לוח זמני תפלה לחורף תשפ״א

Q & A on Parashat Vayakhel – Pekude

Questions & Answers on:

Vayakhel

1. On which day did Moshe
   assemble the Jewish People?
2. Why is the prohibition
   against doing work on Shabbat written prior to the instruction for
   building the Mishkan?
3. Why does the Torah specify
   the particular prohibition of lighting a fire on Shabbat right after it
   had already noted the general prohibition of doing work on Shabbat?
4. What function did the “yitdot
   hamishkan” serve?
5. What function did the “bigdei
   hasrad” serve?
6. What was unusual about the
   way the women spun the goat's hair?
7. Why were the Nesi'im
   last to contribute to the building of the Mishkan? How does the Torah show
   dissatisfaction with their actions?
8. Who does the Torah identify
   as the primary builders of the Mishkan? From which tribes were they?
9. What time of day did the
   people bring their daily contributions for the construction of the
   Mishkan?
10. For what was the woven
    goat's hair used?
11. What image was woven into
    the parochet?
12. Why does the Torah attribute
    the building of the aron to Bezalel?
13. Where were the sculptured cheruvim
    located?
14. How many lamps did the menorah
    have?
15. Of what materials was the mizbe'ach
    haketoret composed?
16. Of what material was the mizbe'ach
    ha'olah composed?
17. The kiyor was made
    from copper mirrors. What function did these mirrors serve in Egypt?
18. How did the kiyor
    promote peace?
19. The kiyor was made
    from the mirrors of the women who were crowding at the entrance to the Ohel
    Mo'ed. Why were the women crowding there?
20. Of what material were the
    “yitdot hamishkan” constructed?

Pekude

1. Why is the word Mishkan
   stated twice in verse 38:21?
2. Why is the Mishkan called
   the “Mishkan of Testimony”?
3. Who was appointed to carry
   the vessels of the Mishkan in the midbar?
4. Who was the officer in
   charge of the levi'im?
5. What is the meaning of the
   name Bezalel?
6. How many people contributed
   a half-shekel to the Mishkan? Who contributed?
7. Which material used in the bigdei
   kehuna was not used in the coverings of the sacred vessels?
8. How were the gold threads
   made?
9. What was inscribed on the
   stones on the shoulders of the ephod?
10. What was on the hem of the me'il?
11. What did the Kohen Gadol wear
    between the mitznefet and the tzitz?
12. What role did Moshe play in
    the construction of the Mishkan?
13. Which date was the first
    time that the Mishkan was erected and not dismantled?
14. What was the “tent”
    which Moshe spread over the Mishkan(40:19)?
15. What “testimony”
    did Moshe place in the aron?
16. What function did the parochet
    serve?
17. Where was the shulchan
    placed in the Mishkan?
18. Where was the menorah
    placed in the Mishkan?
19. Who offered the communal
    sacrifices during the eight days of the dedication of the Mishkan?
20. On which day did both Moshe
    and Aharon serve as kohanim?

Answers

All references are to the verses and Rashi’s
commentary, unless otherwise stated.

Vayakhel

1. 35:1 – The day after Yom
   Kippur.
2. 35:2 – To emphasize that the
   building of the Mishkan doesn't supersede the laws of Shabbat.
3. 35:3 – There are two
   opinions: One opinion is to teach that igniting a fire on Shabbat is
   punishable by lashes as opposed to other “melachot” which
   are punishable by death. The other opinion is to teach that violation of
   numerous “melachot” at one time requires a separate
   atonement for each violation.
4. 35:18 – The edges of the
   curtains were fastened to them. These were inserted in the ground so the
   curtains would not move in the wind.
5. 35:19 – They covered the aron,
   the shulchan, the menorah, and the mizbachot when
   they were packed for transport.
6. 35:26 – It was spun directly
   from off the backs of the goats.
7. 35:27 – The Nesi'im
   reasoned that they would first let the people contribute materials needed
   for the Mishkan and then they would contribute what was lacking. The Torah
   shows its dissatisfaction by deleting a letter from their title.
8. 35:30, 35:34 – Bezalel ben
   Uri from the tribe of Yehuda; Oholiav ben Achisamach from the tribe of
   Dan.
9. 36:3 – Morning.
10. 36:14 – It was made into
    curtains to be draped over the Mishkan
11. 36:35 – Cherubim.
    (See Rashi 26:31)
12. 37:1 – Because he dedicated
    himself to its building more than anyone else.
13. 37:7 – On the two
    extremities of the kaporet (cover of the aron).
14. 37:23 – Seven.
15. 37:25,26 – Wood overlaid
    with gold.
16. 38:1-2 – Wood overlaid with
    copper.
17. 38:8 – These mirrors aided
    in the proliferation of the Jewish People. The Jewish women in Egypt would
    look in the mirrors so as to awaken the affections of their husbands who
    were exhausted by their slave labor.
18. 38:8 – Its waters helped a
    woman accused of adultery to prove her innocence.
19. 38:8 – To donate to the
    Mishkan.
20. 38:20 – Copper.

Pekude

1. 38:21 – To allude to the Beit
   Hamikdash that would twice be taken as a “mashkon”
   (pledge) for the sins of the Jewish People until the nation repents.
2. 38:21 – It was testimony for
   the Jewish People that G-d forgave them for the golden calf and allowed
   His Shechina to dwell among them.
3. 38:21 – The levi'im.
4. 38:21 – Itamar ben Aharon.
5. 38:22 – “In the shadow
   of G-d.”
6. 38:26 – 603,550. Every man
   age twenty and over (except the levi'im).
7. 39:1 – Linen (See Rashi
   31:10).
8. 39:3 – The gold was beaten
   into thin plates from which threads were cut. (See Rashi 28:6).
9. 39:6, 39:7 – The names of
   the tribes.
10. 39:24,25 – Woven
    pomegranates and golden bells.
11. 39:31 – Tefillin.
12. 39:33 – He stood it up.
13. 40:17 – Rosh Chodesh
    Nissan of the second year in the desert. For seven days before this,
    during the consecration of Aharon and his sons, Moshe erected and
    dismantled the Mishkan. (Rashi 39:29)
14. 40:19 – The curtain of
    goatskin.
15. 40:20 – The Luchot
    Habrit.
16. 40:21 – It served as a
    partition for the aron.
17. 40:22 – On the northern side
    of the Ohel Mo'ed, outside the parochet.
18. 40:24 – On the southern side
    of the Ohel Mo'ed opposite the shulchan.
19. 40:29 – Moshe.
20. 40:31 – On the eighth day of
    the consecration of the Mishkan.