Parshas Terumah 5777

The Special Gifts

The Torah writes (Exodus 25:3):

And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper;

Bechor Shor (ibid) explains the difference between gifts collected here and everywhere else:

They only brought things that were usable for construction itself, and not like all other gifts that people can gift anything to the Altar or the upkeep of the House and those gifts are then sold and the money is kept for the upkeep of the House or the Altar. But here they did not gift things that could be sold and money taken from it, but only things needed for the Tabernacle like metals, animals, and clothes that were given directly for the work itself as it says described the specific 13 things appropriate for construction

HaEmek Davar (ibid) explains similarly:

The command from G-d was not according to the wealth of each individual in money, even though "money answers everything" to buy the things they needed, only it was according to what each person possessed from these things and one who didn't have any of these things, even though he was rich, was exempt

The Purpose of Silver

Rashi (ibid) writes:

All these came (were brought) as voluntary gifts, each man giving as his heart prompted him, except that silver which was brought by all in equal quantities (cf. Rashi above), a half shekel by each person. For we do not find in the account of the entire work connected with the Tabernacle that any silver was needed for the work there described in detail over and above this, for it is said, (Exodus 38:25-26) “And the silver of them who were numbered of the congregation [was an hundred talents, etc.] … a beka for every man etc.” and vv. 27 and 28 inform us that of this silver were made the Sockets and the hooks. Of the other silver which came (was brought) there, as a free-will gift they made the holy vessels (lit., vessels for service), and it is this silver that is referred to in this verse and which is stated in the preceding verse as having been brought voluntarily.

Ibn Ezra disagrees:

And to me it is not necessary to sat that for the Torah can exclude one item from a list of 16 for 15 of them were voluntary. And we find similarly by the sonds of Jacob that were born in Padan Aram and Benjamin was born in Israel; and the 70 souls that descended to Egypt

Wool, Not Silk

The Torah writes (Exodus 25:4):

blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair;

Kil Yakar writes (ibid):

The blue, purple and crimson yarns are all the same type of wool

Rabbeinu Bachya (ibid) writes:

And we don't find silk among the gifts to the Tabernacle, for it comes from the body of an unclean creature which is a worm, and is not fit to be used for the work of Heaven ... and regarding the crimson yarn, it does not come from the body of the bug but from the nest in which the worm lives in