Vayakhel Pekudei

Why is it that Am Israel is being instructed five times over on how to build the Mishkan (Temple)? Practically verbatim the Torah repeats itself in explaining the details.

Abravanel is most puzzled by Moses saying to Israel:
“And let every wise man among you come and make all that the Lord hath commended, The Tabernacle, its tent…enumerating in detail all the things which Ha-Shem had commanded them to do.

“Why didn’t Moses just say “…and make all that the Lord hath commended.” Period?

This recapitulation is even strange in Pekudei, observes Abravanel:

Instead of laboriously repeating that they brought Moses, the Tabernacle, the Tent, the Vessels….it would have been enough to write “…they brought Moses the complete work of the Tabernacle.”

Rashi doesn’t concern himself with the recapitulation, but Ramban has a much more specific explanation.
1- Moses had to outline to the congregation what was involved so that they could respond with the needs.
2- Bezalel and his craftsmen had to hear the specifics and the general ideas so that they could plan it.
He also concludes that the repetitions reflected the love and esteem with which the Mishkan was viewed by Ha-Shem.

Note that this was a job by all of Am Israel. That those who stayed away from the calf this time freely donated their gold, their jewelry to the cause. It was clear that this time, as explained five times over, the effort of building an object, was a blessed effort.

That makes me wonder. And I couldn’t find much agreement with my own wondering. Was the repetition perhaps a reaction to the golden calf disaster? Was it to proof that this time the building of something to honour the one and only G’d which the Israelites wanted to imagine through an object so badly before, was sanctioned?

On the other hand, was the repetition written to make absolutely clear what to do and what not to do? With other words, not to imagine things, and make designs or objects that weren’t asked for?



I found many explanations but none that led to my simple questions.

Hirsch proposed that these were symbols and that the validity of these symbols were connected and that the strength was in the total of these symbols. So they could not be split up.

The Biur – Mendelsohn, offers this explanation:
All kinds of expertise and skills would be necessary in the time to come. Essential, Useful and Artistic. And just as they had offered Ha-Shem the first fruits, soil and cattle, was it not possible that Ha-Shem demanded the first fruits of their free-thinking and abilities - to dedicate to him?

If Ha-Shem was the Architect of the Mishkan, then Bezalel surely was the contractor.

Of course when you hear the word contractor you may add that as another reason the exact specifics were repeated five times over. Anyone ever to have expanded their kitchen probably repeated themselves five times to their contractor, possibly even with a slightly raised voice.

With Bezalel being the contractor and designer, surely Am Israel were the workers. Man and women alike. The difference with any other work ever before done by Am Israel, was that this time it became a work of the heart.

Kol iesh Ve-iesha, Asher Nadav Libam ottam Lehavie Lechol-HamLacha
Heh-Viehu Bnei Israel Nedavah La Shem….
Every Man and Woman whose heart moved them to bring for all manner of work…the children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord.

Says Abravanel:
The gifts weren’t the important things to Ha-Shem but rather the hearts that they gave to Him…

Which takes me to the beginning of this Parashat. Why does Moses start off this massive project by reminding Am Israel to understand the Shabbat? To follow this day of complete rest. A holy day. And if they do not follow it they would be put to death?

This is pretty strong language to start off a project with. The Shabbat had clearly been explained before in the Decalogue and in Mishpatim.
Why a repetition here as well?

Abravanel says that true perfection lies in action and that performance is more perfect than non-peformance - which is the same as resting.

On account of this, the Israelites might have thought that the importance of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle overruled the importance of keeping the Shabbat.

Years later, in 1951 to be exact in A.J.Heshel’s book: The Sabbath, it’s meaning for Modern Man, Heshel writes that Judaism is more concerned with time than space. He points out that the first thing mentioned HOLY in the Torah is not an object but rather a time, namely the Shabbat. Immediately in Bereshit the Shabbat is made synonymous with the word ‘kadosh’.

“…and Ha-Shem blessed the seventh day and made it holy.”

Heshel points out:
“We must not forget that it is not a thing that lends significance to a moment, it is the moment that lends significance to things.”

The Midrash maintains that holiness was applied to a place or a thing by mankind, whereas the holiness of time was pronounced by G’d at the very beginning of things.

Moses sanctified the Mishkan, like any architect would sign off on a finished house, but it was G’d who sanctified the Sabbath time.

So we may look at things around us that are important and meaningful. Historical symbols like the Mishkan, or a modern Aron HaKodesh, a prayer book, a Kiddush cup even - the physical Torah Scroll.

None however are as Kodesh as the time between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday.