Parashas Teruma - Hashem's shovel is bigger than ours.

Purim is mamish right around the corner. Every year, my friends and I dress up and go collecting (tzedaka) for our yeshivah. It's a lot of fun; we go to stranger's houses and drink whatever liquids they offer (wink, wink), sing some songs, dance some dances, and leave with loads of money (please G-d.)

When we collected last year, we stood in front of someone's door, and a guy carrying a huge box whispered to us, "Go somewhere else! They don't have anything to give, trust me! Go, quickly!" We stood there, a little confused, wondering who he was and why he was trying to brush us aside so quickly. After waiting a minute, we saw him knock on the door, drop the box filled with food, and run away (before they could see who it was.)

In this week's Parasha, Hashem tells Moshe, “Take for Me a donation,” for the construction of the Mishkan. Many Rabbanim ask why the Torah used the loshon of 'take' as opposed to “'give' for Me a donation.”

One answer: When a person gives tzedaka, he is in reality taking. What is meant by 'taking', is that a person only gains from giving tzedaka – both spiritually and physically. Not only does he get the schar for giving but he also gets back more than what he gave.

There is a story of a very wealthy man who was generous when it came to giving tzedaka. His accountant asked him, “How is it you give so much tzedaka and still have a lot of money? Not only do you still have a lot of money, but you even have more than you originally had before you gave tzedaka.” The wealthy man responded, “Let's put it this way; when I give tzedaka I use my shovel, but when Hashem gives back, His shovel is bigger.”

So it's very appropriate for the Torah to use the loshon of 'taking', because in truth, by giving one actually receives.

I would like to introduce another answer: When Hashem says "Take for me a donation," He wasn't only saying to give tzedaka, rather He was also telling us, "Go and (take) collect tzedaka for those who don't have money and can't afford to put bread, salt, and water on their tables. Go and (take) collect for those who are embarrassed to ask others for tzedaka because it's a very hard thing to do.”

It says in Pirkei Avos that it's much better to ask for tzedaka then to give tzedaka. Rabeinu Yonah explains the reason why it's hard to collect money for poor people, or a chassan and kallah: it is because it's embarrassing (and a lot of hard work.)

Can you imagine going from door to door to ask for money, and all of a sudden someone you know answers? You hesitate to ask because you don't feel comfortable. Even the more so, if a person goes collecting money for their own family or themselves!

Perhaps this is a message Hashem wants to tell us. “Go and Take for me a donation! There might be others who are too embarrassed to collect for themselves, therefore you now have a special mitzvah to take a donation from other people and distribute it to those in need. Since this is a mitzvah, you are also doing it for Me.”
Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Nisso Stein
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