In Parshas פקודי, the Torah gives us an exact accounting of the funds raised for the משכן, and how they were used. We know that direct counting is usually discouraged in The תורה, as it leads to עין הרע. Why then are we not concerned over עין הרע when counting the funds raised for the משכן?
The משנה in אבות says
כל מי שיש בו שלשה דברים הללו הוא מתלמידיו של אברהם אבינו…. עין טובה, ורוח נמוכה, ונפש שפלה
The character traits of Avraham Avinu include looking positively at the success of others, not wanting much, and being humble .
The משנה continues:
ושלשה דברים אחרים הוא מתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע… עין רעה, ורוח גבוהה, ונפש רחבה.
Bilam’s traits include looking negatively at the success of others, wanting everything, and being conceited.
The קדושת לוי explains the difference between these 2 outlooks: Everything in the world exists by the will of Hashem. When we look at someone’s success with an עין טובה, we acknowledge that this is Hashem’s will, and as such add ברכה to it. That is the trait of אברהם אבינו.
But when looking at other’s success in a negative way, it’s like saying “It’s not fair that he has it and not me.” Such a look causes a disconnect between Hashem’s will and the recipient. This destructive force is known as עין הרע, which is the trait of בלעם הרשע. Through his greed and unsatiatible desires, he caused a פירוד, a separation between the will of Hashem, and those who merited Hashem’s ברכה. This עין הרע leads to losing the ברכה of Hashem.
We can now understand why there was no concern over עין הרע by the הקמת המשכן. The פסוק says:
מרבים העם להביא מדי העבודה למלאכה אשר צוה ה’
All of כלל ישראל joined together in unison in contributing towards הקמת המשכן. There was no separation, as nobody looked askance at the contribution of everyone else. Everyone understood their unique role in building the משכן and were happy with their own role and the role of others. And when we’re happy with others, there is no separation, and therefore no concern over עין הרע.
When we internalize the idea that Hashem runs runs the world, and that He gives every person what they need, we are able to look at the success of others with an עין טובה, and ‘Fargin’ their success.
Indeed, there is no English translation to this word, as seemingly, this is a trait that’s unique to us- כלל ישראל, the children, and תלמידים, of אברהם אבינו.
We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point. In winter 1976, a beloved מחנך in Brooklyn, Rabbi Meir Fogel, passed away suddenly, at a young age. He did not merit leaving behind any children. A close friend of his by the name of Meir Zlotowitz, decided to commemorate his friend’s memory, by writing an English translation on מגילת אסתר. No such work existed yet at the time, and Rabbi Zlotowitz worked hard to complete the translation by the end of the שלושים for his friend, which fell just before Purim.
His intention was to print it in 50 copies and give it out to Rabbi Fogel’s family and friends. Right before publishing, he showed the manuscript to Harav Dovid Cohen שליט”א. After reviewing it, Rabbi Cohen called R’ Zlotowitz back enthusiastically. “Meir, this is an absolute masterpiece! You must publish this for the public and sell it jn all the Seforim stores. Klal Yisrael needs this type of work.”
Sure enough the book was published and within a week, over 2000 copies were sold. Seeing the thirst and demand for Torah literature in English, within a short period Rabbi Zlotowitz proceeded to create the now world- renowned, Artscroll- Mesorah Publishing. To date Artscroll has published thousands of Jewish books, most notably, The Schottenstein Talmud, which has made Gemara learning accessible to all.
And all of this is thanks to that 1 enthusiastic comment, ” Meir this an absolute masterpiece!”
When we Fargin, we can build entire worlds!
Weekly Parsha Shiur 