And when Moshe saw all of their work — and behold, they did everything as Hashem had commanded — then Moshe blessed them. (Shemos 39:43)

At last week’s Kiddush, the topic was brought up about how many people and actions are involved in even the simplest things in life. There are many steps involved in everything we do in life.

I would like to tell you a concern that Moshe Rabbeinu had, based on the Chasam Sofer. Moshe Rabbeinu watched carefully as Betzalel, Oholiav, and their crew produced the vessels and tapestries for the Tabernacle. After they were finished, Moshe gave a blessing that the Divine Presence should reside on the fruits of their labor. The Chasam Sofer said that the blessing that was given was not just to those craftsmen who fashioned and created the vessels and tapestries, but also to all of the people in Klal Yisrael who donated towards the building. He points out that if one wants to produce a holy edifice, it is not enough that all the craftsmen do their work “leshma” in order for it to be successful. It is also important that the donors give with purity as well. When Moshe saw that the Divine Presence was ready to rest on all the vessels, he understood that not only were the motivations of the craftsmen pure, but also that the donations were pure, thereby being worthy of Hashem’s Presence to rest on them.

I was told the following story by the son-in-law of a world-famous Rosh Yeshiva. This yeshiva was greatly in debt (as is the custom of all Yeshivas around the world). A non-religious philanthropist offered not only to take him out of debt, but to build a new building for him, costing more than $10 million! His only stipulation was that his name be placed on the building. That Rosh Yeshiva felt that putting the name of someone who desecrated the Shabbos on his building was inappropriate, and so he refused to take the money. But as the financial situation of the yeshiva worsened, the Rosh Yeshiva went to Rav Elyashiv to confirm that it was proper for him to not accept the money. Rav Elyashiv said that technically it was permissible for him to take the money and even to put the man’s name on the building, but the Rosh Yeshiva had a valid point and a right to not accept the money. My understanding of Rav Elyashiv’s answer was that the Rosh Yeshiva had a responsibility to protect the integrity and longevity of his Yeshiva.

Rav Shach had a grandson who was a first born, and for the Pidyon Haben he asked the local kohen who lived two doors away to perform the service. Rav Shach then asked the Chazon Ish if he could borrow his real silver coins for the payment to the kohen. The Chazon Ish gave him the coins, but stipulated that he should not tell the kohen until afterwards that he wanted the coins back, and that he would give him their value instead (The Chazon Ish wanted to ensure that the coins were properly being acquired by the kohen). Shortly after the redemption, Rav Shach approached the kohen to buy the coins back. The Kohen replied, “I don’t possess them any longer – they are not mine!” Rav Shach was shocked, “Where did you spend them?” “Right after I got the coins, I ran home and put them in my tzedakah box” said the kohen. Rav Shach asked, “Why did you do that?” “Chazal say that if a person sins, giving tzedakah will help the person receive an atonement. However, if the money was received illicitly, it may not work. Since these coins were ‘clean’ as they were given to me properly and I had a complete right to them, I therefore gave them to tzedakah hoping to receive an atonement for my sins.”

Often in our Divine Service, we think we are doing the right thing, yet it does not seem to bear fruit, and we wonder why. Next time, when you wonder “How come my prayers did not bear fruit?”, think about how you got to shul. Did you wake up someone with your alarm clock? Did you bump someone on the way in? It may very well be that the small things that brought you to this place of prayer could poison your prayers to the point that the Divine Presence will not rest on them. This applies to all the mitzvos we do. May we all merit that even the smallest of our actions which bring us to accomplishing mitzvos be without any aspect of sin, and Hashem’s Presence should thereby reside on our mitzvos.