(ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃
(2) Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart is so moved [or: from each person whose heart is willing]
"from every person whose heart is so moved" "a willing heart"... what does this mean; what can it mean for each of us, today?
This verb, translated as "willing" or "moved" - יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ - is from the verbal root (shoresh) √נדב.
Let's explore this, to better understand what it means that our heart would be in this state, and that we would bring gifts to the Divine.
נדב√
to incite, impel, make willing
(Qal) to incite, impel
(Hithpael)to volunteer, to offer free-will offerings
In our verse here at the start of Parashat Terumah, the verb is in the qal binyan. Is my heart spontaneously willing, or have I somehow been impelled to bring a gift?
Close to the end of the Book of Exodus, in Parashat Vayak'hel, this verb occurs again (two appearances):
(כא) וַיָּבֹ֕אוּ כׇּל־אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־נְשָׂא֣וֹ לִבּ֑וֹ וְכֹ֡ל אֲשֶׁר֩ נָדְבָ֨ה רוּח֜וֹ אֹת֗וֹ הֵ֠בִ֠יאוּ אֶת־תְּרוּמַ֨ת יְהֹוָ֜ה לִמְלֶ֨אכֶת אֹ֤הֶל מוֹעֵד֙ וּלְכׇל־עֲבֹ֣דָת֔וֹ וּלְבִגְדֵ֖י הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃
(21) And everyone who excelled in ability and everyone whose spirit was moved came, bringing to יהוה an offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service and for the sacral vestments.
(כט) כׇּל־אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשָּׁ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָדַ֣ב לִבָּם֮ אֹתָם֒ לְהָבִיא֙ לְכׇל־הַמְּלָאכָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה ה׳ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁ֑ה הֵבִ֧יאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל נְדָבָ֖ה לַה׳׃ {פ}
Let's remember that in Biblical usage, לֵב (lev) - "heart" - means much more than the actual physical organ that sits in our chest and beats and pumps blood.
The semantic cloud of לֵב (lev) / heart in Biblical Hebrew includes:
inner man
mind
will
understanding
inner / innermost part
midst / midst (of things)
soul
knowledge
thinking
reflection
memory
inclination
resolution
determination
conscience
moral character
seat of appetites
seat of emotions and passions
seat of courage
Thus, we can understand that "a willing heart" also carries meaning of: a willing conscience, a willing memory, a willing determination to act in a righteous manner, a willing resolution to act in a humane manner.
How can we cultivate this attitude of willingness that is also responding to directives? You might think that these directives are coming from outside of you; but in fact, since God - the Shechinah - the Holy Presence of God - is inside of each of us - well, the directives are not coming from an outside source; they are inside of us already.
Parashat Terumah is absolutely brimming with a dizzying array of detailed instructions for the construction of the Mishkan, the portable sacred space in which God will be present with us.
(ח) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
(8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
When I study this Parsha, I try to track all of the detailed instructions; I try to picture them, keep them in mind... By the end of the Parsha, my mind is swimming. Cubits, amot, bulbs, almonds, flowers, branches; gold, silver, bronze (why one and not the other?); curtains, sockets, poles, rings, poles, sockets, corners, rims... What can this teach us?
I suggest that the verses and verses of physical details in Parashat Terumah teach us, and remind us, that we, in our physical bodies, are instruments of beauty and wholeness in the world. We live in physical bodies; our bodies and their physicality are the structures with which we are most familiar. We learn in this Parsha that in order for God to meet with us, instruct us, enter into a process with us - and conversely, in order for us to meet with God, be instructed, enter into a process with the Divine - there needs to be a human-sized, human-constructed and human-tended structure within which this can happen.
In this week's Torah portion, there is a precious quality to the inner place where we will meet with God; precious materials, overlain with pure gold....
A willing heart, that also is responding to an order and promise of beauty and justice in the world; a willing heart that is also impelled to welcome the presence of God.
I will close with a beautiful quote from a beautiful, recently published book of Torah commentaries by one of my beloved teachers, Rabbi Mel Gottlieb. The book is called Torah Travels, A Psycho-Spiritual Journey Through the Weekly Torah Portion. He says, in his commentary on Parashat Terumah:
"Let each person make themselves into a sanctuary where God dwells. Let the Shechinah (God's Holy Presence) reside in their hearts and souls so that each person is a carrier of God's beneficence - a vessel bringing the beauty of God's presence to our world." (p. 94)
Indeed; let us bring our willing hearts, and minds, and determination, and humanity, to constructing a world in which God dwells within, and brings justice, to all.