Moses gathers the B'nai Yisrael and repeats the commandment to keep Shabbat is repeated: no work is to be done on that day
Moses conveys instructions for the Mishkan and asks the Israelites to donate gifts of gold, silver, copper, precious stones, fine linen, wool, wood, oil, spices.
Moses has to ask them to stop donating, there is enough.
Moses appoints Bezalel and Oholiab, skilled craftsmen, to oversee the construction of the Mishkan and under their direction they work on all the elements needed for the Mishkan: cloths, planks, curtains, lampstands, screens, altars and garments for the Kohanim.
The Mishkan is completed and erected with the annointing oil.
Aaron and his four sons are initiated into the rites of the Kohanim.
A cloud appears over the Mishkan and the presence of God is able to dwell within it [them].
With Pekudei, we reach the final chapter of Shemot.
~ Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, (1707 - 1746), Mesillat Yesharim / Path of the Just , Chapter 26
The first is an inner force that resides naturally in the soul. This trait is a spiritual inheritance passed down from the patriarchs, which Rav Kook referred to as an innate segulah-holiness.
It is an intrinsic part of the Jewish soul and is immutable.
The second aspect of holiness is based on our efforts and choices.
Rav Kook called this willed-holiness, as it is acquired consciously, through our actions and Torah study.
(יא) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (יב) כִּ֣י תִשָּׂ֞א אֶת־רֹ֥אשׁ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם֒ וְנָ֨תְנ֜וּ אִ֣ישׁ כֹּ֧פֶר נַפְשׁ֛וֹ לַיהֹוָ֖ה בִּפְקֹ֣ד אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹא־יִהְיֶ֥ה בָהֶ֛ם נֶ֖גֶף בִּפְקֹ֥ד אֹתָֽם׃ (יג) זֶ֣ה ׀ יִתְּנ֗וּ כׇּל־הָעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים מַחֲצִ֥ית הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֤ים גֵּרָה֙ הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל מַחֲצִ֣ית הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל תְּרוּמָ֖ה לַֽיהֹוָֽה׃
(א) וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם ׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה ׀ מֹשֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֙נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ׃
(1) When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that fellow Moses—the man who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.”
What Moses had to do after the Golden Calf was Vayakhel – turn the Israelites into a kehillah, a community. He did this in the obvious sense of restoring order. When Moses came down the mountain and saw the Calf, the Torah says the people were pru’ah, meaning “wild,” “disorderly,” “chaotic,” “unruly,” “tumultuous.” He “saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies." They were not a community but a crowd. He did it in a more fundamental sense as we see in the rest of the parsha. He began by reminding the people of the laws of Shabbat. Then he instructed them to build the Mishkan, the Sanctuary, as a symbolic home for God.
Why these two commands rather than any others? Because Shabbat and the Mishkan are the two most powerful ways of building community. The best way of turning a diverse, disconnected group into a team is to get them to build something together. Hence the Mishkan. The best way of strengthening relationships is to set aside dedicated time when we focus not on the pursuit of individual self interest but on the things we share, by praying together, studying Torah together, and celebrating together – in other words, Shabbat. Shabbat and the Mishkan were the two great community-building experiences of the Israelites in the desert.
The remedy was indeed to be engaging in service to God in the Tabernacle, but where God could have just brought a completed Tabernacle down from heaven, the nation's all-to-human condition necessitated that they put their hearts, souls, and wisdom into building a physical place to serve God. We are shown that the work required in creating and maintaining our relationship with God begins not with our hands, but with our behavior; namely, demonstrating our faith through Sabbath observance and sharing our wealth, knowledge, and time.
God did not hand us the Mishkan in which to serve Him. Instead, He told us to first make a place for God in our lives mentally and emotionally. Only then can we build the holy structure in which to materially serve God. ~Molly Morris
ויקהל העם כל קהלה שיש אחריה על, לגנאי היא. ואם יש אחריה אל, היא לשבח. כמו ויקהלו אל המלך שלמה. קום עשה לנו אלהים לפי הפשט חלילה לאהרן שיעשה עבודת כוכבים שהיה קדוש השם ונביא לישראל, ומצות רבות נתנו על ידו עם משה אחיו, ואם עשה ע״א איך נמלט שלא הרגו משה, ואיך היה אח״כ מכפר על ישראל הוא וזרעו עד סוף כל הדורות. ועוד לא מצינו שהזכיר הכתוב עליו שום עול, רק עון מי מריבה. וכל ישרי לבב מודים כי הקב״ה לא יבחר שליח שסופו לעבוד עבודת כוכבים גם ישראל לא בקשו ולא נתכונו לעבודת כוכבים. אך משה לא אמר להם מתי ירד וגם הוא לא ידע כי הקב״ה אמר לו עלה אלי ההרה ושב שם עד שאתן לך לוחות הברית והזמן לא אמר לו. וכשראו שאיחר כל כך חשבו שמת כי אין כח באדם לשהות כל כך בלא אכילה. ופי׳ אלהים שופט ודיין ומנהיג ודבר כמו ראה נתתיך אלהים לפרעה. ונתינת טעם מוכיח כי אמרו כי זה משה האיש אלמא במקום משה בקשו להעמידו. ומה שאמר דוד וימירו את כבודם ה״ק וימירו את משה שהיה כבודם שהרבה נסים עשה להם הקב״ה על ידו וישתחוו למסכה לכבדה ולא לשם עבודת כוכבים. ד״א עשה לנו אלהים שתהא שכינת הקב״ה בתוך גויתו.
