1) Parshas Vayakhel begins with a commandment not to do work on Shabbos (Shemos 35:2). Even if someone does permissible work, it is forbidden to pay him for it (Orach Chaim 306:4). Is the prohibition on the person who pays the money, the worker who receives it, or both?
2) Parshas Vayakhel begins with a commandment to rest on Shabbos (Shemos 35:2). The halachah is, that it is forbidden to prepare for the week on Shabbos. Is a mother allowed to put her children in pajamas before the end of Shabbos if she only intends to put them to sleep after havdolah, or is it perhaps an issue of preparing on Shabbos for after Shabbos?
3) The Medrash Rabbah (48:3) teaches:וימלא אותו רוח אלקים ולא זה בלבד אלא כל מי שנתעסק במלאכת המשכן נתן בו הקב"ה חכ מה בינה ודעת שנאמר 'ויעשו כל חכם לב' ולא בבני אדם אלא אפילו בבהמה שנאמר 'חכמה ותבונה בבהמה ' בהמה כתיב שנתנה חכמה באדם ובבהמה ולא נתפרסם מכלם אלא בצלאל - “Hashem filled them with the spirit of G-d. Not only these (Betzalel), rather, anyone who was busy with the work of the Mishkan, Hashem gave special wisdom, insight and knowledge as it says “He made them all wise hearted”. Not only people, but even the animals did Hashem give special wisdom, as it says ‘wisdom and insight in the animals’, the pasuk writes animals, as wisdom was given to the animals as well. However, the pasuk only stresses Betzalel”.
The question is, why did the animals need this special wisdom, were the animals building the Mishkan? They were used in the building, but they didn’t do the building, so why did they need special wisdom?
4) We learn in this week’s parsha that the kiyor was made from:מראת הצבאת - “mirrors”. Why did the kiyor need to be made from mirrors? The Moshav Zekeinim writes: “The kiyor was made from mirrors, because when a kohen offered up a woman’s korban, he needed to do it lishmah [for her sake], in order to do it lishmah, he had to look at her, however, it’s forbidden to look at a woman, therefore, the kiyor was made from mirrors and the kohen would tell her to stand near the kiyor and he would look at her reflection in the kiyor”. The question is, if it’s forbidden to look at the face of a women, what does it help to look using a mirror, is there a heter to look at the face of a women via a mirror?
