Pekudei is read only during leap years, and then only when it’s not one of the special Parshiyot. It describes the completion of the building of the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple, by Shlomo.
Linear annotated translation of the Haftarah of Pekudei
There are several connections, most prominently the use of words from the story of Creation: Partners with G-d
Filed under Pekudei, Sefer Shemot
The Haftarah of Pekudei describes the completion of the building of the Beit HaMikdash (Temple), just as the Parsha of Pekudei describes the completion of the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). It is not surprising to find that there are parallels in the descriptions.
Parshat Pekudei says the following:
וַתֵּכֶל כָּל עֲבֹדַת מִשְׁכַּן אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ אֶת מֹשֶׁה כֵּן עָשׂוּ. וַיַּרְא מֹשֶׁה אֶת כָּל הַמְּלָאכָה וְהִנֵּה עָשׂוּ אֹתָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ כֵּן עָשׂוּ וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם מֹשֶׁה
All the work of the Mishkan was concluded; Bnei-Yisrael had made exactly what Hashem commanded Moshe, so they made. Moshe saw all the construction; and behold, it had been made as Hashem had commanded, so it was made. Moshe blessed them. (Shemot 39:32,43)
and in the Haftarah:
וַתִּשְׁלַם כָּל הַמְּלָאכָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה בֵּית ה’… וַיַּסֵּב הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת פָּנָיו וַיְבָרֶךְ אֵת כָּל קְהַל יִשְׂרָאֵל
All the construction was completed that King Shlomo had made for Beit-Hashem…The king turned his face and blessed all the assembly of Yisrael. (Melachim I 7:51, 8:14)
The description focuses on the completion of the work and the blessing that was given by the maker. If that sounds familiar, it is because these are the same words that are used in the Creation of the World itself:
וַיְכַל אֱ-לֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱ-לֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱ-לֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת
G-d concluded on the seventh day the construction that He had made. He rested on the seventh day from all the construction that He had made. G-d blessed the seventh day and made it holy, for on it He stopped all the construction that G-d had created to make. (Bereishit 2:2-3)
The wording used to describe the completion of Creation is the same as the wording used to describe the completion of the Mishkan and, later, of the Beit HaMikdash. That means that building the Mishkan is analogous to creating the world. Indeed, that is how the Midrash describes it, going through the Creation of the world day by day and showing the parallels to the Mishkan:
את המשכן שהוא שקול כנגד העולם שקרוי אוהל כשם שמשכן קרוי אוהל כיצד כתיב בראשית ברא אלהים וגו’ וכתיב נוטה שמים כיריעה ובמשכן כתיב ועשית יריעות עזים לאוהל על המשכן וגו’ כתיב בשני יהי רקיע ויהי מבדיל וגו’ ובמשכן כתיב והבדילה הפרוכת לכם … בששי נברא אדם ובמשכן ואתה הקרב אליך את אהרן אחיך בשביעי כתיב ויכולו השמים וגו’ ובמשכן ותכל כל עבודת משכן וגו’ בבריאת עולם כתיב ויברך אלהים ובמשכן ויברך אותם
The Mishkan is analogous to the world, which is called a tent, just as the Mishkan is called a tent. How so? It says: “He spreads out the sky like a curtain,” and by the Mishkan it says, “Make goatskin curtains for the tent of the Mishkan.” On the second day it says: “Let the sky be a separation,” and by the Mishkan it says, “the curtain will be a separation,” etc … On the sixth day: mankind was created, and by the Mishkan it says, “Bring close to you Aharon, your brother.” On the seventh day: “The heavens were concluded,” and by the Mishkan, “All the work was concluded.” At Creation it says, “G-d blessed,” and by the Mishkan, “He blessed them.”
(Midrash Bamidbar Rabba 12:13)
If the Mishkan is the world in miniature and its building is Creation in miniature, then the Jewish People are, in a manner of speaking, G-d in miniature. G-d concludes the Creation of the World as its Maker and blesses it; Moshe concludes the building of the Mishkan as its maker and blesses the Jewish People; Shlomo concludes the building of the Beit HaMikdash as its maker and blesses the Jewish People.
