Did you hear about the message Israel sent to the Egyptians this past week?
"Dear Egyptian brothers!
“Please don't damage the Pyramids. We will not rebuild...
“We are too busy now, and we are much more expensive than we used to be.
“Thank you.
The Jewish people.”
This week's portion, Terumah, describes the great collective project of the Israelites in the desert: G-d spoke to Moses saying: "Speak to the children of Israel, and let them take a contribution for Me. Take My contribution from everyone whose heart impels him to give…building a Mishkan, a portable Sanctuary, that would serve as the visible home of the Divine presence.
Given by people whose “heart impelled them.” It is a key phrase in the narrative: a motivated, inspired heart is the only one that may contribute to the construction of the Sanctuary.
Why did G-d not impose a tax on the Jewish people to build the Mishkan? What if the people would not want to give ?
Another intriguing issue is the choice of words used for this mitzvah:
Why does G-d say, “Take a contribution for me?”
Both questions share a single answer—and the answer tragically became apparent five centuries later, in a story recorded in the Haftarah, from the fifth chapter of the book of Kings 1, in which Solomon builds the first Temple in Jerusalem.
“King Solomon,” the Bible relates, “imposed a heavy tax on all of Israel. The Temple built as a result was splendorous. In the diggings around the Western Wall we can still observe many of the stones carried by the 70,000 men in the times of Solomon. The Jewish people enjoyed peace and prosperity under the reign of a brilliant and successful king Solomon. But there was a heavy price: The building of the Temple involved turning Israel into a vast labor camp. Solomon’s court was expensive and sustained by high taxation. As long as he was alive, the people did not lament. When the king died, however, the people formed a delegation – led by an ambitious would-be leader, Jeroboam – to Solomon’s son and successor Rechavam. They had a simple request:
"Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."
As is the ancient Jewish tradition, Rechavam told them to come back in three days and he would give them an answer. Should he strengthen his authority by a show of power? Or should he win the people over by loosening and lessening their burdens? What would you do? He went to the elders who had been his father’s counselors. “What would you advise me to say?” he asked. Their answer is fascinating:
"If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."
Unfortunately, Rechavam, young, impetuous, ignored it. Instead he asked his friends. Their advice was the opposite. Show them who is boss, The king declared:
My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'"
The result was predictable. The majority of the people revolted. They crowned Jerovaam as new king. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the king. The kingdom split in two. It was the beginning of the end of the first commonwealth. Always a small people surrounded by large and powerful empires, it needed unity, high morale and a strong sense of destiny to survive. Divided, it was only a matter of time before both nations, Israel in the north, Judah in the south, fell to other powers.
The words of the Solomon’s advisors to the new young king are remarkable and they capture one of the most revolutionary ideas of Judaism about leadership and kingship: "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."
The task of a king, the senior advisors said, is to serve the people, not to impose burdens on them. What is more: The power of the king stems not from his superiority over the people, but from his being a servant to the people. Power corrupts; a lot of power corrupts even more. And when you have power, you must be extra humble.
But there is a deeper point: What allows a human being to have power over other people? The answer is: Because the leader sees himself as completely selfless, as a conduit to serve his people.
The challenge is: The fight for liberty and human dignity cannot be won on battlefields; it must be won in human hearts and minds.
Hence, 3300 years ago, when the first home for the Divine had to be built, G-d instructed that it must be created with the voluntary contributions of the people. The grand Temple of King Solomon was built via placing a heavy burden on the people and the results in the long run were negative. The foundation of the building a space for G-d must be human choice. The people must feel that they are taking as much as they are giving. “Let them take for me a contribution.”
You can force people to do many things. But you cannot force them to turn their hearts and lives into a home for G-d.
It is this approach that has defined the world-perspective of our people and our tradition.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Rosh Chodesh Adar!
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky
XRumerTest wrote...