Parsha Vayakhel-Pekudei – 5777

Parshat Vayakhel In-Depth and Parshat Pekudei In-Depth

“Moses assembled the entire congregation of the children of Israel (35:1)

This was on the morning after Yom Kippur, the day that Moses descended from the mountain [with the second tablets]. (Rashi)”

“These are the accounts of the Tabernacle . . . by the command of Moses . . . by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron (38:21)

The sages taught: Always appoint at least two people together as trustees over public funds. Even Moses, who enjoyed the full trust of G‑d—as it is written (Numbers 12:7), “In all My house he is trusted”—figured the accounts of the Sanctuary together with others, as it says, “By the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron.”

Thus the sages taught: the one who withdrew [the monies donated to the Holy Temple] did not enter the chamber wearing either a hemmed cloak, shoes, sandals, tefillin or an amulet (i.e., nothing in which money can be hidden), lest if he became poor, people might say that he became poor because of an iniquity committed in the chamber, or if he became rich, people might say that he became rich from the withdrawal from the chamber. For it is a person’s duty to be free of blame before men as before G‑d, as it is said (Numbers 32:22): “And be guiltless towards G‑d and towards Israel.” (Midrash Tanchuma; Mishnah, Shekalim 3:2)”

Torah Sparks: Vayakhel & Pekudei 5777

“After a brief reminder to observe the Sabbath, the heart of this week’s parsha begins with Moses taking donations from all of Israel, from “everyone whose heart moves him (35:5)” for the purpose of building the Tabernacle. In the following paragraph he addresses “all among you who are skilled” to “come and make all that that the Lord has commanded.” The Israelites heed his call and “Everyone who excelled in ability and everyone whose spirit moved him came, bringing to the Lord his offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting (35:21).” Over and over, the Torah emphasizes that all of the Israelites participated in the building of the Tabernacle. While service in the Temple in Jerusalem will eventually be limited to the priests and Levites, the building of the Tabernacle was a communal affair, involving all of Israel.”

The Formation of a People

“I want to take a step back and reflect on Exodus as an entire book, with Parashat Vayak’heil/P’kudei as the penultimate culmination of a lot of action. Genesis ended long ago with the movement of Joseph’s family from Canaan to Egypt. It was the story of a single family, rapidly expanding, with many relatives and growing generations. This particular family was exceptional, because this was the family with whom God created a relationship. Abraham’s personal relationship with God is passed down to his son, grandson, and great-grandson. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph all encounter God in different ways, due to the varying trials and circumstances of their lives. But still, Genesis is the composite of stories of personal relationships between God and individual men.”

The Greatest Miracle

“The overall theme of the Book of Exodus is the physical and spiritual transformation of our ancestors from being slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, the land of oppression, to being servants of God in the free and open wilderness. The book opens with our Israelite ancestors building fortresses and warehouses for the king of Egypt and closes with them erecting the Tabernacle, the Mishkan, the holy shrine for the Sovereign of All.”

Haftarah Parshat Vayah’kel-Pekudei

“Pesah is right around the corner and this Shabbat is the fourth and final Shabbat where we have a special additional Torah reading before Pesah. The Torah reading recounts the special preparations for the first Pesah in Egypt. The accompanying haftarah records Ezekiel’s vision of how Pesah will be conducted in the rebuilt Temple. Ezekiel who lived in Babylonia at the time of the destruction of the First Temple prescribed rituals for the Temple which differed from the those found in the Torah.”