The Missing Yud: Giving Without Self-Importance
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Shemos 35:27
וְהַנְּשִׂאִם הֵבִיאוּ אֵת אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם וְאֵת אַבְנֵי הַמִּלֻּאִים לָאֵפוֹד וְלַחֹשֶׁן
The princes brought the shoham stones and the stones for setting, for the Ephod and for the Choshen.
Rashi asks why the princes gave first at the dedication of the Altar, but not at the work of the Mishkan. He explains that the princes had said, “Let the community give what they give, and whatever they leave lacking, we will complete.” When the community had completed everything, the princes said, “What is there left for us to do?” and brought the shoham stones. That is why they gave first at the dedication. And because they were lax at the start, a letter is missing from their name: the word is written without a yud.
1“The princes brought the shoham stones and the stones for setting …”1 Rashi writes: “This is what they said: ‘Let the community give whatever they give, and whatever they leave lacking, we will complete.’ Once the community had completed everything, the princes said, ‘What is left for us to do?’ So they brought the shoham stones. And because they were lax, one letter is missing from their name: the word for ‘the princes’ is written without a yud.”2 Why was it the yud in particular that was taken from their name, and not some other letter? We must also ask: surely the princes meant well. Even today, generous donors commonly say that they want to see what is still lacking at the end, and then they will make up the shortfall, and in our days this is considered great generosity. So what was wrong with the princes doing the same?
וְהַנְּשִׂיאִים הֵבִיאוּ אֵת אַבְנֵי הַשּׁוֹהַם וְאֵת אַבְנֵי הַמִּילּוּאִים וְגוֹ׳ (לח, כז). ברש״י הַקָּדוֹשׁ הֵבִיא, כָּךְ אָמְרוּ, יִתְנַדְּבוּ צִיבּוּר מַה שֶׁמִּתְנַדְּבִים וּמַה שֶׁמְּחַסְּרִין אָנוּ מַשְׁלִימִים אוֹתָן, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִשְׁלִימוּ צִיבּוּר אֶת הַכֹּל, אָמְרוּ נְשִׂיאִים מֶה עָלֵינוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת, הֵבִיאוּ אֵת אַבְנֵי הַשּׁוֹהַם, וּלְפִי שֶׁנִּתְעַצְּלוּ נֶחְסְרָה אוֹת אַחַת מִשְּׁמָם ׳וְהַנְּשִׂיאִם׳ כְּתִיב. וְיֵשׁ לְדַיֵּיק, מַדּוּעַ דַּוְוקָא הָאוֹת י׳ נֶחְסְרָה מִשְּׁמָם, וְלֹא שְׁאָר הָאוֹתִיּוֹת. עוֹד צָרִיךְ בֵּיאוּר, הֲלֹא כַּוָּונַת הַנְּשִׂיאִים הָיְתָה לְטוֹבָה, וּכְפִי שֶׁמָּצוּי גַּם כְּהַיּוֹם, שֶׁנּוֹהֲגִים נְדִיבֵי לֵב לוֹמַר כִּי רְצוֹנָם לִרְאוֹת מַה יֶחְסַר לְבַסּוֹף וְהֵם יַשְׁלִימוּ אֶת הֶחָסֵר, וְעִנְיָן זֶה נֶחְשָׁב בְּיָמֵינוּ כִּנְדִיבוּת רַבָּה, וְאִם כֵּן מֶה הָיָה הַחִסָּרוֹן בְּמַה שֶּׁנָּהֲגוּ כֵּן הַנְּשִׂיאִים.
- Shemos 35:27 (the sefer has 38:27). The shoham stones were set on the Ephod, the Kohen Gadol's apron, and the other stones in the Choshen, his breastplate. ↩
- Rashi there. In the Torah the word vehanesi'im, “and the princes,” is spelled והנשאם, without the usual yud. ↩
In shortRashi says the princes lost a yud for waiting to complete what others lacked; but why a yud, and what was wrong with such generosity?
2I heard in the name of the holy Rebbe of Vorka, zt"l, that the princes' fault lay in assuming that the others would fall short of giving all that was needed. It is not right to look at another person's shortcomings, only at his virtues. Those are his holy words.
וּבְשֵׁם הרה״ק מווארקא זצללה״ה שָׁמַעְתִּי, שֶׁהַחִסָּרוֹן בָּזֶה הָיָה מַה שֶׁסָּבְרוּ שֶׁהָאֲחֵרִים יַחְסִירוּ מִשְּׁלֵימוּת הַנְּדָבָה, וְאֵין זֶה הָגוּן לִרְאוֹת חֶסְרוֹנוֹ שֶׁל חֲבֵירוֹ כִּי אִם מַעֲלָתוֹ, עכד״ק.
