Hello from Beta Vichai and thank you for joining me in the study of Parashat Vaya Khelp Kudei. The last pasha in our book in Sefrashmot, so it's mash, like it's like Khazak Hazak Venit Khazak, we should all be strong and even stronger to continue to learn and to study. So today I would like to discuss with you a strange donation. And what do I mean by that? The Torah states that Nesim view and the president of the tribes, a view et avnehashoam, special stones, uh jewelry, diamonds, vetavneamiluim, la ephod vilachoshen. So they brought these precious stones for the breastplate, the chosen. So precious items. And the questions that we need to ask when we see such a verse is are the following. First, why does the Torah mention that a president of the tribes brought it now? It should say it earlier, A, when we build the Mishkan, and B, the fact that they are mentioned not by name but by position, the Hannessim and the head of the tribes brought, will it come probably to teach us something. The second question is that how exactly this president of those tribes that came from Egypt, exactly like all the other Jews in Amish, had access to such precious stones, jewelry, diamonds, and this specific oil. Where exactly did they get it from? So let's see what the commentators have to say about it. Says Rashi, 11th century in France, says the following, Amara binatan, he quotes a midrash. So Abin Natan asks the same question that we asked the first question, which is why here, when they build the Mishkan, when Moses starts collecting donations to build the tabernacle, we don't have any verse that says, Oh, and the president of the tribes brought all the donations. Nothing, they're not even mentioned. But here, when it comes to the dedication of the altar and the Mishkan, oh, they are the first one to come. And that's exactly the question we ask, and that's the question that Rabin Natan asked. But he provides an answer. So when the first time when Moshe commanded the Jewish people to bring donation, to bring, to build the tabernacle, the presidents still decide and they said, you know what? Let the people bring, and whatever is missing, as we say in Hebrew, ally on me. I will fill it up, I we will cover it all. Now it sounds uh nice, maybe even altruistic. Let the people participate, and we the wealthy people, we will just wait and see. And if there is something missing, we will obviously pay for it. The problem was, which was really not a problem, is Kevanchi Ishlimu Zibura Takinemelaita Dayam, Amunisi, Male Nulasot. But to their surprise, Am Israel, the nation of Israel, responded very generously. Nothing was missing. The Jewish people covered it all. So now you have the presidents of the tribes, and they did not bring a thing. So what did they say? Okay, next time, when we have an opportunity to give, we are not waiting for anyone. And this is why they were the first one to volunteer to donate when it was the time for the dedication of the misbehak, and they needed some jewelry and stones, so they were the first one to give it. So is that a good thing or a bad thing? says Rabinatan. So Rabbinatan says they were punished. If you look, we will go back to the verse. The first word in the verse is vehneim, vav hein, which is a sin, aleph mem. Really, in Hebrew, you should write another yud, the letter yud, after the aleph. But here, the Torah take one yud and basically omit it from the name. So you will see that something is missing in them. So let's hold on here. Let's do a quick summary. So the president of the tribe says, okay, this is an opportunity for donation. Let's just give the opportunity to the people, and whatever is missing, we will cover. Outcome? The people covered it all. So the presidents basically said, the second opportunity we will have to give, we will be the first one to give. If I will just tell you that, I think that we will all say, okay, you know, maybe it was a nice thing to do, even to allow others to do it, and then to volunteer the second time. The midrass see that there is a problem here. Laziness. The first time that there was an opportunity to give, and they decided just to stand aside and to allow Am Israel to do it, that was laziness. Now, what kind of laziness? Not laziness to go to the bank and to get the money. This is not the issue. The thing is that as presidents of the tribes, as leaders, you need to teach by example. Don't stand aside and allow others to do it. Give. The first opportunity you have to give, give. Just maybe don't give a lot and cover it all and allow others to do it, but participate. Don't stand aloof and say, okay, the others will do it. It doesn't work. Because maybe some people who saw that the leaders themselves don't give, they will say, Why should we give? Alternatively, if you are the leaders, you need to lead, and if you don't, the others will basically do the right thing without you. So, what's the point in being in you being a leader? Basically, what Rabin Natan says, and that's what Rashi quotes, is that the Nasim are teaching us what not to do. God was not impressed by the fact that they brought those precious stones to the dedication of the Mizbeach. It was very nice of them, but they were punished for not bringing with the entire people. And I think that there is another component to it. When you are a leader and you need to lead, you are not separate from your nation. You are part of them. And when you stand aside and let the people do, that's not leadership. That's some kind of feeling of superiority. Let them do it and we will cover it. We will cover whatever is missing. To your surprise, you know, the people can do it by themselves. Leadership is not to stand aside. You want to encourage the people to give? Give with them. Give exactly what they give. Encourage them to give more. But don't stand aside and don't participate. So the leaders maybe learned the lesson the second time, but they did get punished for the first time. The Ibn Ezra is focusing on our second question, which was how exactly the leaders, the heads of the tribes, had all these precious stones? And he says the following. So the head of the tribes, even in Egypt, probably were a little bit more elevated than the other people. So when they went to another Egyptian to ask for vessels and things like that, they probably received based on what on their