Thursday, January 30, 2014
Parshas Terumah: Why I love Serving G-d
10:37 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
"And the L-rd spoke to Moses saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel that they bring me an offering: of overy man whose heart prompts him to give you shall take my offering" (Exodus 23:1-2)
Rav Moshe Feinstein in Derash Moshe asks that the language of 'bring me an offering is strange' because it would seem to me that one is forced to do so. The verse later on (36:5) clearly states that the offering will be given from individuals with a giving heart!
Rav Moshe explains that the mitzvos of charity, chesed (acts of loving kindness) and even bringing G-d's presence down to this world in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) are not given because G-d decreed that we do them but rather they should come from our pure desire to do G-d's will. To reach such a state, a person will have to work very hard to overcome their evil inclination.
Even though there are plenty of mitzvos we are obligated to keep, nonetheless, we should do them like they are second nature. When we say the shema twice a day, we declare that we will love the mitzvos with all our heart, all our soul... The root of the word to love if we break it down is to give. We only allow ourselves to make the mitzvos part of us when we are willing to give our all to perform them.
This means we have to understand why we do them and how to perform them. When we understand the intricacies of each one, it has much more meaning and gives us more satisfaction when we do them. This will enhance our mitzvah observance and bring us ultimately closer to G-d.
This will lead us to enjoy more of what we do and not look at Torah observance as a burden. When we view the Torah in such a way and live it the way it is supposed to be, then we will influence others around us as well.
This has the ability to literally change lives. When we love something, we put our whole effort into it which will transform us. May we look at all the mitzvos that way and love serving G-d to our fullest.
Shabbat Shalom
Rav Moshe Feinstein in Derash Moshe asks that the language of 'bring me an offering is strange' because it would seem to me that one is forced to do so. The verse later on (36:5) clearly states that the offering will be given from individuals with a giving heart!
Rav Moshe explains that the mitzvos of charity, chesed (acts of loving kindness) and even bringing G-d's presence down to this world in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) are not given because G-d decreed that we do them but rather they should come from our pure desire to do G-d's will. To reach such a state, a person will have to work very hard to overcome their evil inclination.
Even though there are plenty of mitzvos we are obligated to keep, nonetheless, we should do them like they are second nature. When we say the shema twice a day, we declare that we will love the mitzvos with all our heart, all our soul... The root of the word to love if we break it down is to give. We only allow ourselves to make the mitzvos part of us when we are willing to give our all to perform them.
This means we have to understand why we do them and how to perform them. When we understand the intricacies of each one, it has much more meaning and gives us more satisfaction when we do them. This will enhance our mitzvah observance and bring us ultimately closer to G-d.
This will lead us to enjoy more of what we do and not look at Torah observance as a burden. When we view the Torah in such a way and live it the way it is supposed to be, then we will influence others around us as well.
This has the ability to literally change lives. When we love something, we put our whole effort into it which will transform us. May we look at all the mitzvos that way and love serving G-d to our fullest.
Shabbat Shalom
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