In shortThe princes' fault, said the Rebbe of Vorka, was expecting others to fall short; one should see only a fellow Jew's virtues.
3aWe can add to this from what the holy sefer Ateres LeRosh Tzaddik writes on the verse “The work was sufficient for all the work, to do it, and there was extra.”3 These are his words. There is a well-known difficulty here: “sufficient” and “there was extra” contradict each other, since “sufficient” means exactly as much as was needed and no more. The explanation seems to be this. It is known that Hashem's main purpose in having the Mishkan built was to rest His Shechinah there, as the verse says, “And they shall make Me a Mikdash, and I will dwell among them.”4 The whole Mishkan with all its vessels, in its form and design, was modeled on the Mishkan above, as the verse says, “You shall set up the Mishkan according to its plan, as you were shown on the mountain.”5 So if anything at all had been missing from the Mishkan and its vessels, the Shechinah could not have rested there. We also know that the Shechinah rests only where there is humility. As Chazal said, whoever is haughty is as if he pushes away the feet of the Shechinah.6
וְיֵשׁ לוֹמַר עוֹד בָּזֶה, עַל פִּי מַה שֶּׁכָּתַב בְּסֵפֶר הַקָּדוֹשׁ עֲטָרָה לְרֹאשׁ צַדִּיק, עַל הַכָּתוּב (לו, ז) ״וְהַמְּלָאכָה הָיְתָה דַיָּם לְכָל הַמְּלָאכָה לַעֲשׂוֹת אוֹתָהּ וְהוֹתֵר״, וְזֶה לְשׁוֹנוֹ, הַדִּקְדּוּק יָדוּעַ, שֶׁלְּשׁוֹן ׳דַּיָּם׳ ׳וְהוֹתֵר׳ סוֹתְרִין זֶה אֶת זֶה, שֶׁלְּשׁוֹן ׳דַּיָּם׳ מַשְׁמַע בְּצִמְצוּם כַּמָּה שֶׁהוּצְרְכוּ וְלֹא יוֹתֵר. וְנִרְאֶה, דְּהִנֵּה יָדוּעַ (זוהר ח״ב קמו, א, תקוני זוהר הקדמה יג, א, רבינו בחיי פקודי, אלשיך תרומה) שֶׁעִיקַּר כַּוָּונַת השי״ת בְּבִנְיַן הַמִּשְׁכָּן הָיָה כְּדֵי שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהַשְׁרוֹת שָׁם שְׁכִינָתוֹ, כְּמַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב (כה, ח) ״וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם״, וְכָל הַמִּשְׁכָּן עִם כָּל כֵּלָיו בְּצוּרָתוֹ וְתַבְנִיתוֹ הַכֹּל הָיָה כְּדוּגְמַת הַמִּשְׁכָּן שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה, כְּמַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב (כו, ל) ״וַהֲקֵמוֹתָ אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן כְּמִשְׁפָּטוֹ אֲשֶׁר הָרְאֵיתָ בָּהָר״, וְלָכֵן אִם הָיָה חָסֵר אֵיזֶה דָּבָר מֵהַמִּשְׁכָּן וְהַכֵּלִים, לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שָׁם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה. וְזֹאת יָדוּעַ גַּם כֵּן, שֶׁלְּהַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת עֲנָוָה, כְּמַאֲמָרָם ז״ל (עיין ברכות מג, ב. סוטה ד, ב) כָּל הַמִּתְגָּאֶה הֲרֵי זֶה כְּדוֹחֵק רַגְלֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה.
3bHad they brought for the work of the Mishkan only exactly what was needed, each person could have “blessed himself in his heart,”7 telling himself that he had brought about the resting of the Shechinah. Had he not given his heartfelt gift, a little would have been missing from the Mishkan and its vessels, and then, as we said, the Shechinah could not have rested there. But with each person congratulating himself in his heart for bringing the Shechinah to rest, that very pride would have kept the Shechinah from resting there, for whoever is haughty is as if he pushes away the feet of the Shechinah. That is why there had to be more than enough for the work. Then each person's heart would be broken within him, as he thought that his own gift was the part left over and had never gone into the work of the Mishkan at all. And then the Shechinah could rest there.
