When the Holy One commanded Israel to contribute materials for the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the instruction could have been simple taxation. Every household owes gold, silver, linen, wood, by census. Instead, the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 25:2 preserves the principle that made the Tabernacle different from every other national project.
Speak to the children of Israel, the Lord tells Moses, that they shall set apart before Me a terumah, a separation. The qualification follows immediately: of every one whose heart is willing, but not by constraint, ye shall take my separation. No one was to be forced. No one was to be shamed into giving. The Holy One wanted only what flowed from a generous heart.
This is a radical position for an ancient text describing a building project. Temples in the ancient world were typically funded by tribute, by royal decree, or by the spoils of war. The Mishkan alone was built on willingness. The Ramban, writing in thirteenth-century Spain, points out that this principle explains why the Torah lists thirteen different materials the people could contribute. Each person would find something to give. Each household would recognize itself in the walls.
The result was staggering. Israel gave so generously that Moses eventually had to command them to stop (Exodus 36:6). The Tabernacle was the only time in Torah when the people were told to bring less.
The Targum's lesson applies anywhere Israel builds today. Sanctuaries raised by coercion do not hold the Shekhinah. Only the willing heart creates a space where God agrees to dwell.