These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, that Mishkan of witness, that were reckoned by command of Moshe, the job of the Leviim, by the hand of Isamar son of Aharon the Cohen.
The Ohr Hachaim explains the first word of the possuk אֵלֶּה – these are. The Gemara writes that this word is used when the Torah wishes to tell you to ignore others. These, and only these, are the reckonings of the Mishkan.
The Ohr Hachaim explains that people count many things; anything that is important to a person is counted. People count their money, their possessions, their achievements, and their successes. This possuk tells us that none of those reckonings are worthy. He writes that even the word ממון is a combination of מה אתה מונה – what are you counting? Counting money is foolish, it has no real value. The only important reckoning a person can make is that which is used for a Mishkan for Hashem. The possessions a person uses to build a house for Hashem to dwell in this world have intrinsic value and should be counted and treasured.
The Ohr Hachaim adds that Chazal tell us that there is no blessing in something that is counted, weighed, or measured. However, this reckoning does not have that problem. The reckoning a person makes to bring himself more Zechusim is important and brings Beracha into his house.
Forgiveness for the Egel
The Ohr Hachaim then offers an entire new reading of this possuk.
The Gemara tells us ‘if you have done packages of Aveiros, you should correspondingly do packages of Mitzvos.’
Klal Yisroel sinned and made a Golden Calf. When they did so, they said אֵלֶּה אֱלוקיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל – these are your gods Yisroel. They used the word אֵלֶּה to sin. Now that they were at the stage of repairing the aveira they had done, they also used the word אֵלֶּה. The Medrash, quoted by Rashi, indeed explains the words מִשְׂכַּן הָעֵדֻת- the Mishkan of witness, that the Mishkan gave witness to the fact that Hashem forgave the aveira of the Egel.
The Ohr Hachaim then proceeds to explain how many of the Mitzvos of the Mishkan correspond to the aveiros they did with the Eigel.
Klal Yisroel demanded קוּם עֲשֵה לָנוּ אֱלוקים אֲשֶּר יֵלְׂכוּ לְׂפָנֵינוּ – arise and make us an idol that will go in front of us. The purpose of the idol was to travel in front of them and show them the way. Indeed, they built a Mishkan, where Hashem’s Shechina will rest and show them how to act and where to go. The Mishkan was the Heavenly, permitted and desired, version, of that which they demanded from Aharon Hacohen.
They built a Mizbeach .....and they offered up burnt offerings and they brought peace offerings close. So too, in the Mishkan, their job was to bring Korbanos.
They gave their gold for the Eigel, they now gave their gold for the Mishkan. They removed their earrings for the Eigel, now they not only gave their earrings rather from all their jewelry, as we explained in last week’s Parsha. They appointed people to collect the money for the Eigel, here Bezalel and Ahaliav were appointed as the leaders of the Chachmei Lev – the wise at heart.
So too when they began the Eigel they said אֵלֶּה אֱלוקיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל – these are your gods Yisroel, now they said אֵלֶּה פְׂקוּדֵי הַּמִשְׂכָן.
The Ohr Hachaim offers another explanation of this possuk based on the Mishkan being a Kappara for the Golden Calf.
The Gemara tells us that idol worship is equivalent to all other aveiros in the Torah. Obviously, when they needed a Kappara for this aveira, they needed something that was also equivalent to the entire Torah.
When the Torah writes the word פְׂקוּדֵי, the Targum describes it as referring to the Mitzvos. The Torah is saying, ‘This is the Mitzvos of the Torah that was commanded, etc.’. All of the Mitzvos of the Torah that Moshe was commanded are included in the Mishkan, and this is how the Mishkan could achieve a Kappara for Klal Yisroel’s aveira of the Egel.
This is called םִיִוְׂלַּה תַּדֹבֲע – the work of the Leviim. The Torah is preventing us from making a specific mistake. The service of Korbanos, prior to the Egel, was in the hands of the firstborn sons. When Klal Yisroel sinned with the Golden Calf, the service was removed from the hands of the firstborn sons and given over to the Leviim.
Now that Klal Yisroel was forgiven for the Egel, someone may think that the world returns to its previous state, and the firstborn sons are the ones to perform the service in the Mishkan.
