The Offering That Pleased God Most

God is a God of Details — And He Cares How and Why, Not Just That You Did It

This parasha starts with a kind of shopping list that Moses gives the people of Israel in a kind of general assembly — keeping the Shabbat, giving contributions for the work of the Lord in the Tabernacle. A list almost the same was already given to the officials, to Aaron and his sons. Now Moses repeats the list, with minor changes, to all of Israel. The Torah in general, and the whole Bible, is very concise and doesn't waste words. What do we learn from this repetition? We learn that as leaders, we must be patient with our disciples and not assume that they understood the instruction. Therefore, the teacher must repeat his instruction with patience, and even more than one time.

We also learn that the God of Israel is a God of details. These are commands — not recommendations. The attitude of so many Christians is that God is liberal — a little deaf, a little blind, a little indifferent. God does not care about the way that we do things as long as we have faith. Well, from this reading I learn that God does care how we do things. He cares not only that we keep these instructions, but how and why we keep them.

Three Types of Giving — and Which One Pleased God Most

Earlier in Exodus the Torah dealt with the 10% that all Israelites had to contribute to the Levites and the Kohanim. Then the gifts for the building of the Tabernacle. Now Moses turns to an extra contribution — a freewill offering. This is not a tithe that was obligatory for all of Israel. The first command to give the 10th percentage was uniform and relative to each person. The half-shekel was for the counting of the population, stressing the equality between each soul in Israel. Now we have a contribution that is individual, and from the desire of our hearts. I suggest to you that for the Lord, what was most significant was the offering that was free, where no amount or percentage was assigned.

Here is what Paul writes about this kind of giving:

Paul used true psychology as his method — motivating the people of Corinth by provoking them with an opportunity to sow seeds in the blessing of the poor brothers in Jerusalem.

Moses Told Them to Stop — Have You Ever Heard That in Church?

The miracle is that in chapter 35, we are told that what the people brought was enough, and Moses had to tell them to stop giving. I have not seen in any synagogue or church the leadership say, "It is enough, we don't need more contributions." From this remarkable moment several principles emerge: if the people really believe in God and understand the importance of their contribution, the people will give, and they will give with a sincere heart, and give enough. If the cause is clear and the people understand the benefit that they will have, privately or communally, the people will give. These are people that have just gone through the terrible ordeal of the building of the Golden Calf, and the plague and the death of thousands. They had given for the Golden Calf the jewelry right off their wives' and daughters' ears. Now they understand they were wrong. They understand that to correct the wrong that they did, they have to show at least the same dedication and magnanimity as they did in the building of the Golden Calf.

I also learn from this that it is always easier to raise funds for physical things — like buildings or remodeling, or something that will be visible and will give a sense of ownership to the members of a congregation. It is harder to raise money for service to the people, the poor, and the needy. One of the reasons for this is that a physical project has a beginning and an end, but the "poor will always be with us" — the need will not end.

Those Who Gave When They Couldn't

In Netivyah in our congregation of Ro'eh Israel we saw and experienced the same phenomenon — women selling their jewelry to give it to the Lord for the purchase of our building on Narkis Street in downtown Jerusalem. I have seen women sell their gold jewelry and give the money for the purchase of the building. I have seen an old family from Vaasa, Finland, sell one of their homes and give all the money for us in Jerusalem to have our own building. This, my dear brothers, is the real true and faithful giving — give from your heart, with humility and without seeking rewards or recognition.

I feel privileged to read this in the Torah, and even more privileged to have seen this personally in Jerusalem, Finland, Japan, China, Brazil, Bulgaria, and the United States. The widow who gave from her poverty the two pennies gave more than the rich Pharisee with his 1,000 dinars, because she gave all that she could give. Giving is more blessed than receiving. I am sad and sorry that there are some who could but didn't — and happy and full of joy for those who couldn't but did.