SEDRAH SELECTIONS PARSHAS TRUMOH 5765 BS"D
Ch. 25, v. 2: "V'yikchu li trumoh" - And they shall take for Me a tithe -
Rashi says, "Li lishmi," FOR ME means for My Name. The Holy Ari z"l writes that
with the act of giving charity to a poor recipient we incorporate Hashem's Holy
Name. The outstretched arm of the donour has the configuration of the letter
Vov, his five fingers in which he holds the coin have the numerical value of
the letter Hei, the coin itself is the letter Yud, and the five fingers of the
recipient are again a letter Hei, forming the Holy Name Y-H-V-H. He adds that
this is alluded to in the words of Yeshayohu 32:17, "V'HoYoH maa'sei hatzdokoh
sholo-m."
The Chid"o in Nachal K'dumim adds that this is also the intention of the
words in Mishlei 22:2, "Oshir vorosh nifgoshu o'seh kulom H-V-Y-H." With the
combination of the wealthy man and the poor man (giving charity) combined we have
the Holy Name Y-H-V-H.
This is the intention of "li lishmi," when donating, one creates Hashem's
Holy Name.
Another explanation of "li lishmi": The mishnoh Tomid 7:2 says that in the
Sanctuary Hashem's four letter name Y-H-V-H is annunciated as it is written.
Thus if you build a Mishkon it will be for the benefit of My Holy Name, allowing
it to be said as it is written. (Hagohos Zera Yitzchok on above-mentioned
mishnoh)
Ch. 25, v. 2: "Li" - Unto Me - Targum Yonoson ben Uziel on Shmos 35:27 writes
that heavenly clouds brought the precious gems required for the priestly
vestments from the river Pishon, and the incense spices and the oil from Gan Eden.
These items were deposited with the tribal heads who in turn brought them for
the Mishkon.
We can thus translate the words " v'yikchu li," as "misheli," they shall take
My donation. "Mei'eis kol ish" means "AND ALSO from each person." This
explains why the list of items has a connecting letter Vov from the second item on
until verse 6. It begins with "Shemen lamo'ore," without a connecting Vov. This
is because until this item, all the others were people's personal donations
and the items in this verse and the next,
oil, incense spices, and precious gems, were Hashem's donation, and therefore
deserves separate mention. (Mahar"i Z'eivi in Nachal K'dumim)
Ch. 25, v. 6: "Shemen lamo'ore" - Oil for illumination - This is the only
time in the Torah that the word "mo'ore" appears without the letter Vov after the
letter Mem. This teaches us that the light for illumination is not the norm,
where we want to maximize the lighting, since Hashem's Holy radiance
illuminates the Sanctuary, "V'chi l'oroh hu tzorich." (Rabbi Mayer of Rottenberg)
Ch. 25, v. 10: "V'ossu arone atzei shitim" - And they shall make an ark of
acacia wood - The Holy Ark was a combination of a wooden core ark, covered from
within and without by golden arks. It housed the "luchos" and was symbolic of
the Holy Torah, which is contained upon the Tablets. Perhaps the combination
of wood and gold alludes to both the written Torah and the oral Torah. Gold is
a mineral and does not grow. Similarly, the text of the Torah is fixed and not
open to change. The oral Torah is transmitted to us by our Sages and
generation after generation there are additional insights, interpretation of the
intention of the Torah, and additional Rabbinic safeguards, etc. This is the living
expanding Torah, symbolized by the wooden central ark. It is totally hidden
from view, just as the Rabbinical rulings are not the overt words of the Torah,
but are imbedded within its holy words. Even Rabbinic injunctions are alluded
to in the Torah, "esmachta" (see Ramcha"l in Derech Tvunos). (Nirreh li)
Ch. 25, v. 12: "Arba tabose zohov" - Four gold rings - Similarly by the stave
coverings of gold in the next verse we find "v'tzipiso osom zohov." By the
creation of the gold Ark, the term "zohov TOHOR" is used, PURE gold. Perhaps
this is an allusion to the unfortunate reality that although the Torah itself is
pure and untainted, the support of the Torah, symbolized by the rings and
staves, is not always pure, as money donated for Torah study is sometimes not
honestly earned. (Nirreh li)
Ch. 25, v. 12: "Al arba paamosov" - On its four corners - Minchoh V'luloh
writes that when the verse discusses placing rings onto the corners of the
show-bread table the word "k'tzosov" is used. The reason it is not used here is
because the Holy Ark is representative of the Holy Torah. "K'tzose" connotes the
END. Torah learning and knowledge have no end.
I have not found the word form "k'tzose" used by the show-bread table, nor by
any of the other vessels of the Mishkon that have staves. The only place I
have found it is by the priestly vestments, where it is liberally used (parshas
T'tza'veh). It seems quite straightforward that when we have a 3 dimensional
object, such as the vessels, the edge is not the END, as there is a depth facet
as well, hence the inappropriateness of using the word form "k'tzose" or
"k'tzei." The priestly garments, although having some minimal depth, are basically
flat, for example, the "eifode" is a cloth garment. There "k'tzose" is an
appropriate term. Any help in understanding the Minchoh V'luloh would be greatly
appreciated.
Ch. 25, v. 12: "Ushtei tabo'ose al tzalo ho'echos ushtei tabo'ose al tzalo
hasheinis" - AND two rings on its first side AND two rings on its second side -
As Rashi points out, a simple reading of these words gives us the impression
that there are a total of 8 rings connected with the placement of the carrying
poles. We have dealt with this in the past, citing the opinion of Rabbi Yoseif
Habochur Baal Tosfos, who posits that indeed there were 8 rings attached to
the Holy Ark, one set of 4 rings for the placement of staves that were
permanently in place, and another set of 4 for an additional pair of staves, placed
into their rings specifically for when the Holy Ark was to be transported. As
well, the Ibn Ezra's opinion is that a second set of 4 rings were attached to
the ark for ornamental purposes only, and that they were attached to the legs
under the base of the Holy Ark.
Another explanation is now offered: There were 4 small rings soldered to the
ark. They served as holding rings for another 4 larger rings into which the
staves went. This was done so that when at rest, the staves would not be right
against the Holy Ark. (Chizkuni)
Ch. 25, v. 20: "V'hoyu hakruvim" - And the cherubs shall be - Chizkuni writes
that the body form of the cherubs was that of birds, not humans with wings
attached.
Ch. 25, v. 25: "V'osiso zeir zohov l'misgarto" - And you shall make a crown
of gold for its skirt - Rashi says that this is the same crown mentioned in the
previous verse, while Chizkuni says that it is a second encircling crown made
for the purpose of covering all exposed wood. He brings a proof that there
were 2 separate crowns. In Shmos 37:11 the verse relates that an encircling
crown was made, and the next verse says that a crown for its skirt was made.
Ch. 25, v. 29: "K'orosov" - Its plates - Rashi explains that these were forms
similar in shape to the breads, to keep them from breaking. Chizkuni says
that they were bowls used for kneading the dough to make the show-breads.
Similarly, Rashi says that "k'sosov" of our verse were split pipes that were used as
spacers between the breads, and Chizkuni says that they were bowls from which
water was poured upon the flour to create the show-breads. Similarly, Rashi
says that "m'nakiosov" of our verse means panels that were part of the table,
which also served as the legs of the table, while Chizkuni says that they were
tools with which they cleaned the ovens of ash and debris before they would use
them for baking the breads. In all three cases Rashi says that the items were
for the table or storage of the breads on the table, while Chizkuni says that
they were all items used for making the bread.
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