FROM THE TORAH
Exodus 35:1-38:20
In previous sedras, the Eternal imparted to Moses and, through him, Israel what shall be required in material and construction for the central religious institutions of the Children of Israel: the Tabernacle and the Priesthood. Sedra Vayakhel opens with Moses’s reminder of when work may be done and when it may not be done, viz. the Sabbath, then he issues a call for the people to supply the required sacred gifts (terumah), for Bezalel and Oholiav to organize and direct the artisans and to commence and complete the construction of the Tabernacle and the equipping of Aaron and his sons, the Priests. They respond in a thoroughly organized fashion, bringing more than enough of the materials required. From them qualified artisans construct the Tabernacle, its Tent, Covering, Boards, Dividing Curtain, and Entrance. Bezalel himself constructs the Ark and its Propitiatory, the Table, Menorah and Altars, the Laver, and the Courtyard and its parts.
Implementation of Sacred Design
TERUMAH FOR TABERNACLE AND PRIEST
35:1-29
Moses assembles (Vayakhel) all the congregation of the Children of Israel and says to them: These [eyleh] are the matters [hadevarim] which the Eternal has commanded to be observed.
Work may be done for six days. But the seventh day shall be holy for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to the Eternal. Whoever does work on it shall be put to death. Do not kindle fire on it in your habitations. (Cf. Exodus 31:12-17)
Take from among you, everyone who is willing, as a sacred offering (terumah) to the Eternal, gold, silver and copper, blue, purple and crimson, fine linen and goats’ hair, reddened ram’s skins, tachash skins, and acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the Anointing Oil and for the Aromatic Incense, shoham stones and stones for setting for the Ephod and for the Breastplate. (Cf. Exodus 25:3-7)
Let every capable one among you come and execute all that the Eternal has commanded: the Tabernacle and its Tent and its Covering, its clasps and its Boards, its bars and its pillars and its sockets, the Ark and its rods and its Propitiatory, and the Dividing Curtain for the Screen, the Table and its rods and all of its implements and the Showbread, the Menorah of lighting and its implements and its lamps, and the oil for lighting, and the Incense Altar and its rods, and the Anointing Oil, the Aromatic Incense, the Entrance Screen for the Entrance of the Tabernacle, the Altar of Burnt Offering and its copper grating, its rods and all of its implements, the Laver and its base, the curtains of the Courtyard and its pillars and its sockets, the Screen of the Gate of the Courtyard, and the Pegs of the Tabernacle and the Pegs of the Courtyard and their cords, the plaited garments for sacred service, the sacred garments for Aaron the Kohen, and the garments of his sons to serve as priests. (Cf. Exodus 25:10-30:38)
All of the congregation then leaves the presence of Moses, and everyone whose heart is willing and whose spirit is generous brings the terumah of the Eternal from the specified materials in their possession for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for its service and for the sacred vestments. The men prevail upon the women, so that everyone who is sufficiently generous brings a nose-ring or an earring or a signet or any other golden ornament, and a man would make a wave offering of gold to the Eternal. Women who can spin produce cloths of blue, purple and crimson, fine linen, and goats’ hair. Leaders of the people bring the various stones for the Ephod and the Breastplate, and spice and oil for lighting and for the Anointing Oil and for the Aromatic Incense. Every man and woman brings the required items as a freewill offering.
BEZALEL AND OHOLIAV TAKE CHARGE
35:30-36:7
Moses announces to the Children of Israel that the Eternal has appointed by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, to execute the work of the graver and designer and weaver. The Eternal is filling him with the Divine Spirit, with wisdom and understanding and knowledge, and with all aspects of workmanship, to devise plans for doing work in gold, silver and copper, for the cutting of stones to be set in place, and for the carving of wood to be done with all manner of workmanship. He makes it his will to instruct others as well, he and Oholiav son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan, whom the Eternal has inspired and qualified to work alongside Bezalel with similar responsibilities. (Cf. Exodus 31:1-11)
Bezalel and Oholiav and everyone divinely-qualified to participate in the work of the sacred service carry out the commandments of the Eternal at the call of Moses. They take from Moses all of the terumah which the Children of Israel have brought and continue to bring every morning. The artisans report to Moses that the people have brought more than enough gifts of terumah. So Moses causes a notice to be circulated among the people to cease bringing materials, and they cease.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE
Tabernacle
36:8-13
All of the artisans construct the Tabernacle (Mishkan) of 10 sheets of twisted fine linen and of blue and purple and crimson yarns, with Cherubs as the creation of a designer. The length of each sheet is 28 cubits, and the width 4 cubits. Five of them are joined to each other, and the other five are joined to each other. Fifty loops of blue thread are made on the edge of the outermost sheet of each of the two sets. The loops of the two sets are arranged opposite each other. Fifty gold clasps are made, and the outermost sheets of the two sets are attached one to the other with the clasps so that the Tabernacle is one. (Cf. Exodus 26:1-6)
Tent
36:14-18
Eleven sheets of goats’ hair are made for a Tent (Ohel) over the Tabernacle. The length of each sheet is 30 cubits, and the width 4 cubits. Five of the sheets are joined as a set, and the other six are joined as a separate set. Fifty loops are made on the edge of the one outermost sheet of the one set, and fifty are made on the edge of the sheet of the other set. Fifty copper clasps are made and inserted into the loops, then the two parts of the Tent are connected into one. (Cf. Exodus 26:7-13)
Covering
36:19
A Covering (Michseh) for the Tent, of reddened ram skins and tachash skins, is made from above. (Cf. Exodus 26:14)
Boards
36:20-34
Vertical Boards (Kerashim) of acacia wood are made for the Tabernacle. The height of each Board is 10 cubits, and the width a cubit-and-a-half. Each Board has two parallel tenons. Twenty such Boards are made for both the south side and the north side of the Tabernacle, each, and 40 silver sockets are made for the 20 Boards of each side, two silver sockets for the two tenons of each Board.