How is such a thing possible? What is it that turns a man-made construction into a microcosm of the world and its makers into Makers, capable of bestowing blessing?
In the case of the Mishkan, we can answer that it was made according to G-d’s specific, explicit instructions: “and behold, it had been made as Hashem had commanded, so it was made.” Thus, the Jewish People were simply G-d’s construction crew; because they represent Him in carrying out His commands, they represent Him in their ability to bestow blessing.
But what about the Beit HaMikdash? As the Haftarah points out, the idea to build it did not come from G-d, but rather from David HaMelech. G-d approved it, but that is not the same as commanding it. Nor does it say in the Haftarah that it was made according to G-d’s command. The parallels to the Mishkan include the words “completion,” “construction,” “made,” and “blessed,” but is missing the phrase, “as Hashem commanded.”
How, then, was it possible for the Beit HaMikdash to reach the level of the Mishkan, emulating the Creation of the World, and for Shlomo to reach the level of Moshe, emulating the Maker with the ability to bless?
Shlomo provides the answer himself when he talks about what has been accomplished in the building of the Beit HaMikdash:
וָאֶבְנֶה הַבַּיִת לְשֵׁם ה’ אֱ-לֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל . וָאָשִׂם שָׁם מָקוֹם לָאָרוֹן אֲשֶׁר שָׁם בְּרִית ה’ אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת עִם אֲבֹתֵינוּ בְּהוֹצִיאוֹ אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.
I have built the House to the Name of Hashem, the G-d of Yisrael. And I made there a place for the Ark in which lies the Covenant of Hashem that He had made with our fathers when He took them out of Egypt. (Melachim I 8:20-21)
What makes this particular set of wood and stone into a House for Hashem is the Ark, in which lie the Tablets that represent the Covenant between G-d and the Jewish People at Sinai. It is when the Ark is placed inside the Beit HaMikdash that G-d’s Presence makes itself felt in the House. Only after that is Shlomo able to turn to the Jewish People and say, “I did it. I made this into a House for Hashem.” Only then is he able to bless them.
However, it was not the Ark that breathed life and meaning into wood and stone; it is also only wood and stone itself. Rather, it was the Covenant that it contained, that G-d had made with the Jewish People when He took us out of Egypt, the Covenant of “we will do and we will listen.” It was for the sake of our keeping this Covenant that G-d allowed Shlomo to build a House in His Name and to show His Presence within it. It is this Covenant that makes us G-d’s messengers in this world and His partners in Creation.
The building of the Mishkan, with its multitude of detailed commandments that were carried out “as He has commanded, so it was done,” was the first grand-scale exercise of our role as G-d’s partners. The faithful fulfilment of these commandments made it possible to create a microcosm of the world and made it possible for Moshe to bless the Jewish People in the way that G-d blessed His Creation. However, building the Mishkan was a one-time event; we do not make a Mishkan every day or every year.
In contrast, G-d’s Presence in the Beit HaMikdash was not due to the fulfilment of a set of specific commandments, but rather on the sum total of the commandments in the Covenant. Commandments such as “Honor your father and mother,” “Do not covet,” and the six hundred and eleven others, make us G-d’s representatives and His partners on a daily basis. By leading our entire lives in the form of “as He has commanded, so it was done,” we cause His Presence to dwell in this world, and become capable of bestowing blessing upon His Creation.
