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How can humans create holiness in the Mishkan after the sin of the golden calf severed their connection to God? The shiur develops the principle that observing Shabbos (שבת)—specifically the Almighty's Shabbos, with total cessation from creative work—reconnects the Jewish people to their divine source and restores their power to infuse holiness into their creations. This explains why Vayakhel begins with Moshe gathering the entire community to learn Shabbos laws before building the Mishkan.
The shiur opens with a foundational question: Why does Parshas Vayakhel uniquely begin with Moshe gathering all the Jewish people, and why does Chazal derive from this that every Shabbos (שבת) should include communal learning of Shabbos laws? Furthermore, why does the parsha repeat the prohibition against building the Mishkan on Shabbos when this was already stated in the previous parsha (Perek 31:13)? Rabbi Zweig addresses the Maharal's question: Why would we have thought building the Mishkan on Shabbos is permitted? After all, work is forbidden on Shabbos. The Maharal answers that we might have distinguished between private work (forbidden) and work for the Almighty (permitted). Yet the very pasuk that forbids building the Mishkan on Shabbos is also the source for permitting the Korban Tamid to be offered on Shabbos. This creates a fundamental tension requiring explanation.
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Vayakhel
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Why does the Torah give a detailed accounting of silver and copper but not gold in Parshas Pekudei? The three metals represent three types of givers: those who give selflessly (gold), those seeking a two-way benefit (silver), and those buying honor (copper). The Midrash's three groups suspecting or praising Moshe reveal more about themselves than about Moshe—we judge others by our own standards.
