Building Through Sacrifice

According to Rashi Ki Sesa (36:18) the mishkan was only commanded to be built after the sin of the egel, so why are the parshiot of the mishkan before the sin?  The Malbim points out the the donations had to be given willingly and voluntarily.  לא אמר ויתנו לי תרומה, שאז היה מ"ע וחיוב על כל אחד ליתן, וה' רצה שתרומה זו תהיה מנדבת לב ורצון חפשי לא ע"י שום הכרח, ואם היה הצווי שיתנו, היו נותנים בהכרח ע"י הצווים לכן באר שאינו מצוה שיתנו רק שימנו גבאים לקבל ממי שירצה ניתן.  Why did the donations have to be given willingly?  

The Gra on Sefer Yitzirah (1:8) explains the idea of a brit: אומר לך מהו ענין ברית והוא אדם שיש לו אוהב כנפשו ורוצה שלא יפרוש ממנו אבל א"א להיות אצלו נותן לו דבר שכל מגמתו ותשוקתו אליו והן נקשרים ע"י הדבר ההוא אע"פ שנוטל ממנו את הדבר מ"מ כל מחשבתו שם הוא, ולשון ברית הוא הבטחה שע"י הדבר ההוא ודאי לא יתפרד ממנו, וזהו ענין לשון כריתה שכורת ממנו דבר הדבוק לו ונותן לו, וכן הוא הקשת שהוא דבר מאצלו יתברך, ונשתבשו בו כל הפילוסופים והמפרשים הנמשכים אחריהם לפי שהוא דבר למעלה מן השכל, וכן היא התורה והמילה הן דברים אמצעים בין הבורא ית' ובין ישראל, וכל זה לפי שאין יכולת להשיגו בעצמו ית'. וכן היו צריכין ישראל במשכן ומקדש לאמצעים כמו ארון וכרובים ונקרא ארון הברית הכל לפי שא"א להשיגו רק ע"י אמצעים.  The giving of the Torah was Hashem giving us something G-dly to us.  As the Ketzos explains in his introduction when the Torah was given to mankind, man now owns the Torah and the laws are decided based upon their decisions.  That is the דבר שכל מגמתו ותשוקתו אליו that Hashem gave us.  The Torah was given to mankind as an expression of Hasem's love for Klal Yisroel.  To complete the relationship Klal Yisroel had to give something back.  The point of the donations was not to collect a building fund, Hashem can create His own house.  The point was for Klal Yisroel to give something up of themselves for Hashem. 

ושכני בתוך כל אחד ואחד.  Hashem comes to the person who's love for Hashem is so great they are willing to sacrifice for Him.  They are willing to part with something for His sake.  The possuk  says וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי, why the double terumah, why does it say תרומה and afterward תרומתי and why is the nediv lev in the middle?  The Ohav Yisroel says על דרך רמז the world was created with a ה and the next world with a י.  For the average person, what matters to him is this world, that perosn's sacrifice is תרום ה, to give up some of his money, wealth and riches.  The tzaddik, one who is nediv lev to always be attached to Hashem, he must give תרומת י, he must give up some of his time, energy and spiritual abilities to help the greater good.  Everyone must give that which is harder for them.  The rich perosn can't say they will take out an hour to learn with someone else and the tzaddik can't just offer a donation for that is not a true giving.  A true giving is to give from yourself, whatever is most cherished and precious for Hashem. 

"As one of the Alter Rebbe’s wealthy chassidim advanced in years, he was able to marry off his children and establish them in business. A generous man by nature, when the responsibilities of his immediate family became less pressing, he committed himself to pay for the weddings and dowries of his relatives’ children. Suddenly, however, his business affairs took a sharp turn for the worse, and instead of being affluent, he found himself in debt and unable to meet his commitments. Before his financial situation became public knowledge, he hurried to Liozna to receive advice and blessings from the Alter Rebbe. At yechidus, he poured out his heart to the Rebbe, saying that he was prepared to remain impoverished himself, but he needed to pay his debts and honor the commitments that he had made to his relatives. The Alter Rebbe responded: “You are speaking about what you need. But you have not given a thought to what you are needed for." (chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/78968/jewish/Chapter-1-What-You-Need-and-What-You-are-Needed-For.htm.)