At the Bubble - Parshat Vayakhel

Parshat Vayakhel - Precious

In the last three parshiot Moshe received the commandments concerning the mishkan and all its details. Now again in this parsha (and also next week in Pekudei) the details are recorded. All told, the Torah repeats the work of the mishkan five times. Why?

Ramban explains the reason in his commentary on Shemot 36:8. In a long comment he explains why each repetition was necessary. He concludes (my translation):

In general, all of this is in way of showing affection and distinction, to say that Hashem desires the work (of the mishkan) and He mentions it many times in his Torah to increase the reward of those who are involved with it (studying it). It is similar to what the Sages said in a midrash, "The ordinary conversation of the forefathers' servants is more precious before Hashem than the Torah of the children. The section of Eliezer takes two or three columns."

The story of Eliezer, Avraham's servant, seeking a wife for Sarah is given tremendous coverage in the Torah. The entire episode occupies 67 verses in Sefer Bereshit and that includes the repetition of the story that Eliezer recounted to Rivka's family. By way of contrast, there are many (seemingly more significant) halachot that are barely hinted at with a verse, or a word, or sometimes even just a letter.

We learn from this repetition how precious a subject is to Hashem. May we all (and I certainly include myself) be able to devote ourselves to learning these parshiot and understanding the preciousness of the mishkan.

At the Bubble - Parshat Ki Tisa

It is difficult to understand Aharon's involvement in building the Golden Calf. Let's take the approach that the people (as a whole) did not want a replacement for Hashem but needed a replacement for Moshe. It seems that Aharon could have suggested something other than the Golden Calf.

The Chizkuni (born in Provence, France about 1250) offers an understanding of Aharon's thinking. Here is my translation of his comment on Shemot 32:2:

Aharon's intentions were completely righteous. He thought in his heart, "If I say to them to appoint over themselves one of the prominent members of the community, tomorrow when Moshe returns, the new leader will not want to step down from his position and this will cause dissension and (possibly) bloodshed. If I don't appoint someone for them, then they will do it themselves and this will cause an increase in arguments. If I say that I myself will be the new leader, this will cause Moshe too much pain. I will involve the people in activities until Moshe returns. I will make something that has no substance and when Moshe comes he will undo it." And this is what Aharon did. Therefore, he said to them, "Break off the golden earrings that are in the ears of your wives, etc., just like Rashi explained.

According to the Chizkuni, Aharon was faced with a very difficult dilemma. As he thought about the various options at his disposal, each of them would lead to a more serious consequence than the current situation. Aharon was guided by the principles of not hurting an individual and avoiding strife between groups. As for not hurting an individual, he probably recalled that at the Burning Bush Moshe had refused the leadership role because Aharon was his older brother. How would Moshe feel now if it appeared that in his absence Aharon had grabbed the leadership of the Jewish people? Hence, Aharon participated in building the Golden Calf and tried in every possible way to make the process as slow as possible, hoping that Moshe would return before the situation completely deteriorated.

As always, I would appreciate your comments.

At the Bubble - Parshat Tetzaveh

Last week's parsha described in great detail the vessels of the mishkan (the sanctuary), the mishkan itself and its courtyard. This was introduced with a command and a promise (Shemot 25:8) “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me – so that I may dwell among them.” The Jewish people were promised that if they would build the mishkan in the proper way then Hashem would dwell amongst them.

This week's parsha describes the garments of the kohanim – those who have the special privilege to serve daily in the mishkan. It then describes the initiation ceremony for the kohanim, including the offerings that must be brought to make them fit to serve. Then the parsha devotes a few verses to the daily burnt offering that was brought each morning and evening in the mishkan.

The last verses of the parsha are devoted to the Golden Altar, a small altar made of wood and covered with gold. The Golden Altar, like the table and the menorah, was placed inside the mishkan. Moshe was commanded that the kohain would bring incense on this altar every morning and afternoon.

We might think that the Golden Altar should have been commanded at the same time as the table and the menorah. Furthermore, why is the Golden Altar described at the end of this week's parsha, the last part of the mishkan to be mentioned? This is especially puzzling when we look at the Midrash Tanchuma which declares that Hashem considers the offering of the incense on the Golden Altar as the most precious part of the service!

