Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
כׇּל אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר נָדַב לִבָּם אֹתָם לְהָבִיא לְכׇל הַמְּלָאכָה אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' לַעֲשׂוֹת בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה הֵבִיאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נְדָבָה לַה'׃
All the people whose hearts moved them to bring (donations) for the work that God had commanded them to do, through Moshe, brought donations to God.
Why does this pasuk stress that people were moved by their hearts to bring their donations? What could that be adding? What might we have thought if it hadn't said that?
הוּא לְהַגִּיד שֶׁכֻּלָּם עָשׂוּ הַנְּדָבָה הַהוּא לִשְׁמָהּ לַעֲבֹד הַשֵּׁם וּלְקַיֵּם מִצְוָתוֹ.
This pasuk is here to tell us that everyone donated for the right reasons: to serve God and observe God’s mitzvot.
הָעֲנִיִּים לֹא נִמְצָא בְּיָדָם מְאוּמָה רַק שֶׁנָּדַב לִבָּם אוֹתָם, לִבָּם לְבַד וּמַחְשַׁבְתָּם נָדָב, שֶׁחָשְׁבוּ בְּלִבָּם לְהָבִיא אִם יִהְיֶה לְאֵל יָדָם… אֶת הָאִישׁ וְהָאִשָּׁה הַזֶּה הֵבִיאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נְדָבָה לַה', הָאִישׁ הַזֶּה וְהָאִשָּׁה הַזֹּאת הָיוּ עִקָּר הַנְּדָבָה שֶׁנִּתְקַבְּלָה אֵצֶל ה'.
People who were poor didn’t have anything to give—just their hearts. They could only give over their hearts and thoughts. They thought in their hearts that they would have brought donations, if they had been able to…
Benei Yisrael brought these righteous people before God, and that was the most important gift to God.
- How do Abarbanel and Malbim each understand the words “asher nadav libam otam”? According to each parshan, what can we learn from the emphasis on the heart?
- Consider Abarbanel: What if a person makes a donation not for the best reasons, like because they want to get attention or praise? Is it still good to donate even if your intention isn’t totally pure? Why should intent matter?
- Consider Malbim: What’s the difference between doing something “whole-heartedly” (because they really want to) and doing it “half-heartedly” (without really wanting to)? Why would true desire be so important to God even if the people couldn’t actually donate something?
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