This shabbat we read two parshiot dealing with a favorite topic of Jewish institutions ever since Moshe returned from Mount Sinai: fundraising. Vayakhel, the regular weekly parsha, deals with the Israelites’ giving gold, silver, and other valuable materials for the building of the mishkan, the Tabernacle. The special maftir portion, Parshat Shekalim, which is read yearly before Rosh Chodesh Adar, deals with the mitzvah of all Jews eligible for army service giving a half shekel for the mishkan.

These two parshiot obviously share common themes, but as if that wasn’t enough Chazal emphasize that point for us in similar aggadot.

According to an amusing piece of midrash in Bamidbar Rabbah (parsha 15:10,) when Hashem commanded Moshe to make the Menorah, Moshe didn’t understand how it was to be made. So Hashem said “mikshah tei’aseh hamenorah” (“of beaten work shall the candlestick be made” Exodus 25:31; That seems clear enough instructions for most of us for making a huge, complicated golden candelabrum, of course!) Moshe went down from Mount Sinai and forgot. He came back to Hashem and asked again. So Hashem said “mikshah tei’aseh hamenorah”. So Moshe went down again and promptly forgot again. So next time, Hashem showed Moshe the menorah. So Moshe went down again and forgot again. (Being the lawgiver is quite a mountaineering workout!) When he came back to Hashem again, He showed him what the menorah was supposed to look like, but Moshe still had trouble with it. Hashem said “U’reah v’aseh!” (“see [it] and make [it]”) which apparently didn’t help Moshe much since Hashem then showed him a “menorah of fire” and its making. Even so, Moshe didn’t get it. Finally Hashem said “Go to Betzalel and he’ll make it.” So Moshe went and told him and Betzalel had no problem with it. (A similar midrash, probably an earlier version of this one, is found in Menachot 29a, where fiery images of the other vessels are also shown to Moshe, but in that one he has no trouble comprehending them; it’s much less amusing.)

In a similar vein, regarding the half shekel, we find in the Yerushalmi Masechet Shekalim 1:4, Rabbi Meir says the Holy One blessed be He, took out a likeness of a coin made of fire from under his Throne of Glory and showed it to Moshe and said to him “‘give this’ – give like this.” However, this time Moshe had no trouble understanding what a shekel was.

The half shekels, once collected, were first used for making adanim, the bases which held the planks of the mishkan’s walls. In subsequent years, when the mishkan was no longer being built, they were used for purchasing the public sacrifices. So both the shekalim and the other donations/offerings were used for building the mishkan, and later for its regular operating expenses. (Thus leading to the tradition observed among us until today, with modern expense accounts mostly used for buying expensive meat.)

Both of these donations are described with fire in the above midrashim. This can be interpreted in many ways. One understanding is that the fire motif is Chazal’s emphasis, “spiritualizing” the donations of material wealth. The fire represents something non-physical, reminding us that even though giving money and/or valuables seems like a fairly materially oriented action, if done for the proper motivation it transcends the physical. This is true for all physically performed mitzvoth, of course, but it is often necessary to add imagery like this to remind us. In a similar vein, the fire can also represent “hitlahavut” (“eagerness” or “zeal”, but etymologically related to “flame”) which was needed in the giving of materials for the mishkan, and, indeed for other mitzvot as well.

On the other hand, there is also a contrast between the two different types of giving in these two parshiot. The donations of all kinds of materials, and labor, for the building of the mishkan were from whatever one had in their possession and whatever one wanted to give. For example, “v’kol asher nimtzah ito atzei shittim l’kol m’lechet ha’avodah heiviu” - “everyone who happened to have shittim wood for all the work of the tasks, brought it”; and who among us doesn’t have some shittim wood lying around in their living rooms? (No, that’s oak! v’hameivin yavin.)

Each person’s donation, both in materials and in creative work, was their own unique contribution, different from anyone else’s and based on their own individual character and God given talents. Perhaps this is the idea that Chazal are pointing to when Moshe could not grasp the ma’aseh ha’menorah, because it needed Betzalel’s unique creative talents to build it. However, the half shekel was the same for everyone: “he’ashir lo yarbeh v’hadal lo yam’it mimachatzit hashakel” – “the rich shall not add more and the poor shall not diminish from a half shekel.” Everyone is equal and nobody’s donation is allowed to differ from anyone else’s.

These two examples also represent two aspects we should observe in our avodat Hashem. Some mitzvot require that they be done by everyone equally, whether we want to or not (and we know which ones those are…) Simply performing them in a “baseline” manner, regardless of our feelings is necessary for our spiritual growth and well being, like the half shekel, which was “l’chaper al nafshoteichem” – “to atone for your souls.” However, some mitzvot, like the donations to build the mishkan, are more individual and require us to perform them in our own unique way, with our own creativity and thoughts being an indispensable aspect of their performance. For example, learning torah, which encourages the creation of “chiddushim”, new ideas and interpretations of torah.

These two ideas are not mutually exclusive. Quite the opposite, they are mutually indispensible! Take tefillah (please!) Some days, one has real kavannah, and their prayers are very unique and personal. Perhaps the rabbis who say the above aggadot would say that they have a “tefillah of fire.” Other days (or even the same day, different tefillah) they daven by rote with little kavannah, but still fulfill the mitzvah because they need to. Or sometimes, one goes to daven because they feel required, but not inspired, and suddenly realize as they daven that they are moved and uplifted by their tefillah. This can also be seen in Parshat Shekalim, a.k.a. “ki Tisa” – “when you count” which could also be “when you lift up.” Recall also that the money raised from the half shekels was used as the basis for the rest of the mishkan, without it, the mishkan would not be able to stand. Without the performance of mitzvot, even when they seem to be uncreative, the rest of the mitzvot could not “stand.” Even performing a mitzvah that does not seem to require from the person doing it the creative input required for the building of the “menorah of fire” will uplift us as will donating a “coin of fire.”

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