The commentary of Rav Ovadia Sforno gives an answer to this question (Shemot 30:1). He explains that Hashem's dwelling amongst the Jewish people occurred in three stages. The first stage was properly building the mishkan and its vessels. This caused the Divine Presence to dwell on the mishkan. The second stage, bringing the offerings as described in the dedication ceremony for the kohanim, caused Hashem's glory to appear to the Jewish people.

The Golden Altar did not play a role in these first two stages, rather the role of the Golden Altar is to give honor to Hashem after He favorably accepts the service of His people. As the midrash states (Tanchuma Tetzaveh Chapter 15), “The incense offering does not come to atone for sin or transgression or guilt, it comes only to bring joy.” Therefore, it is only proper that the command to build the Golden Altar should be stated last, separate from the other parts of the mishkan.

Note: This devar Torah is also the text for the "Short Vort" that I recorded for Yeshivat Darche Noam. You'll find a link to the mp3 file on the Yeshiva's home page.

At the Bubble - Parshat Terumah

This week's parsha explains the how the mishkan (tabernacle) and most of its vessels were to be built. The verses detail what materials were to be used, the shapes of the vessels and their dimensions. Here are the verses (Judaica Press translation) about the construction of the menorah:

Exodus Chapter 25
31 And you shall make a menorah of pure gold. The menorah shall be made of hammered work; its base and its stem, its goblets, its knobs, and its flowers shall [all] be [one piece] with it.
32 And six branches coming out of its sides: three menorah branches from its one side and three menorah branches from its second side.
33 Three decorated goblets on one branch, a knob and a flower, and three decorated goblets on one branch, a knob and a flower; so for the six branches that come out of the menorah.
34 And on [the stem of] the menorah [shall be] four decorated goblets, its knobs and its flowers.
35 And a knob under the two branches from it, and a knob under the two branches from it, and a knob under the two branches from it; so for the six branches that come out of the menorah.
36 Their knobs and their branches shall [all] be [one piece] with it; all of it [shall be] one hammered mass of pure gold.
37 And you shall make its lamps seven, and he shall kindle its lamps [so that they] shed light toward its face.
38 And its tongs and its scoops [shall be] of pure gold.
39 He shall make it of a talent of pure gold, with all these implements.
40 Now see and make according to their pattern, which you are shown on the mountain.

One question that has puzzled me is why the menorah was required to be made from a single block of gold? Rabbeinu Bachya (1263-1340) provides an answer to this question and explains the meaning of the various parts of the menorah. What follows is a summary of parts of his commentary on verses 31 and 38.

The menorah had seven lamps. The lamps are a hint to the Torah which is called "light," as the verse in Proverbs 6:23: "For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light ..."

There were also six branches projecting from the central stem of the menorah. These six branches correspond to the six directions of the world (north, south, east, west, up, down). The world only exists due to the Torah which was given on the sixth of Sivan.

We see from verse 33 that there were three goblets decorating each of the six branches for a total of eighteen goblets. In addition, verse 34 tells us that the central stem was decorated with four more goblets. Hence, there were a total of twenty two goblets, which is a hint to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet which when combined correctly make up the Torah.

From verses 31 and 36 we understand that the menorah must be made from a single piece of gold. Here is a portion of Rashi's commentary on verse 31:

The menorah shall be made of hammered work that it must not be made in sections. Its branches and its lamps should not be made individually and then attached, as is the custom of the smiths called soldering, but it must come entirely from one piece - beaten with a hammer and cut with a tool, and the branches separated on both sides.

None of the other vessels in the mishkan had a requirement that they must be made from a single piece. Why does the menorah have such a requirement? Rabbeinu Bachya shows how the different parts of the menorah are all allusions to the Torah. This is another such allusion: the entire Torah that we have from Hashem is a single Torah. Even though it is composed of different parts such as tanach, midrash, aggadah, mishna and gemara, it is all one Torah.

I would appreciate any comments that you have on this essay.