“Every man and woman whose heart inspired them to generosity to bring for all the work that the Lord had commanded to make, through Moses, the children of Israel brought a gift for the Lord.” (Exodus 35:21-29)We don’t hear much about women in the Torah. Especially not when they have important roles to play with the men.
The Israelites were not giving here due to an order by God, but rather because their heart inspired them to generosity. They were free here to do or to not do.
I like that.
We have a balance here of being commanded by the Lord and being inspired by the heart. These two go hand in hand. Without being inspired by the heart, giving is not a gift but rather it just adds bad vibes to what was supposed to be a good action.
I have a pet pieve about people thinking of giving as sending a check, and that they aren’t giving in their paid jobs, or in the love and care they give to their families and friends. It is all giving. In fact, it seems that charities are a minor part of the infrastructure that makes the world go around. All week long we give as we attempt to both hold things together and promote beneficial change. Charities are needed but their impact is not as great as our 9-5 jobs.
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Thanks for commenting. One cannot study the Torah alone.