ויקהל העם, “the people assembled;” whenever the expression ויקהל appears and is followed by the word: על, it means: “against,” i.e. it is the Torah’s way of condemning such an assembly. On the other hand, if the word following the word ויקהל, either in the singular or the plural mode is followed by the word אל, this signifies a positive development. The Torah even spelled out what the assembled people had in mind, i.e. כי זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה היה לו, “for this man Moses, who took us out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” In other words: they wanted to replace the Moses the man, not the deity, or semideity.
If you are worthy, even your worst sins can be turned into something good. We are taught that sin can be transformed into merit (Yoma 86b). This idea contains deep mysteries, but the main lesson is that even from one’s failings and declines, one can easily return to God. Nothing is beyond His power. The most important thing is never to give up, but to continue to cry out and pray to God (cf. Tzaddik #565).
Sacred Spaces by Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
(ב) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ (ג) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ {פ}
(2) On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.
וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃
Moses then convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them:These are the things that יהוה has commanded you to do:
(ב) שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ תֵּעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם קֹ֛דֶשׁ שַׁבַּ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן לַיהֹוָ֑ה כׇּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה ב֛וֹ מְלָאכָ֖ה יוּמָֽת׃
(2) On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death [shall die].
(לג) וַיָּ֣קֶם אֶת־הֶחָצֵ֗ר סָבִיב֙ לַמִּשְׁכָּ֣ן וְלַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וַיִּתֵּ֕ן אֶת־מָסַ֖ךְ שַׁ֣עַר הֶחָצֵ֑ר וַיְכַ֥ל מֹשֶׁ֖ה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָֽה׃ {פ} (לד) וַיְכַ֥ס הֶעָנָ֖ן אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וּכְב֣וֹד יְהֹוָ֔ה מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃
(33) And he set up the enclosure around the Tabernacle and the altar, and put up the screen for the gate of the enclosure. When Moses had finished the work, (34) the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of יהוה filled the Tabernacle.
The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation, from the world of creation to the creation of the world."--Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man
(ב) אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אֶחָת. הַזּוֹרֵעַ. וְהַחוֹרֵשׁ. וְהַקּוֹצֵר. וְהַמְעַמֵּר. הַדָּשׁ. וְהַזּוֹרֶה. הַבּוֹרֵר. הַטּוֹחֵן. וְהַמְרַקֵּד. וְהַלָּשׁ. וְהָאוֹפֶה. הַגּוֹזֵז אֶת הַצֶּמֶר. הַמְלַבְּנוֹ. וְהַמְנַפְּצוֹ. וְהַצּוֹבְעוֹ. וְהַטּוֹוֶה. וְהַמֵּסֵךְ. וְהָעוֹשֶׂה שְׁנֵי בָתֵּי נִירִין. וְהָאוֹרֵג שְׁנֵי חוּטִין. וְהַפּוֹצֵעַ שְׁנֵי חוּטִין. הַקּוֹשֵׁר. וְהַמַּתִּיר. וְהַתּוֹפֵר שְׁתֵּי תְפִירוֹת. הַקּוֹרֵעַ עַל מְנָת לִתְפֹּר שְׁתֵּי תְפִירוֹת. הַצָּד צְבִי. הַשּׁוֹחֲטוֹ. וְהַמַּפְשִׁיטוֹ. הַמּוֹלְחוֹ, וְהַמְעַבֵּד אֶת עוֹרוֹ. וְהַמּוֹחֲקוֹ. וְהַמְחַתְּכוֹ. הַכּוֹתֵב שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת. וְהַמּוֹחֵק עַל מְנָת לִכְתֹּב שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת. הַבּוֹנֶה. וְהַסּוֹתֵר. הַמְכַבֶּה. וְהַמַּבְעִיר. הַמַּכֶּה בַפַּטִּישׁ. הַמּוֹצִיא מֵרְשׁוּת לִרְשׁוּת. הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אֶחָת:
