This week’s parsha and the next 4 torah portions are nearly entirely about the Mishkan (Tabernacle).

In this week’s parsha Hashem commands Moshe to request from every man “whose heart will motivate him” (25;2) to donate a portion to the Mishkan. The Torah then (25;3-7) lists all the specific materials which they were to donate. Right after (25;8) Hashem tells us that the purpose of this was that so He could dwell ‘among us.’

There are several problems with this portion of the Torah:

Q1: Why does the Torah spend so much time discussing every single detail concerning the Mishkan whereas very little mention is given regarding the giving of the Torah and other seemingly more important occurences?

Q2: The nation of Israel cleared out all the wealth from Egypt and were living in the desert where they were unable to use their money. Therefore, why does the torah go so in depth discussing their donations towards the Mishkan-what’s the big deal?

Q3: Why did Hashem specifically command Moshe to collect from the people “whose heart will motivate him” (25;2)? Why couldn’t people who weren’t motivated yet still desired to give contribute towards the Mishkan?

Q4: Why did the nation of Israel need to donate all the actual specific materials for the construction of the Mishkan–why couldn’t they simply just give money instead and send people to go buy the materials with the money?

Q5: Why does the pasuk (25;8) say that the purpose of the Mishkan was so that Hashem would dwell ‘among us’? Wouldn’t it make more sense for the pasuk to say that Hashem would dwell ‘in it’?

I think we could answer these questions based on the saying, ‘you are what you own.’ Meaning, people naturally define themselves, as well as others, based on their possessions. Similarly, the Gemara (Yoma, 82a) states that some people value their possessions more than their money. Therefore, when the nation of Israel donated the actual materials to the Mishkan they were in essence giving over part of themselves (by giving their possessions instead of money) for people define themselves through their possessions. By doing this they were creating an everlasting connection with Hashem through the Mishkan (His dwelling place) for part of them would always be with Hashem in the Mishkan.

As a result, Hashem commanded that the nation of Israel donate with ‘motivated hearts’ for otherwise they would fail to create a connection with Hashem through the Mishkan. A person who simply ‘goes through the motions’ when giving tzedaka fails to create a connection between themselves and the receiver. It is only when one gives with compassion that a connection can be built.

Now we could also understand why the Torah makes such a big deal about the nation of Israel donating towards the Mishkan-despite all their wealth. And why is that? Rabbi Yochanan Zweig relates that what we were really giving was our hearts-not our money, for the purpose of the donations was to unite with Hashem. Just like Hashem gave us all our wealth, so too He could have just taken it back. However, Hashem’s interest was to create a connection with us. Therefore, the Torah discusses at length all the donations towards the Mishkan to show how we created a connection with Hashem through it.

Furthermore, we can now understand why Hashem said that he would dwell ‘among us’ through the Mishkan-for part of us will always remain there with Him, as it served as a place of connection between us.

Lastly, it could be that the Torah discusses all the details concerning the Mishkan at length for it was only through us actually giving all the specific materials and with motivated hearts that we were able to establish the Mishkan as a bonding place with Him. Meaning, the Torah wants to show us how with every part of the Mishkan the nation of Israel were able to create a connection with Hashem (for they were giving part of themselves by giving their own possessions). Therefore, in order to make that point clear the Torah goes in depth in it’s discussion regarding all the exact details of the Mishkan.

Summary: The purpose of the Mishkan was to serve as a bonding place between us and Hashem. Hashem commanded the nation of Israel to donate all the specific materials (instead of just giving money) because people naturally define themselves through their possessions, so by giving the actual materials they were really giving over part of themselves. As a result, Hashem commanded that only people with ‘motivated hearts’ were allowed to donate, for otherwise they would fail to create a connection with Hashem through their giving. Additionally, Hashem said that the purpose of the Mishkan was to dwell ‘among us’ (and not ‘in it’) because part of ourselves would always be in the Mishkan (through the materials we donated) so we would always be together with Hashem. Lastly, it could be that the Torah discusses all the details concerning the Mishkan at length for it was only through us actually giving all the specific materials and with motivated hearts that we were able to establish the Mishkan as a bonding place with Him.