Parshat Terumah: Giving & Taking

This week's parshah begins with something very near and dear to the heart of the Jewish community: contribution. HaShem says to the Israelites, “Take for Me (vayikchu-li) an offering from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity" in preparation for the construction of the mishkan, the tabernacle that will be carried throughout the desert and eventually will lead to the building of the Beit haMikdash, the holy Temple.

It's a particular word spin, and I hope it makes you pause. The Big Man speaks, saying we should take from ourselves -- but only if we're inspired! The verb that's used does not mean give, it means quite literally to take, which also is peculiar because how does one take of himself or from himself? How does one provide a contribution on command and guarantee that it's genuinely inspired?

Very little of giving today happens on demand. HaShem doesn't call us on Super Sunday and say we have to give to our local federations or that the local Jewish retirement facility needs funds so we must give. And even if that did happen, would we? What compels us to give? Is it the action of taking of ourselves rather than giving of ourselves? It becomes a two-way street when you take something from your own life, from your own lot, and provide it for others. When you give, it's less so.

I want to start using more folktales on the blog (and really, who doesn't), so let's start with this one, a Yiddish one, that offers perspective on the difference between "giving" and "taking."

"Yankel the Cheapskate" would not give money to anyone, for any reason. It didn't matter how important the cause. No one could crack him. He just wouldn't contribute. One day, Yankel was crossing the river in a small boat. Suddenly, a huge storm breaks out, and his boat capsizes. Luckily, another boat approached. The sailor calls out to him: "Give me your hand. Give me your hand."

Yankel can barely hear him over the strong winds and the roaring waves. He hears only one word, over and over: "Give, Give..."

And good old Yankel can't help himself. He yells back: "No. I don't give. I don't give."

Again: "Yankel, give me your hand! Give me your hand." And again Yankel screams: "Never. I don't give."

Finally, in desperation, the rescuer yells: "Yankel, take my hand." And Yankel says: "Oh, take? Sure."

I think that this week's parshah offers a spin on what we considering taking. To take something from someone else benefits the self, so perhaps HaShem knew that asking the Israelites to take of themselves would give them a chance to feel a part of the building of the mishkan. No matter how poor or rich, old or young, everyone provided for the construction. Everyone took of themselves to put into the construction of a dwelling place for the shechinah (the divine presence of HaShem). 

An old adage says that "A fool gives, a wise person takes." Be the wise person and whenever you offer a contribution or gift, make sure that you're taking of yourself and not just giving. Okay? Okay. 

That's your public service announcement for Shabbat. If you want more on the awesome goodness that is tzedakah, I suggest you check out Maimonides Eight Levels of Charity, which is fascinating. 

Update: The Katz Family Torah!

I wrote -- not that long ago -- about a a sefer Torah that my dear husband found while organizing a family member's house. The sefer needed some work, and we were overwhelmed by the cost, so I put out a call to my readers and friends to help us fund the repair work that will run us anywhere between $2,100 to $3,400.

I was amazed at the instant reaction. We had five donors give $263, and, to our utter happiness, a family member has agreed to foot the rest of the bill. We're fixing up the sefer, replacing the etz chayim, and getting a new mantel for it, too. We're trying to find a way to store it in the new house, because we haven't had luck finding a local shul to take it on. Again, if anyone in the NY-NJ-CT-PA area needs one for their shul, still, let us know!

And THANK YOU so much to those who donated to this amazing mitzvah.

Who Wants Free $$ (To Donate, That Is)!?

I wrote very recently about my awesome experiences at the Future of Jewish Nonprofit Summit in New York City, which was hosted by Social Media and Nonprofit guru Dave Weinberg. Most specifically, I wrote about DonorsChoose.org, which helps classrooms all over the country to meet their financial goals for projects on such things as salmon, the Holocaust, and the Great Gatsby (to name just a few, of course). DonorsChoose provided those of us in attendance with $10 to use on the site, so we could get started and really feel the goodness of giving (it's easier to give when it isn't your own money, right?) and hopefully inspire some of us to continue giving (I helped a friend meet his classroom's goal of math supplies!).

So I'm here to pay it forward, and hopefully, I can inspire some of you to start giving, too. I truly think that giving once (in this case it's free money) can really spark your neshama into a constant effort of tzedakah (charity).

GIVEAWAY: I have TWO $10 DonorsChoose gift cards to TWO individuals. The winners (that is, GIVERS!) will be chosen at random from individuals who comment below. You will get the gift card information via email, at which time you'll head to DonorsChoose, pick a project, and give your $10. The result should be a feeling of great pride, mitzvah awesomeness, and hopefully, as I said, an urge to give again and more often.

TO ENTER: When you comment, to fulfill your chance at $10 to give at DonorsChoose.org, you have to write about either an experience in which you gave (whether charity or time) that truly impacted you OR about a project on DonorsChoose.org to which you plan to give your $10. 