Six Boards are made for the rear of the Tabernacle, on the west, and another two Boards for the two corners. They are made flush with each other from bottom to top, where every two contiguous Boards are joined by a ring connector, and this applies as well to the additional two Boards for the two corners, which are similarly connected to the westernmost Boards of the southern and northern sides of the Tabernacle, respectively. So, at the western end there are 8 Boards in all and 16 silver sockets, two sockets under each Board.
Five bars of acacia wood are made for each of the two side walls of the Tabernacle and its rear wall to the west. The middle bar of each of the three walls passes through the Boards from end to end. The Boards are overlaid with gold. Their rings, which serve as housing for the bars, are made of gold, and the bars are overlaid with gold. (Cf. Exodus 26:15-30)
Dividing Curtain
36:35-36
A Dividing Curtain (Parochet) is made of blue, purple and crimson yarns, twisted fine linen, with a designer’s work rendering Cherubs, hung upon four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold, their hooks of gold upon four sockets of silver. (Cf. Exodus 26:31-35)
Screen for the Entrance of the Tent
36:37-38
A Screen for the Entrance of the Tent (Masach leFetach ha-Ohel) is made, of blue, purple and crimson yarns, twisted fine linen, the work of a weaver, with its five columns and their hooks, their tops and their connecting rings overlaid with gold, and their five sockets of copper. (Cf. Exodus 26:36-37)
Ark
37:1-5
Bezalel makes the Ark (Aron) of acacia wood, two-and-a-half cubits long, one-and-a-half cubits wide, one-and-a-half cubits high. He overlays it, inside and out, with pure gold, and makes around it at its top a border of gold. He casts for it four gold rings on its four feet and two rings on each of its sides. He makes rods of acacia wood overlaid with gold and inserts one through the rings on each side of the Ark, to be used for carrying the Ark. (Cf. Exodus 25:10-16)
Propitiatory
37:6-9
He makes a Propitiatory (Kaporet) of pure gold, two-and-a-half cubits long, one-and-a-half cubits wide, and from the gold of the Propitiatory he makes, as one with it, two Cherubs at opposite ends. He makes them of hammered work. They face each other but look toward the Propitiatory, wings spread out above, shielding the Propitiatory. (Cf. Exodus 25:17-22)
Table
37:10-16
He makes a Table (Shulchan) of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, one-and-a-half cubits high. He overlays it with pure gold and makes around it a border of gold. He makes a rim of a hand’s breadth around it and makes a border of gold around its rim. He makes for it four gold rings, and he attaches the rings to the four corners of its four legs, close by the rim. The rings are the housing of rods to lift the Table. He makes the rods of acacia wood and overlays them with gold. He makes the implements that are upon the Table: libation dishes, pans, bowls, and jars, of pure gold. (Cf. Exodus 25:23-30)
Menorah
37:17-24
He makes the Lampstand (Menorah) of pure gold, of hammered work: its base, shaft, cups, knobs, and buds, all of one piece with it. Out of each of the two sides come three branches. On each of the total of six branches there are three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a knob and a bud. On the Menorah itself there are four cups shaped like almond blossoms with its knobs and buds. Of one piece with it there is a knob under each of the three pairs of branches. All of it is a single hammered piece of pure gold. He makes its seven lamps and its tongs and its fire-holders of pure gold. From a talent of pure gold does he make it and all of its implements. (Cf. Exodus 25:31-40; 27:20-21)
Altar of Incense
37:25-29
He makes an Altar for the Burning of Incense (Mizbach haKetoret) out of acacia wood. It is one cubit square and two cubits in height. Its horns are of one piece with it. He overlays all of it with pure gold and makes around it a border of gold. He makes for it two rings of gold under the border on two of its sides to house the poles by which it is carried. He makes the poles of acacia wood and overlays them with gold. He makes the holy Anointing Oil and the pure Aromatic Incense, the work of a compounder. (Cf. Exodus 30:1-10; 30:34-38)
Altar of Burnt Offering
38:1-7
He makes the Altar of Burnt Offering (Mizbach haOlah) of acacia wood, five cubits square and three cubits high. He makes its horns, on its four corners, of one piece with it, and he overlays it with copper. He makes all of its implements of copper: the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire-holders. He makes for the Altar a grating, network of copper, under its rim extending halfway below. He casts four rings for the four ends of the copper grating to serve as housings for the poles. He makes the poles of acacia wood and overlays them with copper. He inserts the poles into the rings on the sides of the Altar in order to carry it by means of them. He makes it hollow, of boards. (Cf. Exodus 27:1-8; 29:37-46)
Laver
38:8
He makes the Laver (Kiyyur) and its base of copper from mirrors of the women who attended in large number at the Tent of Meeting. (Cf. Exodus 30:17-21)
Courtyard
38:9-17
He makes the Courtyard (Chatzer). Along its south side and along its north side each, there are 100 cubits of curtains with 20 posts and their 20 copper sockets and their silver hooks and bands. Along its western side are 50 cubits of curtains with 10 posts and their 10 copper sockets and their silver hooks and bands. Along its eastern side are 50 cubits: 15 cubits of curtains on either side of the Gate of the Courtyard, each with their 3 posts and their 3 copper sockets, respectively. The curtains on all sides are of twisted fine linen. The tops of the posts are overlaid with silver, and they are all banded with silver. (Cf. Exodus 27:9-19)
Screen for the Gate of the Courtyard
38:18-19
The Screen at the Gate of the Courtyard (Masach Sha’ar heChatzer) is of blue, purple and crimson yarns, twisted fine linen, the work of a weaver. Its length is 20 cubits, and it stands by its width at 5 cubits in correspondence with the curtains of the Courtyard. There are 4 posts with their 4 copper sockets and their silver hooks. The posts are overlaid with silver, and they are banded with silver.
