Pekuday
Rabbi Bernard Fox
“And these are the
accounts of the Mishcan -- the Tabernacle of the Testimony – that were
calculated by Moshe. It was the service
of the Leveyim under the authority of Itamar the son of Ahron the Kohen.” (Shemot 38:21)
This pasuk introduces Parshat Pekudey. The parasha provides an account of the
materials donated for the Mishcan and
a description of the manner in which these materials were used.
The pasuk refers to the Mishcan as the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The simple meaning of this term is that the Mishcan housed the Luchot – the Tablets of the Decalogue. These Luchot provided
testimony. They evidenced the
authenticity of the Torah and the relationship between Hashem and His nation.
Rashi, based on
Midrash Rabba, offers another interpretation of the testimony identified with
the Mishcan. He explains that the Tabernacle indicated
that Hashem had forgiven Bnai Yisrael for the sin of the Egel HaZahav – the Golden
Calf. Upon the completion of the Mishcan, the Divine Presence descended
upon the Tabernacle. This indicated that the relationship with Hashem was
reestablished.
This interpretation of
the midrash creates an interesting difficulty.
The end of the pasuk explains
that the service in the Mishcan was
entrusted to the Leveyim and Kohanim. This was not the original design. Initially, service was commended to the first-born. However, the first-born became involved in
the sin of the Egel. In contrast, the Leveyim and Kohanim
withstood temptation and opposed the Egel. As a consequence, the responsibility for
service in the Mishcan was
transferred from the first-born to the Leveyim
and Kohanim. The end of the pasuk confirms this change from the original plan.
According to the
Midrash, the pasuk delivers a confusing
message. The first part of the pasuk indicates that the Mishcan testified to Hashem’s
forgiveness. The second part of the pasuk seems to indicate the
opposite. The service was not restored
to the first-born. This seems to imply
that the sin of the Egel had not been
completely forgiven.
Meshech Chachmah
offers an interesting answer to this question. Maimonides explains that a Kohen who practices or confirms idolatry
may not serve in the Temple. This law
applies even if the Kohen repents
fully from his sin. Why can the
repentant Kohen not return to
service? Presumably, Hashem has
forgiven him! It seems that once the Kohen
becomes associated with idolatry he is permanently unfit for service in the Mishcan. Repentance and forgiveness do not remove this association.
Based on this law, the
Meshech Chachmah explains the message of the pasuk. The pasuk explains that Bnai Yisrael had,
indeed, been forgiven for the sin of the Egel. Nonetheless, the first-born were no longer
qualified to serve. They had identified
themselves with the idolatry of the Egel
and were permanently disqualified from service in the Mishcan.
“And they beat the
gold into thin plates and cut them into threads, which they included in the
blue, dark red, crimson wool, and fine linen as patterned brocade.” (Shemot 39:3)
The garments of the Kohen Gadol contain a number of
materials. The basic threads are blue
wool, dark red wool, crimson wool, and fine linen. The vestments also contain gold threads. However, the gold threads are interwoven
into the other threads. How is this
accomplished? Each thread of blue wool,
dark red wool, crimson wool and fine linen is composed of seven strands woven
together. Six of the stands are of the
basic material of the thread. The
seventh strand is gold. For example, a
thread of blue wool in composed of seven individual strands woven together to
create a single thread. Six of these
strands are blue wool. The seventh
strand is gold. In this manner, gold is
included in each of the threads of the garment.
Our pasuk describes the process through
which these gold threads are created. A
quantity of gold is beaten into a thin plate or foil. Then, this foil is cut into fine threads.
The Torah does not
provide many details regarding the manufacturing processes used in creating the
Mishcan and the vestments of the Kohanim. For example, the craftsmen created silver sockets. The boards that supported the curtains of
the Mishcan were inserted into these
sockets. The Torah does not describe
the process by which these sockets were fabricated. These details of the manufacturing process are not included in
the Torah’s narrative.
The only detail that
the Torah does provide is the method by which these gold threads were
fashioned. It is odd that this detail
should be mentioned. Why does this
detail deserve special attention?
Nachmanides offers an
answer to this question. He explains
that the Torah did not dictate the specific manufacturing processes. The Torah described the elements of the Mishcan and the vestments of the Kohanim. However, the Torah did not command the craftsmen to manufacture
these items in any specific manner. The
craftsmen were free to rely on their own ingenuity to fashion these items. For this reason, the specific manufacturing
processes are not included in the Torah.
These processes were not part of the commandments to create a Mishcan and vestments for the Kohanim.