financial level. So if I'm a leader, even in Egypt, the head of a tribe, I would go probably to a wealthier Egyptian, and he will give me more precious things. But then he says, Regal, just one second. I understand the precious stones, but pure oil? So the Ibn Ezla says that basically it's a little hard to explain how exactly they had all the stuff. I mean, you can get some of the precious stones that they borrowed from the Egyptians, maybe even the pure oil, but somehow they were able to maintain everything. And according to the Ibn Ezra, they were not only the leaders of the tribes, they were also the leaders of everyone who walked for the tabernacle. So the Ibn Ezra does not see any negative thing with the presidents like Rashi. He just was wondering how exactly they got all those precious stones, and he provides an answer. The Bachol Shoh, Rabbi Yosef Bachoshou from the 13th century in France, suggested the following. He suggested that each one of the head of the tribe, tribes, brought a stone to basically sign and sealed his tribe's name in their breastplate. And between all of them, they brought two more precious stones that all the tribes will sign on it. Again, no criticism on what they did before. He basically says what they did was to bring the Shvatim, the tribes, together. Each tribe got a stone, and you like sign and seal his name, but at the same time, all the shvatim, all the tablets, all the tribes are together on the breastplate for the Kohen. Which means Yosef Pho Show suggests that the position or the mission of the head of the tribes were not only to represent to represent their own tribe, but also to try to create the right conditions for all the tribes to come together. And he says, Amrura Boteinuzal, our Sajer said, So he brings that midrash that we quoted before, that the head of the tribes, the leaders, were mistaken by not bringing donations the first time. And God punished them by taking one letter from them. Says the Kliakau, because really, truly, they shouldn't wait until the end. He says their assumption was what? Let the people give, and whatever is missing, we will cover. Which means what's the basic assumption that the leaders had is that the people will not rise to the occasion and they will not cover it all. Now they are the head of the tribes, they are the head of the nation. And they basically showed that they don't believe in the nation. The clear car says the fish and why God took the letter yud from them, because the fish amaraqba uhu gvain were tolo uchal. God says, we have a verse in Tehilim that God cannot stand people who are pompous, who are arrogant. He says that those head of tribes look at the people, and they are the head of each tribe, and they look at their own tribe and says, My tribe? Oh, they will never bring what is needed. And therefore, we will cover it. But if we will bring and we will be missing something, they will not cover it for us. According to the Kliakar, it shows that they were very arrogant, and not only very arrogant, I will go a step further and say they totally underestimate their people. Which in my opinion reoccurred again in the sin of the spies, the miragli. They didn't believe in the people that they are able to do it. And when you are a head of a tribe and when you are a leader and you don't believe in the people that follow you, something is missing, not in them, in you. Hashem basically says, I don't want to dwell with you. I'm taking my letter yud and I'm not interested really to be with you. I think the Kliakar opinion and commentary is incredibly insightful, meaningful, and has a tremendous lesson for every leader. First and foremost, you need to believe in your people. And if you don't believe in your people, maybe you shouldn't be their leader. Be as a leader, you are not supposed to save them. You are supposed to encourage them, you are supposed to inspire them, you're supposed to make them the best people they can be. And don't say, oh, whatever they will be missing, I'll cover it. That's not what God is interested in. A leader is not there because the other people are weak. A good leader is someone who makes everyone else strong and stronger and lead them with strength. We all remember the event at the Seph al-Bamid Bar in the book of Numbers when Moshe basically empowers 70 other people to prophesize, and there are two people who prophesize in the camp, El Dad and Maydad. And Joshua comes along to Moshe and says, We need to kill them or we need to throw them into prison because they prophesize without your permission. And Moshe says to Yahshua, what you are jealous? You are upset for me? Me, ten vayakul amashem neviimki, ten a shemetu khualehim. I wish that everyone will be a prophet, and they don't need me, that God will give them the ability to prophesize. That's a true leader. Moshe Rabbeinu never built himself based on the Jewish people's weakness and faults and deficiencies. He always wanted them to grow. And as a leader, you grow with them. What the Kliakah basically highlights is the deficiency that was in the Nasim themselves, the head of the tribes themselves. They were not good leaders. Or they were leaders that didn't understand what leadership means. And therefore, Hashem took the letter youth from them. Rapshim Shura Falhir suggested another layer in their mistake. And he says, The first time around, the first time that Moshe collected donations for the tabernacle, and he says it's open for everyone. The Nassim, the head of the tribes, got insulted. Like we should be approached first. What does it mean that Moshe just go to the people? So they felt like they are insulted. And then they will come and save the day. They are there. Honored leaders, and they are going to come and they are going to bring a big check and they're going to cover whatever the nation did not bring. And then their honor will be restored. That was their thought. That was their thinking. But however, the people surprised them. So the only thing that the leaders could bring was just those precious stones. He says the deficiency, the problem that the leaders had was. He says they showed, they saw themselves, they viewed themselves as people who are elevated from the people. Instead of seeing themselves, leaders within the people. You have a national project building the tabernacle. And you stand aside and