Shabbat Table Talk

Parashat Vayakhel

Erev Shabbat, 4 March 2005
Week o f 27 February to 5 March
Torah portion: Ex. 35:1-38:20
Haftarah: I Kgs. 7:13-26
Sunday Readings, 6 March: I Sam. 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Eph 5: 8-14; Jn. 9:1-41

Exodus 35-38 tells how the divine instructions which were given to Moses for building the Mishkan (Tabernacle) were executed. The chapter begins with the words ‘Vayakhel Moshe’— ‘Moses then convoked’—giving the parashah its title. It opens with a reminder of the sacred nature of the seventh day: ‘the Sabbath is a bridge connecting the building of the Tabernacle with its deeper purpose.’ This connection between the Sabbath and the Tabernacle is an important one. The Tabernacle represents the fulfilment of the covenant promise: ‘I will make my dwelling with you…I will be your God and you shall be my people.’ But the actual sign of the covenant is the Sabbath. Therefore the observance of the Sabbath and the building of the Tabernacle are two sides of the same reality.

Rabbi Levi says, “At first the Divine Presence rested mainly on the earth, as it is written ‘And they heard voice of the Lord God walking about in the garden’” (Gen. 3:8). This presence withdrew progressively when Adam ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, at the murder of Abel, when Enoch worshipped idols…right up to the days of Sodom. With the birth of Abraham, the Divine Presence began to return until finally Moshe brought the presence of God back to earth in the Mishkan. The fact that Moses ‘convoked the whole community’ (v. 6) shows that it was a privilege that belonged to the entire community, all of whom would be engaged in the work of building.

Franz Rosenzweig sees the building of the Tabernacle as the climax of the Pentateuch. As slaves in Egypt they were forced to work on the building projects of the Pharaohs. Now they are free to mirror the creative act of their God. Just as God made the world, Israel would now make the sanctuary in a new act of creation. Cassuto draws another conclusion: he sees the purpose of the Tabernacle as serving as a tangible symbol of God’s presence, lest as they journeyed from Sinai they would forget the privilege that was theirs.

The parashah ends a cycle that also began with the people assembling, but for a very different reason—to express their rebellion in the form of the golden calf. Now the God of tenderness and compassion calls them to show their response to His mercy though gestures of generosity and commitment. In calling on the Israelites generosity, Moses orders, “Take from among you gifts to the Lord, everyone whose heart so moves him shall bring them—gifts for the Lord.” Stone comments that here the stress is on the motivation of the donor and indicates that the primary requirement is not the monetary value of the gift, as God has no need of our contributions, but rather the donor’s sincere desire to unite himself with God.

Verse 21 shows how generosity abounded. There were those whose spirit motivated them to give what they could afford, voluntarily and wholeheartedly. There were others who gave even more than they could afford, so great was their desire to share in the building of the Tabernacle. The gifts poured in ‘morning after morning.’ In fact, so magnanimous were the Israelites that Moses is represented as calling a halt to their giving.

The midrash shows how the text passes judgement on the lack of spontaneous generosity from the princes. Verse 35:27 spells nesl’im (princes) without the little yod because these leaders delayed in bringing the offering. The lesson is: don’t delay! Rabbi Bechaye writes, “The women had the greatest yearning of all and therefore verse 35:22 states that the men came, after the women. When the men came they found the women already there. The fact that the women had refused to give their jewelery for making the calf, and yet willingly gave it now to the Mishkan, shows their particular stature.”

The whole account certainly emphasizes that this was a people intent on executing a work of artistic excellence and beauty. The work of the chief craftsmen Bezalea (in the shadow of God) and Oholiab (meaning father’s tent) was seen as inspired.

Shoev says that even the goats came to the women of their own accord, so they could spin their hair into curtains, but thanks to a special instinct they did not come on the Sabbath or on Rosh Hodesh. The women also brought their mirrors. Rashi notes that Moses first refused to accept a gift which appealed to the evil impulses of vanity, but God insisted because in Egypt the women had sustained their husbands with food and drink and had persuaded them to have children. Hirsch point out how the use of mirrors showed that the physical sensual side of man is not excluded from the sphere to be sanctified by the Tabernacle; in fact, it is the first and most essential object of sanctification.

There is a strong link between the themes treated in this parashah and those of the fourth Sunday of Lent. In the building of the Tabernacle the gift was less important than the interior love and devotion of the giver. L’essential est invisible aux yeux (St. Exupery). In the first reading, Samuel learns that David, not Eliab, is God’s chosen one because, “Yah does not see as man sees; man looks on appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.” The construction of the Mishkan was a physical statement of repentance for past infidelity. This is the challenge Paul faces us with today, to ‘wake up’ from ‘our sleep’ and to ‘rise’ from living death based on the ‘futile works of darkness.’

In the gospel we meet the God of tenderness and compassion who confronts our rigid interpretation of laws to excuse our lack of concern for others. God has truly ‘pitched His tent among us’ and Jesus asks the blind man to accept Him as the human one endowed with God’s glory. The man steps out in faith and walks free with new and deeper insight into God’s ways with man.

Today’s readings challenge us to open our hearts and celebrate all that is goodness in terms of faith, generosity, and artistic excellence as manifestations of the presence of a God of tenderness and compassion who has truly pitched his tent among us.

Reflection: Take time to admire and contemplate something of artistic beauty connected to worship. [1] Does the generosity of the Israelites challenge me? Do I give to God the precious gift of Sabbath rest? [2] Where does the compassion of God challenge my attitudes?

Bibilography: Childs: Exodus (London, 1982); Chumash, with Rashi’s Commentary (Jerusalem, 1934); Plaut: The Torah, A Modern Commentary (New York, 1983); The Weekly Midrash (New York, 1994).

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This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by Sr. Rosemary Gallagher, B. Rel. Ed.; Catechist Loreto College, Coleraine, County Derry, Northern Ireland Bat Kol alumna, 2001, 2003.