(2) This fundamental mishna enumerates those who perform the primary categories of labor prohibited on Shabbat, which number forty-less-one. They are grouped in accordance with their function: One who sows, and one who plows, and one who reaps, and one who gathers sheaves into a pile, and one who threshes, removing the kernel from the husk, and one who winnows threshed grain in the wind, and one who selects the inedible waste from the edible, and one who grinds, and one who sifts the flour in a sieve, and one who kneads dough, and one who bakes. Additional primary categories of prohibited labor are the following: One who shears wool, and one who whitens it, and one who combs the fleece and straightens it, and one who dyes it, and one who spins the wool, and one who stretches the threads of the warp in the loom, and one who constructs two meshes, tying the threads of the warp to the base of the loom, and one who weaves two threads, and one who severs two threads for constructive purposes, and one who ties a knot, and one who unties a knot, and one who sews two stitches with a needle, as well as one who tears a fabric in order to sew two stitches. One who traps a deer, or any living creature, and one who slaughters it, and one who flays it, and one who salts its hide, a step in the tanning process, and one who tans its hide, and one who smooths it, removing hairs and veins, and one who cuts it into measured parts. One who writes two letters and one who erases in order to write two letters. One who builds a structure, and one who dismantles it, one who extinguishes a fire, and one who kindles a fire. One who strikes a blow with a hammer to complete the production process of a vessel (Rabbeinu Ḥananel), and one who carries out an object from domain to domain. All these are primary categories of labor, and they number forty-less-one.
(ד) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֥ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר זֶ֣ה הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ה) קְח֨וּ מֵֽאִתְּכֶ֤ם תְּרוּמָה֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה כֹּ֚ל נְדִ֣יב לִבּ֔וֹ יְבִיאֶ֕הָ אֵ֖ת תְּרוּמַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֹֽשֶׁת׃
(4) Moses said further to the whole community of Israelites: This is what יהוה has commanded: (5) Take from among you gifts to יהוה; everyone whose heart is so moved shall bring them—gifts for יהוה: gold, silver, and copper;
כָּל־אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשָּׁ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָדַ֣ב לִבָּם֮ אֹתָם֒ לְהָבִיא֙ לְכָל־הַמְּלָאכָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יהוה לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁ֑ה הֵבִ֧יאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל נְדָבָ֖ה לַיהוה׃ (פ)
Thus the Israelites, all the men and women whose hearts moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD, through Moses, had commanded to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.
Rav Itiel Gold, https://www.etzion.org.il/en/vayakhel-pekudei-mishkan-repair-and-repentance
Rav Kook, Ein Eyah vol. I, p. 104
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Mesillat Yesharim, Path of the Just, ch. 26
ששת ימים יעשה מלאכה, during the six days of the week which correspond to the days when G’d created the universe you can busy yourselves with working on the construction of the Tabernacle. There is no good reason why this project should override the commandments governing the Sabbath. The only time a commandment overrides such commandments is when the Torah linked the commandment which would override it to a specific time frame, such as the circumcision of a baby on the eighth day after its birth, or the type of sacrificial service in the Tabernacle of which the Torah said that it must be performed every day i.e. including on the Sabbath. Any other commandment that is capable of being performed on a day other than the Sabbath does not override the Sabbath.
או ירצה הכתוב לאסור מלאכת שבת בין על ידי עצמו בין על ידי גוי, והוא אומרו ששת ימים תעשה בציר''י תחת התי''ו פירוש תהיה נעשית אבל ביום השביעי אפילו על ידי אחרים אין לך לעשות, וזה כהאומר אמירה לגוי אסורה דבר תורה (מכילתא פ' בא), וטעם אומרו ששת ולא בששת כדי שלא תטעה כי יש מצוה בעשיית מלאכה בהם.
וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון. לא מצינו שהזהיר משה על השבת בכאן כמו שנצטווה בפרשה של מעלה שיאמר להם ושמרתם את השבת אך את שבתותי תשמורו, ע"כ נראה לי שנרמז לנו בכאן שאין לגלות ענינים נסתרים בהמון ולכן הזכיר למעלה אך את שבתותי תשמרו שהם רמז לזכור ושמור, ואמר ושמרתם את השבת ולא אמר את יום השבת לפי שהוא בשבת העליונה וכן ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת כמו שרמזתי שם וענינים נסתרים אלה הנכללין במצות שבת נצטוה משה מפי הקב"ה לגלותם ליחידי ישראל ולכך הזכיר שם דבר אל בני ישראל שיודיע להם ענין השבת בנגלה ובנסתר, אבל כאן משה ידבר בהמון לכל עדת בני ישראל האנשים והנשים, ועל כן לא הזכיר מרמזי השבת העליונה ומן הנסתר שבה דבר ולא רצה לדבר להם כי אם בפשט המצוה בנגלה שבת בלבד ובדרך קצרה, והנה משה פתח לנו פתח מתוך דבריו להעלים סתרי התורה. ועוד ראיה ממה שדרשו במסכת מגילה על אונקלוס כשתרגם החומש יצאה בת קול ואמרה מי הוא שגלה סתרי לבני אדם, ואם בתרגום החומש כך ק"ו למי שמרחיב באור יותר בסתרי התורה בפני ההמון שהוא נקרא מגלה סתרים ורכיל מגלה סוד.
וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קודש שבת שבתון, “and the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest.” In this passage Moses does not warn the people that they are to observe the Sabbath, i.e. ושמרתם את השבת “you shall observe the Sabbath” (Exodus 31,14 or 31,13).
It appears therefore that we derive from here that the mystical dimension of the Sabbath is not to be revealed to the masses. When the Torah used the expression ושמרתם את השבת instead of ושמרתם את יום השבת, this is an indication that in chapter 31 the Torah addressed itself to the philosophical and hidden meanings of the Sabbath. Seeing that in our paragraph Moses spoke to all the people...this was not the time and place to reveal hidden meanings of the Sabbath. In 31,13, on the other hand, G’d had instructed Moses with the words דבר אל בני ישראל, “speak to the Children of Israel,” implying that he should reveal to them both the obvious as well as the hidden meanings of the Sabbath legislation. The manner in which the Torah phrases what went on here is a hint to us not to reveal hidden meanings of the Torah to people who are not on the spiritual level enabling them to appreciate such meanings.
וַיָּבֹ֕אוּ כׇּל־אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־נְשָׂא֣וֹ לִבּ֑וֹ וְכֹ֡ל אֲשֶׁר֩ נָדְבָ֨ה רוּח֜וֹ אֹת֗וֹ הֵ֠בִ֠יאוּ אֶת־תְּרוּמַ֨ת יְהֹוָ֜ה לִמְלֶ֨אכֶת אֹ֤הֶל מוֹעֵד֙ וּלְכׇל־עֲבֹ֣דָת֔וֹ וּלְבִגְדֵ֖י הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃ וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים עַל־הַנָּשִׁ֑ים כֹּ֣ל ׀ נְדִ֣יב לֵ֗ב הֵ֠בִ֠יאוּ חָ֣ח וָנֶ֜זֶם וְטַבַּ֤עַת וְכוּמָז֙ כׇּל־כְּלִ֣י זָהָ֔ב וְכׇל־אִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֵנִ֛יף תְּנוּפַ֥ת זָהָ֖ב לַיהֹוָֽה׃
And everyone who excelled in ability and everyone whose spirit was moved came, bringing to יהוה an offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service and for the sacral vestments. Men and women, all whose hearts moved them, all who would make an elevation offering of gold to יהוה, came bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and pendants —gold objects of all kinds.
The story told by the Sabbath is that of creation: we rest because God rested on the seventh day. What leads from God to humankind is the notion of imitatio Dei: the imitation of God. In other words, we rest in order to honor the divine in us, to remind ourselves that there is more to us than just what we do during the week.
The Sabbath provides two things essential to anyone who wishes to lift himself out of the banality of mercantile culture: time to contemplate, and distance from everyday demands. The Sabbath is to the week what the line break is to poetic language. It is the silence that forces you to return to what came before to find its meaning.
What was Creation’s climactic culmination? The act of stopping. Why should God have considered it so important to stop? Rabbi Elijah of Vilna put it this way: God stopped to show us that what we create becomes meaningful to us only once we stop creating it and start to think about why we did so. The implication is clear. We could let the world wind us up and set us to marching, like mechanical dolls that go and go until they fall over, because they don’t have a mechanism that allows them to pause. But that would make us less than human. We have to remember to stop because we have to stop to remember.
