ויקחו לי תרומה, “they shall take for Me a contribution;” this portion had been told to Moses during the forty days that Moses was on Mount Sinai, immediately after the revelation at that Mountain, [In other words, before the smashing of the Tablets, and the golden calf episode. Ed.] G–d, at that time, had already told Moses where to erect the Tabernacle, and that it would house the Holy Ark, inside the Holy of Holies, symbolising G–d’s presence on earth. He told him that it would contain the Tablets, and that the Israelites would be encamped around the Tabernacle. This is what is meant in verse eight of our verse where G–d described Himself as residing in the midst of the people, i.e. as if surrounded by angels as He had been in heaven. Concerning this state of affairs, David had said in Psalms 82,6: אמרתי אלוהים אתם ובני עליון כולכם, “I had said: ‘you are the children of G–d all of you children of the Supreme Being.” [David bemoans the demotion of the Jewish people that followed the golden calf episode in the verse following. Ed.]

'וזאת התרומה וגו, “and this is what the contribution is to consist of, etc.;” thirteen different categories of contributions are listed here. The prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 16,10, lists the thirteen garments (including jewelry) in which the Lord is going to dress the Jewish people in the future which correspond to this. (Tanchuma, section 5 on our portion)

וזהב וכסף ונחושת, “as well as gold, silver, and copper.” These three elements correspond to the gifts (tzedakah) a person dispenses; when he does so while in perfect health, it is compared to gold, i.e. as if he had handed out gold. If he dispenses charitable gifts while sick, this is accounted for him as if he had given away silver. If he bequeaths money to charity to be dispensed after he has died, it is considered as if he had handed out copper coins. An alternate interpretation: the word “gold,” is a reference to the Kingdom of Babylon concerning which we read in Daniel 2,38: אנתה הוא ראשה די דהב, “you are the head of gold.” [Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. Ed.] The word: “silver,” is an allusion to the Kingdom of Persia, and the ten thousand talents of silver Haman offered the King in order to be allowed to destroy the Jews [and compensate him for lost tax revenue. Ed.] (Esther 3,) Copper, which is the cheapest of all the metals, is an allusion to the Kingdom of the Greeks, which was the weakest of the three empires mentioned. This is followed, by the skins of the various animals forming the upper layers of the Tabernacle’s roof, which are an allusion to the empire of the Romans, considered inferior by our author. Finally, שמן, ”oil,” is an allusion to the Messiah, of whom we read in Psalms 132,17: ערכתי נר למשיחי, “I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.” (Compare Sh’mot Rabbah 35,5 as well as Tanchuma, section 7 on our portion).

ועצי שטים, “and acacia wood.” Actually, the word שטים is a notrikon, an acrostic composed of the respective first letters in the words: שלום, טובה, ישועה, מחילה, “peace, goodness, salvation, and pardon.” There were some forests in the desert from which the Israelites were able to cut boards which they called shittim. This is also why we read in Joshua 2,1 that “Joshua sent out spies from (the forest around Shittim)” This is also what the prophet Isaiah referred to (Isaiah 41,19) when he wrote (in the name of the Lord) אתן במדבר ארז ,שיטה, והדס, “I will plant cedars in the deserts, acacias and myrtles, and oleasters.“ This is a very lightweight wood and it is very smooth. If we needed any proof that its wood was very light, consider the size of the boards of the Tabernacle’s which were 48 in number. Add two silver sockets for each board, i.e. 96 sockets, add all the upright boards use to surround the courtyard of the Tabernacle, which all had to be transported only by four wagons pulled by eight oxen, as spelled out in Numbers 4,29. Even though each board was 10 cubits high (6 meters) and their thickness was 1 cubit (60cm) and you will realise that unless the wood itself was extremely light, all of this could not have been pulled by only eight oxen. The other four oxen had to pull the weight of the carpets (4 layers) which formed the “roof” of the Tabernacle. We have been told in addition that the בריח התיכון, (Exodus 36,33), the center bolt, used to be Yaakov’s walking staff, the one with which he had crossed the river Jordan on his way to Lavan. Rashi claims that the shittim wood were trees that Yaakov had planted in Egypt as soon as he had come to Egypt, which the Israelites uprooted and took with them when departing from Egypt and which were used now to make the boards for the Tabernacle from. This is also what the liturgist bases himself on. Another interpretation found in the Midrash is that this was wood from the staff Yaakov had .taken with him on the way to Lavan. [I suppose that what the Midrash means is that Yaakov had planted that walking staff in the earth in Charan already, and it had developed. Ed.] This is why he had referred to it in Genesis 32,11, as a symbol of G–d’s providence guiding him during all the years he had been at Lavan. Ed.] It is not surprising therefore that he took those trees with him also to Egypt.

