מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו: לשון נדבה
והוא לשון רצון טוב (רש”י שמות כה ב)
“…every person whose heart moves him to donate” (Shemos 25:2)
‘Donate’ is an expression of giving, which is itself an expression of good will. (Rashi)
The Mishkan, which brought the Shechinah in the world, was built through the “good will” of the Jewish heart. “To donate” means to give of one’s own volition, not out of obligation; when one’s heart moves him to donate, it’s an expression of his inner “good will.” His heart desires to give.
The Mishkan wasn’t built through gold, silver or copper, rather through the Jewish hearts that yearned to give for the sake of Hashem’s glory. To this day, the Jewish heart’s desire for kedusha is what brings the Shechinah into the world.
The ratzon, a person’s inner desire, is his strongest and most deeply rooted motivator. We don’t pay enough attention to our ratzon. In Avodas Hashem, most of what we say we “want” is actually the product of our mitzvos and obligations, while our heart’s inner desire goes largely unidentified. To bring the Shechinah into the world, it’s not enough to fulfill our obligations. We have to use our inner ratzon for kedusha in our Avodas Hashem.
But where does our ratzon come from? Why should we want something in Avodah that we’re not obligated to do? The answer is, it comes from our true spiritual self, our own heart’s personal desire. Acting upon our ratzon is how we express ourselves personally in our Avodah.
That’s why in halacha we find cases where something is permissible, but a “baal nefesh” should be stringent. This term doesn’t mean someone who’s looking for chumros, rather someone whose inner world is so developed that his inner ratzon demands a higher spiritual standard.
A ratzon for kedusha means the inner yearning of the Jewish heart for a higher reality to suffuse the world. That’s what it takes to build the Mishkan. That, not gold or silver, has the power to make the holy Shechinah dwell in this lowly world.