Parshiot Vayakhel & Pekudei - פרשיות ויקהל ופקודי

In a similar manner to last week's Parsha, Ki Tisa, a lot happens in this week’s Torah reading. In both last week's and the first of this week's two parshiot, however, there are brief references to Shabbat. Almost right at the beginning of this week's reading, it is written:

“ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון לה' כל-העושה בו מלאכה יומת. – These are the things that Hashem commanded, to do them: On six days, work may be done, but the seventh shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for Hashem; whoever does work on it shall be put to death.” (שמות ל'ה, ב-ג)

The language used here for the work of the weekdays is, “תעשה - te’aseh,” which means, “may be done” or “shall be done.” This seems odd; one would expect the word תעשה to be vowelized so as to read "Ta’aseh," which means “you shall do.” After all, it is talking about the work that one does to the week. Who else would do the work but the worker, the person this pasuk is aimed at. What is meant by this word?

I believe that it’s the Ba’al HaTurim who answers this question by explaining that the rest of this week’s Parsha deals with the building of the Mishkan. But first, it was essential to set out the rules for Shabbat, so that nobody would be confused and think that the building of the Mishkan should continue on Shabbat. Even for something as uniquely holy and important as the Mishkan, Shabbat comes first. And if that’s the case, kal v’chomer that we should not worry about mundane matters on Shabbat!

So the Ba’al HaTurim answers our question by explaining that for one who rests completely on Shabbat, and keeps his mind off his weekly tasks, his work “shall be done.” That is to say, he shall be more passively involved in his week’s work, and he shall not have to work so hard. (As opposed to the language of Ta’aseh, which is somewhat forceful and specific to the person.)

Another aspect I read on the mentioning of the Shabbat prior to the Torah’s description of the Mishkan derives from a D’var Torah I read last year from a facebook group called Inspiring Weekly Torah. (Go add yourself!) The D’var Torah I received states, “Shabbos and the Tabernacle both represent different types of Kedushah - sanctity. The Tabernacle represents Kedushat Makom – the sanctity of a certain space, while Shabbos typifies the notion of Kedushat Zman – the sanctity of a specified time.”

I would like to develop this point a bit. We all understand how Eretz Yisrael is considered holy. And we all know that within Eretz Yisrael, Jerusalem is considered holy, and within Jerusalem we consider Har Habayit, upon which the Bet Hamikdash stood, holier still. Within the Bet Hamikdash we had the Kodesh HaK’dashim, and within that space, we had one focal point of Kedushah between the K’ruvim’s wings. All this is in the space dimension. What about time?

Just as there are specific places that have Kedushah ascribed to them, so too there are certain times at which we may pray for example. (Any religious man will tell you how he has had to rush to minyan at times!) It is important that timing and location are recognised as both vitally important in the service of Hashem. Ultimately, when it comes to serving Hashem, we have to make sure that we settle ourselves down and take the time out (à la Shabbat) to connect with the Creator, and it is also vitally important that we ensure that our surroundings are conducive to prayer, that we are located in a place of Kedushah.

Parshat Vayakhel - פרשת ויקהל

וַיָּבֹאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים, עַל-הַנָּשִׁים; כֹּל נְדִיב לֵב, הֵבִיאוּ חָח וָנֶזֶם וְטַבַּעַת וְכוּמָז כָּל-כְּלִי זָהָב, וְכָל-אִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר הֵנִיף תְּנוּפַת זָהָב לַיהוָה. וְכָל-אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-נִמְצָא אִתּוֹ, תְּכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ וְעִזִּים; וְעֹרֹת אֵילִם מְאָדָּמִים וְעֹרֹת תְּחָשִׁים, הֵבִיאוּ.כָּל-מֵרִים, תְּרוּמַת כֶּסֶף וּנְחֹשֶׁת, הֵבִיאוּ, אֵת תְּרוּמַת יְהוָה; וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר נִמְצָא אִתּוֹ עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים, לְכָל-מְלֶאכֶת הָעֲבֹדָה--הֵבִיאוּ. וְכָל-אִשָּׁה חַכְמַת-לֵב, בְּיָדֶיהָ טָווּ; וַיָּבִיאוּ מַטְוֶה, אֶת-הַתְּכֵלֶת וְאֶת-הָאַרְגָּמָן, אֶת-תּוֹלַעַת הַשָּׁנִי, וְאֶת-הַשֵּׁשׁ. וְכָל-הַנָּשִׁים אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂא לִבָּן אֹתָנָה, בְּחָכְמָה: טָווּ, אֶת-הָעִזִּים. וְהַנְּשִׂאִם הֵבִיאוּ אֵת אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם, וְאֵת אַבְנֵי הַמִּלֻּאִים: לָאֵפוֹד, וְלַחֹשֶׁן.

