This week’s double parasha, Vayakhel-Pekude, presents the building of the mishkan – the portable Tabernacle.
Through their donations, the Jewish People provided the material and labor needed for the construction of the mishkan. Indeed, the people’s generosity led Moshe to end the call for donations.
The Torah writes:
All the wise people came – those completing all the sacred work, each of them from his work that they were doing – and they said to Moshe, saying, ‘The people are bringing more than enough for the labor of the work that Hashem has commanded to perform.’ Moshe commanded that they proclaim throughout the camp, saying, ‘Man and woman shall not do more work toward the gift for the Sanctuary!’ And the people were restrained from giving.
On the surface, this final verse is difficult to understand – why were the people restrained from giving to this holy cause of building the mishkan? Even if enough supplies had been given, certainly there existed a need for operational funding! Why did Moshe stop the donations?
In his commentary on our parasha, Rabbenu Levi ben Gershon – Gershonides – addresses this question. He explains that we learn from this verse that even when giving to a worthy cause such as the mishkan or tzedakah, one must not over-commit himself or herself. Gershonides explains that this lesson is summarized by our Rabbis in their dictum: one who spends money (on a mitzvah), should not spend more than twenty percent of his or her income, in order to ensure that his or her commitment will not lead to poverty and reliance on others. Gershonides universalizes this lesson. He explains that the Torah wants us to be vigilant to prevent our own righteous actions from leading to harm. While charity is a righteous act, if others see that it leads to poverty, they will scoff at the institution of charity and refrain from giving to important and holy causes.
The Jewish People were committed to giving whatever was asked of them for the building of the Tabernacle – even to an unsustainable level. This quality of the Jewish People is highly praiseworthy. According to Gershonides, Moshe, as leader of the Jewish People, restrained the people from over-committing in order to protect the people from harming themselves and from negatively impacting the institution of charity.
The Torah creates a maximum for charitable giving that few people reach – twenty percent of one’s assets. These unique individuals must remind themselves to heed Gershonides’s lesson when giving. The rest of us, however, must look to the model that the Jewish People provided of giving selflessly to holy causes. In our day, we, as a people, do not appear to be in danger of jeopardizing charity’s “good name” – on the contrary, we must work to uphold our commitment to charity. However, considering this lesson broadly, even in performing acts of righteousness, we must always consider the result of our actions. Gershonides reminds us that even righteousness must be done righteously. Unexamined righteousness can lead to harm.
Through their donations, the Jewish People provided the material and labor needed for the construction of the mishkan. Indeed, the people’s generosity led Moshe to end the call for donations.
The Torah writes:
All the wise people came – those completing all the sacred work, each of them from his work that they were doing – and they said to Moshe, saying, ‘The people are bringing more than enough for the labor of the work that Hashem has commanded to perform.’ Moshe commanded that they proclaim throughout the camp, saying, ‘Man and woman shall not do more work toward the gift for the Sanctuary!’ And the people were restrained from giving.
On the surface, this final verse is difficult to understand – why were the people restrained from giving to this holy cause of building the mishkan? Even if enough supplies had been given, certainly there existed a need for operational funding! Why did Moshe stop the donations?
In his commentary on our parasha, Rabbenu Levi ben Gershon – Gershonides – addresses this question. He explains that we learn from this verse that even when giving to a worthy cause such as the mishkan or tzedakah, one must not over-commit himself or herself. Gershonides explains that this lesson is summarized by our Rabbis in their dictum: one who spends money (on a mitzvah), should not spend more than twenty percent of his or her income, in order to ensure that his or her commitment will not lead to poverty and reliance on others. Gershonides universalizes this lesson. He explains that the Torah wants us to be vigilant to prevent our own righteous actions from leading to harm. While charity is a righteous act, if others see that it leads to poverty, they will scoff at the institution of charity and refrain from giving to important and holy causes.
The Jewish People were committed to giving whatever was asked of them for the building of the Tabernacle – even to an unsustainable level. This quality of the Jewish People is highly praiseworthy. According to Gershonides, Moshe, as leader of the Jewish People, restrained the people from over-committing in order to protect the people from harming themselves and from negatively impacting the institution of charity.
The Torah creates a maximum for charitable giving that few people reach – twenty percent of one’s assets. These unique individuals must remind themselves to heed Gershonides’s lesson when giving. The rest of us, however, must look to the model that the Jewish People provided of giving selflessly to holy causes. In our day, we, as a people, do not appear to be in danger of jeopardizing charity’s “good name” – on the contrary, we must work to uphold our commitment to charity. However, considering this lesson broadly, even in performing acts of righteousness, we must always consider the result of our actions. Gershonides reminds us that even righteousness must be done righteously. Unexamined righteousness can lead to harm.
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