Pegs
38:20
The Pegs (Yeteydot) of the Tabernacle and of the Courtyard around it are of copper. (Cf. Exodus 27:19b)
Maftir for Shabbat Parah
Third of the Four Special Parashiyot
Numbers 19:1-22
Relief from Defilement
The Eternal communicates a statute of the Torah (chukat haTorah) to Moses and Aaron:
The Children of Israel should bring you an entirely red cow (parah adumah temeemah) without blemish and on which no yoke has been put. You shall give it to Elazar the Kohen, who shall have it slaughtered in his presence outside of the camp. Elazar the Kohen shall sprinkle some of its blood seven times towards the front of the Tent of Meeting. The cow shall be burned entirely, in his presence. The Kohen shall add cedar wood, hyssop and crimson to the burning.
The Kohen and the one who burns it shall wash their clothing and bathe in water before re-entering the camp, and they remain impure until the evening.
A ritually pure person collects the ashes and leaves them outside of the camp in a ritually pure place for the Israelite community, both Children of Israel and the sojourner. The ashes of the red cow shall be used for water that removes impurity, as a statute for all time. The collector of the ashes shall wash his clothes and remain impure until the evening.
Whoever touches a human corpse becomes impure for seven days. In that state he would defile the Tabernacle of the Eternal and be cut off from Israel. He must instead have the water that removes impurity thrown upon him on the third day and on the seventh day of his impurity, after which he must wash his clothes and bathe in water, becoming pure again in the evening.
Anyone who touches a human corpse or bone or grave outside becomes ritually impure for seven days.
If a person dies in a tent, everyone else in the tent becomes ritually impure for seven days, and any open vessel in the same tent becomes ritually impure.
The procedure for purification requires the taking of some of the ashes and adding to them fresh water in a vessel. A ritually pure person dips some hyssop in the water and sprinkles it on the person who became ritually impure, on the third day and on the seventh day of his impurity. For a tent and its open vessels, he sprinkles the water also on the tent and on all the vessels that were in the tent.
The one who sprinkles the water must wash his clothes.
Whoever touches the water shall be impure until the evening.
Whatever the ritually impure person touches becomes ritually impure, and the person who touches him shall be ritually impure until the evening.
FROM THE PROPHETS
Haftarah for Shabbat Parah
Ezekiel 36:16-38
Purification of Israel from Exile
The word of the Eternal to the Prophet: Son of man, the House of Israel dwell upon their Land, defiling it by their way, which is like the impurity of a woman. I therefore pour out My anger upon them for the blood that they have spilled upon the Land and for the idols that they have worshipped. I am scattering them among the nations, but even there will the House of Israel come and profane My Name by their very presence as “the people of the Eternal” (Ezekiel 36:20) who “went out from His Land” (ibid.).
Now I am showing compassion for My Holy Name which the House of Israel have profaned among the nations to which they have come. I am removing you from them, taking you back to your own Land. “I am sprinkling pure water upon you, that you may be clean; from all of your idols I shall purify you” (Ezekiel 36:25).
I give you a new heart and take away the heart of stone from your flesh. I place My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances. I will increase for you the vegetables and the fruit of the Land so that you will not be associated with famine among the nations. And when you recall your evil ways, you shall loathe yourselves for the iniquities and abominations that you have committed.
I do this not for your sake. Be ashamed and embarrassed for your ways, O House of Israel! When I cause your desolate cities to be inhabited, the nations around you shall see that I, the Eternal, can turn what is ruined into the Garden of Eden. I shall increase your number, O House of Israel, as greatly as were the number of people and of sacrificial animals in Jerusalem at the festive seasons.
FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH
Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Shabbata 2 (Lauterbach)
Talmud Shabbat 60a, 97b
The Sanctity of Vayakhel and the Sanctity of Shabbat
1
“Moses assembles all the congregation of the Children of Israel
and says to them:
These [eyleh] are the matters [hadevarim]
which the Eternal has commanded to be observed.
Work may be done for six days.
But the seventh day shall be holy for you,
a Sabbath of solemn rest to the Eternal.”
(Exodus 35:1-2a)
While the purpose of assembling would appear to be for the people to begin supplying the required sacred gifts (cf. Exodus 35:5ff.) and making the Tabernacle (cf. Exodus 35:10ff.), the mitzvah of the Sabbath is repeated here at the outset. Its apparent redundancy encourages the interpretation:
“These [eyleh] are the items [hadevarim]
which the Eternal has commanded to be observed:
Work may be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be holy…”
In other words, “These [eyleh] are the items [hadevarim]…,”
qualifies the supplying of sacred gifts (cf. Exodus 35:5ff.)
and making the Tabernacle (cf. Exodus 35:10ff.)
as subject to “items” of Sabbath observance!
So why, then, do we have this Sabbath-observance introduction to the supplying of sacred gifts and the making of the Tabernacle? From God’s commanding in Sedra Terumah, where the sacred gifts are listed, “And make for Me a Sanctuary…” (Exodus 25:8), I am provided no guidance as to whether the making of a Sanctuary for Him should be executed only on a non-sacred day or also on the Sabbath. Purely on the basis of a logical argument, I could reason that since offerings in the Sanctuary are mandated even for Shabbat and involve acts that would otherwise be prohibited on Shabbat, and since they depend on preparatory work such as is mandated in our Sedra Vayakhel, it would follow that such preparatory work of supplying sacred gifts and making the Tabernacle, involving acts that would otherwise be prohibited on the Sabbath, would also be mandated for the Sabbath as necessary for the Temple service itself!
In order to forestall the aforementioned logical argument, this Sabbath-observance introduction was provided: That notwithstanding the preparatory and necessary role that supplying sacred gifts and the making of the Tabernacle provide for the divine service, they are still subject to Sabbath observance, i.e. Sabbath prohibitions. Indeed Rabbi teaches that “These [eyleh] are the [ha-] items [devarim] which the Eternal has commanded to be observed” actually refers to the thirty-nine categories of prohibited work which Moses was teaching Israel as Oral Torah: “items [devarim],” being plural, must be at least 2 + “the [ha-]” adds at least 1 + “these [eyleh],” having the numerical value (gematria) of 36 = 39 categories of prohibited work (cf. Mishnah Shabbat 7:2)!
