Rabbi Binyamin Yuhanan Parshat Vayakhel 1

foreign we are on page 517 and uh last week we learned about parashat kitisa in which we discussed the golden calf what led to it and we also spoke about the chronology that really the partial of golden calf happened earlier right after the giving of the Torah when Moshe went up for 40 days to the mountain and then when he came back he broke the tablets because of the golden calf then he went up to the mountain again for 40 days to ask for forgiveness and then he went up to the mountain for a third period of 40 days to receive the second set of the tablets and he came down from the mountain on Yom Kippur and the day after Yom Kippur Hashem told him to start building the mishkan the Tabernacle and they collected the funds and the materials and they started building and they completed all the parts of the mishkan until Hanukkah they started right after Yom Kippur until Hanukkah and then they decided to wait until Nissan and um seven days before the rose of Nisa they started the Assembly of the mishkan and they assembled it seven times on seven days and they disassembled it seven times on seven days until finally on they assembled it and it started functioning the first seven days it was Moshe who was serving in the mishkan and then starting from rosh grodish Nissan the eighth day of inauguration the kohen became aharon and His Four Sons now let's let's start this Parsha we already spoke about the mishkan in the two Torah portions preceding in parashat uh tiruma we spoke about the construction of the walls of the mishkan and the the roof of the mishkan as well as the utensils of the mishkan the altar the menorah the the holy Arc aronakodesh the schulhan and we also um spoke about the garments of kohen the regular the great kohen in parashat and speaks about the actual construction of the uh the utensils and the in the next week's Parsha parashat pekude speaks about the construction of or the the making of the garments of the uh kohen and the final setup of the Tabernacle um but at the beginning of the Parsha we speak about Shabbat we're on page 517 chapter 35. again now uh someone is asking a good question why is the story of the golden calf out of order and that is sort of to distance it from the giving of the Torah sort of to put a buffer that it shouldn't this is one of the answers it shouldn't look so bad for the Jewish people that as soon as they received the Torah right away they sin so we put um parshad mishpatim would put parshat tiruma we put parshad uh as a as a sort of to create distance from parashatro until parashat um this way it seems to us that they received the Torah they followed the Torah they built the Mishka they they received other Commandments and then the story of golden calf comes uh otherwise the talmud calls it it's a bride who had an affair with another man while being under the Hupa that's what the talmud calls it a very very grief sin while she is under the Hoopa committing her her loyalty to her new husband she already sins so to the Jewish people while they were still by the mountain Mount Sinai they're already serving an idol besides Hashem to whom they pledge their allegiance so for the honor of the Jewish people not to embarrass them so much the Torah puts the story of the golden calf further away from the receiving of the Torah okay so on page 517 chapter 35 partition assembled the entire assembly of the children of Israel and said to them these are the things that Hashem commanded to do them what is the great announcement this is what Hashem commanded to do the great announcement is on six days work may be done what kind of work the work that we spoke previously the construction of the mishkan but on the seventh day shall be holy for you a day of complete rest for Hashem whoever does work on it shall be put to death that's verse two here in verse 2 uh similar to previous uh Torah portion we learn that Shabbat is more important than betamic Dash not only you shouldn't go to your business and your place of work to earn money for yourself but even work that is for God is not allowed even construction of the Holy Temple cannot be done on Shabbat and certainly construction of our homes or working to earn money for ourselves that for sure is forbidden on Shabbat this is a general rule that the Torah tells us the greatest novelty something we would not think of if the Torah told us don't go to your job on Shabbat we might think I'm not allowed to go to my job but to build a temple should be permitted we would come uh come we come out with a wrong conclusion so the Torah tells us even something that you would think is allowed I'm forbidding you even building betamic Dash is not allowed and now it also tells us what the punishment is shall be put to death and we know the the there are uh various punishments at least three for desecrating Shabbat someone who knows what Shabbat is and he knows that this particular work is forbidden on Shabbat and there are witnesses who warned him that he shouldn't do it um and he still does it such a person deserves death penalty through human court and the death penalty is Stony however what if a person does know about the severity of Shabbat and he does know what is forbidden to do on Shabbat but there are no Witnesses then he gets cut it then he gets spiritual excision uh early death and he his soul becomes spiritually blemished and then if a person knows about Shabbat he knows that it's forbidden to do this particular work on Shabbat but he forgot for that moment by habit for example uh he usually lights fire and smokes when he wakes up early in the morning and he wakes up early on Shabbat he forgot that it's uh Shabbat and he strikes a match lights a cigarette and then he remembers oh it's Shabbat what should I do so he um transgressed but it's what we call a show gig by mistake through forgetfulness or negligence such a person has to of course apologize