Whose heart so moves

Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him…. And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. (Ex. 25:2, 8)

I recently gathered a bunch of paperwork to bring to the person who helps me with my taxes. Maybe you’re doing something similar as spring approaches. Here’s the thing about taxes: they are not optional. They are not “gifts” that we give to the government out of the goodness of our hearts. And we don’t only have to give them if we happen to feel moved to do so.

We may or may not feel moved by the need for roads and hospitals and schools. I mean, I think we should feel moved by those things! But regardless of whether or not our hearts resonate with the need for working traffic lights and decent pavement and safe places to educate kids, we pay taxes to support those things, because that’s how our society works.

But when it came to the building of the mishkan, the dwelling place for God, it wasn’t a matter of taxation. It wasn’t a matter of “dues.” It was a free-will offering from everyone whose heart was so moved. And a few verses later, God says “Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” Or, in my preferred translation, “that I may dwell within them.”

I see a connection between the freewill nature of the offerings, and the indwelling presence of God within and among us. If a place is built out of dry obligation, or God forbid with coercion, then it’s not a place where holiness can dwell. The way we make a place where God can dwell is by opening our hearts. Not by asking “what have you done for me lately,” but by giving.

Later at the end of the book of Exodus we’ll learn that so many people brought contributions that Moshe had to tell them to stop. But we’re not there yet. This week, we’re at the point in the story where God tells Moshe to tell the children of Israel to bring gifts. And they bring all different kinds of gifts. Materials for building, for weaving, for metalworking…

One of my favorite ways to read Torah is as an inner road map to becoming the people we’re called to be. I believe that these verses aren’t just about “them back then” but also about us now. Which raises the question: what are the gifts we can bring? What skills, what talents, what passions can we bring to the building of this community so that holiness will dwell within us?

Sometimes our presence is a gift — when we show up to pray, to learn, to experience holidays, to celebrate and mourn. Sometimes our skills are a gift — whether needlework or baking, carpentry or grant-writing. Sometimes our time is a gift.  And of course sometimes our money is a gift. “Ein kemach, ein Torah,” the Talmud teaches: without food, there is no Torah.

What matters isn’t how much we give, or in what form. What matters is that we feel moved to give in the first place. Because the more of ourselves we give, the more we receive in return. The more of ourselves we give, the more connected we feel with whatever we’re giving to. And lack of connectedness is one of the most profound sorrows afflicting the world today.

Robert Putnam wrote about it twenty years ago in his groundbreaking book Bowling Alone. He described how Americans have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, even from the structures that sustain our democracy. The best antidote to disconnection is to show up and connect. And giving connects us. Especially when we give of ourselves. 

Torah has different names for different kinds of offerings. The word that gives this week’s Torah portion its name is terumah, sometimes translated as a “lifted-apart” offering, or an “uplifting” offering. As Torah describes, those whose hearts lifted up in generosity brought what they could. Or maybe: those who brought what they could, found that their hearts were lifted up.

So that’s my prayer for us today. May our hearts move us to give. May our giving connect us. And may our souls be uplifted on giving’s spiritual updraft. 

This is the d’varling that Rabbi Rachel offered at CBI on Shabbat morning (cross-posted to Velveteen Rabbi.)