Parshas Vayakhel
When Moshe taught Torah, he would first teach what he heard from G-d to Aharon, then to Aharon’s sons, then to the elders and then the to the rest of the people (Rashi to Shemos 34:32). But when it came to the laws of Shabbat, we are told that Moshe assembled the entire nation “es kol adas Bnei Yisrael” and taught them all the laws of Shabbat, at the same time. The word “adas” comes from the word “eidus” which means testimony. Shabbat bears testimony to the fact that G-d created the world and that He continues to manage it. Each one of us can bear testimony to events in our own lives that prove G-d’s existence, and in that sense we are all equal. That is why there is no hierarchy when it comes to Shabbat.
“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to G-d” (Shemos 35:2). It seems that one is not only commanded to rest on Shabbat, but also to work during the week. But the word the Torah uses is “tei’aseh,” work shall be done, not “ta’aseh,” you shall work. The message is that the only way to ensure that Shabbat is a holy day is by using the six days of the week to do all the work that is needed to bring in Shabbat on time. That way, it is not desecrated and rendered a secular day by finishing after Shabbat comes in what should have been finished before it comes in. Whether one’s work is completed or not – and it never is – one’s state of mind should be that once Shabbat arrives, one’s work is to be considered done.
That is the connection with the next words of the Torah, “Do not ignite any fire on Shabbat.”
Of all the 39 acts of work which are prohibited on Shabbat, why does The Torah single out the act of lighting fire? As we know, in the Jewish calendar, the night belongs to the next day. By burning the light at night, we extend the working day into Shabbat.
In addition, the prohibition against lighting fire teaches us that whatever melachah we had in mind to perform close to the arrival of Shabbat, should be postponed to after Shabbat. The phase “there is nothing new under the sun” (Koheles 1:9) means that everything in this world was created during the six days of creation. Yet, we know that fire was first ignited on Motza’ei Shabbat, when Adam rubbed two stones together and produced fire for the first time. The concept of fire, however, like all other elements of nature, was part of the six days of creation. But it was first ignited after Shabbat to teach us that any work one had in mind to perform at the onset of Shabbat should be postponed till after Shabbat.
“And every man with whom was found turquoise, purple and scarlet wool,” etc. (Shemos 35:23) donated these rare items to the building of the Mishkan. The words the Torah uses are “nimtzah ito,” these valuable items were not found by him, but happened to be found with him. How come these wandering desert nomads possessed these luxury items?
We are told (Yoma 75a) that rare and precious items landed with the Manna from heaven. But they landed for a purpose. They did not belong to the finder. They were entrusted to him for the sole purpose of donating them to the Mishkan.
Turanus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva, “If your G-d loves the poor, why does He not feed them?” And Rabbi Akiva answered that G-d gives the wealthy money for one purpose only, to merit them with the mitzvah of charity (Bava Batra 10a). That is the concept of “nimtzah ito.” Whatever one may have is a Divine windfall of wealth that just happens to come one’s way as G-d’s payment agent for the Mishkan and for the poor.
When describing the various items built for the Mishkan, like the table, the menorah, the altar, etc, we are told how they were made, but we are not told who made them (Shemos 37:10,16,17, etc.). But in describing the Holy Ark, which unlike the complicated structure of the menorah, was a simple box, we are told that Betzalel made it (Shemos 37:1).
Although simple in structure, the Holy Ark housed the Tablets of Law, the spiritual essence of the Jewish people. That simple box could only be fashioned by one like Bezalel, who lived “b’tzel Kel,” who was infused with Divine Inspiration. Besides, the Holy Ark defied the laws of physics. Notwithstanding its own heavy weight and that of the Tablets of Stone inside, we are told that the Holy Ark carried those that carried it across the Jordan River (Sotah 35a). It has continued ever since, to carry the body of the Jewish nation across the stormy tides of history.