Copyright © Kira Sirote
In memory of my father, Peter Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ז”ל
Filed under Pekudei, Sefer Shemot
This Shabbat is Shabbat Shekalim, the first of four special Shabbatot that precede the Passover season. For the Maftir at the end of the Torah reading, we read verses that describe the commandment to give a half-shekel for the census. The money would be used for the communal sacrifices for the entire year. Besides the Maftir, we also read a special Haftarah for Shabbat Shekalim. It tells us how King Yehoash raised money in order to repair the Temple. One of the things that the Haftarah tells us is how the money was handled:
וְלֹא יְחַשְּׁבוּ אֶת הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר יִתְּנוּ אֶת הַכֶּסֶף עַל יָדָם לָתֵת לְעֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה כִּי בֶאֱמֻנָה הֵם עֹשִׂים
And they did not audit the men who were given charge of the silver to give to the craftsmen, for they were working on the basis of trust. (Melachim II 12:16)
The Midrash uses this verse to discuss the level of responsibility and transparency that is required from people who handle public funds:
עליו נאמר (מ”ב =מלכים ב’= יב) ולא יחשבו את האנשים אשר יתנו את הכסף, ולא יחשבו זה דורו של יואש שהיו עושין באמונה, שנו רבותינו מי שהיה נכנס לתרום את הלשכה לא היה נכנס לא בפרגוד חפות ולא באנפליא שאם יעשיר יאמרו מתרומת הלשכה העשיר, שאדם צריך לצאת ידי הבריות כדרך שהוא צריך לצאת ידי המקום
It says (in the Haftarah), “They did not audit the men to who were given charge of the silver” – this was the generation of Yehoash, who were trustworthy. The rabbis said: Whoever would enter the treasury would not do so wearing rolled up sleeves or a cloak, so that if he were to become wealthy, people would not be able to say, “Ah, he made his money by taking from the treasury.” A person needs to look good for people just as much as he needs to look good for G-d.
(Midrash Shemot Rabba Pekudei 51)
The Midrash says that the men who were working “on the basis of trust” were trustworthy not only because they were known to have good character. They were trustworthy because of the precautions they took to be beyond reproach: that is, they would not enter the treasury with folds or pockets.
The Midrash continues by comparing their behavior to that of Moshe Rabbeinu, who had been the treasurer for the Mishkan, as is described in the Parshiyot of VaYakhel and Pekudei, which are read for Parshat Shekalim on leap years:
משה היה גזבר לעצמו על מלאכת המשכן…נכנס משה אצל בצלאל ראה שהותיר מן המשכן אמר לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא רבון העולם עשינו את מלאכת המשכן והותרנו מה נעשה בנותר, אמר לו לך ועשה בהם משכן לעדות, הלך משה ועשה בהן כיון שבא ליתן חשבון אמר להם כך וכך יצא למשכן וביתר עשיתי משכן לעדות, הוי אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדות
Moshe Rabbeinu was himself the treasurer of the building of the Mishkan. […] He entered Betzalel’s workspace and saw that the donations were in excess of what was needed to make the Mishkan. He turned to G-d and said, “Master of the Universe! We made all the work for the Mishkan and there is a remainder. What should we do with the remainder?” He said, “Go make me a Mishkan HaEdut (a place of assembly)”. Moshe went and had that made. When the time came to give the accounting, he said to them, such and such was used for the Mishkan, and with the remainder I made the Mishkan HaEdut, as it says, “This is the accounting of the Mishkan, Mishkan HaEdut.”
(Midrash Shemot Rabba Pekudei 51)
The Torah makes a point to tell us that all the donations were carefully accounted for, and all the funds that had been donated by the community were used for the good of the community. The Midrash implies that even Moshe Rabbeinu himself might be suspected of dipping into the cash, and that no one, not even Moshe Rabbeinu, can be put in charge of public funds without having to make a careful accounting. No one person can be trusted with that much money.
The Haftarah of Shekalim, which we read right before Rosh Chodesh Adar, also has parallels in Megillat Esther. When Haman gets Achashverosh drunk and convinces him to kill all the Jews, he says the following:
אִם עַל הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב יִכָּתֵב לְאַבְּדָם וַעֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים כִּכַּר כֶּסֶף אֶשְׁקוֹל עַל יְדֵי עֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה לְהָבִיא אֶל גִּנְזֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ: וַיָּסַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת טַבַּעְתּוֹ מֵעַל יָדו ֹוַיִּתְּנָהּ לְהָמָן בֶּן הַמְּדָתָא הָאֲגָגִי צֹרֵר הַיְּהוּדִים: וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְהָמָן הַכֶּסֶף נָתוּן לָךְ וְהָעָם לַעֲשׂוֹת בּוֹ כַּטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ:
If it pleases the king, let it be written to destroy them,and ten thousand measures of silver,I will weigh out into the hands of the contractors to bring to the king’s treasury. The king took his ring from his hand,and gave it to Haman ben Hemdata Agagi, enemy of the Jews. The king said to Haman: “The money is given to you, and the people, to do with it however you please.” (Esther 3)
The phrase, “into the hands of the contractors,” does not appear anywhere else in Tanach – except in the Haftarah of Shekalim:
וְנָתְנוּ אֶת הַכֶּסֶף הַמְתֻכָּן עַל יְדֵי עֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה הַמֻּפְקָדִים בֵּית ה’
They gave the coined silver into the hands of the contractors who were assigned to Beit-Hashem. (Melachim II 12:12)
These “contractors” were the people that the Haftarah describes as being very trustworthy, the ones who were beyond reproach in their handling of the funds. If Haman suggests channeling the money through them, then part of Haman’s argument to Achashverosh was that the ten thousand measures of silver would not delivered by him personally, but rather that the money would be supervised by an impeccably trustworthy source. When Achashverosh answers him, “the money is given to you,” what he’s saying is that he has absolute trust in Haman. He doesn’t need accountants, Haman himself can take care of everything. The money, the people’s lives, the entire kingdom – Achashverosh hands everything over to Haman with no auditing whatsoever.
As we have seen from the Parsha and the Haftarah, the Torah does not approve of placing that amount of trust in any human being: Moshe Rabbeinu himself had to account for the way he used money dedicated for the Mishkan; the “contractors” for the renovation of the Beit HaMikdash could not go into the treasury wearing loose cloaks. Yet Achashverosh places no limits and no controls on Haman’s power. This is so dangerous and so reckless, that when Mordechai tells Esther about the meeting between Achashverosh and Haman, he says:
וַיַּגֶּד לוֹ מָרְדֳּכַי אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר קָרָהוּוְאֵת פָּרָשַׁת הַכֶּסֶף אֲשֶׁר אָמַר הָמָן לִשְׁקוֹל עַל גִּנְזֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּיְּהוּדִים לְאַבְּדָם:
Mordechai told [Esther’s proxy] about all that had happened to him,and about the matter of the money, that Haman had said to weigh out to the king’s treasury to destroy the Jews. (Esther 3:7)
The way Achashverosh handled “the matter of money” showed the unreserved trust that he had in Haman, and the complete and utter power that he placed in this one man.
The Midrash connects that “matter of money” with Parshat Shekalim:
אמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש גלוי וידוע לפני הקב”ה שעתיד המן הרשע לשקול שקלים על ישראל לפיכך הקדים שקליהם לשקליו:
Reish Lakish said: Hashem knew that the evil Haman would weigh shekalim against Israel, therefore, He pre-empted his shekels with their shekels. (Megilla 13:2)
This Midrash goes on to explain that the half-shekels given by the entire Jewish People at Sinai, at six hundred thousand people times a half-shekel each, added up to ten thousand measures of silver, the same amount that was mentioned in the Megilla. Haman promised Achashverosh the amount of silver that would have been given by the entire Jewish People for the commandment of “Shekalim.”
Reish Lakish did not see this as a coincidence, and neither did Mordechai. By handing over ten thousand measures of silver, Haman attempted to “buy” each and every member of the Jewish People from Achashverosh. Not only did Achashverosh give him unlimited power, he gave them unlimited power over the entire Jewish People, with no constraints whatsoever.
This is why Mordechai tore his clothes in despair, and why Esther risked her life to go to the king.
However, as Reish Lakish pointed out, the commandment of Shekalim pre-empted Haman’s attempt to “buy” us from Achashverosh. We were already “paid for” – with the half-shekel that we gave to our King, the King of Kings.
Copyright © Kira Sirote
In memory of my father, Peter Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ז”ל
Filed under Connections, Shabbat Shekalim, Special Shabbatot