due to Shiva and then he has to bring Corban a sin offering the sin offering is uh what he needs to do in order to receive complete atonement first comes teshuva and then the sin offering so there are three levels in desecration of Shabbat knowing and willful desecration with Witnesses death penalty with human chord knowing and willful desecration without Witnesses that's correct and knowing but not willful he forgot he didn't want to desecrate Shabbat but he forgot but he knew about Shabbat and for that he needs to bring the sin offering in the two most strict cases in the death penalty and in Cadet he also needs to do teshuva he also needs to ask forgiveness from Hashem apologize and take upon himself that he's not going to do it again and nevertheless if it's a death penalty he still has to go through the death penalty however if it's correct the shuva will actually save him from Karate so anyone who knowing this is Shabbat still desecrate Shabbat without Witnesses which includes most people all they need to do is to turn to Hashem and say Hashem I apologize for this is Shabbat I'm not going to do it anymore and that saves him from karet a very easy way to get atonement now for verse 3 actually gives us a a detail about Shabbat until now we speak about Shabbat in general terms don't do work on Shabbat and we learn from the mishkan from the Tabernacle what work is and now the Torah says a detail specific prohibition you shall not Kindle Fire in any of your dwellings on the Shabbat day so from here we learned that one of the 39 prohibited labors on Shabbat is lightning fire now there is a an ethical teaching that we derive from this verse and that is what does it mean don't you shall not Kindle Fire ethical Masters teach us that we're talking about the fire in your heart which means they read the verse like this do not become angry in all of your dwellings on the Shabbat day the Shabbat day is a day of rest it's not a day to fight not a day to uh have arguments not a date to judge people it's a day for relaxation a day of friendship day of meditation and therefore getting angry on Shabbat is doubly wrong becoming angry on any day of the week is a Prohibition but being angry on Shabbat is also not resting on Shabbat so knowing that Shabbat is so holy Hashem sends a special test right before Shabbat Hashem tries to uh incite us will we give in to provocations of our children of our spouses of things that don't go right things that break or spill and will we get upset and if we do get upset on Friday the Satan is hoping that our bad mood is going to continue into Shabbat and that is why many people report that it's very hard to keep calm on um Shabbat on Friday Friday is the day when we have a lot of pressure as it is we have to cook everything and put all the lights on and turn all the lights that we don't need off and we have to take a shower and shower our kids and clean the house and set the table so many things to do and on top of that Satan comes and tries to play with our mind and our emotions so we have to be aware of it and we have to be extra extra on guard and careful take upon ourselves that any day of the week whatever happens happens but on Shabbat and Friday I will not allow myself to become angry following this verse you shall not Kindle Fire in any of your dwellings on the Shabbat day do not raise the flame of your temper okay now we continue verse 4. Moshe said to the entire assembly of the children of Israel saying this is the word that Hashem has commanded saying take from yourselves a portion for Hashem in parashat Hashem gave this instruction to Moshe and now Moshe repeats everything to the Jewish people what are the the materials that are needed for construction gold silver copper turquoise wool purple wool Scarlet wool linen gold hair red dyed Ram skins skins of an animal called tahash wood from the tree called acacia olive oil that will be used on the menorah for illumination spices for the anointment oil and spices for the Aramaic aromatic incense the ketoro and showham stones and stones for the settings for the for the breastplate all together 16 various materials are listed now the second uh command that Moshe gives the people in this in verse 10. every wise-hearted man person among you shall come and make everything that Hashem has commanded now here is the once they they got the contributions the the materials now the workers come to to make the the parts of the Tabernacle what are they the three covers one is called Tabernacle one is called the tent and one is called the cover as we discussed in in parashat uh tiruma it's hooks planks bars pillars and sockets that's for the uh the structure the physical structure of the Tabernacle then in verse 12 come various utensils the ark and its poles the cover in front of the arc the the the or the cover of the Ark I apologize and the partition curtain in front of the arc the table and whatever makes up the table its poles its utensils it's a show bread verse 14 the menorah for illumination and now we're on page 519 all the various utensils used for Menorah in verse 15 the incense altar with the golden altar there was in the Holy used for kittore for the the incense it's Paul's it's an anointment oil and the incense spices and the ancient screen the second screen the partition that separates wholly from the Azara from the courtyard verse 16 the elevation offering alter the second larger altar copper altar for the actual offerings the golden altar was used for incense burning daily and extra one on Yom Kippur and the elevation offering alter the larger one the copper one was used for burning parts of the animal animals and the lever the wash basin from which kohanim washed their hands and feet and its base verse 17 the curtains of the courtyard the courtyard had a wall around it but it was not a solid wall but was made from curtains that were hung on pillars as well as the screen of