1) Rashi writes (25:5) that the tachash was a beautiful, multi-colored animal that Hashem created at the time of the construction of the Mishkan and then became extinct. How can this be reconciled with the pasuk in Koheles (1:9) which teaches that: אין כל חדש תחת השמש – “There is nothing new beneath the sun” – which the Gemara in Sanhedrin (110a) understands to mean that Hashem does not make new creations after the original six days of Creation?
2) Who got a tattoo in this week’s parsha?
3) The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 180:5) writes, the minhag is that we cover over the knife during birchas hamazon, however, on Shabbos and Yom Tov we don’t. The Magen Avraham explains that the reason we don’t need to cover the knife on Shabbos, is because the reason for covering the knife is because a table is likened to the mizbayach, and by the mizbayach it says: לא תניף עליהם ברזל – “You shall not place on it iron” (when building it). On Shabbos, however, it’s forbidden to build a mizbayach, therefore, there is no need to cover the knife.
According to the Magen Avraham that since we don’t build a mizbayach on Shabbos there is no need to cover a knife, the same thing should be by night. When eating at night, one shouldn’t need to cover the knife, as the mizbayach isn’t built at night. The Revid HaZahav in fact says that since we don’t build the mizbayach at night one doesn’t need to cover the knife at night. However, the minhag is not like this, how come?
4) From the pasukim in this week parsha (26:16) it’s clear that the height of the keroshim [beams] used to build the Mishkan were ten amos high. Rashi writes, that we see from here that the Mishkan was ten amos high. If so, how was Aharon HaKohen able to enter into the Miskhan to light the menorah, offer up ketores and perform various other avodos. The Gemara in Shabbos (92a) says that the height of the Leviyim was ten amos. Additionally, besides for being ten amos tall, Aharon wore a hat. If the Mishkan was ten amos high and Aharon was ten amos high plus a hat, how did he fit into the Mishkan?
Don’t answer that he bent down, as if one who is standing in front of a regular king wouldn’t stand in such a way, certainly in front of the Ribbono Shel Olam it would be a lack of kavod to stand in such a way?
5) Which two items in the Mishkan have only one unique letter in their names?
