ViYitnu. Normally one “gives” a contribution, not “takes” it; therefore, the word “Li” cannot mean “to Me.” The Mizrachi, however, poses an argument against the Levush HaOrah’s understanding. Why would Rashi be troubled over the use of the word VaYikchu here and not anywhere else in the Torah when such an expression is used, like “Kicheh Li Eglah Mishuleshes” or “Kach Li MiSham Shenei Gid’ei Izim?”

The strongest question on both the Mizrachi and Levush HaOrah comes from a completely different source. When Hashem says “ViAsu Li Mikdash ViShachanti BiSocham,” Rashi notes that this use of the word “Li” also means “LiShmi.” But if Rashi were troubled that Hashem already owns everything, then Hashem would still need someone to build the Mishkan for Him even if He owns the supplies. And if
Rashi were troubled by the phrase “ViYikchu Li,” then the phrase “ViAsu Li” would pose no difficulty. So why couldn’t this pasuk just mean “to Me” or “for Me” like everywhere else?

Perhaps what troubles Rashi about these opening pasukim stems from another Midrash in this week’s parasha. Hashem commands Moshe to build beams for the Mishkan: “ViAsisa Es HaKirashim LiMishkan.” Why doesn’t the pasuk just say “HaKirashim Mishkan?” The word “Mishkan” means the object inside which the Shchina rests, so technically the beams themselves were the Mishkan, not a component for the Mishkan. The Midrash deduces from this extra Lamed that the word Mishkan is really a play on words; it also means Mashkon, and that these beams would someday serve LiMashkon, as collateral. The Midrash explains that if the Bnei Yisrael were ever, Chas ViShalom, deserving of destruction, Hashem could take the Mishkan from them and hold onto it until the nation would pay back its debt (do teshuva). Throughout history, the Mishkan and Batei Mikdash have been seized and restored seized and restored, all depending on our “debt” to Hakodesh Baruch Hu.

The concept behind collateral is that the lender collects a piece of property from the man in debt and does not return the property until he has been repaid. But if Hashem were to own the Mishkan, then He could never seize it from Klal Yisrael as a form of collateral. Had we donated our gold and silver and wood and hides and gems to Hashem, had we made those materials Hashem’s personal possessions, then the Mishkan wouldn’t be ours and Hashem would have nothing to take from us in place of punishment.

It is now clear why the word “Li” in the begining of the parasha couldn’t possibly mean that we donated, took, or gave anything to Hashem. The Mishkan we build for Hashem, it is crucial to note, is not Hashem’s building. It is ours. Rashi comments on the word Terumah itself that it is a Hafrasha; this means that the materials we donate don’t leave our possession, but rather we simply separate them from the rest of our property. They are Kodesh because we keep them separate, not because we forfeit ownership to Hashem. And because of their separation, a form of donation that when done properly can never be reversed, they retain their holiness even in a time when the nation finds itself steeped in impurity, they retain their value as worthy collateral.

The Rambam includes ViAsu Li Mikdash in his Minyan HaMitzvot; every generation, he writes, bears the obligation of building or maintaining the Beis HaMikdash. But while every generation needs a Mikdash for Hashem, only this generation was commanded to build a Mishkan (or Mashkon). Within this donation described in the first pasuk was the very mechanism by which Hashem could establish this “Mishkan” as a possible collateral for the Bnei Yisrael, as a potential Kapara for any of their future sins. And this first donation is what guarantees us that the Third Beis HaMikdash will eventually be built as soon as we repay our debt. We can always feel secure, no matter how low we sink, that Hashem will never stop collecting our Mitzvos, our payments. What more appropriate day could there be for this command than Yom Kippur.

Good Shabbos.