We need a way to describe liberal Jews who are serious about Shabbat. Shomer Shabbat, Keeper of Shabbat, based as it is on the language of the actual commandment in Deuteronomy, could be ideal. Unfortunately it has been appropriated and defined, meticulously and oppressively, by someone else. So we return to the text of the Fourth Commandment and realize that it is said twice, once in Deuteronomy and again in Exodus. In Deuteronomy (5:11) we are told "Shamor," keep the Sabbath. But in Exodus (2;7) the verb is different: we are told "Zachor," remember the Sabbath. Perhaps it is for us to create a new standard of Shabbat behavior called "Zachor Shabbat." One who is "Zocher Shabbat" would remember throughout the day's duration that it was Shabbat. (Not so easy as it first sounds.) We say to one another, Do anything you want--as long as you will remember that it is Shabbat, amd that will insure that whatever you do will be lichvod ha-Shabbat, for the honor of the Shabbat.
Although the Sabbath originated in a simple, rural society, it has perhaps even more relevance in today's highly technological and highly pressured culture. For most of us, especially city dwellers, hard physical labor is not the problem, but enslavement to possessions, to the pursuit of material ends, and to the pressures of business and competition are obstacles indeed. We have tremendous need to withdraw from the everyday, to stop the drive toward acquisitiveness, to disengage from technology and reengage with people and with ourselves...."The Sabbath is the day on which we learn the art of surpassing civilization."
Strange as it may be, this ancient institution, which began as a way of freeing human beings from the tyranny of labor, is ideally suited to meet the needs of modern times as well. We have the need "to be refreshed." The word for this in Hebrew, va'yinafash, stems from the Hebrew nefesh - "life" or"soul." To give ourselves more life, a reinvigorated soul, is the goal of the Sabbath. No wonder the rabbis call the Sabbath "a taste of the world to come." (pp. 185-186)
Before each Shabbat or festival, I also place my observance in God’s hands, asking that it all be as He would wish. I can then celebrate it without worrying that I am perhaps not doing something properly. I am completely reliant on God, and everything is in His hands.
Sichot HaRan: Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom, trans. Aryeh Kaplan, Jerusalem. Breslov Research Institute, 1973
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים עַל־הַנָּשִׁ֑ים כֹּ֣ל ׀ נְדִ֣יב לֵ֗ב הֵ֠בִיאוּ חָ֣ח וָנֶ֜זֶם וְטַבַּ֤עַת וְכוּמָז֙ כָּל־כְּלִ֣י זָהָ֔ב וְכָל־אִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֵנִ֛יף תְּנוּפַ֥ת זָהָ֖ב לַיהוה׃
Men and women, all whose hearts moved them, all who would make an elevation offering of gold to the LORD, came bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and pendants—gold objects of all kinds.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה לֵּאמֹ֔ר מַרְבִּ֥ים הָעָ֖ם לְהָבִ֑יא מִדֵּ֤י הָֽעֲבֹדָה֙ לַמְּלָאכָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יהוה לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽהּ׃ וַיְצַ֣ו מֹשֶׁ֗ה וַיַּעֲבִ֨ירוּ ק֥וֹל בַּֽמַּחֲנֶה֮ לֵאמֹר֒ אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשָּׁ֗ה אַל־יַעֲשׂוּ־ע֛וֹד מְלָאכָ֖ה לִתְרוּמַ֣ת הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וַיִּכָּלֵ֥א הָעָ֖ם מֵהָבִֽיא׃ וְהַמְּלָאכָ֗ה הָיְתָ֥ה דַיָּ֛ם לְכָל־הַמְּלָאכָ֖ה לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת אֹתָ֑הּ וְהוֹתֵֽר׃ (ס)
and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed for the tasks entailed in the work that the LORD has commanded to be done.” Moses thereupon had this proclamation made throughout the camp: “Let no man or woman make further effort toward gifts for the sanctuary!” So the people stopped bringing: their efforts had been more than enough for all the tasks to be done.