The Torah writes specifically that even after Klal Yisroel was forgiven, it was still the םִיִוְׂלַּה תַּדֹבֲע. This was not only regarding the Mitzvos that concern the Cohanim, or the Leviim that perform the higher level of service of carrying the Aron. Even that which was בְׂיַּד אִיתָמָר בֶּן אַּהֲרֹן הַּכֹהֵן, which was the lower level of carrying the boards of wood and their sockets, was removed from the firstborn sons and transferred to the Tribe of Levi.
Proof to Moshe’s honesty – Mishkan Ha’edus
The Ohr Hachaim has yet another explanation for this possuk. Moshe reckoned the precise amount of each precious material that was donated for the Mishkan and how it was used. How do we know that it was truly so? How do we know that Moshe wasn’t pilfering some of the precious materials on the side?
To this, the Torah answers מִשְׂכַּן הָעֵדֻת- the Mishkan of witness. The Mishkan itself gave witness that nothing was stolen. How so?
When the time came to set up the Mishkan, everyone attempted to set it up, with no success. The Leviim, the Chachmei Lev, the elders of Klal Yisroel, none of them could erect the Mishkan. Yet, when Moshe Rabbeinu attempted, it went up at the first try. Moshe Rabbeinu had the Shechina’s assistance, Hashem’s Divine spirit rested on his actions. If there would have been the slightest hint of financial impropriety, if Moshe Rabbeinu would have kept anything for himself, he would not have this Divine assistance, and he would not have been able to set up the Mishkan.
The Mishkan served as a witness to Moshe Rabbeinu’s integrity. It served as a proof that the reckoning was accurate, down to the last penny.
A person may still suspect Moshe Rabbeinu, discounting the proof from Moshe’s success in erecting the Mishkan. Someone may claim that the Mishkan was extremely heavy, and Moshe had supernatural physical strength. His success in lifting the boards of the Mishkan was not a sign of his Divine assistance, merely of his upper body strength.
To this the possuk continues רָמָתיִא דַּיְׂב םִיִוְׂלַּה תַּדֹבֲע בֶּן אַּהֲרֹן הַּכֹהֵן - the work of the Levites, under the charge of Itamar the son of Aharon, the priest. The Leviim had a job to do with this Mishkan. Their job was to dismantle the Mishkan when the time came to leave their camp, carry the boards, carpets, vessels, and other equipment to their new camp, and erect the Mishkan there. They had no problems doing so, once the Mishkan had been set up by Moshe. It was obviously not too heavy for normal people to lift. Only when it had to be set up for the first time were there any problems, and only with Divine assistance could they do so. Moshe merited this Divine assistance, and would not have done so if he had pilfered any of the gold or silver.
This is why the possuk adds at the end that this was the work of the Leviim. Even though the Mishkam was the work of the Leviim, and it was possible for a human to lift it, it was still only Moshe who could do so at the beginning.
Someone else may think that it was not Moshe’s integrity that brought him Divine assistance. Rather, Moshe was an extremely wise man, and he had some trick up his sleeve that allowed him to lift something that others could not.
To this, the Torah continues וּבְׂצַּלְׂאֵל בֶּן אוּרִ י בֶּן חוּר לְׂמַּטֵה יְׂהוּדָה עָשָה אֵת כׇּל אֲשֶּר צִוָּה ה' אֶּת מֹשֶּה :וְׂאִתּו אׇּהֳלִיאָב בֶּן אֲחִיסָמָךְ לְׂמַּטֵה דָן חָרָש וְׂחֹשֵב - And Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur from the tribe of Yehuda, made all that Hashem commanded Moshe: And with him was Oholiav the son of Achisamakh from the tribe of Dan, engraver, designer, and embroiderer.
Bezalel was a sagacious man, he even figured out that which Hashem commanded Moshe and Moshe did not tell him. Ahaliav was quite talented, as the Torah says. But they too could not erect the Mishkan on their own. Only Moshe could do so, and that was through Divine assistance only.
The Entire Work of the Mishkan
And the entire work of the Mishkan, the tent of meeting, was finished, and the Children of Israel did like all that Hashem commanded Moshe, so they did.
