The Sidra of Vayakhel begins with the statement that Moses assembled the whole nation together, which included the women and children. It was a rare assembly which was necessary after the grave crisis of the building of the golden calf and Moses’ smashing of the tablets. It was most encouraging that despite everything that had happened, everyone was enthusiastic about the building of the Tabernacle and volunteered to give precious gifts, energy and time. It was the day after Yom Kippur; a time of forgiveness and goodwill. The Almighty had just given the Israelites the second set of stone tablets and made a new covenant with them. In it He promised to walk again in their midst, after withdrawing His presence in the aftermath of the crisis.
The first message which Moses conveyed to the people, in this assembly, was that they had to keep the Sabbath, even though they were eager to get on with the construction of the Tabernacle. The warning to keep the Shabbat included a specific reference not to ignite a fire anywhere, not even at home. This reference to the igniting of fire has caused some difficulty for the commentators. Since there are 39 major categories of work, which are forbidden on Shabbat, why has this prohibition been singled out in particular? A number of answers have been given.
Nachmanides devotes a long paragraph to this question. In his view, it was important to emphasise this prohibition because igniting fire is used for cooking, which is allowed on festivals. Shabbat is holier than the festivals but it is also a day on which we should enjoy having good meals and tasty foods. Nevertheless, it is different from a Festival. It remains forbidden to ignite fire on Shabbat even for the purpose of cooking. However, it is a mitzvah to light candles before Shabbat and prepare food on Friday which will remain hot for the next day. For this reason, it has become customary amongst Orthodox Jews to have Cholent for Shabbat lunch. Cholent is the ideal food because it takes many hours to cook and becomes ready by Shabbat lunch time.
The prohibition against making fire on Shabbat shows that, contrary to what some people think, work on Shabbat is forbidden not necessarily because it demands a great deal of energy and effort, but because it creates things. In ancient times it was also easy to start a fire by rubbing two stones together, yet it is forbidden because fire has enormous power to change the physical world around us. On Shabbat we remember and testify that the Almighty is the creator of the world and not we. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, who lived in the 19th century, put it in these words: “The prohibition highlights man’s acknowledgement that his ability to master matter, represented by fire, is lent to him by God and is to be used only in his service.”
The craftsman, who was in charge of building the Tabernacle, was Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur. The Midrash comments on the unusual reference to Hur, who was the grandfather. We don’t normally name people going back into the third generation. But Hur was exceptional. He was Miriam’s son and when the people wanted to build the golden calf, they demanded his support first, but he stood firm, defended the covenant and confronted the rebels. As a result, he was killed. So he was rewarded for his loyalty to the Almighty by being mentioned here.
In chapter 38 verse 8 we read as follows: “He made a copper washstand and its copper base out of the mirrors of the dedicated women who congregated in the entrance of the tent of meeting.” This is a particularly remarkable and wonderful story. Earlier, the Torah tells us the purpose of the washstand and where it stood. Now we are told that the washstand was not made with ordinary brass, collected in the same way as other materials, but with the brass which the women donated. The Hebrew word, Z0V’OT, from which the Modern Hebrew word for the Israeli army, ZAVA is derived, indicates that the women came in very great numbers and that their enthusiasm was most remarkable.
The great mediaeval commentator, Avraham Ibn Ezra, explains that even in those early days, women used the mirrors to beautify themselves. Men did not use mirrors at all. All the mirrors belonged to the women. When they saw that the Tabernacle was being built they wanted to make a deeply personal contribution. As a gesture of honour to the Almighty they also stopped beautifying themselves for a while. In this way, they also showed their dedication. In a very different context, in a Shiva house, we also have the custom to stop using mirrors and to cover them. The reason is similar. We want to show respect for the deceased by refraining from beautifying our appearance. We also want to focus completely on our sadness.
This Sidra of Pekudei, which follows the Sidra of Vayakhel, continues with the same theme and this is the reason why, in most years, they are read together in the synagogue.
The Sidra of Pekudei concludes the Book of Exodus with an atmosphere of happiness and joy because the building of the Tabernacle had been completed successfully, in a spirit of national unity. The completion took place on the first day of the first month, almost one year after the Exodus. On that day the prince of the tribe of Judah brought the first offering and subsequently the prince from each of the other tribes followed, one every day. Thus the celebration continued for 12 days and, to this very day, we mark these 12 days by refraining from reciting the sad prayer of Tachanun.
After the Tabernacle was erected, a cloud descended upon it, concealing within it the glory of God. God appeared in exactly the same way as he had appeared earlier on Mount Sinai. Just as Moses did not enter the cloud upon Mount Sinai without being called first, so Moses did not do so now. He waited until God called him. The next book of the Torah is named VAYIKRA which mean HE CALLED HIM. At that moment when God called him, Moses entered the Tabernacle and a new era began for our people.