You can learn a lot about people by the way they approach a construction project. Imagine you buy an item of furniture that needs to be built. It comes with a plastic bag with different sized screws, bolts, washers, wrenches and the like. Inside the bag, or perhaps outside of it, you will find the instructions, or the manual. There are those people who will conduct a thorough inventory, line up all the pieces and check off each item in the instructions as they are completed. I've watched people like this and laughed at myself feeling my method is so much more quick and efficient. I've always prided myself on being able to construct these items of furniture by figuring it out on my own. I may look at the instructions, get a sense of the item and then intuitively build it. And then I behold my creation and realize all the flaws: planks fastened backwards, tongues and grooves which are not synced, and the equivalent of buttoning a shirt without matching the right buttons with the correct holes. I then remind myself why, after construction projects, I always resolve to read the instructions next time and stop mocking those who do it right the first time.

The Torah presents that list at the beginning of Parshas Terumah:

"וזאת התרומה אשר תקחו מאתם: זהב וכסף ונחשת. ותכלת וארגמן ותולעת שני ושש ועזים. וערת אילם מאדמים וערת תחשים ועצי שטים.שמן למאר בשמים לשמן המשחה ולקטרת הסמים. אבני שהם ואבני מלאים לאפד ולחשן" (שמות כ"ה: ג-ז)

“And this is the offering which you shall take from them; gold, and silver, and copper/bronze. And blue, and purple, and scarlet and fine linen, and goats' hair. And rams' skins dyed red, and tachash skins and shittim wood. Oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set on the ephod, and on the breastplate” (Shmos 25:3-7).

What is the significance to the order that listed these items? It can't be arbitrary!

As spectators at the Olympics, we know that silver trumps bronze and gold bests silver. Anyone married would hopefully know that buying one's spouse copper jewelry will probably not accomplish the goal of the gift; great for coins, not for anniversary gifts! So, at first glance, it appears that the litany of ingredients begins with the most valuable and proceeds in descending order.

The Or Hachayim Hakadosh (25:7) asks an obvious question. The gems mentioned last on the list would have the highest appraisal rate of all the items. Therefore, asks the Or Hachayim, they should have been listed first?

He offers several answers. First, he notes that according to the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah ch. 12) God became angry at the princes who donated the stones. They waited for everyone else to donate before offering their donation. Hashem felt that they should not have procrastinated and reacted; rather, they should have modeled philanthropy and donated first.

Second, he points out that the gems were used exclusively for the raiment of the Kohen Gadol, not the actual construction of the Tabernacle. As such, they were listed at the end.

We will focus on the Or Hachayim's final answer. He cites a Gemara (Yoma 65a) that the gems were delivered miraculously to the righteous leaders and princes of the nation with their manna, i.e. via the Clouds of Glory. They literally obtained them by bending down and picking them up. He concludes that the stones were listed last because the other items on the list required toil; the gem stones were not measured in their street value, but in the amount of labor it took to prepare them.

But let's think about that for a moment. If we're listing based not on valuation, but rather, on the effort to produce, we may have further inconsistency. After all, the gold and silver was given to the Hebrew slaves as they left Egypt, as reparations for their work. It was handed to them by the Egyptians as they departed. Furthermore, the Midrash recounts that when the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea, the gold and silver from the chariots and armor washed up on the banks of the sea where the Hebrews had crossed. They summarily assumed ownership of these valuables.

In addition, the sages ask where the Jews obtained the acacia lumber in the wilderness? They answer (see Rashi to verse 5 based on aMidrash Tanchuma) that Yaakov Avinu understood from ruach hakodesh (sacred divination) that the Jews would build a Tabernacle in the future. He therefore planted these trees in Egypt and commanded his progeny to leave Egypt with them. So the argument that the Children of Israel plucked the gems from the ground is not that different from plundering the spoils of the Egyptian army (turned ineffective navy), and the reparations, or the acacia trees?

Rav Avraham Pam zt'l, late Rosh Yeshiva at Torah Vodaath, suggests that the order of the verse reflects the effort, reflecting the Or Hachayim's point. He expands on the virtues of effort when accounting for accomplishment.

I see in this a profound message about the nexus of giving and the essence of ownership. Let's offer a parable. Two people step up to contribute. One person toils daily, works hard and honestly, demonstrates loyalty to his boss, and is rewarded handsomely. Another person merits wealth through trauma i.e. winning a major legal settlement due to damages incurred. Who will more easily give the money away to a worthy cause? I'll bet there are different views on this question. I actually think the former individual will more readily give away his wealth. He feels as the owner; he budgets his funds as he chooses. He is responsible and makes the choices how to spend his money. He sees the value in the cause and happily gives away his hard-earned money. The individual mentioned second in the parable, in my opinion, will be more hesitant to part with his wealth. He does not necessarily have a steady income. He may view the windfall as a Divine gift that will not be repeated. He must be more frugal with the funds. It will be harder to give.

The great Abie Rottenberg, one of the greatest composers of Jewish music of all time, wrote a song called “Joe DiMaggio's Card.” (seehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rj-Lun1NEU for a nice video accompanying the classic song). His song describes a young man who obtained Joe Dimaggio's baseball card as a youth and as he aged, he refused to sell it despite offers for a lot of money. He only sold it when his friend's yeshiva sustained a fire, and he knew that the money would be helpful. The ending is simply beautiful – watch the video! The song depicts how one's priorities and values evolve in life. As an avid baseball fan and a bigger Abie Rottenberg fan, I am deeply moved every time I hear the song.

Don't underestimate how hard it was for the Jews to give up the reparations money and the Egyptian military spoils, which was more symbolic than useful to them in the Wilderness. The Shoham Stones were literally, according to the Talmud, gifts with no strings attached. We can add a third category to our aforementioned parable: the individual with the trust fund, with the unlimited credit card paid by someone else. That individual has the easiest time spending money (whether for oneself or for others).

The Torah provides in the beginning of the narrative, the list of supplies needed for construction of the Mishkan, because everything else was moot without accounting for the raw materials. No one wants to build something and realize they were missing lug nuts or the proper hew of thread. But we learn another valuable lesson from the list. There are different levels of difficulty in parting with our earnings, or our wealth.

Rachmana liba Bai – God seeks our hearts (Sanhedrin 106b). Giving is not a static form of transferring ownership. Maimonides famously classifies 8 levels of giving tzedakah. When describing the meal offering – a less expensive sacrifice than the flesh of an animal – our sages point out that the Torah employs the language when a soul donates, (see Vayikra 2:1) because Hashem does not look at the amount, but He seeks to understand how difficult it is for the donor to part with that which is donated. I've always wondered if honorees at dinners should be selected based on the difficulty to give, not the amount. Alas, there is really no way to know these things.

Hashem wants our hearts, and He is uniquely bochen levaos, someone who perceives our innermost thoughts and motives. May we always continue to give when it is difficult and may we see merit from such a lofty form of tzedakah.