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Why does Parshas Vayakhel juxtapose Shabbos (שבת) before Mishkan, while Parshas Ki Sisa places Mishkan first? The first luchos presented Shabbos as zecher lema'aseh bereishis—personal connection to Hashem (ה׳) through oneg. After the chet ha'egel, the second luchos reframed Shabbos as zecher leyetzias Mitzrayim—a communal obligation to create an environment of His presence, making Shabbos the prerequisite for building the Mishkan.
Rabbi Zweig explores a fundamental transformation in the nature of Shabbos (שבת) observance before and after the sin of the Golden Calf, as reflected in the juxtaposition of Shabbos and Mishkan in different parshiyos and in the differences between the two sets of luchos. The shiur opens with a textual difficulty: In Parshas Ki Sisa (31:12-13), the Torah (תורה) discusses the Mishkan first, then commands Shabbos observance with the word "ach" (nevertheless). Rashi (רש"י) explains that even though building the Mishkan is important, Shabbos overrides it. Yet in Parshas Vayakhel (35:1-2), the Torah mentions Shabbos first, then the Mishkan. Rashi there says this order teaches that Shabbos has priority. The question is obvious: if priority is determined by order, why not structure both parshiyos the same way? Why does Ki Sisa require the extra word "ach" to teach that Mishkan doesn't override Shabbos, when placing Shabbos first would have made this clear? Additionally, Rashi in Ki Sisa uses strange language: "al yechal beinecha litdos es Shabbos"—Shabbos shouldn't become light in your eyes. This seems to suggest that building the Mishkan could somehow diminish the importance of Shabbos itself, which is a puzzling concept.
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Shemos 35:1-2 (Vayakhel), Shemos 31:12-13 (Ki Sisa)
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