For the week ending 21 March 2020 / 25 Adar II 5780
Parshat Vayakhel - Pekudei
Questions
Vayakhel
- On which day did Moshe assemble the Jewish People?
- Why is the prohibition against doing work on Shabbat written prior to the instruction for building the Mishkan?
- Why does the Torah specify the particular prohibition of lighting a fire on Shabbat right after it had already noted the general prohibition of doing work on Shabbat?
- What function did the "yitdot hamishkan" serve?
- What function did the "bigdei hasrad" serve?
- What was unusual about the way the women spun the goat's hair?
- Why were the Nesi'im last to contribute to the building of the Mishkan? How does the Torah show dissatisfaction with their actions?
- Who does the Torah identify as the primary builders of the Mishkan? From which tribes were they?
- What time of day did the people bring their daily contributions for the construction of the Mishkan?
- For what was the woven goat's hair used?
- What image was woven into the parochet?
- Why does the Torah attribute the building of the aron to Bezalel?
- Where were the sculptured cheruvim located?
- How many lamps did the menorah have?
- Of what materials was the mizbe'ach haketoret composed?
- Of what material was the mizbe'ach ha'olah composed?
- The kiyor was made from copper mirrors. What function did these mirrors serve in Egypt?
- How did the kiyor promote peace?
- The kiyor was made from the mirrors of the women who were crowding at the entrance to the Ohel Mo'ed. Why were the women crowding there?
- Of what material were the "yitdot hamishkan" constructed?
Pekudei
- Why is the word Mishkan stated twice in verse 38:21?
- Why is the Mishkan called the "Mishkan of Testimony"?
- Who was appointed to carry the vessels of the Mishkan in the midbar?
- Who was the officer in charge of the levi'im?
- What is the meaning of the name Bezalel?
- How many people contributed a half-shekel to the Mishkan? Who contributed?
- Which material used in the bigdei kehuna was not used in the coverings of the sacred vessels?
- How were the gold threads made?
- What was inscribed on the stones on the shoulders of the ephod?
- What was on the hem of the me'il?
- What did the Kohen Gadol wear between the mitznefet and the tzitz?
- What role did Moshe play in the construction of the Mishkan?
- Which date was the first time that the Mishkan was erected and not dismantled?
- What was the "tent" which Moshe spread over the Mishkan(40:19)?
- What "testimony" did Moshe place in the aron?
- What function did the parochet serve?
- Where was the shulchan placed in the Mishkan?
- Where was the menorah placed in the Mishkan?
- Who offered the communal sacrifices during the eight days of the dedication of the Mishkan?
- On which day did both Moshe and Aharon serve as kohanim?
Answers
All references are to the verses and Rashi’s commentary, unless otherwise stated.
Vayakhel
- 35:1 - The day after Yom Kippur.
- 35:2 - To emphasize that the building of the Mishkan doesn't supersede the laws of Shabbat.
- 35:3 - There are two opinions: One opinion is to teach that igniting a fire on Shabbat is punishable by lashes as opposed to other "melachot" which are punishable by death. The other opinion is to teach that violation of numerous "melachot" at one time requires a separate atonement for each violation.
- 35:18 - The edges of the curtains were fastened to them. These were inserted in the ground so the curtains would not move in the wind.
- 35:19 - They covered the aron, the shulchan, the menorah, and the mizbachot when they were packed for transport.
- 35:26 - It was spun directly from off the backs of the goats.
- 35:27 - The Nesi'im reasoned that they would first let the people contribute materials needed for the Mishkan and then they would contribute what was lacking. The Torah shows its dissatisfaction by deleting a letter from their title.
- 35:30, 35:34 - Bezalel ben Uri from the tribe of Yehuda; Oholiav ben Achisamach from the tribe of Dan.
- 36:3 - Morning.
- 36:14 - It was made into curtains to be draped over the Mishkan.
- 36:35 - Cherubim. (See Rashi 26:31)
- 37:1 - Because he dedicated himself to its building more than anyone else.
- 37:7 - On the two extremities of the kaporet (cover of the aron).
- 37:23 - Seven.
- 37:25,26 - Wood overlaid with gold.
- 38:1-2 - Wood overlaid with copper.
- 38:8 - These mirrors aided in the proliferation of the Jewish People. The Jewish women in Egypt would look in the mirrors so as to awaken the affections of their husbands who were exhausted by their slave labor.
- 38:8 - Its waters helped a woman accused of adultery to prove her innocence.
- 38:8 - To donate to the Mishkan.
- 38:20 - Copper.
Pekudei
- 38:21 - To allude to the Beit Hamikdash that would twice be taken as a "mashkon" (pledge) for the sins of the Jewish People until the nation repents.
- 38:21 - It was testimony for the Jewish People that
G-d forgave them for the golden calf and allowed His Shechina to dwell among them. - 38:21 - The levi'im.
- 38:21 - Itamar ben Aharon.
- 38:22 - "In the shadow of
G-d ." - 38:26 - 603,550. Every man age twenty and over (except the levi'im).
- 39:1 - Linen (See Rashi 31:10).
- 39:3 - The gold was beaten into thin plates from which threads were cut. (See Rashi 28:6).
- 39:6, 39:7 - The names of the tribes.
- 39:24,25 - Woven pomegranates and golden bells.
- 39:31 - Tefillin.
- 39:33 - He stood it up.
- 40:17 - Rosh Chodesh Nissan of the second year in the desert. For seven days before this, during the consecration of Aharon and his sons, Moshe erected and dismantled the Mishkan. (Rashi 39:29)
- 40:19 - The curtain of goatskin.
- 40:20 - The Luchot Habrit.
- 40:21 - It served as a partition for the aron.
- 40:22 - On the northern side of the Ohel Mo'ed, outside the parochet.
- 40:24 - On the southern side of the Ohel Mo'ed opposite the shulchan.
- 40:29 - Moshe.
- 40:31 - On the eighth day of the consecration of the Mishkan.
