Parashat Vayakhel 5782

by Rabbi Margie Cella

Vayakhel begins with Moshe reiterating the commandment to observe Shabbat: no work is to be done nor fires kindled on the seventh day. He instructs the people to make a willing offering of all the raw materials needed to construct the Tabernacle and its furnishings; both men and women generously comply. The craftsman Bezalel and his assistant Oholiab are appointed to oversee the construction; both are endowed by God with the knowledge they need to complete the task. They tell Moshe that the people have brought too much, and he asks them to stop. The balance of the text is a detailed description of the construction project: what items were made and how many; the dimensions of each, and the materials used to create them.

The haftarah tells the story of the completion of the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The craftsman of this project is Hiram, who does the copper and bronze work. King Solomon oversees the construction of the furnishings: the altar, showbread table, lampstands, doors, and utensils, all made of gold. Because it describes the Temple’s dedication, this haftarah is also read on the Shabbat of Chanukah.

The connections that join the parashah and the haftarah together, b’yachad , are clear: the mishkan and Temple were both constructed as earthly dwelling places for Hashem. Though one was portable and one permanent, they contained almost identical furnishings. Bezalel and Hiram were the master craftsmen that worked on the projects; Moshe and Solomon were the ones to complete them.

Both texts are connected to the Creation story of Bereshit. The word וַיַּ֣עַשׂ, he made, is used to refer to Bezalel (41 times in this parashah ), Hiram (1 Kings 7:40, 48), and God (Gen. 1:7, 16, 25). The creations of Bezalel and Hiram are referred to as ,הַמְּלָאכָ֔ה the work; Genesis uses the word ,מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ his work, to refer to God’s creation (2:2,3). Hashem created a world for us to dwell in; we completed the creative process by making sanctuaries for Hashem to dwell in. Neither sanctuary exists any longer; today we provide a place for Hashem to dwell within each one of us, and within our holy communities.