Betzalel was given the task of constructing all the pieces of the Tabernacle in the desert. In making the Aron – the box that held the Tablets of the Law – he used wood and gold. It would seem to have been sufficient to cover the wooden box with gold, but actually God required it to be also covered inside with gold. So it was a gold box inside a wood box inside a gold box. Why all the unnecessary gold?
Rabbi Max Weiman answers: ‘WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get.” This concept has many ramifications. When you can tell what you’re getting you have trust and confidence in the producer of the goods. The fakers of the world cause us to mistrust everyone. They not only damage their own credibility, but they ruin things for the rest…Who is God? Does He put on a fake exterior? Does He pretend to be what He’s not?
God is infinite. He does not change. He is through and through the same. A oneness that has no equal. Therefore any hint of falsehood or fake exterior is the opposite of Godliness. The Talmud says that one of the telltale signs of a true scholar is that his “outside reflect his inside.” Someone who wants to be an example and a representative of holiness in the world must aspire to this trait. And in fact it’s something that each of us, on whatever level we’re on, should strive for. One of the most important commandments in the Torah is to emulate the Almighty. Since truth, honesty, and integrity are part of God’s definition, we need to emulate those traits. That’s what the Aron represents: the quality of the inside and the outside being one.’
Rabbi Ron Jawary offers his insight into the Parshah and the concept of giving and taking with regard to the ‘terumah’: ‘One of the main misconceptions people have about Judaism is that they feel they are doing God a favor by doing mitzvot. However, since God is Infinite and complete, there isn’t anything we can do for the Divine. This week the Torah teaches us that what would seem like the most altruistic gift of all time — the giving of our assets to build God’s home — is not really giving at all. It is an opportunity to open ourselves to a relationship with the Divine. “Build for Me a temple and I will dwell amongst you.” Perhaps that is why the giving of our resources to build the temple is referred to as “taking” – “Speak to the Children of Israel and let them take for Me a portion…” (Exodus, 25:2). Every time we do a mitzvah, we create an eternal connection between ourselves and the Divine. Doing something for God is really doing something for ourselves. We can become a little bit kinder and a little more understanding. The attitude we need to nurture is that everything in life is one big opportunity to connect with God. He is the ultimate giver in the world, and we can choose to be His conduit or partner — the medium of connection between this world and the Divine. That’s one of the reasons why the Torah is called a “tree of life:” it teaches us how to plant seeds that can blossom for eternity.’
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
