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והנשאם הביאו את אבני השהם ואת אבני המלאים לאפוד ולחשן
Parshas Vayakhel and Pekudei, very often read together, discuss the enthusiasm and alacrity with which the Jewish people both donated towards and constructed the Mishkan.
In last week’s parsha, the Torah tells us that the precious stones were donated by the Nesi’im, the wealthy tribal leaders.
Rashi gives us the actual backstory surrounding this: “Says Rav Nosson; why did the Nesi’im rush to donate during the inauguration of the Mishkan, while waiting to donate last towards the materials of the Mishkan? Rather, the Nesi’im (erroneously) made the following calculation: let the people donate first what they have, and we will supplement whatever is lacking afterwards. In the end, nothing was lacking! Now what will we donate? They learned their lesson, and later on during the inauguration, donated first.”
Rashi adds that this explains why their title is missing a ‘yud,’ symbolizing that something was lacking in their approach, and they suffered a loss as a result.
We see from here that although on the surface it appears that the donation of the precious stones was significant, in actuality, it was considered more of an afterthought and a ‘consolation prize’ of sorts.
What was wrong with their intention, and why did they lose the ‘yud’?
Rav Yerucham Levovitz learns from this a powerful lesson: when it comes to mitzvos, we should never make calculations that involve negative traits. Mitzvos must be done with alacrity and enthusiasm, and never with lethargy and sluggishness. Although their intentions might have been noble—give everyone else a chance—at the end of the day, they allowed an element of laziness into their avodah. It had its effect, and the damage was done.
The Mesillas Yesharim [Rav M.C. Luzzato] actually finds a place for laziness in our service of Hashem; if we ever feel tempted to sin and are having trouble overcoming our inclination, we should procrastinate—‘I’ll sin later, when I have time, right now I’m too busy’—hopefully by then the temptation will subside, and we will prevail! Laziness should be our attitude towards aveiros, and alacrity and excitement should be our attitude towards mitzvos.
This is actually one of the lessons of Chometz and Matzah. Matzah symbolizes the speed and effort involved in performing mitzvos, while chometz symbolizes the leavening and bloating feeling that comes from laziness.
The text is already correct and does not contain any spelling or grammar mistakes.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!