ON THE PARSHA
          Parshas VaYakhel and Parshas Pekudei

          by Dovid Lipman, Jerusalem


The World Of The Supernatural

     (40:35) "And Moshe was unable to go in..." If Moshe was
unable to penetrate the cloud of Hashem's glory, how was he
able to enter it on Har Sinai? The gemara (Yoma 4b) gives
two answers: First, that Hashem, as it were, grabbed Moshe
pulled him into the cloud. Second, that Hashem made a path
through the cloud for Moshe to use, similar to the splitting
of the Red Sea.

A Time To Laugh

     (40:19) "And he spread the tent..." The gemara learns from
here that Moshe was ten amos tall (see From the Gemara), which
is somewhere around seventeen feet. Was he, in fact, the ancestor
of Big Gedaliah Goomber of Uncle Moishy?

Worthy Of Note

     (35:4) "This is the word which Hashem commanded." The
phrase may be interpreted to be underlining the mistake of
making the golden calf. The Ramban and Da'as Zekainim in Parshas
Ki Sisa both say the Jews did not mean it as an idol, but as
a replacement for Moshe. Why, then, was it wrong? Because the
Torah forbids graven images. But the Jews thought that there
could be great service to Hashem in a graven image, as we in
fact find in the Keruvim of the Mishkan. However, they can only
be made if Hashem commands it. So, "THIS", emphasizes Moshe, is
the proper service, because it is what Hashem commanded.

From the Gemara

     (35:26) Shabbos 74b - Even though the women used a special
technique to spin the woolen thread directly off the backs of
the goats, this is not a Melacha on Shabbos (though normally we
follow the Mishkan as a model) because thisa high level of
wisdom is so unusual.
     (40:19) Shabbos 92a - Moshe Rabbeinu was ten amos tall,
which enabled him to personally spread the tent covering over
the ten-amah Miskan walls.
     (40:17) Yerushalmi Shekalim 1:1 - On this very first day
of the Mishkan, the donations for the offerings were assigned
to be used, and every year the new donations start being used then.

Rare And Unusual Words

     (38:8) "HaTzov'os". The famous Rashi explains this to mean
"who raised up armies", referring to the Midrash that the women
used mirrors during their valiant efforts to continue having
children in Egypt. Onkelos, however, translates, "who thronged
to pray", which fits the ending, "at the entrance to the Ohel
Moed."

Mitzvah Digest

114) A court may not administer physical punishment on Shabbos.

Overflow from Mishpatim (week 4 of 4)
86) One may not swear in the name of a false god.
87) One may not turn others toward false gods.
88) One must celebrate the three main holidays of the year,
    according to the halacha.
89) One may not slaughter the korban pesach while he has
    chometz in his posession.
90) One may not allow the remains of the korban pesach to
    be left until morning, without being used.
91) One must bring his first fruits to the Beis HaMikdash.
92) One may not cook meat and milk together.
93) One may not make a peace treaty between the Jews and any
    of the seven nations of Canaan who must be destroyed.
94) One may not establish any worship of false gods in the
    land of Israel.