2
“But the seventh day shall be holy for you…”
(Exodus 35:2a)
Why does He repeat that the seventh day “shall be holy for you” (cf. Exodus 31:14)? This redundancy is meant to teach that Israel should not conclude: Since offerings within the Temple entail types of work, and they are permitted (actually commanded) on the Sabbath, then we should be permitted to do work outside of the Temple also! “Holy for you” here is Oral Torah, implying by its emphatic repetition that while for God (inside the Sanctuary) the seventh day is like a common day (work is permitted), “for you” (outside of the Sanctuary) the seventh day “is holy” (work is forbidden).
Tanchuma Vayakhel 1
What’s in a good name?
“See, the Eternal has called by name [b’sheym]
Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur
of the tribe of Judah.”
(Exodus 35:30)
“You must observe My statutes [chukkotai]:
Do not practice kilayim (mixing)
of your cattle breeds or of kinds of seeds in your field;
and let not a garment of kilayim, sha’atnez,
come up upon you.”
(Leviticus 19:19)
“You shall not wear sha’atnez,
wool and linen, together.”
(Deuteronomy 22:11)
Let our Rabbi teach us: To what extent is a person obligated to observe the prohibition of kilayim? The Torah classifies kilayim under the category of statutes (chukkot), which the Rabbis distinguish as divine commandments for which there is no apparent social reason for observing, except possibly to please the Commander.
This is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (from the era of the Mishnah) teaches: “And let not a garment of kilayim, sha’atnez, come up, upon you” (Leviticus 19:19b)—Let it not “come up” i.e. on top of even a hundred other layers in a garment to be worn—that is how strictly the statute must be kept—while kilayim spread as an under-layer would be allowed as long as it is not in direct contact “upon you,” i.e. with the skin.
Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: Keep My commandments and my statutes! Why? Because the reward of a commandment kept is a commandment kept, and the reward of a transgression is a transgression.
Etz Yosef (Rabbi Chanoch Zundel ben Yosef, 19th cent. Poland): The underlying idea here is that the Eternal is gratified when His creations receive reward for obeying His commandments and suffers disappointment when they are punished for disobeying. Therefore, when one observes a mitzvah and the Eternal rewards him, the observer provides thereby gratification to the Eternal, itself a mitzvah. In that way the reward for the first mitzvah is a second mitzvah. But when a person transgresses and thereby the Eternal is required to punish him against the Eternal’s desire but in conformance with the law, we have two transgressions, the first in the disobedience of His creation and the second in the suffering that his punishment has caused the Eternal. In that way the consequence of the first transgression is a second transgression.
Ben Azzai put it this way: A commandment kept brings in its wake a commandment kept, and a transgression brings in its wake a transgression.
̶̶̶
“For He shall command for you [yetzaveh lach] His angels
to guard you in all of your paths [b’chol derachecha].”
(Psalms 91:11)
Rabbi Meir taught: For each commandment that a person observes, an angel is sent to him to protect him. If he observes a single commandment, one angel is sent to him. If he observes many commandments, many angels are sent to him to protect him. This is how we interpret the words: “For He shall command for you [yetzaveh lach] His angels to guard you for each of your ways [b’chol derachecha]” (of observing His commandments)!
Etz Yosef explained Ben Azzai’s aforementioned maxim, that mitzvah engenders mitzvah and transgression engenders transgression, in terms of angels: For every mitzvah that a person does, he creates a good angel, which draws him and aids him in doing another mitzvah; and for every transgression that a person commits, there is created a bad angel, which encourages him and draws him to commit another transgression.
̶
Whenever a person achieves the observance of many mitzvot (commandments), he acquires for himself a good name. Of names you will find that there are three kinds by which a person may be known. One is what his father and his mother name him. Another is what other people call him. And the third one is the name that he acquires for himself. The most important one is the name that he acquires for himself!
“More desirable is a name [nivchar shem] than great riches;
more than silver or gold is the gift of goodness [cheyn tov].”
(Proverbs 22:1)
Evidence is found regarding Bezalel, who, because he had acquired a good name, succeeded to perform the construction of the Tabernacle, as we interpret: “He was chosen for his name [nivchar shem]; from silver and gold (was it built by) the grace of the good one [cheyn tov]!” Whence in the Torah? In our Sedra:
“See, the Eternal has called by virtue of name [b’sheym]
Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur
of the tribe of Judah.”
(Exodus 35:30)
Exodus Rabbah 48:1
A Good Name and the Day of Death
When Moses announces to the Children of Israel that the Eternal has appointed Bezalel to execute the work of the Tabernacle and its components and the priestly garments, his words to the Children of Israel are:
“See, the Eternal has called by name
Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur
of the tribe of Judah.”
(Exodus 35:30)
This relates to what is written:
“A good name is better than good oil,
and the day of death than the day of birth.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:1)
“Dead flies [zevuvey mavet] putrefy perfumer’s oil;
so does a little foolishness outweigh wisdom and honor.”
(Ecclesiastes 10:1)
How far does fragrant oil carry a person? From dressing room to banquet hall. A good name? From one end of the earth to the other, as was said: “The name of David became known in all the lands” (I Chronicles 14:17)! Good oil which falls upon the dead only deteriorates, as we interpret, “Secretions of death [zevuvey mavet] putrefy perfumer’s oil” (Ecclesiastes 10:1). But a good name which falls upon the dead in no way deteriorates, as was said, “[The prophet Elisha] lies down upon the [dead] boy…and the boy opens his eyes” (II Kings 4:34-35)!
Now, regarding the second half of the verse, “The day of death is better than the day of birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1b), why would this be true? Because on the day that a person is born, no one knows what will be the quality of his deeds. But when he dies, his deeds are eulogized to the world!
Rabbi Levi told of two sailing ships: one was departing the harbor while the other was entering it. On the departing ship everyone was celebrating, while on the entering ship there was no celebration. A thoughtful observer who was there said: I see things differently! On the ship departing the harbor, everyone should not be celebrating, because they do not know what lies ahead for them, what weather or conditions of the sea. While on the ship entering the harbor, all should be celebrating, because they do know that they went out to sea and returned from it safely! So it is with man: When he is born, the countdown is uncertain, as the year of his death is unknown to us; but when he dies, the count is certain, as the years of his life are known to us! Thus he says: “The day of death is better than the day of birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1b)!