And the men came with/after the women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought nose-rings, and ear-rings, and signet-rings, and girdles, all jewels of gold; and every man that brought an offering of gold to Hashem. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, brought them. Every one that did set apart an offering of silver and brass brought Hashem's offering; and every man, with whom was found acacia-wood for any work of the service, brought it. And every woman that was wise-hearted did spin with her hands, and brought that which she had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair. And the princess brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
(Exodus 35:22-27)

Much of the text in this week's parsha, Vayakhel, is identical to that found in found in the previous parshiot of Terumah, T'tzavah and Ki Tisa. Here again, we continue to read and learn of the construction of the Bet Hamikdash and the production of its furnishings.

There is one intriguing episode I would like to concentrate on that we read at the very beginning of the second aliyah, which I have quoted in full above. In it, we read of how the Nesi'im, (the princes,) the Anashim (the men) and the Nashim (the women) all came to bring contributions to the temple.

Famously, the word V'haNesi'im (and the princes) is spelt here as והנשאם, which is missing two letters. Normally this word would be properly rendered as והנשיאים. Rashi cites Rav Nassan (Bamidbar Rabbah 12:16) who explains that the two yuds were dropped here by way of rebuke for the princes' "lazy" behaviour. This at first seems at odds with the text; the princes brought precious stones for the Kohen Gadol's beautiful Ephod and Choshen, but as Rashi explains, the princes were not expected to bring the most expensive or rare contributions to the Bet Hamikdash. Rashi explains that their intention was good and that they wanted to wait until the people had brought as much as they could afford, at which time they planned to step in and supply whatever it was that remained to be given. Their mistake was that they were expected to lead their people, not to wait to fill in the gaps.

Interestingly, this episode helps answer a question I've had in my mind whenever I read parshat Naso, the longest in the Torah. Here, the princes make the mistake of not seeming eager to contribute to the Bet Hamikdash and thus find themselves demoted to a cursory mention and even then, only with their name misspelt. They were not punished more seriously as their intention was good and true, but they had done wrong and deserved a slap on the wrist. The commentary in Artscroll's Stone edition of the Chumash points out that "Seeing that they had been remiss in this instance, the leaders did not repeat their mistake when the dedication of the Tabernacle was celebrated. Then, they brought their own generous offerings immediately (Numbers ch.7.)" [1]

This set me thinking right away — what is chapter 7 of Numbers? I knew Numbers to be the Anglicised name for Bamidbar, the fourth book of the Torah. I also realised that as 7 is a relatively low number, this particular chapter could form part of parshat Naso which appears early on in the book of Bamidbar. I checked it up and so it proved to be; Chapter 7 comprises the fifth, sixth and seventh aliyot of parshat Naso. I had always wondered what was so important about the princes' offerings mentioned there and why they had to be mentioned in full, even though the offerings were similar, if not exactly the same. But now it makes perfect sense to me (and please let me know if you agree); by eagerly and generously giving to the Bet Hamikdash at that time, the princes were rectifying their earlier mistake, which we read about here. As such, the Torah makes a point of appreciating the princes' repentance and ensures each one a full mention; thus delivering a lesson in appreciating other people's efforts in righting past wrongs.

Either way, with this in mind, I would like to make a separate point. I mentioned that the princes, men and women all gave to the Bet Hamikdash. Only, the text is not ordered the way. The opening words of the quote above read "And the men came with/after the women". (Please excuse my clumsy translation; the Hebrew cannot be properly rendered into one English word.) First the women are mentioned, then the men are named, and only then are the princes referred to. With due respect to the women, why are they mentioned first here? Had the ladies been mentioned at the end of the list, it would not have been in breaking with the Torah's normal style (I'm not getting into why, as I don't fully know myself,) so the fact that they are mentioned before the men is interesting and draws our attention.

