SEDRAH SELECTIONS PARSHAS TRUMOH 5772 BS"D

Ch. 25, v. 2: "Mei'eis kol ish asher yidvenu libo" - From each man whose heart will be generous - Every nation feels a need to have a national headquarters of which it can be proud, a base for its culture, etc. This was not Hashem's intentio0n with the mitzvoh of building the Mishkon. Rather, it is a place for housing the Holy Tablets and for bringing sacrifices for Hashem. This can be alluded to in the words, "Asher yidvenu libo," which have the same numerical value as Torah, 611. (n.l.)

Ch. 25, v. 2: "Mei'eis kol ish asher yidvenu libo tikchu es trumosi" - From each man whose heart will be generous shall you take My tithe - Everything belongs to Hashem. Thus when a person donated money or an object he is giving Hashem's to Hashem. It is only hid generous heart that he actually gives. This is the intention of these words of our verse. (Chasam Sofer)

Ch. 25, v. 8: "V'ossu li mikdosh v'shochanti b'sochom" - And they shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will rest among them - When Hashem gave this mitzvoh and Shabbos to the bnei Yisroel He first gave the mitzvoh of building a sanctuary and later in parshas Ki Siso the mitzvoh of Shabbos. In parshas Va'yakheil Moshe first related the mitzvoh of Shabbos and then the building of the Mishkon. This can be explained after giving the following preface: Keeping Shabbos is a testimony to Hashem's having created the world. This is a mitzvoh that centers around honouring Hashem. The mitzvoh of building a Mishkon, an edifice in which the Holy Spirit of Hashem rests is one that brings grfeat honour to the bnei Yisroel in that it is a testimony to Hashem's choosing the bnei Yisroel as His unique nation and that His presence among them is palpable. When Hashem told these mitzvos to the bnei Yisroel He gave priority to the mitzvoh that brings honour to His beloved nation, and when Moshe related these two mitzvos he gave priority to Shabbos, which centers on honouring Hashem. (Kli Yokor)

Ch. 25, v. 9: "V'chein taasu" - And you shall do accordingly - Rashi comments, "L'doros," for all generations. Perhaps his comment is aimed at the reality that the Mishkon/Mikdosh was only functional for a bit over a thousand years collectively, a far cry from "l'doros." However, coming on the heals of "V'shochanti b'sochom," on which the Alshich Hakodosh comments should have read "b'sochO," referring back to the Mishkon. He explains that the intention of the plural form is that each and every ben Yisroel should build a sanctuary in his heart, "B'soch libi mishkan evneh," then "V'chein taasu l'doros" is very well understood. Notwithstanding the existence or otherwise of a physical, functioning Mikdosh, we can for all generations have a sanctuary in our hearts. (n.l.)

Ch. 25, v. 10: "V'ossu arone …… Amosa'yim vocheitzi orko v'amoh vocheitzi rochbo v'amoh vocheitzi komoso" - And they shall make an ark …… two and a half cubits its length and one and a half cubits its width and one and a half cubits its height - The three dimensions of the Holy Ark all have measurements that are not complete units. This is because the orone and its luchos represent the Torah scholar. He should not become haughty because of his great Torah knowledge. He should always remain humble. (Rabbi Noson haKohein Adler)

Alternatively, just as the measurements are not complete units, the Torah scholar should realize that notwithstanding all his wisdom, it is far from complete. There is so much more of the Torah that he has not plumbed. (Pardes Yoseif)

This could also be alluded to by the fact that the luchos, which contain the script of the Ten Commandments, are hidden from the eye. Similarly, there is always a major amount of Torah knowledge that is hidden from us. (n.l.)

Ch. 25, v. 12: "V'yotzakto lo arba tabos zohov v'nosatoh al arba paamosov" - And you shall cast for it four rings and you shall place them on its four corners - The Torah does not require the rings to be formed from the original ingot of gold from which the outer gold box is formed. Since the orone represents the Torah we might learn a lesson from this. The rings allow for the lifting and moving of the orone. They, along with the staves are the "support" system for the orone. They need not be original unibody with the orone. We can accept donations for Torah support from those who are not part and parcel of the "total immersion in Torah" society. (n.l.)

Ch. 25, v. 15: "B'tabos ho'orone yi'h'yu habadim lo yosuru mi'menu" - In the rings of the ark shall the staves be they shall not be removed from it - The Sefer Hachinuch mitzvoh #96 gives us his insight into this prohibition. If we were to remove the staves then if and when there would be a need to travel with the orone in a hurry, the staves might be placed into the rings haphazardly and there would be a fear of the orone ch"v falling if the orone is not firmly held in place. No doubt, we do not want any of the other vessels that are carried through staves to fall either, but nevertheless, this is only a requirement for the orone. There is a profound lesson in this. The orone houses the Holy Tablets. They represent the written Torah. We must always be prepared to maintain the wholesomeness and integrity of the Torah and be prepared for changes of location, societal norms, financial changes, and the like. Although the other vessels represent other aspects of living a Torah life and are very important, the uprightness of the Torah must be foremost in our minds and we must prepare ourselves even in the face of upheavals. (n.l.)

Ch. 25, v. 18: "V'ossiso shnayim kruvim zohov" - And you shall make two golden cherubs - The gemara Sukoh 5 sources the word "k-ruv" from "k-ravya," like a young child. The cherubim were made to resemble a male and female child. The Mechilta near the end of parshas Mishpotim says that although the Torah clearly details the metal materials that are to be used in making the assorted vessels of the Mishkon, if they were made of other metals they are still valid. There is one exception, the "kruvim." They must be made only of gold. Rabbi Meir Lubliner extracts a lesson from this ruling. When a person has limited funds and cannot make numerous things out of "gold," then it is acceptable to make them out of lesser metals. However, this is only when it comes to matters other than the upbringing and education of his children. There one cannot economize and give them a second rate education. It must only be of gold.

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See also Oroh V'Simchoh - Meshech Chochmoh on the Weekly Parsha, Chasidic Insights and Chamisha Mi Yodei'a