Dvar Torah

Vayakhel-no fire on Shabbat, instructions for tabernacle, constructing the tabernacle, God dwelling in the tabernacle, symbolizes the end of the Exodus

1. “The lord has singled out by the name Bezalel...he has endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft, and has inspired him to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, to cut stones for setting and to carve wood-to work in every kind of designer’s craft...Let, then, Bezalel and Oholiab and all the skilled persons whom the Lord has endowed with skill and ability to perform expertly all the tasks connected with the service of the sanctuary, carry out all that the Lord has commanded”
1. the idea that God endows humans with abilities
2. the idea that we are supposed to do God’s work with our God-given abilities
3. that is how we can bring the Shechinah, the divine presence, to our world
4. besides beautifying religion-what are ways we can use our abilities to beautify the world, to do God’s work? With what skills have we been blessed that can improve our corner of the world?
2. Verse after verse is dedicated to painstaking detail about the construction of the Tabernacle-why?
1. the tabernacle is the place where the Lord dwells
2. it is the end of the Exodus (God was not with them in Egypt, now they are out of Egypt and God will dwell in his house, in the tabernacle)
3. at the end of the parshah, a cloud fills the tabernacle by day and a fire by night because God is present
4. beautifying religion-hiddur mitzvah-our own creation, our own stamp on the world, something productive, everyone could contribute, concrete
5. reconciliation for the golden calf-instead using gold and donating gifts to the tabernacle-the exact opposite purpose of the golden calf but the same motivation (people want to feel like they are doing something to contribute), there was even an excess of materials and Moses had to tell them to stop
3. Role of women: כל איש ואשה repeated over and over again-”men and women, all whose hearts moved them, all who would bring with outstretched hands to the Lord, came bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and pendants--gold objects of all kinds,” ALSO “ “and all the skilled women spun with their own hands...and all the women who excelled in that skill spun the goats’ hair...”
1. women were a key part of the skilled labor in creating the adornments
2. use of language makes them seem equal
4. “He made the laver of copper and its stand of copper, from the mirrors of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting”
1. when I first read this, I’m thinking vestal-virgin-300-style
2. translation is tricky, probably means “women arrayed for a sacred task,” could refer to praying at the foot of certain statues (based on a tradition of a different Near Eastern ancient culture) or it could refer to sexual acts
3. mirrors symbolize the physical, sensual side of man-the physical was not to be excluded when constructing the tabernacle, it is an essential part
4. Rashi: Moses at first refused to accept a gift which appealed to the evil impulse (vanity), but God insisted because in Egypt the women had sustained their men with food and drink and used their mirrors to adorn themselves and seduce their husbands in order to give them children and carry on the Israelite race