Pikudei

After all the items needed for the Mishkan were completed, the Torah tells us ויביאו את המשכן אל משה  that the Mishkan with all of its parts and keilim was brought to Moshe.

Rashi tells us that no one was able to lift it because of the weight of the beams which couldn't be lifted by natural means. Yet, Moshe lifted them. Moshe said to Hashem, “how is it possible for a human to lift?” Hashem answered, “you do as much as you can & I'll do the rest.” In reality, it only appeared as though Moshe lifted them for they rose by themselves supernaturally.

It is interesting that what seemed to be the hardest part of the building of the Mishkan was in reality the easiest. What is the Torah trying to teach us?

The Dubna Magid brings a few pesukim that are seemingly contradictory. One posuk says, זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל , this is the Torah of one who dies in a tent, from which Chazal learn that the Torah only remains with someone who kills himself over it; it’s acquired by one who works really hard to acquire it. Then, we have another posuk that says  כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו , because it, the Torah, is very close to your heart to do it, inferring that it’s very easy to do. Which is it? Is it easy or hard to keep the Torah?

The Midrash, referring to Moshe, says עוז והדר לבושה strength & majesty are her garment. Also, ותשחק ליום אחרון , she joyfully awaits the last day which is talking about the scoffers who disbelieved that Moshe would be able to lift the Mishkan. Moshe didn't respond to them at that time but when Hashem told him to lift the Mishkan & he did, then  ותשחק ליום אחרון , he laughed on the last day.

That is how the Tzadikkim live, always thinking about the last day without caring what people say about them. This was the hardest part of building the Mishkan for it’s natural for a person to become flustered when one’s in a tough spot. The Mishkan was completed on the 25th day of Kislaiv yet wasn't erected until the first day of Nissan. All the Jews were waiting for the Shechina to rest on their handiwork. So, for four months the scoffers were able to say that Moshe couldn't do it & the Shechina would never rest on the Jewish people. However, Moshe wasn't fazed because he knew that, at the appropriate time, he would be told to erect the Mishkan.

The Chafetz Chaim compared this world to a wealthy man who was going to make a wedding for his daughter. He felt that he had to invite the entire town yet didn't feel it would be comfortable for the rich & respected people to be invited along with the poor & uncouth. He didn't know what to do until someone advised him to schedule a mock wedding the day before the actual wedding to which he could invite all the poor & uncouth. The next night he should invite the wealthy & respected people to the real wedding.   
When the poor & uncouth arrived at the wedding, they were astounded to see that the rich man hadn’t invited any of the other rich people or any of the dignitaries. They were so excited that they were the ones that mattered; they sat, ate, drank and enjoyed themselves immensely & went home happy.

The next day, hearing music & noise coming from the rich man’s house, the poor people went to see what was going on. They saw the most elaborate setting, tables set with gold & silver utensils, delicacies they’d never seen, waiters tending to the guests’ every whim. All the wealthy & honorable people were sitting around the tables. Immediately they realized their mistake. Yesterday, they thought that they were the ones who got the wealth but today they realized it was all just an illusion; the real wealth was reserved for those that deserved it.

This is how we have to live. We have to know that, even if it seems that people who don't do the right thing have it made, it’s just an illusion & at the end of the day it’s only the ones that keep Hashem’s word who are going to have the ultimate reward.

Maybe this could resolve the contradiction in the pesukim. The Posuk that states you have to kill yourself to get Torah is talking about the transient times when we have to dodge the words & insults of the scoffers. Once we get past that to the last day, we'll see how easy it is to keep the word of Hashem. The Torah is teaching us not to let the words of scoffers affect us; look past that illusory world to the end of days where we & everyone will see the truth!

Vayakhel

As the Torah repeats the details of the building of the Mishkan, it tells us that all the people ran to donate to the Mishkan. Whatever they had, whether gold, silver or other metals that were needed or the different types of thread or anything else that was needed to complete the Mishkan, they ran to donate. Finally, Hashem said "enough"; we have all that is needed. Then, the posuk specifies what the leaders brought & tells us that they brought the stones that were needed for the Kohen Kadol’s garments.