(א) אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת. עֵדוּת לְכָל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁנִּמְחַל לָהֶם עַל מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל. לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה, לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁנָּשָׂא אִשָּׁה וְהָיָה מְחַבְּבָהּ. כָּעַס עָלֶיהָ וְהָלַךְ לוֹ. הָיוּ שְׁכֵנוֹתֶיהָ אוֹמְרוֹת, שׁוּב בַּעְלִיךְ אֵינוֹ חוֹזֵר לָךְ. לְיָמִים בָּא וְנִכְנַס, עָמַד בַּפַּלְטְרִין וְאָכַל וְשָׁתָה עִמָּהּ. וַעֲדַיִן שְׁכֵנוֹתֶיהָ לֹא הָיוּ מַאֲמִינוֹת שֶׁנִּתְרַצָּה לָהּ. וּמִתּוֹךְ כָּךְ, רָאוּ רֵיחַ בְּשָׂמִים עוֹלֶה מִן הַבַּיִת, יָדְעוּ הַכֹּל שֶׁנִּתְרַצָּה לָהּ. כָּךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא חִבֵּב אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנָתַן לָהֶם אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, וְקָרָא אוֹתָם מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ. לְאַחַר אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם סָרְחוּ. אָמְרוּ הַגּוֹיִם, שׁוּב אֵינוֹ חוֹזֵר עֲלֵיהֶם. עָמַד מֹשֶׁה וּבִקֵּשׁ רַחֲמִים, וְאָמַר לוֹ: סָלַחְתִּי כִּדְבָרֶךָ (במדבר יד, כ). אָמַר מֹשֶׁה, מִי מוֹדִיעַ לָאֻמּוֹת. אָמַר לוֹ: וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ. כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאוּ אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלַם הָרֵיחַ שֶׁל קְטֹרֶת מְתַמֵּר וְעוֹלֶה מִתּוֹךְ הַמִּשְׁכָּן, יָדְעוּ שֶׁנִּתְרַצָּה לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
(ב) אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן, וּכְתִיב אֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (שמות א, א) בֹּא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה חִבֵּב הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, שֶׁהִנִּיחַ אֶת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים וְשָׁכַן בְּתּוֹךְ הַמִּשְׁכָּן. אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן, עִקַּר שְׁכִינָה בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים הָיְתָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת קוֹל ה' אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן (בראשית ג, ח). בָּא אָדָם וְחָטָא, נִסְתַּלְּקָה מִן הָאָרֶץ לַשָּׁמָיִם. עָמַד קַיִן וְהָרַג אֶת אָחִיו, נִסְתַּלְּקָה מִן הָרָקִיעַ הָרִאשׁוֹן לַשֵּׁנִי. עָמַד דּוֹר אֱנוֹשׁ וְהִכְעִיס לְפָנָיו, נִסְתַּלְּקָה מִן הַשֵּׁנִי לַשְּׁלִישִׁי. עָמַד דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל וְהִשְׁחִית דַּרְכּוֹ, נִסְתַלְּקָה מִן הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לָרְבִיעִי. דּוֹר הַפְּלָגָה נִתְגָּאָה, נִסְתַּלְּקָה מִן רְבִיעִי לַחֲמִישִׁי. סְדוֹמִיִּים קִלְקְלוּ, נִסְתַּלְּקָה מִן הַחֲמִישִׁי לַשִּׁשִּׁי. עָמְדוּ אַמְרָפֶל וַחֲבֵרָיו, נִסְתַּלְּקָה מִן שִׁשִּׁי לַשְּׁבִיעִי. עָמַד אַבְרָהָם וְסִגֵּל מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים, נִמְשְׁכָה הַשְּׁכִינָה מִן שְׁבִיעִי לַשִּׁשִּׁי. יִצְחָק מְשָׁכָהּ מִן שִּׁשִּׁי לַחֲמִישִׁי. יַעֲקֹב, מִן חֲמִישִׁי לָרְבִיעִי. לֵוִי בְּנוֹ, מִן רְבִיעִי לַשְּׁלִישִׁי. קְהָת בֶּן לֵוִי, מִן שְׁלִישִׁי לַשֵּׁנִי. עַמְרָם, מִן שֵׁנִי לָרִאשׁוֹן. מֹשֶׁה, בְּיוֹם שֶׁהוּקַם הַמִּשְׁכָּן, וּכְבוֹד ה' מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן. זֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב כִּי יְשָׁרִים יִשְׁכְּנוּ אָרֶץ (משלי ב, כא), יַשְׁכִּינוּ הַשְּׁכִינָה בָּאָרֶץ.
(1) These are the accounts of the tabernacle, even the tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). The Tabernacle bears testimony to the entire world that He forgave them for the episode of the golden calf. This may be likened to a king who marries a woman he loves dearly. After some time he becomes angry with her and leaves her. Her neighbors ridicule her, saying: “Repent or your husband will not return to you.” After some time he returned to her palace and ate and drank with her. Still her neighbors were not convinced that the king had become reconciled with her. However, after they experienced the fragrance of spices ascending from the house, all of them realized that he had become reconciled with her. Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, loved Israel and gave them the Torah and called then a holy nation: A kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod. 19:6). But when they sinned after forty days, the nations exclaimed: “He will not return to them.” Moses arose then and pleaded for mercy in their behalf. And He replied: I have pardoned according to thy word (Num. 14:20). Moses asked: Who will make it known to the nations? And He replied to him: Let them make Me a Sanctuary. When the nations smelled the fragrance of the smoke as it ascended from the midst of the Sanctuary, they knew that the Holy One, blessed be He, had become reconciled with them.
