princes – Parsha Ponders

Guilty conscience[1]

ויביאו את-המשכן אל-משה וגו’ הוקם המשכן: ויקם משה את-המשכן וגו’‏
[The people] brought the Mishkan to Moshe…and the Mishkan was erected. Moshe erected the Mishkan…[2]

After all of the materials were collected, tapestries woven, and implements constructed, the Mishkan, the portable Temple, was ready to be assembled. We are told that the people brought the Mishkan to Moshe. What is this referring to? All of the vessels? All of the tapestries? Why did they bring it to him? Shouldn’t they have brought everything to the craftsmen behind the Mishkan? Wasn’t it their job to finish the construction? To address all of these questions, Rashi brings[3] an interesting idea from our Sages. It’s based on a verse which appears later, that the Mishkan “was erected”, which sounds passive. Immediately following this verse, we are informed that Moshe erected the Mishkan all by himself. Which one was it?

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Filling a need or needing to fill[1]

והנשיאם הביאו את אבני השהם ואת אבני המלאים לאפוד ולחשן
The princes brought the shosham stones and the filling stones for the Eiphod and the Choshen[2]

This week’s parsha describes the construction of the Mishkan. It starts with a detailed listing of the donation of the materials towards building it. The entire Jewish people jumped at the opportunity to donate towards the Mishkan. There came a point when donations had to be turned down, as all of the necessary materials had already been collected[3]. The princes, the leaders of each tribe, are described as bringing precious stones for the garments of the Kohen Gadol.

Continue reading “Vayakhel/Pekudei 5780”