GIVEAWAY ENDS ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2010, AT 6 PM EST. 

Nu? What are you waiting for? Spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, and everywhere else. 

Tzedakah, Days 4/5

I neglected to throw some change in the tzedakah box last night, and I also meant to do it this morning, but forgot. So I've decided to do a little researching on the Web this morning for Jewish charities (I'm not going to be Jew-exclusive, here, never fear, but that's where I'm starting my tzedakah -- I also intend on donating to groups focused on literacy, because darn't I need more readers!). Today's lucky winner?

FIDF: Friends of the Israeli Defense Force

Mission Statement: The FIDF initiates and helps support social, educational, cultural and recreational programs and facilities for the young men and women soldiers of Israel who defend the Jewish homeland. The FIDF also provides support for the families of fallen soldiers.

When I was in Israel on Birthright in December, the time I spent with the Israeli soldiers who took time away from the IDF to jaunt around the country with us was probably the most memorable. Here are these people, my age, half a world away who are willing to put their lives on the line for not only the safety of the Jewish homeland, but also for me. Yes, little ole me over here in the United States. They aren't just protecting Israel, they're protecting every Jew from New Zealand to Alaska to Dallas to Warsaw to Beijing. They do it every day so that we will always have a place of safety, a home. Visiting Mt. Carmel cemetery was one of the hardest things I've ever done, period. I cried like a baby when I saw the grave of the paratrooper with my name, not to mention when I saw the not-so-old grave of a soldier who passed during the Second Lebanon war where someone had placed a toothbrush. Something so simple as a toothbrush! This soldier, surely, in his afterlife needs a toothbrush, no? There were old men sitting near graves, just staring at their sons. And there were empty plots, ready and willing to take on the remains of soldiers who fell during the most recent and upcoming wars. It was a beautiful place, a shrine to the lives of the soldiers who make MY life easier to live.

So, for yesterday and today, I give to the Friends of the IDF -- may these funds offer good things for my friends, the soldiers, and to the families of those who have fallen to protect you, me, and the message of shalom.

A Chicago-Inspired Tzedakah Goal!

Having just returned from a five-day trek to Chicago for a little vacation (I'm on Spring Break this week, huzzah!), I will be writing a few different installments about my trip -- some uber-Jewish, some not. Enjoy!

In an effort to increase the returns on karma, I have decided to give tzedakah every day. Yes, EVERY day. I've made plans to commandeer Tuvia's UJF tzedakah box (though I have yet to mention this to him) that his mother sent his way, since we have a nice, new Purim-inspired, Chabad-issued tzedakah box at Tuvia's place. The effort was sort of randomly begun while we visited Chicago after I found myself giving twice in a series of days to jewish causes.

On Friday, while at Breadsmith -- a delicious kosher bakery in Skokie and Lakeview that dishes out amazing challahs, and interesting jars of peanut butter (including a jar that was almost taken from us at security -- chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter!) -- I was procuring two chocolate chip challah "muffins" while Tuvia spoke with a nice Jewish man in the next shopping center over about our options for a kosher lunch. I saw the run-o-the-mill tzedakah box on the counter and threw my change (about a dollar's worth) into the box. A few days later, on Sunday, while waiting to get brunch at my favorite "kosher style" diner in Chicago -- Eleven City Diner -- I saw another Jewishly oriented charity box on the counter, dug through my purse and pockets and threw some change in. It was then that I decided and made the vow to donate a little every day. So Monday, in an effort to continue the trend, I took our two seven-day passes -- both with three full days left on them -- and passed them on to complete strangers preparing to buy their OWN CTA bus/train cards at the airport.

Now, I'm not saying I'm going to give $20 every day, neither am I intending on only giving a dollar in change every day. The amounts will vary, and I will do my best to document them as such. I always end up with some change taking up space. My old method was to chuck it all into my personally painted piggy bank that I made years ago when in high school (or was it college?). Piggy banks scream "treyf," so I'm going to pack the little piggy away and replace it with the UJF tzedakah box until I manage to get a more fancy tzedakah box.

I'm blogging about this in the hopes that perhaps others will see how easy it is to give just a little bit every day. Whether it's $20, 50 cents, or something in between, every little bit can make every little bit of a difference. I'll be blogging EVERY DAY in order to log my efforts, hoping that maybe I can inspire a few other bloggers to do the same. If it becomes excessive? Well, I'll probably set something up and merely put a link to it on the side.

Until then ...

All you have to do is comment!

What's the best way to give in this brand-spanking-new year of 5769?

Go over to the PopJudaica.com blog to this post and write a little note in the comments section. For every comment posted, PopJudaica is donating $1 to Sharsheret , a breast cancer organization geared toward women affected by breast cancer.

It's awareness month, so do your part for a great cause! And spread the word, darn't! Re-blog it, re-tweet it, get the word out!