[Avodah] Were the Nesiim generous or not?

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

Many divrei Torah on Vayakhel comment on the way the Nesiim donated to the Mishkan: They pledged to cover whatever shortfall might remain afterward, and Chazal take them to task for this lack of eagerness. For example, Rashi (pasuk 35:27) seems to be bothered by how the Nesiim were the first to contribute to the Mizbe'ach, but here they were the last to contribute to the Mishkan.

It seems to me that the Nesiim may have been guilty of something worse than a mere lack of eagerness: Their offer to cover the shortfall sounds magnanimous, but it includes a presumption that there will *BE* a shortfall. It is almost lashon hara of a sort, or perhaps a "dan l'kaf chov."

As it turned out, there was no shortfall at all, but that's not part of my argument, as there's no way the nesiim could have known that in advance. But it seems to me that they ought to have considered the possibility that there *might* not be a shortfall.

And indeed, perhaps they *did* consider the possibility that there might not be a shortfall, in which case their offer - which sounded so generous - was actually quite stingy.

Does anyone know of any perushim which might suggest or refute these ideas?

Akiva Miller

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