Getting back to the first half of the verse, “A good name is better than good oil” (Ecclesiastes 7:1a), better were the names of Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah, than the oil which anointed Nadav and Avihu! How was that true? Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu, priests anointed with oil, offered fire which the Eternal had not commanded and were burned to death (cf. Leviticus 10:1-2), while Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who because they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of gold, were thrown into the burning fiery furnace, yet emerged unharmed and unsinged (Daniel 1-3)! Thus: “A good name is better than good oil” (Ecclesiastes 7:1)!
So also, the name of Bezalel was better than good oil. How would that be shown? Other than “Aaron” (Exodus 40:13), the names of his sons the priests are not given with respect to their anointing with oil (Exodus 40:14-15). But: “Moses said to the Children of Israel, ‘See, the Eternal has called by name Bezalel…’” (Exodus 35:30)!
Exodus Rabbah 48:3
The Divine Spirit of Bezalel:
Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge
The Eternal promised Moses:
“See, I have called by name
Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur of the tribe of Judah,
and I am filling him [oto] with the Divine Spirit:
with wisdom and understanding and knowledge…”
(Exodus 31:1-3)
Now Moses repeats to the Israelites:
“The Eternal is filling Bezalel with the Divine Spirit:
with wisdom and understanding and knowledge…”
(Exodus 35:31)
(One of these two verses may be considered redundant
and therefore open to interpretation, as shown below.)
With these same three things the World was created, as was said:
“The Eternal founded the earth by wisdom,
He established the heavens by understanding,
and by His knowledge the deeps were broken open
and the clouds dripped dew.”
(Proverbs 3:19-20)
With these three things was the Tabernacle made
(as we interpret the redundant verse):
“I am filling it [oto] with the Spirit of God:
with wisdom and with understanding and with knowledge…”
(Exodus 31:3)
And with these same three things was the Temple built, as was said:
“King Solomon sent for Hiram from Tyre—
his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali
and his father was a Tyrian coppersmith—
[Hiram] was filled with wisdom and understanding and knowledge…;
he came to King Solomon and executed all of his work.”
(I Kings 7:13-14)
And when Solomon would say (redundantly),
“A house is built with wisdom
and established by understanding,
and its rooms are filled with knowledge,
all precious and beautiful things,”
(Proverbs 24:3-4)
we may interpret his words to mean:
When the Holy One, blessed be He, shall arise
to rebuild the Temple in the future,
“The House shall be built with wisdom
and established by understanding,
and by knowledge shall its rooms be filled
with all things precious and beautiful!”
The Source of all of these for Bezalel was the Almighty,
as the verse makes clear:
“The Eternal is filling him with the Divine Spirit [Ruach]:
“With wisdom”: that he would be learned in the Torah;
“With understanding”: that he would understand
what the Halacha should be; and
“With knowledge”: that he would be full of knowledge of the Talmud!
Moreover:
“I shall raise you from your graves, O My people,
and bring you to the Land of Israel…
and I shall put My Breath [Ruach] in you
and you shall live!”
(Ezekiel 37:12,14)
Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel:
In this world My “Spirit” [Ruach] grants you
wisdom, understanding and knowledge,
and likewise in the world to come,
“My Breath” [Ruach] is “My Spirit [Ruach] in you”,
as was said:
“I shall raise you from your graves, O My people…
and I shall put My Spirit [Ruach] in you…!”
(Ezekiel 37:12,14)
Exodus Rabbah 49:1
Transcendent Love between God and Israel
“All of the artisans construct the Tabernacle (Mishkan)
of…sheets of…linen…”
(Exodus 36:8)
Not much substance!
The significance of the Torah’s words above can be found
in the following words of Scripture:
“Boundless waters cannot quench love,
nor can rivers overflow it;
if one were to offer all of his substance against love,
he would earn nothing but contempt!”
(Song of Songs 8:7)
“Boundless waters”: These are the idolators of the world, as was said,
“O roar of many peoples,
like the roar of the seas do they roar,
and the raging of nations
like the raging of many waters…”
(Isaiah 17:12)
—yet if all the idolators were to march in
with the intention of destroying the love
between the Holy One, blessed be He, and Israel,
they could not succeed, because:
“Boundless waters cannot quench that love,” as was said:
“Is not Esau* the brother of Jacob…
yet I loved Jacob!”
(Malachi 1:2)
*Esau, founder of the nation of Edom (cf. Genesis 36:8),
is later associated by the Rabbis with Rome, the cause of our Second Exile,
and the host of Christianity.
“Nor can rivers overflow it”: These are the Chaldeans, as was said:
“The Lord will raise upon them
the mighty, abundant waters of the river,
the king of Assyria and all of his multitude,
overflowing his channels,
inundating Judah, reaching up to its neck…”
(Isaiah 8:7-8)
—yet “if one were to offer all of his substance against that love,
he would earn nothing but contempt.”
So My children have made for Me
a Sanctuary merely out of curtains (not much “substance!”),
and I have come down
and dwelled in their midst,
as was said:
“Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting,
as the cloud settled upon it,
and the Profound Presence of the Eternal
filled the Tabernacle.”
(Exodus 40:35)
Exodus Rabbah 50:1
Open with Light
“Bezalel makes the Ark (Aron)…”
(Exodus 37:1)
Only for the making of the Ark,
among all of the other implements of the Tabernacle,
is Bezalel mentioned by name!
The reason for this may be discovered
through the following words of Scripture:
“The unfolding [paytach] of Your deeds gives light;
it provides understanding to the simple.”
(Psalms 119:130)
When the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, there was no light at first, as was said, “Darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah differed on when light was created:
Rabbi Judah taught that light was created first, and afterwards the world. This may be compared to a king building his palace in a dark place. First he lights candles and torches to determine where to put all of the buildings. So this would illustrate how the light would be created first (cf. Genesis 1:3).