The Ramban and the Ohr HaChaim both point out this occurrence in their commentaries. Their explanation is that since the jewellery in this verse was mostly worn by women, they are given the credit. The Ramban goes further and actually points out that here the men counted as secondary to the women, in that the women were more eager and enthusiastic to come forward and give to this holy cause. Their husbands were compelled to come with them, as it were. As such, the Torah rightly gives the women pride of place at the head if the list.

Having thought this through, I would like to make a minor point of my own: these scholars lived in a time when women were not treated and regarded the way they are today, for better or for worse. That they saw fit to raise this point was absolutely not a form of apologism. Though it may seem like a relatively minor act, it is always right to give credit when credit is due.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom!



[1] Stone Edition of the Chumash, Artscroll Publications. p519.

Vayakhel-Pekudei ויקהל-פקודי

This week we read two Parshiot - Vayakhel and Pekudei. This D'var Torah is on Vayakhel.

In a similar manner to last week's Parsha, Ki Tisa, there is a lot happening in this week’s Parsha, but in both Parshiot, there are brief references to Shabbat. Almost right at the beginning of parshat Vayakhel, we read;

“ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון לה' כל-העושה בו מלאכה יומת. – These are the things that Hashem commanded, to do them: On six days, work may be done, but the seventh shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for Hashem; whoever does work on it shall be put to death.” (שמות ל'ה, ב-ג)

The language used here for the work of the weekdays is, “תעשה - te’aseh,” which means, “may be done” or “shall be done.” This seems odd; one would expect the word תעשה to be vowelized so as to read ‘Ta’aseh,’ which means “you shall do.” After all, it is talking about the work that one does to the week. Who else would do the work but the worker, the person this pasuk is aimed at. What is meant by this word?

I believe that it’s the Ba’al HaTurim who answers this question by explaining that the rest of this week’s Parsha deals with the building of the Mishkan. But first, it was essential to set out the rules for Shabbat, so that nobody would be confused and think that the building of the Mishkan should continue on Shabbat. Even for something as uniquely holy and important as the Mishkan, Shabbat comes first. And if that’s the case, kal v’chomer that we should not worry about mundane matters on Shabbat!

So the Ba’al HaTurim answers our question by explaining that for one who rests completely on Shabbat, and keeps his mind off his weekly tasks, his work “shall be done.” That is to say, he shall be more passively involved in his week’s work, and he shall not have to work so hard. (As opposed to the language of Ta’aseh, which is somewhat forceful and specific to the person.)

Another aspect I read on the mentioning of the Shabbat prior to the Torah’s description of the Mishkan derives from a weekly D’var Torah from a facebook group called Inspiring Weekly Torah. (Go addd yourself!) The D’var Torah I received this week states, “Shabbos and the Tabernacle both represent different types of Kedushah - sanctity. The Tabernacle represents Kedushat Makom – the sanctity of a certain space, while Shabbos typifies the notion of Kedushat Zman – the sanctity of a specified time.”

I would like to develop this point a bit. We all understand how Eretz Yisrael is considered holy. And we all know that within Eretz Yisrael, Jerusalem is considered holy, and within Jerusalem we consider Har Habayit, upon which the Bet Hamikdash stood, holier still. Within the Bet Hamikdash we had the Kodesh HaK’dashim, and within that space, we had one focal point of Kedushah between the K’ruvim’s wings. All this is in the space dimension. What about time?

Just as there are specific places that have Kedushah ascribed to them, so too there are certain times at which we may pray for example. (Any religious man will tell you how he has had to rush to minyan at times!) It is important that timing and location are recognised as both vitally important in the service of Hashem. Ultimately, when it comes to serving Hashem, we have to make sure that we settle ourselves down and take the time out (à la Shabbat) to connect with the Creator, and it is also vitally important that we ensure that our surroundings are conducive to prayer, that we are located in a place of Kedushah.

This week’s D’var Torah is in the z’chut of Gilad Shalit, who has been held for 1,000 days in captivity. May he be released from his bounds and return to his home and his nation. Amen.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom.