1) This week’s parsha begins with Moshe making an accounting of the gold, silver, and copper that were donated for the Mishkan (38:24-31). Curiously, although he detailed what the silver and copper were used for, he did not mention what was done with the gold. Why didn’t Moshe also account for the gold that was contributed?
The Da’as Z’keinim explains that most components in the Mishkan were made of silver and copper, while the Menorah and Kapores were the only vessels made completely of gold. The Medrash says that Moshe accounted for the use of the precious metals that were donated for the Mishkan in response to Jews who questioned where all their contributions had gone, and wondered whether Moshe had kept any for himself. The Satmar Rebbe (Divrei Yoel) notes that stingy people often assume that others are similarly obsessed with money, so they are quick to suspect them of embezzling communal funds. In contrast, those who are generous with their possessions see others as equally altruistic and feel no need to accuse them of ill-gotten gains. Accordingly, those who donated the less valuable silver and copper cast aspersions on Moshe’s use of their contributions, thereby prompting his reckoning, while those who selflessly opted to give gold were not as cynical, so no such calculation was necessary. (R’ Ozer Alport)
2) How many Mishkan’s were built in Parshas Vayakhel? If the answer is more than one, what was the point?
The Torah records (Shemos 36:7) that the contributions for the Mishkan were sufficient, and there were leftovers. The Medrash (Shemos Rabbah 51:2) says that when Moshe saw the extra supplies, he asked Hashem what he should do with them, and Hashem told him to use them to make a משכן לעדות (Tabernacle of Testimony). When Moshe made an accounting with the Jewish people for the donated materials, the Torah alludes to both Mishkan’s when it says (38:21): אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדות - “these are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony”. The Maharzu maintains that the second Mishkan was the same size as the first one and was placed outside the Jewish camp, and the Radal adds that duplicate keilim [vessels] were stored there so that they would be immediately available in the event that any of the original keilim became impure. The Chasam Sofer (Toras Moshe) writes that because there were no experienced Jewish artisans at that time, Moshe instructed the craftsmen to first form a miniature prototype of the object they were tasked with creating. After they did so, Moshe examined their work, and if he approved, he gave them the actual materials to build a life-size version, in which case there was also a smaller Mishkan built in Parshas Vayakhel. (R’ Ozer Alport)
3) In reference to the making of the Tzitz [head-plate] of the Kohen Gadol, the Torah states (39:30) that “they wrote on it ‘Holy to Hashem.’” Why was it necessary for multiple people to inscribe a mere two words on the Tzitz?
The Moshav Z'keinim explains that because one of the words written on the Tzitz was Hashem's Holy name, it had to be written in the presence of a minyan of 10 men. They add that this requirement wasn't limited to the Tzitz, but every time that a scribe writes Hashem's name when he is writing tefillin, mezuzos, or a Sefer Torah, he must first immerse in a mikvah and then write Hashem's name in the presence of a minyan. However, Rav Moshe Sternbuch (Ta’am V’Daas) notes that this opinion is quite original and is not quoted by other sources or legal authorities.
R' Zalman Sorotskin also addresses the above, and makes the same he’orah as R’ Moshe. He then adds, that perhaps there was no real need for more than one person to inscribe the two words onto the tzitz, however, lots of people wanted to be involved, therefore, they did it with more than one person. Perhaps we can compare this to a hachnosas sefer Torah, where people pay lots of money to write a letter or a word at the end of the sefer Torah. Perhaps the tzitz was similar, everyone wanted to be involved, therefore, although there was no need for more than one person, practically many people did it.
4) In this week’s parsha, Moshe makes an accounting of the materials received for the Mishkan. When the pasuk talks about the gold donated, it refers to it as “the gold of waving” (זהב התנופה). Why is the gold referred to as such? The Chizkuni explains, they would wave it around when giving it to the treasurer, therefore, it was referred to as the “gold of waving”. The Ramban (35:24) explains, that it wasn’t for nothing that they would wave it. He explains, either the one giving it would wave it to show its importance, or the treasure who was accepting it would wave it, להראתו לשבח המביא על נדבתו – “to show praise, to the one who was donating it”.
The Rema writes (Hilchos Tzedokah 249:13): “A person shouldn’t take pride in tzedokah that he gives, if one does, not only does he not receive reward, he will even get punished for it”. If so, what is peshat in the Ramban who says, that either the one giving it would wave it around to show its importance, or that the treasurer would wave the money, to give praise to the one who brought it?
R’ Aharon Leib Shteinman (Ayalas HaShacar) asks the above question, and he answers: “The reason the gold was waved, was not to give pride to the donor, rather, it was done to encourage other people to copy and also donate” He adds: “Perhaps one who does so to encourage others – doesn’t lose any reward”.
