Parashat Terumah presents the laws for the construction of the Mishkan, which Hashem introduces with the famous command, ועשו לי 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 undertaking.
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 dimensions are all halves. The aron was 2.5 amot long, 1.5 amot wide, and 1.5 amot tall. Hashem intentionally wanted the aron, the holiest part of the Mishkan, not to have any complete measurements.
The reason given is that in order to succeed 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 desire, 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 Disney.
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 excelled 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 prayer, נפשי כעפר לכל תהיה – “my soul shall 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 motivation 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 ENERGIZED BY FAILURE. When we feel we’re only “half,” we can turn this feeling into motivation, into the determination to do anything necessary to reach completion. And when we have this motivation, the sky is the limit, and we are well on our way to achieving success.