Rabbi Nehemiah taught that the world was created first. This may be compared to the king who builds his palace and then adorns it with lights, as does God on the fourth day (cf. Genesis 1:14).
But if light was created before the world, in accordance with Rabbi Judah, the following question was asked by Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak of the haggadist Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman: From what was the light made (since heaven and earth were not yet created)? He answered: The Holy One, blessed be He, enwrapped Himself in a garment and lit up the world by means of His own brilliance from beginning to end, as is written, “You enwrap Yourself in light like a garment” (Psalms 104:2a) and then “spread out the heavens like a curtain” (Ibid. 2b)!
So we can see how:
“The opening [petach] of Your deeds gives light…”
(Psalms 119:130a)
Now how does that teaching:
“…provide understanding to the simple?”
(Ibid. 130b)
It is a lesson for the righteous, who are “simple” in the sense of innocent and eager to learn: when they begin a new project, they should open with light!
Thus you find that when the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses that Bezalel would make the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and Bezalel wondered, “With which furnishing should I begin?” he began with the Ark (cf. Exodus 37:1ff.), which contains the Light of Torah. This is also confirmed by the redundant verse in Sedra Terumah, “Let them make [v’asu] an Ark…” (Exodus 25:10), positioned there at the beginning of the Eternal’s order of components to be made and which we may interpret as a description of what was actually done first: “They made an Ark [v’asu]…!”
Exodus Rabbah 50:2
Instruction begets Wisdom
“Bezalel makes the Ark (Aron)…”
(Exodus 37:1)
The significance of this achievement of Bezalel
may be discovered through
the following words of Scripture:
“Provide instruction to a wise man,
and he will find yet more wisdom…”
(Proverbs 9:9)
First consider Noah, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, instructed, “Take for yourself seven of every clean animal” (Genesis 7:2). Noah received God’s instruction to him, and then he added wisdom to it. When he left the ark, “Noah built an altar to the Eternal…” (Genesis 8:20a). But the Hebrew root of “built” [bet/nun/hey] shares two consonants with the root that means “understand“ [bet/yod/nun]: “Noah understood an altar to the Eternal,” that is to say, he understood from God’s instruction to take seven of every clean animal that he should build an altar. How so? He understood that the Holy One, blessed be He, required the number of clean animals to exceed the number of unclean animals (only two of each, cf. ibid.) because He wanted offerings from them. So, “…Noah took from all of the clean animals and all of the clean birds and offered up burnt offerings upon the altar” (Genesis 8:20b).
Noah, then, is an example of “Provide instruction to a wise man, and he will find yet more wisdom…” (Proverbs 9:9), as when a wise man is instructed, he fulfills what he has learned and adds to it.
“A wise man goes up against [alah] a mighty city [ir giborim]
and takes down the strength in which it trusted [oz mivtecha].”
(Proverbs 21:22)
Moses was “a wise man” who “went up to [alah] the Place of the Mighty One [Ir Giborim] (Mount Sinai) and brought down the Strength which is its surety [oz mivtecha]“ (Proverbs 21:22), viz. the Torah. He learned Torah from the mouth of the Mighty One for himself and added wisdom for Israel, that is, improved Israel by transmitting Torah to them. The additional benefit that Moses provided thereby was the gift of life that comes from the Torah.
Moses, then, is an example of “Provide instruction to a wise man, and he will find yet more wisdom…” (Proverbs 9:9), as when a wise man is instructed, he fulfills what he has learned and adds to it.
Now consider Bezalel. You find that when the Holy One, blessed be He, instructed Moses to make the Tabernacle, Moses carried the order to Bezalel. Bezalel asked, “What is the purpose of this Tabernacle?” Moses explained, “So that the Holy One, blessed be He, can install His Presence inside of it and thereby teach Torah to Israel.” Bezalel asked, “And where will the Torah be kept?” Moses explained, “After we make the Tabernacle, we will make an Ark for the Torah.” But Bezalel objected, “Rabbenu Moshe, that would not be respectful of the Torah; instead, we should make the Ark first, and only after that, the Tabernacle!” It is for that reason that Bezalel’s name is associated explicitly with the making of the Ark, as was said, “Bezalel makes the Ark” (Exodus 37:1)! and indeed, “Provide instruction to a wise man, and he will find yet more wisdom…” (Proverbs 9:9).
Tanchuma Pekudey 9
Truest Piety
“Every man and woman brought their contributions
for the work that the Eternal had commanded
through Moses to be done,
as a freewill offering [nedavah] to the Eternal.”
(Exodus 35:29)
“He makes the Laver (Kiyyur) and its base
of copper from mirrors of the hosts of women [tso’v’ot]
who attended in large number [tza’v’u]
at the Tent of Meeting.”
(Exodus 38:8)
When the Israelite men were enslaved with harsh labor in Egypt, Pharaoh forbade them from sleeping in their homes so that they could not be intimate with their wives. Said Rabbi Shimon bar Chalafta: What did the Israelite women do? They went down to draw water from the Nile. The Holy One, blessed be He, caused fish to end up in their buckets, some of which they cooked and some of which they sold. With the money they earned they purchased wine and prepared meals for their husbands which they brought to the fields, as is said, “The Egyptians embittered their lives with harsh labor…(redundantly:) and with all labor in the field, all of their labor which they (the Hebrew men) labored for them (for the Egyptians)…” (Exodus 1:14), which we may interpret: with all of their wives’ food in the field, all of the food which their wives prepared for them (their husbands)!
There they ate and drank, and the women brought their mirrors (made of copper), which they looked into together with their husbands, playfully building their desire for each other, which the Holy One, blessed be He, rewarded immediately with progeny exceeding what would have been normal, as is written, “The Children of Israel were fruitful…exceedingly, until the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7)! “And the more that they oppressed them, the more that they multiplied and expanded…” (Exodus 1:12)!