(1) במראת הצבאת OF THE MIRRORS OF THE WOMEN CROWDING — The Israelite women possessed mirrors of copper into which they used to look when they adorned themselves. Even these did they not hesitate to bring as a contribution towards the Tabernacle. Now Moses was about to reject them since they were made to pander to their vanity, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Accept them; these are dearer to Me than all the other contributions, because through them the women reared those huge hosts in Egypt!” For when their husbands were tired through the crushing labour they used to bring them food and drink and induced them to eat. Then they would take the mirrors, and each gazed at herself in her mirror together with her husband, saying endearingly to him, “See, I am handsomer than you!” Thus they awakened their husbands’ affection and subsequently became the mothers of many children, at it is said, (Song 8:5) “I awakened thy love under the apple-tree”, (referring to the fields where the men worked). This is what it refers to when it states, מראות הצבאת “the mirrors of the women who reared the hosts (צבאות)” (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 9). And it was for this reason that the laver was made of them (the mirrors) — because it served the purpose of promoting peace between man and wife viz., by giving of its waters to be drunk by a woman whose husband had shown himself jealous of her and who nevertheless had associated with another (cf. Numbers ch. V) thus affording her an opportunity to prove her innocence (cf. Sotah 15b). You may know that the מראות mentioned in the text were really mirrors (and that the word does not mean visions, or appearance, etc.), for it is said, (v. 29) “And the copper of the elevation-offering was seventy talents etc. … and therewith he made [the sockets etc.]” — the laver, however, and its base are not mentioned there amongst the articles made from that copper; hence you may learn that the copper of which the laver was made was not a part of the copper of the elevation-offering, which is the only copper mentioned as having been contributed by the people. Thus did R. Tanchuma 2:11:9 explain the term מראת הצבאת. And so does Onkelos also render it: במחזית נשיא, and this first word is the Targum translation of מראות, in the sense of mireors in old French, for we find that for the word (Isaiah 3:23) “And the גליונים”, which are mirrors, we have in the Targum the same word מחזיתא.
Our double Torah portion concludes the tabernacle section of the Book of Exodus. It tells how the various parts of the tabernacle were fashioned, then it describes the erection of the building, the placing of all its appurtenances in their proper places, and finishes with a financial report on the amounts of precious metals used and an inventory of the special textiles incorporated.
Surprisingly, the Torah “interrupts” the account to instruct the Israelite on laws of Shabbat observance. The Torah tells us that labor (melakhah, dignified, creative work), that is, creation, is prohibited on the Shabbat (Exodus 35:2-3). The traditional commentaries scramble to explain the insertion of a seemingly unrelated set of laws. In his commentary Rashi suggests that the Shabbat instruction is inserted here—before the construction is described—to underscore that the work of building the tabernacle is prohibited on Shabbat.1 The holy work of building a house in which to meet and serve God, nevertheless, must stop on Shabbat. Getting the sanctuary done faster is not religiously significant enough to interfere with the global Shabbat instruction to live a day of pure being, dedicated to internal reflection and relationship. (Only pikuach nefesh, saving a life, is weighty enough to override the Shabbat prohibition of labor, because life is Judaism’s highest value).
There is another possible approach. These Shabbat laws are not an interruption but a juxtaposition. Shabbat represents sacred time. The tabernacle represents sacred space. These two phenomena are closely related. They are parallel to each other and they play an identical role in the ecology of Jewish religion. Hence they appear together in our Torah portion.
The key goal of Judaism, as I have argued in this series, is to repair and perfect the world so life will flourish to its fullest degree. In the Messianic age, human honor and dignity—the infinite value, equality, and uniqueness of every individual—will be upheld on a daily basis in real life. Living the Jewish covenant involves working in every generation to overcome the inequalities inflicted by poverty, oppression or discrimination, as well as to end the life-degrading effects of hunger, war, and sickness. We work on the present reality in an effort to improve it. There is a real tension between the ideal we strive for and what can be done in the present status quo. This tension is the dynamic which generates the energy to pursue our activities at an intense (covenantal) level and strive to live by the higher values in our daily lives. Given that the pace of covenantal improvement is incremental, we spend our whole lives in this work and the task is passed on to the next generation.
