10 Mar PEKUDEI: TRY, AND HASHEM WILL HELP

It states (Shemos
35:27), “The nesi’im
brought the shoham
stones and the [filling]
stones for the eifod
and the choshen.”
Where did the nesi’im
obtain these precious
gems? Did they own
them?
Targum Yonason
writes, “The clouds of
glory went to Pishon
and picked up precious
stones…to be placed
in the eifod and
choshen.”
The Chasam Sofer zt’l
writes, “When one desires to donate, but he
doesn’t have enough money [Hashem will help
him achieve his wish]. This happened to the
nesi’im. They wanted to donate the stones for
the kohanim’s clothing but didn’t own gems.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu brought the gems to
them in the clouds. When they collected the
mon, they collected the gems. This teaches us
that when a person desires to do something,”
Hashem will help him succeed.
The Gemara (Yoma 38) relates that Niknor
transported two beautiful doors from
Alexandria, Egypt, to Eretz Yisrael to donate to
the Beis HaMikdash. However, a powerful
storm at sea forced the sailors to toss all heavy
objects overboard. They also threw one of the
doors overboard. Niknor jumped onto the
second door, and hugging the door, he
proclaimed, “If you throw this door into the
water, throw me in too.” As soon as he uttered
those words, the storm subsided.
When the boat docked in Eretz Yisrael, they
found the first, missing door floating beside the
ship.
Those doors were installed in the Beis
HaMikdash, and the doorway was named
Shaar Niknor (Niknor’s entrance). The doors
were made from copper, and they shone like
gold. Eventually, all the Beis HaMikdash doors
were switched to gold, but the chachamim said
that Niknor’s doors should remain because of
the miracles that happened with them.
Let’s analyze this story: Niknor was moser
nefesh to bring even one door to the Beis
HaMikdash. What good would one door serve
if two doors are needed for the gate?
The answer is that Niknor was moser nefesh to
do what he could, even when it seemed that
one door was insufficient, and Hakadosh
Baruch Hu helped him. Because when a person
tries, Hashem helps. Both doors were installed
in the Beis HaMikdash.
We add that also, when it comes to praying for
the coming of Moshiach, we must do the best
we can.
As the Mesilas Yesharim (19) writes, “If one
asks, who am I, and how important am I really,
that I should daven for [the gathering of] the
galus and for Yerushalayim? Could it be that

because of my tefillah, the galus will end, and
the redemption will sprout? The answer is, as
Chazal (Sanhedrin 37.) say, man was created
alone, to demonstrate ‘The world was created
for me.’ Hashem has pleasure when His
children pray for this matter. Even if the
prayers cannot be answered – because the time

hasn’t come yet or for some other reason – they
did their share, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu is
happy with them… We are obligated to pray
and shouldn’t refrain because of a lack of
strength. As Chazal (Avos 2) say ‘You are not
obligated to finish, but you don’t have the right
to refrain…’”