When the Children of Israel were instructed to bring terumah for the construction of the Tabernacle and its components, the men responded generously and promptly, bringing their silver, their gold, their copper, and their precious stones. But the women wondered: What do we women have to bring as a freewill offering for the Tabernacle? Whereupon they arose and brought their copper mirrors to Moses (cf. Exodus 35:5 et seq). But when Moses saw those mirrors, he rejected them for the Tabernacle in consideration of how intimately personal mirrors are used. He was so angry that he ordered that the women be punished!
But the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: These you spurn? Their mirrors have made your numbers large and weighty [tseva’ot] in the land of Egypt! Accept them, and make them into the “Laver of copper and its base” (Exodus 30:17) for the sanctification of the Kohanim! So Moses “made the Laver (Kiyyur) and its base of copper from mirrors of the hosts of women [tso’v’ot] who made their numbers large and weighty [tsa’v’u] at the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 38:8)!
“I shall heal their backsliding;
I shall love them graciously [nedavah]!”
(Hosea 14:5)
Said the Holy One, blessed be He to the women: In this world you have given your freewill offering [nedavah] for the Tabernacle, that it may provide you with Atonement. In time to come, I shall provide you Atonement, loving you freely, as was said, “I shall heal their backsliding, I shall love them as a freewill offering [nedavah]!” Thus shall they say, “We have no Tabernacle and no Sanctuary, but may the prayer of our mouth that we utter before You be as a freewill offering [nedavah] for the Tabernacle,” as David said, “Accept, O Eternal, the freewill offerings [ned’vot] of my mouth…” (Psalms 119:108)!
Pesikta Rabbati 14:65a
Why the Parah Adumah?
“The ashes of the red cow
shall be used for water that removes impurity,
as a statute for all time.”
(Numbers 19:21)
A gentile once asked Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai: The things that you do with the parah adumah (cf. Numbers 19:1-22) seem like magic. You obtain a cow, burn it, crush it, and pour water over its ashes. If one of you is defiled by a human corpse, you sprinkle two or three drops and declare, “You are pure!”
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai asked the gentile: Have you ever been invaded by a bad spirit? No, said the gentile. Well, then, asked the Rabbi, have you ever seen what they do to one who has been? The gentile answered: They turn roots into smoke under him, pour water upon him, and the bad spirit goes away. Said the Rabbi: Do your ears hear what your mouth is saying? The bad spirit is the spirit of impurity, as is written, “I shall also make the false prophets and the impure spirit pass away from the Land” (Zechariah 13:2).
When the gentile left, his students said to him: Rabbi, you refuted him with a reed, but how would you answer us? The Rabbi said to them: A corpse does not defile, and water does not purify. Rather, it is simply a statute of God. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I have made a statute, issued a decree, which you are not permitted to transgress—“This is a statute of the Torah which the Eternal has commanded…” (Numbers 19:2)!
Another question about parah adumah: While all the other offerings are male, why is this one female? Said Rabbi Ayvu: It may be likened to a handmaiden’s child who soils the palace of the king. Says the king: Let the mother come and clean up her child’s mess. Thus said the Holy One, blessed be He: Let the red cow come and atone for the incident of the golden calf (cf. Exodus 32)!
Pesikta Rabbati Parah 14
Torah of a Cow
“This is the statute of the Torah…
let them bring you an entirely red cow…”
(Numbers 19:2)
Our Rabbis told the story of a Jew who owned a cow that was used for ploughing. His circumstances became strained, so he had to sell the cow. It was purchased by a gentile. The gentile also used the cow for ploughing, and for six days out of the week there was no problem. However, when he tried to make the cow plough on Saturday, the cow would only lie down under the yoke. Even when the gentile beat the cow to get her to move, she would not budge. So he went and found the Jew who had sold him the cow and demanded, “Take your cow back, as there seems to be something wrong with her: As much as I beat her, she does not move!” The Jew immediately understood what the “problem” was: she was accustomed to rest on Shabbat.
So the Jew said to the gentile, “Let me come to her, and I will get her up.” When the Jew came to the cow, he whispered in her ear, “O cow, O cow, you know that when you were owned by me, you would plough on weekdays, and on Shabbat you would rest. Since now, because of my sins, you are owned by a gentile, I would request that you stand up and plough,” whereupon she immediately got up and ploughed.
The gentile said to the Jew, “As I said before, you will have to take back your cow, because I cannot run after you to get her up every time I need her to plough. I tired myself out and beat her, yet she would not get up. I won’t let you go until you tell me what you whispered in her ear!” The Jew began by trying to pacify him and then said to him, “I used no magic or sorcery but simply whispered such-and-such in her ear whereupon she got up and ploughed.”
Then the gentile became frightened, thinking: If a cow, who cannot speak or reason, recognizes her Creator (by resting when He rested), then how can I, whom my Creator has fashioned in His image and given reason, not go and recognize Him! Immediately he went and became a Jew. He learned and became a worthy student of Torah, whom they called Yochanan ben Torta. “Torta” can be read as Toratah, “her Torah,” meaning Yochanan son of her (the cow’s) Torah! To this day our Rabbis cite halacha in his name.
Now if you are surprised that one person took refuge under the wings of the Shechinah because of a cow, it is also because of a cow that all of Israel can achieve purification, as we learn from the reading of the statute of (chukat) Torah: the “red cow” (Numbers 19:2)! (Chukkat implies a statute that has no apparent logical justification based upon human experience; rather it is an arbitrary decree, a divine fiat.)
Talmud Yoma 86a
Yerushalmi Bava Metziah 2:5
Deuteronomy Rabbah 3:3
Agents of Heaven
“The House of Israel dwell upon their Land,
defiling it by their way…
I am scattering them among the nations,
but even there will the House of Israel come
and profane My Name by their very presence
as the people of the Eternal who went out from His Land.”
(Ezekiel 36:16,19-20)
Abaye taught that if one studies the Oral and Written Torah, attends scholars dutifully, yet conducts his business dishonestly and treats others unpleasantly, of him shall they say: Woe unto him who studies Torah and woe unto his father and his rabbi who teach him Torah; see how corrupt are his acts and how ugly are his ways; and it is about him that the Prophet said, “They profane My Name, these are the people of the Eternal who went out from His Land” (Ezekiel 36:20)!