This presented the
craftsmen with a dilemma. They
understood the description of the Kohen
Gadol’s garments. They realized
that the individual threads of the garments must contain a gold strand. However, they were not familiar with a
process through which gold thread could be manufactured. This challenge exceeded their experience and
knowledge. They were required to invent
some novel process for manufacturing these gold strands. The Torah is describing the manufacturing
process invented by the craftsmen of the Mishcan. This process is described in order to
demonstrate the wisdom of these craftsmen.
They invented a completely new process.[1]
“And he burned incense
on it as Hashem had commanded Moshe.” (Shemot 40:26)
After the craftsmen
completed the Mishcan, they brought
it to Moshe for assembly. There is a
difference of opinion regarding the date of this event. Many authorities maintain that the Mishcan was first assembled on the
twenty-third of Adar. On this date, a
seven-day period of initiation began.
Moshe assembled and took down the Mishcan
every day. According to some Sages,
Moshe repeated this process as many as three times daily. Ahron and the Kohanim did not perform the services during this seven-day
initiation. Instead, Moshe acted as the
Kohen Gadol and theonly Kohen.
On the eighth day – the first of Nissan – the Mishcan was again assembled.
However, on this day it was not disassembled. Ahron and his sons began to assume the duties of the Kohen Gadol and the Kohanim.
Our passage states
that, as one of his duties, Moshe burned incense on the altar. It is not at all clear from the Torah
whether this service was only performed on the eighth day, or whether it was
also performed during the seven-day initiation period. Nachmanides takes the position that Moshe
offered the incense each of the seven days of the initiation.[2]
This position presents
a problem. In Parshat Tetzaveh, Hashem
commands Moshe to conduct the seven-day initiation. The Torah describes the sacrifices that Moshe was commanded to
offer. In our parasha, Hahsem commands Moshe on the procedure he was to follow in
erecting the Mishcan. Hashem tells Moshe that he should place the Mishcan’s vessels in their proper
place. He also tells Moshe to light the
Menorah and place the bread on the Shulchan
– the table. However, no mention is
made of offering incense. In short, in
neither instance in which Hashem instructs Moshe on the procedures of the
seven-day initiation is any mention made of offering incense. Why did Moshe perform a service not
commanded by Hashem?
In order to answer
this question, we must resolve another difficult issue. Why does the Torah divide the instructions
for the initiation period between Parshat Tetzaveh and our parasha? Why are some
instructions provided to Moshe in Parshat Tetzaveh and other instructions
included in our parasha within the
directions for the assembly of the Mishcan?
The answer is that
these two sections are dealing with completely different aspects of the
initiation process. Parshat Tetzaveh
deals with the special offerings required to initiate Ahron, the Kohanim, and the altar. This parasha
does not include the lighting of the Menorah or the placing of the bread on the
Shulchan. These activities were not special services performed to initiate
the Mishcan and the Kohanim.
Our parasha deals with a different aspect of
the initiation period. During this
period, Moshe performed the daily activities that are fundamental to the Mishcan. These activities include the lighting of the Menorah and the
display of the bread on Shulchan. This section does not mention the special
sacrifices offered as initiation. These
sacrifices were not among the daily activities fundamental to the Mishcan.
It is noteworthy that
the offering of the Tamid sacrifice
is mentioned in both sections. The Tamid sacrifice is a daily offering made
in the morning and afternoon. Why is
the Tamid included in both
sections? The answer is that apparently
the Tamid serves two purposes. First, it is one of the fundamental daily
activities of the Mishcan. For this reason, it is included in the
instructions in our parasha. Second, all other sacrifices are offered
after the morning Tamid service and
before the afternoon Tamid. Therefore, the special offerings of the
initiation period could only be sacrificed in conjunction with the Tamid.
The requirement to sacrifice these special offerings generated an
obligation to offer the Tamid
sacrifice in the morning and afternoon.
Therefore, the discussion of the special sacrifices in Parshat Tetzaveh
includes mention of the Tamid.
We can now answer our
question. Why did Moshe offer the
incense during the seven-day initiation period? The answer is that our parasha
clearly indicates that those services that are fundamental to the operation of
the Mishcan were required during
these seven days. For this reason, the
lights of the Menorah were kindled and the bread was displayed on the Shulchan. Moshe recognized that the offering of incense is also a
fundamental performance.
He concluded that the
commands to light the Menorah, display the bread on the Shulchan, and offer the Tamid
were only examples of a more general obligation to perform all services
fundamental to the Mishcan. Therefore, he included in his daily service
the offering of the incense. He
realized that this service is included in the general obligation of performing
all of the fundamental services.[3]