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Listen "A subtle Purity: The Jewelry Still Worn - Vayakhel"
Episode Synopsis
My son in law Moshe Alouf shared this with me this morning. A short thought on appreciating the women in our lives:
A Subtle Purity: The Jewelry Still Worn
In Shemot 35:22, the Torah describes the donations to theMishkan:
“וַיָּבֹאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים עַל־הַנָּשִׁים כֹּל נְדִיב לֵב הֵבִיאוּחָח וָנֶזֶם וְטַבַּעַת וְכוּמָז...”“The men came upon the women—all whose hearts moved them brought brooches,earrings, rings, and pendants…”
Rashi, based on Chazal, explains “עַל הַנָּשִׁים” as “withthe women,” suggesting the men came closely following them. But the MeshechChochma (on this pasuk) notices that Onkelos translates itliterally: “while the jewelry was still on the women” (guvraya alneshaya).
Why emphasize that the jewelry was still being worn?
The Meshech Chochma brings in a powerful halachic framework.From the laws of Isurei HaMizbeyach, if an object is merely declared forAvodah Zarah, it's not inherently forbidden. But if any action—likeplacing it or shaping it—is done in the service of idolatry, the item becomesassur (forbidden).
At the time of the Golden Calf, Bnei Yisrael (or at leastthe Erev Rav) said: “אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל”—“These are yourgods.” That plural language reflects a desire for multiple powers, and theircontributions of gold were accompanied by physical acts of creation. This couldrender any gold connected to the sin invalid for use in holy service.
Enter the brilliance of the women. When Aharon askedfor their jewelry to delay the Egel, they refused to give. That goldremained pure.
So when it came time to build the Mishkan, the men didn'tjust bring gold. They brought the women themselves—with the jewelry still onthem—to show clearly: this gold was never involved, never tainted. Itwas still “על הנשים”—on the women, not given over for sin.
A Thought to Take With Us
From this detail, we learn that not participating ina wrong is itself a form of powerful avodah. The women’s refusal to give to theEgel became the very foundation of their gift’s kosher status for theMishkan.
A Story to Illustrate
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l once walked into a room fullof people discussing whether certain donations could be accepted by a yeshivadue to questionable sources. He said gently, “Sometimes the most valuable giftis not the donation itself, but the way it was held back when it could havegone to the wrong place.”
Just like the gold that remained on the women until it couldbe offered to Hashem.
A Subtle Purity: The Jewelry Still Worn
In Shemot 35:22, the Torah describes the donations to theMishkan:
“וַיָּבֹאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים עַל־הַנָּשִׁים כֹּל נְדִיב לֵב הֵבִיאוּחָח וָנֶזֶם וְטַבַּעַת וְכוּמָז...”“The men came upon the women—all whose hearts moved them brought brooches,earrings, rings, and pendants…”
Rashi, based on Chazal, explains “עַל הַנָּשִׁים” as “withthe women,” suggesting the men came closely following them. But the MeshechChochma (on this pasuk) notices that Onkelos translates itliterally: “while the jewelry was still on the women” (guvraya alneshaya).
Why emphasize that the jewelry was still being worn?
The Meshech Chochma brings in a powerful halachic framework.From the laws of Isurei HaMizbeyach, if an object is merely declared forAvodah Zarah, it's not inherently forbidden. But if any action—likeplacing it or shaping it—is done in the service of idolatry, the item becomesassur (forbidden).
At the time of the Golden Calf, Bnei Yisrael (or at leastthe Erev Rav) said: “אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל”—“These are yourgods.” That plural language reflects a desire for multiple powers, and theircontributions of gold were accompanied by physical acts of creation. This couldrender any gold connected to the sin invalid for use in holy service.
Enter the brilliance of the women. When Aharon askedfor their jewelry to delay the Egel, they refused to give. That goldremained pure.
So when it came time to build the Mishkan, the men didn'tjust bring gold. They brought the women themselves—with the jewelry still onthem—to show clearly: this gold was never involved, never tainted. Itwas still “על הנשים”—on the women, not given over for sin.
A Thought to Take With Us
From this detail, we learn that not participating ina wrong is itself a form of powerful avodah. The women’s refusal to give to theEgel became the very foundation of their gift’s kosher status for theMishkan.
A Story to Illustrate
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l once walked into a room fullof people discussing whether certain donations could be accepted by a yeshivadue to questionable sources. He said gently, “Sometimes the most valuable giftis not the donation itself, but the way it was held back when it could havegone to the wrong place.”
Just like the gold that remained on the women until it couldbe offered to Hashem.
In God we trust