"דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו תרומת"- "Speak to בני ישראלand let them take for me a portion from every man whose heart motivates him you shall take my portion"
The בעל הטוריםdiscusses the words ""ויקחו לי תרומה"And let them take for me a portion." ה' said, "Make for me a place for a מקדש which will be 1/50th the size ofהר הבית , just as תרומהis 1/50th of the crop" He also comments on the word "תרומה" - "A portion". If you rearrange this word you get מ, which is 40, and the word תורה. The תורה was given in 40 days to those who eat תרומה.
The ALSHUCH asks why the parsha begins with the words TAKE for me a תרומה when it should say GIVE for me a תרומה. He explains that the person who gives צדקה gets much more than he gives. He may give the poor man a few coins but he receives tremendous זכות and blessings for himself and his family.
Rav Pam mentions that the attitudes towards צדקה are passed down from parents to children. They must be taught to possess a positive attitude toward generosity. For example, in most schools, the students give a penny a day to צדקה. It obviously isn't much, but it trains them to realize the זכות to give צדקה and hopefully to each in them a lifelong desire to be charitable. We must all be generous and recognize the greatness of giving צדקהand its effects.