וּלְפִי זֶה, אִם לֹא הֵבִיאוּ לִמְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן רַק בְּצִמְצוּם מַה שֶׁנִּצְטָרֵךְ, הָיָה כָּל אֶחָד יָכוֹל לְהִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ לֵאמֹר שֶׁהוּא גָּרַם לְהַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה, שֶׁאִם הוּא לֹא הָיָה נוֹתֵן נִדְבַת לִבּוֹ, הָיָה חָסֵר מְעַט מֵהַמִּשְׁכָּן וְהַכֵּלִים, וּמִמֵּילָא לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שָׁם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁכָּל אֶחָד הָיָה מִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ שֶׁהוּא גָּרַם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה, מִמֵּילָא מֵחֲמַת זֶה עַצְמוֹ לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שָׁם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה, כִּי כָּל הַמִּתְגָּאֶה הוּא כְּדוֹחֵק רַגְלֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל. לָכֵן הָיָה צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת יוֹתֵר מִכְּדֵי הַמְּלָאכָה, כְּדֵי שֶׁכָּל אֶחָד יִהְיֶה נִשְׁבַּר לִבּוֹ בְּקִרְבּוֹ, שֶׁשֶּׁלּוֹ נִתְוַתֵּר וְלֹא נִכְנַס כְּלָל בִּמְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, וְאָז הָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שָׁם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה.
- Devarim 29:18. ↩
3cThis resolves the wording of the verse “The work was sufficient … and there was extra.” For it to be “sufficient for all the work,” that is, for the Shechinah to be able to rest there, which was the whole purpose of the work of the Mishkan, there had to be “extra.” Had nothing been left over, it would not have been “sufficient” for the purpose of the work: the Shechinah could not have rested there, because each person would have congratulated himself in his heart for bringing it about. So it was through the extra that “it was sufficient,” and the Shechinah could rest there. That is the gist of his words.
וּבָזֶה מְתוֹרָץ לְשׁוֹן הַכָּתוּב ׳וְהַמְּלָאכָה הָיְתָה דַיָּם וְהוֹתֵר׳, פֵּירוּשׁ כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיֶה דַּיָּם לְכָל הַמְּלָאכָה, הַיְינוּ שֶׁיּוּכַל לִהְיוֹת שָׁם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה שֶׁעַל כַּוָּונָה זוֹ הָיְתָה כָּל מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, לָזֶה הָיָה צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת ׳וְהוֹתֵר׳, שֶׁאִם לֹא נִתְוַתֵּר לֹא הָיָה דַּי לְכַוָּנַת מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, הַיְינוּ שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שָׁם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה, מִטַּעַם שֶׁכָּל אֶחָד הָיָה מִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ שֶׁהוּא גָּרַם זֶה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וְאָז ׳הָיְתָה דַיָּם׳ שֶׁהָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שָׁם הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, עכ״ד.
In shortExact gifts would have let each giver pride himself on bringing the Shechinah and so drive it away; the surplus humbled all, making it “sufficient.”
4This lets us properly understand why the princes' thinking was counted as a sin for people of their level. They thought and said, “Let the community give whatever they give, and whatever they leave lacking, we will complete.” But if they were to complete everything that was lacking, the work would no longer be “sufficient” through the “extra.” Knowing that it was they who had completed and finished the work of the Mishkan with their gift, the princes could easily have become self-important, and where there is self-importance the Shechinah cannot rest.
וְעַל פִּי זֶה יְבוֹאַר לְנָכוֹן מַה שֶׁהָיָה נֶחְשָׁב לַנְּשִׂיאִים כְּחֵטְא לְפִי דַּרְגָּתָם, מַה שֶׁחָשְׁבוּ וְאָמְרוּ יִתְנַדְּבוּ צִיבּוּר מַה שֶׁמִּתְנַדְּבִים וּמַה שֶּׁמְּחַסְּרִין אָנוּ מַשְׁלִימִין אוֹתוֹ, שֶׁכֵּן בְּאוֹפֶן זֶה שֶׁהָיוּ מַשְׁלִימִים כָּל הֶחָסֵר, הָיָה נֶחְסַר עִנְיָן הָאָמוּר שֶׁל ׳וְהַמְּלָאכָה הָיְתָה דַיָּם׳ עַל יְדֵי ׳וְהוֹתֵר׳, דִּבְיִדְעָם שֶׁהֵם אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁלִימוּ וְגָמְרוּ בְּנִדְבָתָם מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, הָיוּ יְכוֹלִים בְּנָקֵל לָבֹא לִידֵי הִתְנַשְּׂאוּת, וּבְאוֹפֶן כָּזֶה לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת בּוֹ הַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה.