שמן למאור, “oil for light;” it is somewhat puzzling why this verse has been inserted here, seeing that the entire chapter deals with materials used for building the Tabernacle with the exception of this item, although the requirements for the Table in the Tabernacle have not been mentioned here, although that would have been appropriate, if the Torah had wished to mention the requirements of the menorah, the lampstand. Also the firewood for the altar should have been mentioned, and the animals that were needed to be offered on the altar. Why was only the oil singled out? It is possible to answer this by saying that seeing that the oils for anointing was also used to anoint all the furnishings in the Tabernacle before they could perform their function, this oil had multiple functions and was not only used for providing the raw material from which lighting was supplied for the Tabernacle which had no windows. The same is true of the incense. In a king’s palace, in our physical universe, before the King enters it with a view to take up his residence, different pleasant smelling spices are scattered to dissipate remnants of unpleasant odours that had accumulated during its construction. It is clear therefore that no less would be done when a structure housing the presence of the shechinah, presence of the Creator would be made ready for His occupancy. We find that indeed the presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle was made possible only through the presence of the incense, i.e. the fragrance released by it through burning it; this thought has been spelled out in Leviticus 16,13: וכסה ענן הקטורת, “and the cloud of incense is to envelop the Holy Ark,” as well as again in verse 2 of the same chapter: כי בענן אראה על הכפורת, “for I appear in the cloud upon the cover of the Ark.” Even though the oil of which the Torah speaks here is not required for physical illumination in the Tabernacle, it reflects the honour paid to the Holy Presence of the celestial presence in the midst of the Jewish people.

אבני שהם, “onyx stones;” these, and the jewels which follow, were required for the breastplate and the epaulets of the garments of the High Priest. How precisely did this work? The two onyx stones were affixed each to one of the shoulder pieces of the ephod. (Exodus 28,9 as well as 28,12) The stones collectively described as אבני מלואים, “jewels to be placed within the twelve settings provided for them on the breastplate of the High priest.” (Exodus 28,9). These jewels are referred to euphemistically on numerous occasions in the Bible, perhaps the best known example being Psalms 113,5-6: המגביהי לשבת המשפילי לראות בשמים ובארץ, “Who, though enthroned high, sees what is below, and Who sees what is in heaven and what is on earth.” You find an onyx stone mentioned also in Exodus 28,20, where it is one of the jewels on the breastplate of the High Priest.

ועשו ארון, “they are to construct an Ark;” it is noteworthy that the Torah, in these instructions about construction of the furnishings of the Tabernacle, addresses the artisans as individuals, i.e. ועשית, you, the individual, shall construct, whereas when speaking of the Holy Ark, it uses the impersonal plural of ועשו, “they shall construct.” The reason is that seeing that the Holy Ark, repository of the Tablets and the original Torah scroll, is to be something that every Israelite must feel that he had a part in making its construction possible. (Sh’mot Rabbah 34,2). If inert objects deserve such treatment with respect, how much more so do the Torah scholars, each in their own town, living bearers of the Torah’s wisdom, deserve to be treated with respect and be given honour by each Jew.

מבית ומחוץ תצפנו, “you are to overlay it both from the inside and from the outside. The famous Talmudic scholar Rava, derives from this phrasing that a Torah scholar, in order to deserve that title, must demonstrate that he is on the inside just as pure and faithful as what he projects to be on the outside to people he comes into contact with. Furthermore, the use of the impersonal plural “they” in our verse is an instruction to each Israelite to preoccupy himself with the study of Torah so that he can qualify for the reward in store for people doing so.