you said it's beneath me. This is not a there is no enough under there for me because everyone else is doing that. That's your problem. That's a problem of understanding what is leadership. Says Rapshim Show Nepal Hiroshima at that moment when they decided not to participate with the people, they were not their leaders anymore. And that's uh I think another deep layer to what the Kliakal suggested. And now Rapshim Shon Nefal Hirosh says leadership is not to be Muram Me'am. Yes, you are elevated, you have a position of leadership, but it doesn't mean that you have nothing to do with the nation, exactly the opposite. Especially when a national project comes along to build a tabernacle, you need to be the first one to give with your people. And that was their mistake. The Khafitzhaim of Israel Meradin says, He says, in a can here, the Torah took away the letter yud and in a way punished the Nisim. However, it's a nidvata nesimbi parashatna so a richa tura benidvatko nasibarashami yuchad velokal lao tam yachat kim nidvotema yushavot. So he said something very interesting. And this is a very interesting question. Says the Khafizhaim, I don't understand. He says, here the Torah is very short and takes a letter Ud from the Nisim and just says they brought those precious stones. When you go to Parashat Bamidbah to Sephir Bamidbar, Book of Numbers, Parashat Masso, this is a long, long parchah that describes that each head of a tribe brought this and that Qurban, and by the way, identical Qurban, identical sacrifice. And it's long, 12 of them each day. Says the Khafitzkhaim, I don't understand. Here in our parsha, the Torah is so condensed and it's just one sentence, and that's it. And you punish them, and later on you describe it at length. What's the difference? Says the Khafitzhaim. All of that comes to teach us. A, they did it separately from the Tsibur, from the community, and B, the donation was done with ga'ah, with being arrogant. And with almost like jealousy in the people that they covered it all. But there, when they brought the Korbanot for Hanukata Mizbeh, they did it for the Tsibou. They did it together with the community. And therefore, the Torah will describe it at length. What do we see from here? Obviously, there is space, there is there is time for individuality. And yes, some people can give less, some people can give more. But giving together that's what is the most meaningful thing for Hashem. That's where the Torah will describe it at length. But giving together as a tzibu, as a community, as people, as nation, that is a true giving. Because when you give as an individual, there is this feeling that you know I'm the I save the day. With the tzibu, you are part of everyone. The Torah says in Shmotlam Head Lamed Hey, Vaya Vokol Isha Shana Saoli Bove Hollashan Advauho Toy View Tumata Shem Lechet Oil Muedu Rhola Vodato Ulevig Dea Kodesh. So everyone who had this kind of generosity of his heart, they brought donation for the tent of meeting and to the holy to the priestly vestments. Says Ramban. Meaning the reason for the people with generosity of the heart to bring to do the work. What's the point here? The people who build the tabernacle, the people who created all those beautiful vessels and utensils in the tabernacle, were not trained artists. They were slaves in Egypt. And despite it, they found this generosity in their heart to say, we are willing to try, we are willing to do it. And they were the ones to build the tabernacle, but not the leaders of the tribes, not the presidents, not the announ people, but simple Jews. Simple people build the tabernacle. The Orachim says something that I think we can really take to heart. There are two levels in people who volunteer or donate. He's someone who gives it from his own will, based on his capabilities and the value that he has for his money. And that's what it's called in Nadvarucho, that his spirit encourages him to donate. He does it with free will, with happiness, with joy in his heart. Someone that his heart elevated him. And that's what the Torah says. You have these two types of donors within Am Israel. The Torah began with a second type of donor, a person who is basically his heart lift him up. You can look at yourself and your assets and you say, okay, that's what I can give. And perhaps that's true. But maybe another look, another dig into your finance, you can say, you know what, maybe I can give more. But you need to have your heart to lift you up. The second type, it didn't say men, not men, the gender, just men, language of importance, because he's not as good as the second type of donor. Both of them should be praised, but one should be praised even more. The one is Asher Nessao Libo. Someone that your heart lifted you, elevated you, basically caused you to go outside of your comfort zone in terms of how much I can give or do and do more. If you really take it to what we saw before with the Ramban, we can basically connect the two opinions together and say, those simple Jews that were slaves a few months ago, their hands were not trained to do something so delicate, something so nice, something so fine and artistic. But when they thought about the commandment to build the tabernacle, and they knew that no one else went to an art school in Egypt, they said, you know what? We will do it. We can do it. To do the work. Yes, giving donations and financial support is very important. But there's also work that needs to be done. And I think that's what the Orachim says. And I think by thinking about what the Orachim says, I think we it's a question that we really need to ask ourselves in everything we do. Do we do what just we need to do or what we are expected to do? Or we can do more than that in every area of life. In Torah learning, in stakha, in charity, in kindness, with family, with friends, with our nation. Do we do just with generosity of spirit? Or we do things with the elevation of the heart? This is a hard question to answer, and sometimes you need to do A, sometimes you need to do B, and both of them should be praised. But we also need to sometimes push ourselves to believe in ourselves even more, to find more strength, to do the job, to do the work that is expected of us. Every person that is hard gives them the courage, the power, the strength to do even more than you think you can do. Thank you.