Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

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בלה תובשחמ
from within. Someone who is moved by his heart is dictated by his own inner
self and is unaffected by any form of coercion and even every external influence
that could direct the donor’s actions. The people responded (see 35:21), showing
that everyone wanted to create the mishkan for not for a selfish reason but truly
to glorify Hashem.
We are taught that the princes of the tribes thought that the B’nei Yisrael wouldn’t
have such a great response to the demands of the mishkan. Rashi (35:27) asks,
what made the princes donate first to the mizbe’ach when they did not contribute
first to the mishkan? It was because the princes said the following: “Let the public
donate whatever they donate, and what they don’t contribute we will complete.”
Even the princes of the tribes did not realize how great the resolve of the people
was to build the mishkan.
The dedication of the mishkan shows such a contrast to last week’s parsha when
B’nei Yisrael built the eigel ha-zahav. This week they are showing such motivation
and determination to do everything possible to take part in the building of
Hashem’s mishkan. This is unlike last week where the B’nei Yisrael sinned against
Hashem and put their entire future in jeopardy. This is why the mishkan is called
“תדעה ןכשמ“ or The Tabernacle of Testimony (38:21). It shows that Hashem
overlooked the incident of the eigel ha-zahav for He had rested his Shechinah
among the Bnei Yisrael. (Rashi 38:21)
We can see how one action which is totally unselfish and for the right reasons
can overturn the harshest decree. In our lives, we can also find one way to serve
Hashem and totally wrap our mind around that one action in a true resolution for
Hashem. In this way, we can build our own mishkan.