Parashat Terumah
Question
A guten Erev Shabbos!
It says in this week's Parsha:
"(ב) דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי.
(ג) "וזאת התרומה אשר תקחו מאתם זהב וכסף ונחושת."
“Speak to the children of Israel, and let them take for Me a donation; ...And this is the donation that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper.”
The Gemara in Bava Basra 8 states:
"שאין עושין שררות על הציבור פחות משניים.
מנא הני מילי? אמר רב נחמן, אמר קרא: "והם יקחו את הזהב" וגו'.
One may not appoint a position of authority over the tzibbur with fewer than two people.
Where is this derived from? Rav Nachman says: the pasuk says, “And they shall take the gold…”
Meaning; the craftsmen who needed to make the priestly garments would collect the gold, and if someone refused to give, they would compel him and even take a mashkon (a collateral) to force him to contribute. So, the Gemarah learns from here that since the pasuk says it was collected by two people, we learn from here that a position of such authority that can force people to contribute, may only be done by a minimum of two people.
But this seems to contradict what it says in our parsha: “כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו,” implying that the donations were voluntary. Yet in Parshas Tetzaveh we find that they forced anyone who didn’t want to give gold for the priestly garments?
Answer
The Kovetz Shiurim on Bava Basra asks this very question and writes a big chiddush:
What the parsha refers to “כל אשר ידבנו לבו” is specifically about building the Mishkan and its vessels. But the priestly garments were funded through the Lishkah, from the shekalim, and for that they were able to enforce it on the people.
This is a quote of the Kovetz Shiurim, Bava Basra, os 47:
"וקשה, דהא בנדבת המשכן לא היו ממשכנין, כמפורש בכתוב 'כל אשר ידבנו לבו', ולא היתה שם כפייה כלל. ולמה צריך שנים? אלא דהכתוב 'והם יקחו את הזהב' איירי בבגדי כהונה, דזה בא מתרומת הלשכה מהשקלים, ובזה ממשכנין."
It is difficult to understand, because in the donations for the Mishkan they did not take collateral at all, as it is explicitly written: ‘כל אשר ידבנו לבו,’ and there was no coercion whatsoever. So why were two people necessary?
We could answer that the verse ‘and they shall take the gold’ refers to the priestly garments, for these came from the communal fund of the shekalim, and in that case they did take collateral.
We could ask two questions on this approach:
1. The priestly garments atone just like korbanos. As it says in Zevachim page 88:
“Why is the parsha of sacrifices written next to the parsha of the priestly garments? To teach: just as the sacrifices atone, so too the garments atone.”
If so, how could they force people to give gold for the garments? It would be like forcing someone to bring a Korban Chatas or Korban Shelamim (sin offering or guilt offering) and the Gemara in Bava Kama 40 says we do not force people for such offerings. Tosafos in Bava Basra page 48 explains, that since it’s for kaparah, a person wants the atonement and we do not need to enforce it.
2. Rashi writes that the gold for the priestly garments was from voluntary donations.
This is the quote:
"והם יקחו - אותם חכמי־לב שיעשו את הבגדים, יקבלו מן המתנדבים את הזהב ואת התכלת לעשות מהם את הבגדים."
“‘And they shall take’ the wise-hearted who make the garments shall receive from the donors the gold and the techeiles with which to make the garments.”
We could answer in another way, based on the Midrash (Pesikta Zutrasa – Lekach Tov), which explains:
"ויקחו לי תרומה, שמשמע בעל כרחו? אלא מפרש המדרש, תקחו את תרומתי, מאחר שהתנדב מלבו, תקחו את תרומתי בעל כרחו".
“‘Let them take for me the donation’ does this imply against his will?
Rather, the Midrash explains: ‘You shall take My donation’ after he already volunteered may, then you take My donation even against his will.”
Meaning:
At first, people verbally pledged or promised to donate to the Mishkan. Later, when the treasurer came to collect during the campaign, he had to come with two people, because once they promised, the collection could be enforced even if they now resisted.
So our Parsha is talking about the original pledges, which were done voluntarily, and in Parshas Tzav it is speaking about when the collectors came to enforce the pledge.
Halacha le’maaseh:
If someone makes a pledge to the Shul, or he bought an Aliyah, can he be taken to Beis Din if he doesn’t pay?
The Rav shlit”a answered:
This is considered a Nidrey Tsedakah, not a regular monetary claim.
When collectors come to shul for tzedakah, Morenu HaGaon Rav Fried shlit”a writes as follows;
כשגובים את הצדקה בכפיה צריך ששני גבאים יאספו את הצדקה כי אין עושים שררה על הציבור פחות משניים, אולם כשלא גובים את הצדקה בכפיה וכל אחד נותן כפי נדבת ליבו מותר לגבאי אחד לאסוף את צדקה ולהיות ממונה על כך.
When tzedakah is collected by force, there must be two gabbaim who collect it, because we do not appoint authority over the public with fewer than two people.
However, when the tzedakah is not collected by force and each person gives according to the generosity of his heart, it is permitted for one gabbai to collect the tzedakah and to be appointed over this.
On behalf of the entire Sheilot staff, we wish you a ‘Shabbos Shulem uMevoyroch’