“You shall love the Eternal your God.”
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
But how can love be commanded?
Abaye explained: This means not only that you should love the Eternal but also that you should make loved the Eternal, that you should make the Name of Heaven beloved by others by virtue of your faithful treatment of them.
Shimon ben Shetach was a purveyor of flax, a laborious occupation. His students said to him: Rabbi, reduce your labor, let us acquire a donkey for you so that you will not have to carry the flax yourself! They went and purchased a donkey for him from an Arab, and it turned out that a precious stone was hanging from the neck of the animal. So his students said to Shimon ben Shetach: Rabbi, from this time forth you will not have to work at all! Why? he asked. “A blessing from the Eternal makes rich” (Proverbs 10:22)! they quoted, and they explained: We bought you a donkey from an Arab, and a gem was attached to it. Did the man know this? asked their Rabbi. No, they said. Go back and return it, he instructed them. But is it not true—argued his students—that even those Rabbis who believe that property stolen from a gentile must be returned are of the opinion that what a gentile loses can be kept? Do you think, answered Shimon ben Shetach, that I am a barbarian? I bought a donkey, not a gem. I would rather hear, “Blessed is the God of the Jews!” than possess all of the wealth that is in the world. As it turned out, when the jewel was returned to its rightful owner, that Arab proclaimed, “Blessed is the Eternal, the God of Shimon ben Shetach!”
From the faithfulness of flesh and blood do we know the faithfulness of the Holy One, blessed be He!
Seder Eliahu Rabbah 18
Shemot Rabbah 2:5
Midrash Psalms 20:1
He feels our pain
“I am scattering them among the nations…
but even there will it (the House of Israel) come [yavo]
and profane My Name…”
(Ezekiel 36:19a, 20a)
Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, 12th-13th cent. France)
associated these verses midrashically with:
“I recall the Eternal’s lovingkindness…
In all of their suffering
He also suffers!”
(Isaiah 63:9)
For as the Eternal scatters the House of Israel among the nations, “even there will it come [yavo]” is redundant, so interpret: “Even there will He come [yavo]!
Blessed is the One whose mercy is abundant to Israel at all times! Even when they act corruptly and He is angry with them, His compassion reaches them first. “In…their suffering He also suffers” (Isaiah 63:9)—this applies to the suffering of the nation. Whence do we apply the suffering of an individual? “When one calls upon Me, I shall answer; I am with him in trouble” (Psalms 91:15)! Hence the Prophet said not simply, “In their suffering He also suffers,” but, “In all of their suffering” (Isaiah 63:9): of both nation and individual!
“My beloved is knocking:
‘Open for me, my sister, my beloved,
my mate, my pure one [tammati]…’”
(Song of Songs 5:2)
At Sinai they were twinned [nittammemu] with Me:
“My Beloved is knocking:
‘Open for Me, My sister, My beloved,
My mate, My twinned one [tammati]…’”
Wherewith they declared, “All that the Eternal has spoken, we shall observe and listen” (Exodus 24:7)! Rabbi Yannai expounded: Just as with twins—when the head of one is hurt, the other one feels the pain. Thus said the Holy One, blessed be He, “I am with him in pain” (Psalms 91:15)!
Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: Do you not feel that I am engulfed in pain just as Israel is engulfed in pain? Know it from the place that I have chosen to speak with you: from this lowly bush of thorns (cf. Exodus 3:2ff.)!
Said the Holy One, blessed be He: When suffering overtakes Israel and they cry out to Me, My Presence is joined with them and I answer them, as was said, “When he calls Me, I shall answer…” (Psalms 91:15), and the reason is “…I am with him in trouble” (ibid.)!
Rabbi Yudan likened this to a pregnant woman who is angry with her mother. Her mother retreats upstairs. But when her mother hears the screams of her daughter downstairs, she herself starts screaming upstairs. Her neighbors, hearing the mother, ask her why she is screaming: “Are you giving birth with her?!” The mother replied: “Isn’t my daughter in pain? How can I bear her screams without screaming along with her? For the pain of my daughter is my pain as well!”
Thus we find, when the Temple was destroyed, there was crying and mourning throughout all of the world, as the Prophet said, “My Lord, God of Hosts, declared that day to be one of crying and mourning” (Isaiah 22:12). But the ministering angels questioned the Holy One, blessed be He: Should this be Your declaration (over the Destruction that You endorsed)? Rather, as is written: “Pride and glory, power and rejoicing, are the order of the day before You” (I Chronicles 16:27)! He answered them: But with My House destroyed, My children consigned to shackles, am I not in pain? Indeed it is written, “I am with him (in exile) in pain” (Psalms 91:15)! So, “Why should I (with him) remain here, as My people (he) is taken away for nothing…and all of the day My Name (I) is spurned” (Isaiah 52:5)?!
Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 24:17
Actions in Repentance
“Return, O Israel,
to the Eternal, your God,
for you are stumbling in sin!”
(Hosea 14:2)
Rabbi Simone taught: Israel’s stumbling in sin may be likened to a sharp rock protruding at a crossroads. People would repeatedly stumble over it. The king offered to remove it but only after his subjects would reduce its size by chipping away at it little by little. Thus said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: The evil inclination (yetzer hara) is a great obstacle to everyone; I can remove it, but only after you chip away at it little by little. This analogy was already suggested by the Prophet:
“I shall provide you with a new heart
and place a new spirit within you;
I shall remove the heart of stone from your flesh
and replace it with a heart of flesh!”
(Ezekiel 36:26)
Sefer Hachinuch 16 (13th cent., Spain): No matter how captive one may be to the evil inclination, if his spirit is willing to engage repeatedly in Torah and Mitzvot, even mechanically and not for the sake of Heaven, he will be moved, however gradually, to the side of good, and out of the habit of behaving correctly even not for the sake of Heaven, his attitude will be converted to behaving for the sake of Heaven. By the power of his repeated actions he will defeat the evil inclination, for our hearts are influenced by our own actions!
SHABBAT SHALOM!
Sedra Summary 