וצפית, “you are to cover it;” actually the Holy Ark was meant to be made of pure gold, not merely gold plate. The reason that it was not all gold, was that gold is very heavy and the Holy Ark plus its contents had to be carried on the Levites’ shoulders. [Even as it was, according to a calculation by Rabbi Eliyahu ki tov, the weight was 78000lbs. Ed.] The reader will wonder how a few Levites could possibly carry even such a weight, and having this in mind the Talmud in tractate Sotah folio 35, states that far from the Levites carrying the Ark, the Ark was transporting its carriers. [Especially while the entire nation crossed the river Jordan under the command of Joshua and the Levites carrying the Ark had to position themselves in a manner which would stop the waters of the Jordan flowing south until the last man had crossed.] (Joshua 3,17) Normally, and for brief periods, the Levites were able to carry the Ark, (with G–d’s help, of course, as when Yaakov rolled away a stone that several shepherds had been unable to move as much as an inch.) Our author questions that if carrying the Ark on their shoulders was a command that applied only on a certain occasion, why was Uzza punished when he tried to steady the wagon transporting the Ark. (Chronicles I 13,9-10, as well as Samuel II 6,7) He leaves the question unanswered. [The Talmud there even states that Uzzah went straight to the world to come, as a reward for his noble intention, I suppose. Ed.] Not only the Ark, but also the Table and the “golden” altar were not made of solid gold but their wooden base was overlaid with gold plate both from the outside and the inside. The same applied to the copper altar, which also had to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites during the journeys in the desert. (Compare Exodus 21,1) [This editor sees no contradiction in all this, as until the 40th year in the desert the Israelites lived on miracles, miracle water, miracle bread, clothing that did not wear out, complete protection against heat and cold by special clouds, etc. This only changed partially during the fortieth year when they conquered land, flocks and herds, etc. Presumably, crossing the Jordan river, brought that period to an end, as immediately after that the commandment to set aside challah from dough made from grain that had grown in the Holy Land, became applicable. Ed.]

ועשית עליו זר זהב, “you will make around it a crown of gold.” The purpose of this was decorative. It was to symbolise the crown of the Torah. The expression זר, meaning “crown,” instead of the better known word: כתר, occurs in the Talmud, tractate Yuma, folio 72, where it is stated that there were three such “crowns.” The crown over the Holy Ark symbolised the “crown” of Torah, the “crown” around the surface of the Table symbolised the “crown” worn by monarchs, and the ”crown” surrounding the top of the altar symbolised the crown of the priesthood.” The latter crown was appropriated by Aaron, the High Priest, the crown symbolising hereditary monarchy was appropriated by King David, and the crown symbolising Torah was not appropriated by any individual or family, but is available to be worn by any individual worthy of it.

לא יסורו ממנו, “they (the staves) must not be removed from it.” The reason that these staves must not be tampered with, i.e. removing it and re-attaching it, was due to the sacred nature of the Holy Ark. When the Ark needed to be moved, the bearers took hold of the respective ends of these staves. As soon as they would have deposited it at its next destination, the bearers would immediately step away from it in order not to become ritually impure by any misstep they might make. Briefly, it was Moses who attached these staves to the Holy Ark the first time, and they were not ever to be detached from it again.

ונתת אל הארון את העדות, “you (Moses) will place within it the testimony which I will give to you.” This verse does not contain the essence of this commandment, as in verse 21 this line has been repeated. The reason it appeared in our verse is merely to tell us why the Ark was not to be moved, (unless for accompanying the Israelites on their journey through the desert). It sanctity was such that any unnecessary moving of the Ark would diminish its sanctity in the eyes of the beholder. It possessed such sanctity already on account of housing the Testimony and the original Torah scroll in the future, after G–d would give the Tablets to Moses upon his having completed his lengthy visits to the top of Mount Sinai.

פורשי כנפים מעלה, “spreading their wings upwards;” the wings were spread above their heads. This was to symbolise humility. [If the head were to be above the wings, this would be a sign of arrogance; this is why Jews always cover their heads when under an open sky. Ed.]

אל הכפורת, “in the direction of the lid of the Ark.” Their faces were turned downwards.

תיעשה המנורה, “the lampstand shall be made;” the word: תיעשה is spelled here with the letter י, the only time in the Bible it is spelled in this manner, in order to serve as a reminder that Solomon placed ten such lampstands into the Temple that he built.

וירכה, “its base;” this is a reference to the base of the menorah;” its total height was eighteen handbreadths, of which the base with its three legs took up three handbreadths. We have a hint of its height in Numbers 8,4 where the subject of the menorah is introduced with the word: וזה, “and this was;” the numerical value of the letters in that word is 18.

והאיר, ”it will illuminate, etc.” the meaning of the verse is that the lights from the menorah will illuminate the showbreads on the Table opposite it. This is spelled out in detail in Exodus 49,24. The plain meaning of the verses dealing with this is that the broadside of the lampstand faced from east to west so that it could easily provide light for the Table standing opposite it. According to the view of the scholar claiming that the position of the menorah had been in a north-south direction, we would have to assume that the lamp burning on top of the center shaft was pointing westward, whereas all the other six lamps were facing towards the center shaft. This is not very convincing, as clearly the purpose of the lamps was primarily to illuminate the showbreads on the Table. Alternately, we would have to accept Rashi’s explanation that the six lamps were facing in the direction of the lamp in the center in order to emphasize the light of that particular lamp.