The challenge is: How do we keep up the present impact of the ideal, when its actual realization is so far away? The covenantal process generates a real danger, that one will participate in—and then accommodate—the present reality, so as to slip into its routine. One may even unconsciously come to accept the norms and expectations of the status quo. How can we avoid selling out the dream and the mission?
There is a second danger. “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”2 How do we not lose the intensity and drawing power of the dream? This is the Achilles heel of the covenantal method, with its commitment to function in the present reality while working to change it.
The Jewish tradition deals with this challenge by creating sacred time and sacred space. The future perfected world is brought forward into the present in the form of a “mini-cosmos,” a miniature version of the ultimate goal. In the realm of time, the Torah carves out one day of the week, Shabbat. A. J. Heschel calls it a “palace in time.”3 During these twenty-five hours, one experiences the ultimate reality-to-come. On Shabbat, there is no labor (melakhah), i.e. dignified creative work to upgrade the world. This is not so much a prohibition as it is an imagined future fantasy, turned into a present experience. On this day, the world is complete, so there is nothing left to do.4
In a perfect world, one needs only to be, to live, to relate to family and friends, to self-develop, to learn Torah, to make love, to have family meals with time for conversation, to sing songs, to learn, as well as to enjoy company and guests. On Shabbat, good food and wine is provided to deepen the pleasure. On Shabbat there is no war, no deprivation, no public mourning. In effect, one lives in Messianic time and experiences the joys of a completely repaired world and the delight of a fully human experience with no distraction or anxieties to mar the day. For now, this is only twenty-five hours and the peace and perfection are artificially created in that the rest of the world is not keeping Shabbat. But for the practitioner, the promised future perfection is present, vivid, and real.5
The same function is carried out in the creation of sacred space. In this building—be it tabernacle or temple—one carves out a mini-world. It is made of precious, permanent, non-decaying metals, like gold and silver, to symbolize eternity and the absence of decay and death. In this space, no human death is present. Even people who have been in proximity to death and as a result become ritually impure, cannot enter until they have undergone a purification and rebirth-to-life ceremony. In this space, the priests are perfect physical specimens, foreshadowing the Messianic era with full cure of disabilities that handicap people.6 Everyone is ethically on their best behavior.7 There is no war, no strife, no clashing interests. One feels the presence of God in the absence of evil and in the unity of the divine and human in common cause. Again the Messianic reality is only inside this one building. But the experience is vivid and real.
This is the covenantal method of keeping the dream alive. A mini-redeemed world is set up and experienced deeply in time and space now. The encounter is so powerful that the participant knows that this is real - not just an idle fantasy. Thanks to this present experience, the future is not some distant star that is too far away to exercise gravitational pull. Then when one walks out of the Temple or re-enters the weekday, one sees with fresh eyes all the flaws, the missing qualities, the compromises of the present. Energized by the taste of the messianic, the religious celebrant determines not to settle for the status quo but to change it.
This is the covenantal method of world transformation which the Torah portion holds up as twin tracks on the way to tikkun olam, world repair. Start by redeeming one day, then widen the liberation steadily into Sunday, Monday—until all seven days are perfected. Start with one ideal building, then extend it to one city, then into one country. Keep on extending the zone of life, freedom, perfection, get some allies along the way, and some day the whole world will be redeemed, a Garden of Eden with liberty and justice, love and peace for all.
VaYakhel blesses us with the awareness of the true nature of the heart that is unconstrained by fear. Even though the disaster of the Golden Calf is still a fresh memory, Moses can look out at us and see that our true nature is ruled by a generous heart. When he calls on the gifts and talents and generosity of the people, he does not do so only for what they come to offer to the communal project. He is calling the people to know their own gifts and to experience the blessing of a generous heart.
There is a well-known principle that God grants us a unique set of talents with which they can fulfill their potential in life. Whilst this is certainly true it seems that it can be somewhat misapplied: As we grow up we naturally become aware of our strengths and weaknesses - there is the tendency that we can limit our activities to areas in which our strengths lie and ignore those fields in which we fell less able. For example, a person may feel that he is adept at speaking in front of small groups but that he cannot speak in front of large audiences. Thus, even when there is a necessity for someone to speak in such a setting, he will shy away from the responsibility because he has 'pigeon-holed' himself as being unable to speak in front of many people.
We learn from the Ramban that this is an erroneous attitude - the people who stepped forward to work in the Mishkan had no awareness that they were able to perform such skilled crafts - however, as a result of their devotion to Hashem they found hitherto untapped talents that could be used to fulfill God's will. So too, in our own lives there may be times when there is a need for a certain task to be performed and we may feel that we are unable to perform it. [...] If we dedicate ourselves to doing God's will then surely God will bring out in us hidden talents.