"Terumah — Part IV — “אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ”: Giving, Generosity, and Human Dignity"

4.2 — From Slaves to Givers

The First Act After Freedom

Only a short time before the events of Parshas Terumah, the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt. Their days were not their own. Their labor belonged to others. Their identity was shaped by compulsion and oppression.

A slave does not choose.
A slave obeys.

And yet, when the Torah introduces the command to build the Mishkan, it begins not with an obligation, but with a voluntary act of giving:

מֵאֵת כָּל־אִישׁ
אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ
“From every person whose heart inspires him” (Shemos 25:2)

This is the first national project after the Exodus. And it is built not through force, but through generosity.

The transition is striking.
Slaves are commanded.
Free people are invited to give.

The Materials of Transformation

The Torah lists the materials that the people are asked to donate:

זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחֹשֶׁת
Gold, silver, and copper
וּתְכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי
Blue, purple, and crimson wool
וְשֵׁשׁ וְעִזִּים
Fine linen and goat hair
עֹרֹת אֵילִם מְאָדָּמִים
Ram skins dyed red
עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים
Acacia wood
שֶׁמֶן לַמָּאֹר
Oil for lighting
(25:3–7)

Each of these materials represents a part of the people’s wealth, labor, or creativity. Some give precious metals. Others give fabric, skins, or oil. Each contribution reflects the unique resources of the giver.

But beyond the materials themselves, something deeper is happening. The act of giving is reshaping the identity of the nation.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: The Birth of a Free Society

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains that the Mishkan marks a turning point in Jewish history. Egypt was a society built on forced labor. The pyramids were constructed through slavery. People were treated as tools for someone else’s ambition.

The Mishkan is the opposite.

It is not built through compulsion.
It is built through voluntary generosity.

In Egypt, the Israelites were forced to build for Pharaoh. In the desert, they choose to build for Hashem. The difference is not only in the object of their labor. It is in the nature of the act itself.

Forced labor degrades the human spirit.
Voluntary giving elevates it.

The Mishkan becomes the first collective act of a free people. It is the moment when the nation begins to define itself not as slaves, but as partners in a sacred mission.

Rambam: Generosity as a Path to Moral Freedom

Rambam teaches that human character is shaped through action. A person becomes generous by giving, just as he becomes kind through acts of kindness.

In Hilchos De’os, Rambam explains that the path to proper character is through repeated, deliberate actions that shape the soul. A person who gives regularly trains himself to become a giver.

This principle lies at the heart of the Mishkan’s construction. The people are not merely funding a building. They are training themselves to become a nation of generosity.

A slave lives only for himself, or for his master’s command. A free person lives with responsibility toward others and toward higher ideals.

Giving is therefore not only a social act.
It is a spiritual transformation.

Each donation moves the people one step further from the mentality of slavery and closer to the identity of free moral agents.

The Soul of a Giver

Slavery trains a person to think in terms of survival: what must I do, what must I endure, what must I obey?

Freedom introduces a different question: what will I choose to give?

The Torah’s language emphasizes this shift. It does not command a fixed donation. It invites each person to give according to what his heart moves him to give.

This invitation creates dignity. Each person becomes an active participant in the creation of the sanctuary. Each person becomes a contributor, not a tool.

The Mishkan is built from the materials of the people.
But more importantly, it is built from their transformed identities.

Giving as the Opposite of Slavery

At its core, slavery is a system in which a person’s energy is extracted without his consent. He gives, but not by choice.

True freedom, however, is expressed through voluntary giving. When a person gives by choice, he demonstrates ownership over his time, his resources, and his decisions.

In this sense, generosity is the opposite of slavery.

• Slavery takes.
• Freedom gives.

The Mishkan becomes the symbol of that transformation. A nation that once labored under compulsion now builds a sanctuary through generosity.

A Nation Built Through Contribution

The Mishkan is not constructed by a single leader or a professional class. It is built through the contributions of the entire people.

Some give gold.
Some give fabric.
Some give labor.
Some give skill.

Each person participates according to his ability. This creates a society built on contribution, not coercion.

The Mishkan therefore becomes more than a sanctuary. It becomes the foundation of a free and responsible nation.

Application for Today — Freedom Through Responsibility

Modern culture often defines freedom as the absence of obligation. Freedom is seen as the ability to do whatever one wants, without responsibility or restraint.

But the Torah presents a different model. True freedom is not the absence of responsibility. It is the ability to choose responsibility.

A person becomes truly free when he can say:

• I will give my time to help another.
• I will use my resources for something meaningful.
• I will build something that serves a higher purpose.

These choices reflect ownership over one’s life.

When a person:

• Gives charity regularly,
• Volunteers time for others,
• Invests energy into family or community,
• Supports institutions of Torah and kindness,

he is expressing freedom in its highest form.

He is no longer living only for himself or under the pressure of others. He is choosing to give.

The people of Israel left Egypt as former slaves.
They became a nation of free people when they began to give.

The Mishkan teaches that generosity is not only a virtue.
It is the foundation of freedom.

📖 Sources

• Full sources available on the Mitzvah Minute Parshas Terumah page under insights and commentaries