Rashi explains that נשאם, leaders, is spelled without the yud to tell us that they did something wrong; while everyone was donating to the Mishkan, the leaders said we'll wait until everyone donates & whatever is left, we will give. By the time the people finished giving, there was nothing else needed so they gave the stones.

We need to understand what is really wrong with what they did? If one were to ask someone who collects for an organization what he thought of people who would commit to make up whatever was lacking after the regular collections, he would be thrilled. What did the leaders do wrong?

The Yerushalmi relates a story that once Rebbi Akiva & another rabbi went to collect funds for needy Torah scholars. They headed first to someone who usually gave them nice donations. When they got to his house, however, they overheard his son asking him what they're going to eat that day. They heard him tell the son to go to the market place & buy cheap vegetables; preferably yesterday’s vegetables which would be cheaper. When the rabbis heard that, they turned & left, thinking that he doesn't seem to be in a position to donate like usual. After they had collected the monies that they needed from the other townspeople, they were headed back when they passed this man’s house again. This time, he saw them & asked how come they didn't come to him as usual? The rabbis answered that when we came, we heard what kind of food you told your son to buy, so we didn't want to bother you when you don't have money.
The man answered them, “What's between me & my son you overheard so you may know that, but what's between me & my Creator you can’t possibly know.” He promptly gave them a large donation. The rabbis were astounded that for himself the man was miserly, but when it came to doing mitzvos his generosity abounded.

Later, the Parsha says that the Kiyor, the Laver from which the Kohanim would wash their hands & feet before they did any service in the Mishkan, was made out of mirrors. Why? Toldos Yaakov Yosef explains that people are too subjective to see their own flaws. A person is oblivious to his own shortcomings. Additionally, the Baal Shem Tov says that the flaws one sees in others are just a reflection of one’s own. Just as a mirror reflects the ugly things about us, so, too, when we see ugliness in others, it’s really a reflection of ourselves. When the Kohanim came to wash before doing the Avodah, they were cleansing themselves not only of physical dirt but also of spiritual dirt. Therefore, the laver was made of mirrors so the kohanim would be reminded to look at themselves to see where they needed spiritual cleaning. By scrutinizing the way they view others, they would discover where they themselves needed improvement.  
Perhaps, this is what the leaders did wrong. They looked at the people from their own perspective of not really wanting to give. Because they thought the people wouldn't give, they said we'll give what's left. Just like Rabbi Akiva, who thought the man wouldn’t give because of his own frugality, misjudged the situation. In actuality, the reason the man was frugal on himself was to be able to give! So, too, the leaders misjudged the people who really wanted to give. Therefore, what would have been a generous offer was flawed because it showed that, perhaps, they themselves didn't really want to give.

We have to learn from here how not to judge or assume things about others. If we see things that bother us about other people, we must look in the mirror & see if we have the same fault. By reflecting on what bothers us about others we can come to correct our own faults & instead of judging others we will improve ourselves!

Ki Sisa

Amidst the Torah instructions regarding the building of the Mishkan, the Torah reiterates the mitzva of Shabbos saying, ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת לדרתם , the Jewish people shall observe the Shabbos to make the Shabbos an eternal covenant for their generations.

The gemara tells us that the Torah considers whoever says ויכולו on Friday evening a partner to Hashem in the creation of the world. The Maharsha explains that the concept of Shabbos testifies that Hashem created the world. In order to testify you need witnesses; therefore one who says ויכולו is thereby testifying that Hashem created the world. He is then considered as if he is partners with Hashem in the creation of the world.

Perhaps this is why the gemara says that Shabbos observance is so special that if one keeps the Shabbos properly he is forgiven for all his sins. The Cofetz chaim asks, what does it mean to keep it properly? It means to know all the laws of Shabbos so that one doesn’t inadvertently desecrate it. The only way one can ensure that is by studying its laws & becoming fluent in them. If not, continues the Chafetz Chaim, even if one is inspired to keep the Shabbos, all the inspiration in the world won't help if he doesn't know the laws.

The gemara tells us that Hashem said to Moshe "I have a great gift in my treasure house & Shabbos is its name. I want to give it to the Jewish people so go, tell them. From here the rabbis derive that if one gives his friend a gift, he should apprise him of the fact so that he realizes its value.

