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    TERUMA: LIVING MOTIVATED

    Parashat Terumah
    presents the laws for the
    construction of the
    Mishkan, which Hashem

    introduces with the fa-
    mous command, לי ועשו

    – מקדש- ושכנתי בתוכם
    “They shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I
    will reside in their midst.”
    The Rabbis explain the word בתוכם”) in
    their midst”) to mean that Hashem wants to
    reside within each person. We are all called
    upon to build our own Mishkan inside of us,
    and the laws of the Mishkan presented in the

    Torah teach us how to go about this lofty un-
    dertaking.

    The most sacred article in the Mishkan
    was the aron, the ark, which contained the
    two luhot (tablets) which Moshe brought
    down from Mount Sinai, and the original
    Sefer Torah. There was something very
    unique about the aron. It is the only one of

    all the articles of the Mishkan whose dimen-
    sions are all halves. The aron was 2.5 amot

    long, 1.5 amot wide, and 1.5 amot tall. Hash-
    em intentionally wanted the aron, the holiest

    part of the Mishkan, not to have any com-
    plete measurements.

    The reason given is that in order to suc-
    ceed and excel, we need to feel like we’re

    only “half.”

    If a person feels that he is very smart, he
    will not put in the effort to study. If a person
    feels he already has enough money, he will
    not put in the work to earn. People who have
    everything – whether it’s wealth, popularity,
    intelligence, good looks, or some other asset
    –are not motivated. They’re not driven. It is
    the feeling of “half,” of being incomplete,

    that gives us the passion, the drive, the de-
    sire, the fire, the energy to work hard and

    succeed.
    There was once a boy who was kicked off
    his high school basketball team, but ended up
    having a pretty successful career in the NBA.
    His name was Michael Jordon.
    There was once a boy who was fired from
    his job for his high school newspaper. His
    name was Malcolm Forbes, editor of Forbes
    Magazine.
    There was a young man who was fired
    from his job for his college newspaper due to

    “lack of creativity.” His name was Walt Dis-
    ney.

    There was once an aspiring football player
    who was drafted in one of the last rounds,
    after some 250 prospects were drafted. His
    name was Tom Brady.
    The list goes on and on. There are so
    many people who failed, who were told they
    would never succeed, and ended up reaching

    the very top.

    We might assume that these people ex-
    celled despite their failures and struggles.

    But this isn’t true. They excelled because
    of their failures and struggles. The feeling
    of being “half” motivated them and drove
    them. They were so keenly aware of their
    challenges that they went all in, full force,
    and worked tirelessly to pursue their
    goals.
    Several times each and every day, we
    ask Hashem at the end of our Amidah
    shall soul my – “נפשי כעפר לכל תהיה ,prayer
    be like dirt to all.” Like DIRT??? We’re
    asking Hashem that we want to be like
    dirt?
    Yes!!!!
    We pray for the realization that we are
    not yet good enough, that we have much
    more that we can accomplish and that we
    need to accomplish. Because only with this
    realization we will be motivated to work
    hard and excel.

    The difference between living with moti-
    vation and living without motivation is the

    difference between a car with its engine
    turned on, and a broken-down car that people
    try to push down the street. People who are
    motivated can’t be stopped. They are full of
    passion and

    fire. They are HUNGRY for success, and
    nothing will get in their way. Unmotivated
    people, meanwhile, can’t be budged.
    In order to live motivated, we need not to

    be discouraged by failure – but to be ENER-
    GIZED BY FAILURE. When we feel we’re

    only “half,” we can turn this feeling into mo-
    tivation, into the determination to do any-
    thing necessary to reach completion. And

    when we have this motivation, the sky is the

    limit, and we are well on our way to achiev-
    ing success.