In shortBeing the ones to finish the Mishkan could easily have made the princes self-important, so for people of their level the plan counted as a sin.
5On this basis we can explain why the letter taken from their name was the yud in particular. My holy great-grandfather, zy"a, cites a teaching in the holy sefer Divrei Binah in the name of the holy R' Dovid of Lelov, zy"a.8 When two Jews are together as equals, with no feeling of superiority, they are like the Holy Name, which siddurim customarily write as two yuds side by side (יי). But when one of them raises himself up and puts on airs over the other, they are no longer like that. Instead they are like the vowel sign sheva, two dots one above the other (ְ), which do not stand for the Holy Name or for the resting of the Shechinah. Since the flaw in the princes' thinking was self-importance, it was the yud in particular that was taken from their name. The yud hints that the “Jewish point” in each person must stand level with his fellow's, not above it.9
וְיֵשׁ לְבָאֵר עַל פִּי זֶה מַדּוּעַ נֶחְסְרָה מִשְּׁמָם הָאוֹת י׳ דַּוְוקָא, לְפִי מַה שֶׁכָּתַב זְקֵנִי זי״ע בְּסֵפֶר הַקָּדוֹשׁ דִּבְרֵי בִּינָה (פרשת ויקהל פ״ב ע״ב) בְּשֵׁם הרה״ק רַבִּי דָּוִד מלעלוב זיע״א, שֶׁכַּאֲשֶׁר שְׁנֵי יְהוּדִים הֵם בְּיַחַד בְּשָׁוֶה זֶה עִם זֶה לְלֹא הַרְגָּשַׁת הִתְנַשְּׂאוּת, הֵם בְּדוּגְמַת שֵׁם הַקָּדוֹשׁ אֲשֶׁר נָהֲגוּ לְצַיְּינוֹ בַּסִּידּוּרִים בְּסִימָן שְׁנֵי אוֹתִיּוֹת י׳ זוֹ עַל יַד זוֹ, אַךְ כַּאֲשֶׁר אֶחָד מִתְנַשֵּׂא וּמִתְהַדֵּר מֵעַל חֲבֵירוֹ, אֲזַי כְּבָר אֵינוֹ בְּדוּגְמַת זֶה, אֶלָּא כְּסִימַן נִיקּוּד שב״א שֶׁהוּא ב׳ נְקוּדּוֹת זֶה עַל גַּבֵּי זֶה, וְאֵינָם מוֹרִים עַל הַשֵּׁם הַקָּדוֹשׁ וְהַשְׁרָאַת הַשְּׁכִינָה. וּמֵעַתָּה לְפִי שֶׁהַפְּגָם בְּמַחֲשֶׁבֶת הַנְּשִׂיאִים הָיָה בְּעִנְיַן הִתְנַשְּׂאוּת, לְפִיכָךְ נִיטְּלָה מִשְּׁמָם הָאוֹת י׳ דַּוְוקָא, הָרוֹמֶזֶת שֶׁנְּקוּדַּת הַיְּהוּדִי שֶׁל כָּל אֶחָד צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת בְּשָׁוֶה עִם חֲבֵירוֹ וְלֹא לְהִתְנַשֵּׂא מֵעַל חֲבֵירוֹ.
- Divrei Binah, Vayakhel, 82b. The first Biala Rebbe, author of Divrei Binah, the Rebbe's great-grandfather. ↩
- The yud, the smallest letter, is written as little more than a point (nekudah), and it begins the word Yid, a Jew. ↩
In shortTwo equal Jews are like the Holy Name's two side-by-side yuds; the princes, who set themselves above others, lost a yud.
6May it be His will that we be privileged to serve the Creator with wholeheartedness and simplicity. Amen, may it be His will.
יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לַעֲבוֹד אֶת הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּתְמִימוּת וּפְשִׁיטוּת, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
In shortMay we serve the Creator with wholeheartedness and simplicity.
Takeaway
Even a generous gift can hide a quiet flaw: waiting to be the one who completes what others left lacking means expecting them to fall short and setting ourselves up as the one everything depended on. The Shechinah rests only where there is humility, which is why the Mishkan's gifts overflowed, leaving each giver feeling that his share had not been needed. When we give, we should look at others' virtues and stand level with our fellow Jew, like two yuds side by side that together stand for Hashem's Name.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.