The Ohr Hachaim notices that the Torah does not say that the wise of heart did as Moshe was commanded, merely that it was done. The Torah talks in a passive state.
The Ohr Hachaim explains that they were not done yet. They were willing to continue serving Hashem by building a greater house for his name. The job finished on its own, as Hashem did not command them to continue. They did not finish.
Another explanation offered by the Ohr Hachaim is, that there were some jobs for the Mishkan that were not done by Bezalel, Ahaliav, or the wise of heart. The possuk could never have written that Bezalel finished the job, because there were parts of the job that he did not do. The job was finished, but not all of it was finished by Bezalel.
Another explanation offered by the Ohr Hachaim is in a homiletic fashion.
The possuk says נִכְׂסְׂפָה וְׂגַּם כָלְׂתָה נַּפְׂשִי לְׂחַּצְׂרות ה' - My soul yearns, yes, even pines for the courts of Hashem. The word וַּתֵּכֶּ לcomes from the same root as כָלְׂתָה – pines. They did the entire job with pining and yearning for Hashem, with no personal involvement.
Klal Yisroel as One Nation
The rest of the Possuk is a basic lesson in Yiddishkeit. The Torah tells us that Klal Yisroel did like all that Moshe commanded us. Even though it was Bezalel and the wise of heart were the ones who did the work, a person’s emissary is like himself. He can appoint an agent to do the work for him. Klal Yisroel were represented by Bezalel, Ahaliav, and the wise of heart.
This is true even though Klal Yisroel were not the ones who actually appointed Bezalel and the wise of heart. Hashem was the one who appointed them. But they agreed and that is sufficient.
The Ohr Hachaim adds another important lesson from this possuk. Keeping Torah requires an entire nation uniting as one. Each person does his best, and at the end the entire Torah is fulfilled. When Bezalel and the wise of heart made the Mishkan, utilizing their talents for Hashem’s sake, the entire Klal Yisroel are considered equal partners.
This is what the Torah means when it commands us וְאָהַבְתָ לְרֵעֲךָ כָמוֹךָ - you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The love for your neighbor is because he is כָמוֹךָ – like you. His benefit is your benefit, his Mitzvos are your Mitzvos. He is not ‘another’ he is you.
This explains other things, too. Hashem commanded all of us with 613 Mitzvos, yet nobody can fulfill all of them by himself. Some Mitzvos are only for Cohanim, others are only for Leviim or Yisraelim. Some are not for women, some are only for women. How can an individual repair his 248 limbs and his 365 sinews and make them into a place for the Shechina to rest?
The answer is that everyone does the Mitzvos together, and with the combination of everyone’s Mitzvos as one, all 613 are fulfilled.
This is the meaning of our possuk. Klal Yisroel did according to all that Hashem had commanded Moshe, because they all did it together. Some brought donations, others did the work, and between all of them, the job was done.
This possuk is juxtaposed to the pessukim about the clothing the Cohanim wore, because the spinning and weaving was done by individual experts. Yet Klal Yisroel did it, because Klal Yisroel were all in it together. They still brought the donations, and they were the partners in the Mishkan.
According to All That Hashem Commanded Moshe
According to all that Hashem commanded Moshe, so did the Children of Israel do all the work.
The Torah repeats this point, even after we were told already before that they did like Hashem told them. The next possuk repeats the point again, all that they did was just like Hashem commanded Moshe.
The reason, says the Ohr Hachaim, is because Klal Yisroel sinned with the Golden Calf in three categories. With thought, speech, and action, they served the Golden Calf, and they needed to repair their actions with all three categories.
The donations that Klal Yisroel made for the Mishkan was the equivalent of the action of serving the Egel, the work done was called מעשה חשב, the equivalent of the thought, called מחשבה in Hebrew. The equivalent of the speech is that which they said at each step of the way that they are doing this work for the sake of the Mitzvah Hashem commanded them to make a Mishkan.
All three of these were done exactly as they were commanded, they did not invent any of their own ideas or additions. This achieved a full forgiveness for their aveira, and was the purpose of the Mishkan.