the Gate of the courtyard this was the third gate for the entrance to the courtyard and then there was another screen for the entrance to the Tabernacle itself the holy and then there was another gate for the entrance into the holy of holies in verse 19 the neetvestments to serve in the sanctuary this refers to the special um cloth that was used to cover utensils while traveling before uh this disassembling the Tabernacle the kohanan would walk in to the to the Tabernacle they would bring special cloths we read about it later in Torah the various layers and they would put each utensil like Menorah into one cloth wrap it up then put it in another cloth wrap it up and only then the Levites would come and carry these utensils because the Levites as well as other Jewish people were not allowed to gaze to stare to look at these utensils and the sacred vestments for aharon and for his sons to minister these are already the garments of kohanim verse 20 the entire assembly of the children of Israel left moshe's presence to bring the materials and to construct the mishkan now verse 21 and on describes how the people donated they were so excited they did it quickly and they did even more than asked every man whose heart inspired him came and everyone who's Spirit motivated him brought the portion of Hashem for the work of the tent of meaning for all its labor and for the sacred vestments the man came with the women everyone who's hard motivated him brought bracelets and various other jewelry is listed all sorts of gold ornaments verse 23. every man who had turquoise purple and Scarlet wool or linen or gold hair red dyed Ram skins and taco skins brought them and the the paragraph continues how they brought other materials and in verse 25 Every wise-hearted Woman spun the wall with her hands and the talmud says that they had a special a gift a talent that they could already spin the wall while it was still on the sheep they would raised sheep keep it clean wash the sheep and when the wool was very long and beautiful and clean they would already spin the wool into threads this way they achieved a better quality of thread because the the the the the wool hairs were long and they were facing the same direction so the the thread was much stronger and and More Beautiful the leaders first 27. brought the showham stones and the stones for the settings of the effort and the breastplate the the precious stones 12 Stones for the breastplate and two stones for the shoulder straps were brought by the the Nissim by the leaders verse 29 every man and woman whose heart motivated them to bring for any of the work of the uh that Hashem had commanded to make through Moshe the children of Israel brought a free world offering to Hashem now on page 521 the Craftsmen are selected Moshe said to the children of Israel see Hashem proclaimed by name bitzalel son of URI son of of the tribe of Yehuda by the way we remember who is the one that was killed he's the son of Miriam he was killed in the story of uh golden calf he filled him with Godly spirit with wisdom insight and knowledge and with every craft to weave designs to work with gold silver and copper Stone Clinic for setting and wood carving to perform every craft of design and I would say just say that bitzalel was 13 years old only 13. he was very young which was an additional Miracle as it is for one man who just came from Egypt to know all these crafts weaving Goldsmith silversmith coppersmith stone cutting wood carving designing was already miraculous and for 13 year old boy to know all that this way everyone understood that that Hashem is on their side Hashem desires their service and Hashem inspires them to do the work properly verse 34 he gave him the ability to teach to teach others he was like a leader and a teacher him and his assistant of the tribe of done he filled them with a wise heart to do every craft of the Carver Weaver of designs and embroider now chapter 36 March verse 2 Moshe summoned bitsale a holy of and every wise-hearted man whose heart Hashem endowed with wisdom everyone whose heart inspired him to approach the work to do it we should derive inspiration for ourselves that if we want to do something good we should never think that I cannot do it if we want to do something good there is always a way like it says if there is a will there is a way what's the way the way is that God will give you whatever you're missing whether it is in materials finances or in ability as long as you want to do something good you commit to doing it and the rest is up to Hashem he will inspire you he will give you the right advice he'll connect you to proper people and you will accomplish that is why these words are repeated again and again every wise-hearted man whose heart Hashem endowed with wisdom whose heart inspired him to approach the work to do it now verse 3 from moshe's presence they took the entire gift all the donations that the children of Israel had brought for the work of the labor of sanctuary to do it but the Jewish people continued to bring him Free Will gifts morning after morning even after they they started their work and there was enough materials Jewish people did not stop they continued to donate all the wise people came those performing all the sacred work each of them from his work that they were doing they stopped what they were doing and they came to Moshe and they said to Moshe as follows the people are bringing more than enough for the labor of the work the Hashem has commanded to perform this is similar to the blessing that Hashem gives to those that listen to him I will give you a blessing so great that you will have to say enough and enough and enough so many times that you're gonna get tired of saying enough that's how Hashem treats those that He Loves and this is how Jewish people treat God that they love they continue bringing donations even more than they are asked for even more than necessary so