There's a story told about R' Shmelke of Nikolsburg. When a pauper came to his home looking for a donation, R' Shmelke searched the house but couldn't find any money to give him. The only thing he found was one of his wife's rings which he took & gave to the pauper. When his wife realized what he did, she started yelling, saying, “what did you do? That was an expensive ring worth twenty five gold coins!” When he heard that, he went running to find the pauper.

When the pauper saw the rabbi running after him, he quickened his pace thinking the rabbi wanted the ring back. However, when the rabbi finally caught up to him, he said, “I just want you to know that that's an expensive ring worth twenty five gold coins; don't sell it for pennies!”

That Shabbos, R' Shmelke addressed his congregation, telling them this story that happened to him. He concluded that this is what Hashem meant when he told Moshe that he has a great gift, the Shabbos, for the Jewish people; go tell them. Tell them about the greatness of Shabbos so they don’t squander it frivolously but rather use it wisely.

Maybe the way we could use the Shabbos wisely is by taking the advice of the Chofetz Chaim. Let us put aside some time each Shabbos to learn its laws so we will be able to observe it to its fullest thereby meriting to keep the Shabbos properly and have all our sins forgiven!

Tetzaveh

Hashem tells Moshe to command the Jewish people to get שמן זית זך כתית למאור, pure, pressed olive oil for illumination.
Rashi explains that pressing means that they squeezed out one drop from each olive so that it would be pure with no sediment.

The Midrash infers from this verse that it was only the oil for lighting the menorah that needed to be pressed, but the oil for the karbanos could be crushed in the mill & ground. It did not need to be so pure. Not only did the oil for the menorah need to be pure, it had to be pure from the onset by pressing out only the first drop. One couldn't crush the olives & then filter out the sediment.

Rav Dovid Feinstein asks, what's the difference? Why couldn't one filter out the sediment as long as the end result is the same & you have the pure olive oil? Who cares if it was like that initially or you filtered it, as long as now it's pure?

There's a story told of רב יוסף שלמה כהנמן who once came to Frankfurt to collect funds for the Ponevezh yeshiva. He stayed at the house of ר יעקב רוזנהיים who wanted to lessen the embarrassment of the Rosh Yeshiva from having to go door to door. He told him to stay in the house & he would go to some of his wealthy friends & set up a few meetings for the Rosh yeshiva to collect what he needed.

One of the wealthy men who he approached said he would be happy to meet with the rabbi, however, he was heading out of town the next day & was very busy until then. Then he said if the rabbi would come to the train station in the morning, he could meet with him before his train leaves at eight.

The next morning the rabbi wakes up, looks at the clock & cannot believe his eyes! It was already seven and he had overslept! What should he do? Should he just skip davening with a minyan & run to the train station or should he go to shul & lose out on the donation?
He decides that the right thing to do is go to shul & daven. He goes davens with a minyan & then runs to the train station in the hopes that maybe by some chance the man will still be there.

When he gets there he was told that the train already had left, he sits down on the bench to catch his breath from running so fast to try to make his meeting. A few minutes pass & the wealthy man that he was suppose to meet comes running up to him apologizing for having made him wait so long. He had gotten held up & felt terrible that the rabbi had to wait so long for him. When the rabbi told him that he too was late the man said it doesn't matter. I made up to meet you at a certain time & you waited for me. He felt so bad that he gave him an even bigger donation & then went on his way.

When the Rosh Yeshiva would tell over this story he would say, look what we could learn from this. Had I skipped davening & went to the meeting I would have waited around for a while, and being that he was so late I would have given up & left I would have totally missed out, but now because I did the right thing, I gained double!

We can compare this story to the oil, just like the olive oil has to start out pure, if we start with pure intentions we won't lose out. The rabbi could have thought that its more important to get the donation so the yeshiva would benefit, but thats like filtering the sediment from the oil. Once you start making your own calculations & rationalizations, your taking away from the purity of the Torah. This is why says Reb Dovid that you couldn't just filter out the impurities. The menorah represents the Torah, and the oil that we put in it has to be pure from the start with nothing polluting it at any point. We have to accept and follow the Torah & teachings of our rabbis without putting in our own "two cents" or rationalizing ensuring that all we do will be sediment free too!