The Nesiim were the princes, or leaders, of every tribe. Rashi cites the Midrash which notes the word Nesiim is spelled in Hebrew without the two “yudin” that it would normally have. This defective spelling was deliberate – as a punishment for their not bringing their contributions together with everyone else. They had waited to see what would be lacking, so that they would fill the deficit. To their surprise and chagrin, the national response was so overwhelming that there was almost nothing left for them to give. Chazal note a taint of laziness on their part which caused their delay in giving. For this, the Torah spells their name incompletely.
It is important to preface the expositions of the various commentators with the obvious note: Regardless of the critique against them, the Nesiim erred unknowingly. Their conscious intention was clearly l’shem Shomayim, for the sake of Heaven. How were they to know that Klal Yisrael would be so industrious and come forward immediately to fulfill the requirement completely? Hashem Yisborach, however, sees beyond what seems to be obvious. Incidentally, the Kesav Sofer points out that since a mitzvah is attributed according to the one who completes it, the Nesiim wanted to be the last ones to contribute for the Mishkan. While this idea is praiseworthy, it does not compensate for the lack of zerizus, alacrity, in mitzvah performance.
The question that confronts the commentators is: Why is the “yud” designated to be the letter deleted from the word, rather than any of the other letters? The simple answer which is given is that when one deletes the “yud,” the sound of the word still does not change. In contrast, the deletion of any of the other letters would dramatically alter the kriah, reading, of the word. Horav Zaidel Epstein, Shlita, offers a novel reason. For most letters of the alphabet, the sum of the numerical value of the other letters is not equal to the letter itself when that letter is removed from its spelled out name. For instance, aleph: The letter aleph has a value of one, while the rest of the word, lamed and fay, equals 110; bais is equal to two, while the rest of the word is yud, saf, which equals 410. When the yud, whose value is ten, is removed the vav and daled still equal ten. This implies that the yud is tocho k’baro, its inner essence/value is equivalent to its external essence. In other words, “What you see is what you get.” There is a consistency between the chitzonius, external, and the penimius, internal.
While the Nesiim thought they had introspected and had cleansed themselves of any vestiges of personal interests, the Torah implies that this was not true. There was an inconsistency; their actions were not motivated completely by a sense of l’shem Shomayim. There was a taint of indolence inherent in their delayed giving. Horav Moshe Reis, Shlita, cites the Chidushei Ha’Rim who says the “yud” denotes the Yehudi, Jewish essence, that was missing, characterized by their act of indolence. A Jew is excited, enthusiastic, energetic to serve the Almighty. He does not sit back and wait. He is filled with alacrity to go forward to serve Hashem. The Nesiim were not. Hence, the letter which symbolizes Jewishness was deleted.
Other commentators contend that the error lay in a different realm. The Kesav Sofer says that the “yud,” the smallest of all the letters of the alphabet, implies the attribute of anavah, humility. The Nesiim sought to complete the mitzvah, in order to emphasize their contribution. This, regrettably, indicated a deficiency in their name. The Beis Yisrael supplements this by saying that the Nesiim chose to separate themselves from the klal, community, by deciding to donate on their own. This idea is implied by the missing “yud.” The “yud” symbolizes the Jewish People who survive through achdus, unity. They chose to contribute on their own, not to unify with the others. Hence, they are missing the “yud” from their name.
The Pnei Menachem makes a similar comment, suggesting that their sin was in creating a distinction between “them”/ Klal Yisrael and us/Nesiim. They should all have worked together, sharing in their avodas Hashem. Last, the Pnei Menachem, citing a common theme in his derashos, lectures, places the blame on their lack of ayin tovah, good eye. They declared that they would supplement what is missing. How did they know that something would be missing? What right did they have to underestimate the people’s commitment to the Almighty? The purpose of a leader is to look for the best in his flock. Their vision of Klal Yisrael was unfortunately myopic.
