<b>That they make for me an offering (Exod. 25:2).</b> Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: <i>I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say: “Wherein hast Thou loved us?”</i> (Mal. 1:2), and elsewhere it is written: <i>But Esau I hated</i> (ibid., v. 3). Once Turnus Rufus<sup class="footnote-marker">4</sup><i class="footnote">Turnus (Tinneius) Rufus was the Roman governor of Judea in 132 C.E.</i> asked R. Akiba: “Why does the Holy One, blessed be He, hate us, that it should be written <i>But Esau I hated?”</i> He replied: “I will tell you tomorrow.” The next day (Turnus Rufus) asked R. Akiba: “What did you dream about last night, and what did you see?” “I dreamed about two dogs last night,” Akiba answered. “One was named Rufus, and the other Rufina.” Turnus Rufus became infuriated and said to him: “How dare you call the dogs by my name and by the name of my wife? You are guilty of treason against the government.” R. Akiba responded: “Is there actually a difference between you and them? You eat and drink, and they do likewise; you are fruitful and multiply, and so do they; you die and they die; yet because I called them by your names, you have become angry. Should not the Holy One, blessed be He, who stretched out the heavens and established the earth, who causes death and gives life, hate you when you take a tree and call it by His name. Therefore, <i>But Esau I hated</i>.”
<i>For I give you good doctrine</i> (Prov. 4:2). Frequently, a man borrows money from other men, in order to purchase some merchandise, and then goes on the road (with it) and suffers a loss. That can never happen with the merchandise of the law. A man learns one chapter, then another, and then still another. He studies one tractate and then another, and he profits from them all. <i>For I give you good doctrine</i> (ibid.). Another explanation of <i>I give you good doctrine</i>. A man who engages in business is sometimes able to retain the profit he makes, but at other times he loses it. The law, however, remains with a man in this world and in the world-to-come. Hence, <i>For I give you good doctrine</i>.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: The law is Mine, and if you accept it, you must accept Me with it, as it is said: <i>That they take for me an offering; of every man whose heart maketh him willing</i> (Exod. 25:2). R. Simeon the son of Lakish said: Our rabbis taught that there are five persons who are not permitted to bring an offering. If they do, their offering is not considered acceptable. They are a deaf mute, a fool, a minor, one who brings an offering that is not his own, and an offering brought by a gentile on behalf of an Israelite, even with his consent. Their offerings are not acceptable. R. Simeon the son of Lakish added: All of these are to be understood from the verse under discussion (Exod. 25:2). The deaf mute is restricted because it is written: <i>Speak unto the children of Israel</i> (ibid., v. 1). Naturally a deaf mute is excluded, since he can neither hear nor speak. The fool, because it is written: <i>Every man whose heart maketh him willing</i> (ibid.). The fool is barred because his heart is neither willing nor unwilling. The minor, since it is written: <i>Unto the children of Israel</i> (ibid.), and the minor is not yet a man, hence his offering is not acceptable. The one who brings an offering that does not belong to him, for it is written: <i>Every man whose heart maketh him willing, ye shall take My offering</i> (ibid., v. 2); that is, you must bring your own offering. And the offering brought by a gentile for an Israelite, with his consent, for it is written: <i>Speak unto the children of Israel</i>. The gentile is barred from bringing an offering because he is not an Israelite.
<i>Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering</i> (ibid., v. 2). Each time the Holy One, blessed be He, says <i>for Me</i> in the Torah, both this world and the world-to-come are included. For example, <i>For the land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is for Me</i> (Lev. 25:23). Here and in the time-to-come. <i>For all the firstborn are for Me</i> (Num. 3:13); that is in this world and in the time-to-come. <i>The Levites are for Me</i> (ibid. 8:14); in this world and in the time-to-come. Israel, as it is written: <i>And ye shall be for Me a kingdom of priests</i> (Exod. 19:6); in this world and the world-to-come. Hence, <i>That they take for Me an offering</i> alludes to the present and the time-to-come.