Parshat Pekudei

For the week ending 4 Adar II 5760; 10 & 11 March 2000

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Contents:

Parsha Questions

Megilas Esther Whats Bothering Rashi

I Did Not Know That!

Recommended Reading List

Answers to Parsha Questions

Back issues of Parsha Q&A

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Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

1. Why is the word Mishkan stated twice in verse 38:21?
2. Why is the Mishkan called the "Mishkan of Testimony"?
3. Who was appointed to carry the vessels of the Mishkan in the midbar?
4. Who was the officer in charge of the levi�im?
5. What is the meaning of the name Betzalel?
6. How many people contributed a half-shekel to the Mishkan? Who contributed?
7. Which material used in the bigdei kehuna was not used in the coverings of the sacred vessels?
8. How were the gold threads made?
9. What was inscribed on the stones on the shoulders of the ephod?
10. What was on the hem of the me�il?
11. What did the kohen gadol wear between the mitznefet and the tzitz?
12. What role did Moshe play in the construction of the Mishkan?
13. Which date was the first time that the Mishkan was erected and not dismantled?
14. What was the "tent" which Moshe spread over the Mishkan (40:19)?
15. What "testimony" did Moshe place in the aron?
16. What function did the parochet serve?
17. Where was the shulchan placed in the Mishkan?
18. Where was the menorah placed in the Mishkan?
19. Who offered the communal sacrifices during the eight days of the dedication of the Mishkan?
20. On which day did both Moshe and Aharon serve as kohanim?

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Megilas Esther What's Bothering Rashi

Contents	"For Mordechai the Jew was viceroy to King Achashverosh; he was a great man among the Jews and found favor with most of his brothers, he sought the good of his people and spoke for the welfare of all his offspring." (Esther 10:3) Rashi comments: "Of all his offspring:" This refers back to "his people;" the seed of the people. Rashi interprets his of the phrase "his offspring" to refer to the people�s (its) offspring and not the more likely interpretation, his own (Mordechai�s) offspring. This is strange because Mordechai is the subject of the entire verse. So when it say "his offspring" one would assume it means Mordechai�s offspring. Why then does Rashi say "the people�s offspring?" What�s Bothering Rashi? Answer: The verse has a certain structure of going from less to more: The verse says three things about Mordechai: He found favor with most (not all) of his brothers He sought the good of his people He spoke for the welfare of all his offspring The verse goes from less to more: Most of his brothers, his people, and then all of his offspring (even future generations). Now if this last phrase refers only to Mordechai�s own offspring, then it would be referring to a smaller group. But if it refers to the future generations of all Jews, then it follows the structure of the verse, for it refers to an even larger group. Rabbi Avigdor Bonchek, Author of "What�s Bothering Rashi," Feldheim Publishers

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I Did Not Know That!

The words "as Hashem commanded" appear 18 times regarding the Mishkan�s construction. The Sages instituted 18 blessings in the Shemone Esrei prayer to correspond to these 18 commands. Today, when we have no Beit Hamikdash, the 18 blessings of the Shemone Esrei substitute for the sacrifices offered in the Mishkan.

Vayikra Rabba 1:18 (thanks to Rabbi Sholem Fishbane)

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Recommended Reading List
Contents

Ramban 38:22 Betzalel�s Genius 40:2 Timetable of the Yemei Milu�im Ibn Ezra 38:11 Sunshine and Rain 40:35 Covering the Aron

Sforno 40:18 Essence of the Mishkan Ba�al HaTurim 39:27 Storage of the Garments Aderet Eliyahu 39:33 The World of the Mishkan

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Answers to this Week's Questions

Questions | Contents

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

1. Why is the word Mishkan stated twice in verse 38:21?
   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.

2. Why is the Mishkan called the "Mishkan of Testimony"?
   38:21 - It was testimony for the Jewish People that Hashem forgave them for the golden calf and allowed His Shechina to dwell among them.

3. Who was appointed to carry the vessels of the Mishkan in the midbar?
   38:21 - The levi�im.

4. Who was the officer in charge of the levi�im?
   38:21 - Itamar ben Aharon.

5. What is the meaning of the name Betzalel?
   38:22 - "In the shadow of G-d."

6. How many people contributed a half-shekel to the Mishkan? Who contributed?
   38:26 - 603,550. Every man age twenty and over (except the levi�im).

7. Which material used in the bigdei kehuna was not used in the coverings of the sacred vessels?
   39:1 - Linen (See Rashi 31:10).

8. How were the gold threads made?
   39:3 - The gold was beaten into thin plates from which threads were cut. (See Rashi 28:6).

9. What was inscribed on the stones on the shoulders of the ephod?
   39:6, 39:7 - The names of the tribes.

10. What was on the hem of the me�il?
    39:24,25 - Woven pomegranates and golden bells.

11. What did the kohen gadol wear between the mitznefet and the tzitz?
    39:31 - Tefillin.

12. What role did Moshe play in the construction of the Mishkan?
    39:33 - He stood it up.

13. Which date was the first time that the Mishkan was erected and not dismantled?
    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)

14. What was the "tent" which Moshe spread over the Mishkan (40:19)?
    40:19 - The curtain of goat-skin.

15. What "testimony" did Moshe place in the aron?
    40:20 - The Luchot Habrit.

16. What function did the parochet serve?
    40:21 - It served as a partition for the aron.

17. Where was the shulchan placed in the Mishkan?
    40:22 - On the northern side of the Ohel Mo�ed, outside the parochet.

18. Where was the menorah placed in the Mishkan?
    40:24 - On the southern side of the Ohel Mo�ed opposite the shulchan.

19. Who offered the communal sacrifices during the eight days of the dedication of the Mishkan?
    40:29 - Moshe.

20. On which day did both Moshe and Aharon serve as kohanim?
    40:31 - On the eighth day of the consecration of the Mishkan

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Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Michael Treblow

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