Parshas Vayekhel - Shabbat Shekalim

For the week ending 29 Adar I 5757; 7 & 8 March 1997

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Contents:

Parsha Questions

Bonus Question

I Did Not Know That!

Recommended Reading List

Answers to Parsha Questions

Answer to Bonus Question

Back issues of Parsha Q&A

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Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

1. What three different words in this week's Parsha are spelled with the same four letters?
2. On which day did Moshe assemble the Jewish People?
3. Why is the prohibition against doing work on Shabbos written prior to the instruction for building the Mishkan?
4. Why does the Torah single out the prohibition of lighting a fire on Shabbos?
5. What function did the "Yisdos Hamishkan" serve?
6. What function did the "Bigdei Hasrad" serve?
7. What was unusual about the way the women spun the goat's wool?
8. Why were the Nesi'im last to contribute to the Mishkan?
9. Who was Chur's mother?
10. Who were the primary Mishkan-builders?
11. Why did Hashem choose people specifically from the tribes of Dan and Yehuda to build the Mishkan?
12. For what was the woven goat's-hair used?
13. What image was woven on the 'Paroches'?
14. Why does the Torah credit Betzalel with the building of the Aron?
15. How many lamps did the Menorah have?
16. What was the Mizbach Haketores made of?
17. What was the Mizbach Ha'olah made of?
18. What does 'nevuv' mean?
19. The Kiyor was made from copper mirrors. What function did these mirrors serve in Egypt?
20. How did the Kiyor promote peace?

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Answer Contents	"All the women whose hearts motivated them spun the goats (35:26)." "This was a special art, that they spun the wool while it was still connected to the goats (Rashi)" Why did the women spin the thread in this unusual way?

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I Did Not Know That!

Moshe commanded: "Don't do any more work (melacha) for the sanctuary offering, and so the people stopped bringing." (36:6)

This is the source for the halacha that carrying from a private domain to a public domain is a 'melacha' - a forbidden act on Shabbos. Moshe said "Don't do any more 'melacha.' Therefore, 'the people stopped bringing' items from their private homes to the public site of the sanctuary.

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Recommended Reading List

Ramban 35:1 Date of the Assembly 35:21 Generosity and Inspiration 35:22 Female Leadership 38:8 Mirrors of Virtue

Ibn Ezra 35:27 Gifts of the Princes 35:34 Learning and Teaching 38:8 Mirrors of Devotion Sefer Hachinuch 114 Recess from Judgment

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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. 36:35, 37:6,19 - Paroches, Kapores and Kaftor.
2. 35:1 - The day after Yom Kippur.
3. 35:2 - To emphasize that the building of the Mishkan doesn't supersede the laws of Shabbos.
4. 35:3 - There are two different opinions: a) To teach that igniting a fire on Shabbos is less severe than the other 'melachos.' b) To teach that each melacha is a separate violation, requiring its own separate atonement.
5. 35:18 - They kept the curtains from blowing in the wind.
6. 35:19 - They covered the Aron, Shulchan, Menorah, and the Mizbechos during transport.
7. 35:26 - It was spun directly from off of the backs of the goats.
8. 35:27 - The Nesi'im wanted to let the people contribute first, so they could then contribute whatever was missing.
9. 35:30 - Miriam.
10. 35:30, 35:34 - Betzalel ben Uri from the tribe of Yehuda; Oholiav ben Achisamach from the tribe of Dan.
11. 35:34 - Hashem picked from the tribe of Dan, an undistinguished tribe in relation to the tribe of Yehuda, to show that all are equal in front of Hashem.
12. 36:14 - It was made into curtains to be draped over the Mishkan.
13. 36:35 - Keruvim. (See Rashi 26:31).
14. 37:1 - Because he dedicated himself to its building more than anyone else.
15. 37:23 - Seven.
16. 37:25,26 - Wood covered with gold.
17. 38:1,2 - Wood covered with copper.
18. 38:7 - Hollow.
19. 38:8 - The righteous women used the mirrors to arouse the affections of their husbands who were weary from slave labor. This was responsible for the growth of the Jewish people.
20. 38:8 - Its waters allowed someone accused of adultery to prove her innocence.

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Question Contents

All the vessels and garments of the Mishkan needed to be guarded against ritual impurity. While still attached to the goat, however, the thread was immune to ritual impurity. This is because living animals can not contract ritual impurity. As a special precaution, the women spun the thread while it was still connected to the goats. That way, if the woman discovered that the thread accidentally contacted something impure, it will remain pure nevertheless, because it is still part of a live animal. Heard from Rabbi Betzalel Rudinsky

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