Happy Giving - Vayikra

Just yesterday I was visiting with a dear friend in our community. The topic of our conversation turned, surprisingly!, to Judaism and childrearing. He asked me if I “want my children to be happy” and what I would do if my children found happiness in material or worldly pursuits outside of Judaism.

 

It’s an insightful question, a personal topic, and one that relates directly to this week’s Torah Portion.

 

Here’s the opening sentence of the portion: “Moses, speak to the Jewish People and have them TAKE me an offering” Seems like a typo, no? We would have expected the sentence to read “GIVE me an offering”.

 

But herein lies an incredible eternal truth. When we make an offering, when we dedicate our time, efforts, resources, and talents to G‑d we are not giving anything away. We are, in fact, gaining and taking. In the words of our sages: As our Sages teach us “More than the donor does for the pauper, the pauper does for the donor”.

 

We, as Jews have studied this truth in the Torah for millennia and modern Science is finally proving it. In 2008 the journal Science published an article titled: “Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness”. Here’s an excerpt: ( CLICK HERE to read the full article)

 

“ … A large body of research has demonstrated that income has a reliable, but surprisingly weak, effect on happiness … Indeed, although real incomes have surged dramatically in recent decades, happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries across time. One of the most intriguing explanations for this counterintuitive finding is that people often pour their increased wealth into pursuits that provide little in the way of lasting happiness, such as purchasing costly consumer goods.

 

We suggest that investing income in others rather than oneself may have measurable benefits for one's own happiness …”

 

This week, the Torah gives us the answer to my friend’s question. If we truly seek happiness for ourselves and our children, then we need to dedicate ourselves to– not to fulfilling and satisfying our desires and loves, but – to selflessly dedicating ourselves to G‑d and humanity. And we need to teach our children to do the same.

 

May we each be blessed with immense joy and nachas to and from our loved ones.

 

Fruma and our children – Malka, Yaakov, Shimi, Mendel, Mushka, Riva, Rachmiel, & baby Yosef – join me in wishing you a Shabbat Shalom!