The Sacrifice to Win a Gold Medal

0:00This Torah class is brought to you by Torahanytime.com In this week's Pasha, we read about the first building campaign in Jewish history donating towards the building of the Mishkan The Pasiq says, Let them take from me the truma The Mahfarshma trouble by the verb, Let them take It would be more accurate to say, Let them give A donor doesn't take a donation, They give a donation And here the Torah is teaching us an important lesson in giving. When we give, we are truly receiving. We are the ones benefiting. We are the ones gaining. The benefits of giving far outweighs whatever we actually give away. The very act of giving makes us better people. Giving elevates our very being. A question is asked, If someone has a thousand dollars to give to Tsidaka, Is it better to give it all to one person or give one dollar to a thousand people?

1:01The Rambaman is commentary on the sect as Avay says, Give one dollar to a thousand people Because it ingrains within your core the spirit of giving, the spirit of generosity. He says, rather give small amounts over and over For it will shape you into more generous person. For the act of giving when done habitually, nurtures compassion. What you do consistently becomes your essence. The Torah says, The echo leads through my ace college from every man. Everyone can give something. If you can donate money, donate your time, your talents, your knowledge. Even a good word, a smile or a kind gesture. Everyone can be a giver. In a world where people tend to ask, What's in it for me? What do I get out of it? The Torah teaches us that the more we give, the more we get. The Pasek uses a strange expression, Baikoli Truma.

2:02Why not more conventional word for the nation? Baikoli Tsidaka or Baikoli Nadava? Why Truma? So the root of the word Truma is Ram. When you give, you feel Ram. You feel uplifted. You feel elevated. There's no greater feeling in the world than when you give. When you know, you just help someone in need. Even if you just gave them a few words of encouragement. When you give, you get that special energy. You feel an inner joy and happiness. There are two expressions of donors that are found numerous times throughout Binyana Mishkan. Call Ish Asha Nassai Liboi and call Asha Nadvai Ruchai. We use them synonymously, but the Ramban says there's a huge difference between the two. Nadvai Ruchai is a lotion of Nadivas, being a donor. He's very gracious. He comes. He writes out a check. Gives it to the Gabai. Yoi Tsigawin. And then he goes home.

3:03Then, there were Nassai Liboi people. They're heart-motivated and inspired them. They felt a connection to Ramishkan. They wanted to be intimately involved. They had mysterious nephys for the project. They asked the people in charge, what else do you need me to help you with? You need help with electricity, plumbing, construction, carpentry, painting, knitting. And they did whatever they could to lend the hand. The Ramban says it's not like they discovered new skills and talents that they didn't know that they had. But they dug deep within themselves and found latent potential and worked and toiled until they got the job done. Every person has within themselves tremendous cohes to go past the where they think they can go. If you're focused on the task at hand, you can grow and do things. You're never dreamed you can accomplish. And when you go above what you perceive you can achieve, mysterious nephys Lashem Shamayim,

4:05that is Nassai Liboi. Initially, it might seem difficult, but it lifts you up. You feel exhilarated. And you get special siata de Shamayim to accomplish your mission. People often make this mistake. They think a taller, observant lifestyle is so difficult. It involves so much sacrifice. I'm foregoing so much fun and pleasure, but on the contrary, this lifestyle is so much more satisfying than those who do not abide by tiredness. And even when life seems more difficult, it is so much more rewarding in the end. As an example, look at world-class athletes. We can't even imagine the sacrifices they make on a daily basis. Michael Phelps spent thousands of hours training in a pool, while his friends were out on the town partying and having fun. He wound up winning more gold medals than anyone in the history of the Olympics. Now he looks back and he thinks, I don't regret it for a moment.

5:06Sure, it was a sacrifice, all those years of training and practice, but it all paid off. In the end, it was all worth it. And he would do it all over again. And this is how we should view our commitment to living a life of Torah mitzvahs. The story is told about a bhakar from the panabhichi is Shiva that God engaged. The next day, he took his kala to get a bhakar from Ravshach. While there, the kala tells Ravshach, I'm so committed to my future husband learning Torah. I'm willing to undergo every hardship. I will endure every difficulty. I will sleep on the floor if I have to. I will live on bread and water. I will sacrifice everything, just so that he can strike and grow in his learning. After she left the room, Ravshach turns to Ravshach. And he tells him, please break off the engagement immediately. He said, Rabbi, why didn't you hear what you just said? Ravshach said, If the attitude is, I'm going to suffer. I'll live a life of misery.

6:07I'm going to be a martyr because I'm supporting Torah. This marriage won't last. Maybe in the beginning, the first few months may be a year. But then she will resent you. She'll become frustrated and bitter and depressed. A person has to feel like, I'm not giving up anything. I'm getting so much more than I'm giving. I'm living the dream. So I won't have all those materialistic luxuries. But those pleasures are fleeting and superficial. A life of Torah is true happiness. And now we know. Have a wonderful service.