One of the Kotzker Rebbe's (1787-1859) closest friends was the Vorker Rebbe (1779-1848,) yet the two men had very different modes of living Judaism. The Kotzker Rebbe believed that in order to achieve personal growth in Judaism, one must take alone time, and separate from people. The Vorker Rebbe held the opposite, that in order to grow people must seek out companionship, to learn good from each other.
Both Rabbis pointed to the second verse of Parshat Terumah as a Biblical allusion to their own opinion. The Pasuk (Shemot 25:2), with regard to contributions towards the building of the Tabernacle, states, "and they shall take unto Me a separation (terumah,) from every man whose heart moves him." The Kotzker Rebbe learned from this that when a person seeks the path of truth, the guiding principle should be terumah, literally 'a separation,' even from the finest- even from 'every man whose heart moves him.' The Vorker Rebbe argued and read the verse differently: 'and they shall take unto Me,' he said, means that you shall 'take' (learn) from everyone, from every man whose heart moves him.
Rabbi Michael Macks will be contributing weekly divrei torah as he is able