Toras Avigdor Junior
Parshas Terumah
Breindy’s Gold Bracelet
15 Nissan 2448
Ephraim Langner walked happily with his family as they joined the rest of Klal Yisrael leaving Mitzrayim. They had left their house in Goshen and were passing through Raamses, when Ephraim’s older brother Heshy suddenly stopped.
“Heshy,” Ephraim said. “Aren’t we in a rush? Where are you going?”
“I just remembered something,” Heshy answered. “Quick, follow me!”
Ephraim ran after Heshy towards the house of Joba, the Mitzri who used to force them to work hard every day. Joba was standing outside of his house watching the Bnei Yisrael leave.
“Hi, Mr. Joba!” called Heshy as he approached.
“Hi Heshy!” said Joba. “So I hear you guys are going on a trip!”
“Yes, you can say that” said Heshy with a smile. “Can you please give me your golden bracelet?”
Joba’s face took on a look of fake surprise. “Bracelet? Who has a bracelet? I don’t have a golden bracelet.”
“You know it’s not nice to lie,” Heshy smiled. “We know you have a gold bracelet.”
“Yeah,” chimed in Ephraim. “We saw it during Makas Choshech when we were snooping through your house. And I’ll take those solid gold kugelach that you have too.”
“And please don’t make us wait,” said Heshy. “We’re kind of in a rush.”
A few minutes later, Joba handed the two boys the bracelet and the kugelach. “My Kallah Breindy is going to be so happy with this beautiful bracelet!” said Heshy to Ephraim as they ran back to join their family and the rest of Klal Yisrael leaving Mitzrayim.
17th of Kislev, Midbar Sinai
“You know,” said Ephraim as he walked with his friend Hersh Meilech after a long hard day of helping to build the Mizbeiach Hazahav, “I’m so glad that my brother Heshy married your sister Breindy. I mean just take a look at how devoted both of our families are to helping with the Mishkan – it’s a beautiful shidduch!”
“Yes,” said Hersh Meilech, “especially after what happened with Breindy’s bracelet.”
“Oh yes,” said Ephraim. “It was so smart of Heshy to remember to ask Joba for it as we rushed out of Mitzrayim.”
“No no, that’s not what I meant,” said Hersh Meilech. “I’m talking about Breindy giving the bracelet during the campaign!”
“SHE GAVE AWAY THE BRACELET?!?!?” exclaimed Ephraim, almost dropping his bag of Mon. “Why would she do that???”
“Because she wanted it to be used in the Mishkan!” said Hersh Meilech happily.
“Wow,” said Ephraim. “So you mean that when we were helping Betzalel coat the Mizbeiach with gold, that gold might have actually been the bracelet that Heshy got from Joba and gave to Breindy?”
“Yes, I bet it was!” said Hersh Meilech happily. “Breindy said she was so happy to donate her most beautiful and expensive bracelet towards building Hashem’s House!”
“That must be why Heshy looked so happy this morning,” said Ephraim. “I saw him dancing out of his tent as he went to collect his mon!
“You know, it’s really incredible. Since Makas Choshech, Heshy couldn’t stop talking about Joba’s bracelet and he made sure to stop and get it even as we were rushing to leave Mitzrayim. He so badly wanted to give it to Breindy. And Breindy even said it was the most beautiful bracelet she had ever seen.
“What a zchus we have to be part of a family who gets such enjoyment out of giving their most expensive possessions to Hakadosh Baruch Hu!”
Adar 5771, Yeshivas Lomdei Torah in Chicago
“Okay boys, that’s enough!” said Rebbe Spira.
Ephraim’s eyes popped open. He had almost forgotten that he wasn’t actually in the midbar, but in his Rebbe’s classroom. Just a few minutes ago Rebbe Spira had told the boys to close their eyes and imagine that they were in the Midbar. And it all seemed so real!
“Boys, I hope you did a good job imagining that you were really in the Midbar. This is a very important exercise. It’s not enough for us to just learn the Chumash and think about it as something that happened thousands of years ago. The Torah is very real – everything written in the Torah is for us today, in 5781!
“Rav Avigdor Miller said that it is so important to not just hear the story, but actually imagine that we were there – to make the words of the Torah real for us every time we learn them!”
Have A Wonderful Shabbos