Parashat Vayakhel

Offerings for the Tabernacle

35 Then Moses assembled all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael and said to them, “These are the words which Adonai has commanded you to do. ² Work is to be done for six days, but the seventh day is a holy day for you, a Shabbat of complete rest to Adonai. Whoever does any work then will die. ³ Do not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on Yom Shabbat.”

⁴ Moses also said to all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, “This is the word which Adonai commanded saying: ⁵ Take from among you an offering for Adonai. Whoever has a willing heart, let him bring Adonai’s offering: gold, silver and bronze; ⁶ blue, purple and scarlet cloth; fine linen and goat hair; ⁷ ram skins dyed red, sealskins and acacia wood; ⁸ oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; ⁹ onyx stones, and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastplate.

¹⁰ “Let every wise-hearted man among you come and make everything that Adonai has commanded, including ¹¹ the Tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its clasps and its boards, its crossbars, its pillars and its bases; ¹² the Ark and the poles, the atonement cover and the curtain screen; ¹³ the table and its poles with all of its utensils, along with the bread of the Presence; ¹⁴ also the menorah for light with its utensils, its lamps and the oil for the light; ¹⁵ the altar of incense and its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the entrance of the Tabernacle; ¹⁶ the altar of burnt offering with its grating of bronze, its poles and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; ¹⁷ the hangings of the courtyard, the pillars and their bases, and the curtain for the gate of the courtyard; ¹⁸ the pegs of the Tabernacle and of the courtyard, along with their cords; ¹⁹ the woven garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the kohen and for his sons, to minister as kohanim.”

²⁰ Then all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael departed from before Moses. ²¹ Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought Adonai’s offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service as well as for the holy garments. ²² So they came, both men and women, everyone whose heart compelled him, and brought nose rings, earrings, signet rings, bracelets, and all kinds of golden jewels—everyone who brought a wave offering of gold to Adonai. ²³ Everyone who had blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red or sealskins brought them. ²⁴ Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought Adonai’s offering, and every man who had acacia wood of any use for service brought it. ²⁵ Also all the women who were wise-hearted spun with their hands, and brought what they had woven—the blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen. ²⁶ All the women whose heart stirred them up with wisdom spun the goat hair. ²⁷ Also the leaders brought onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastplate, ²⁸ along with the spice, the oil for the light and for anointing and for the sweet incense. ²⁹ Every man and woman whose heart made them willing gave toward all the work that Adonai had commanded to be done by Moses’ hand. So Bnei-Yisrael brought it as a freewill offering to Adonai.

³⁰ Then Moses said to Bnei-Yisrael, “See, Adonai has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³¹ He has filled him with the Ruach of God, with wisdom, understanding and knowledge, in all manner of craftsmanship, ³² to make ingenious designs, to work in gold, silver and bronze, ³³ as well as cutting gemstones for setting, wood carving, to make all kinds of skillful craftsmanship. ³⁴ He has also placed in his heart the ability to teach—both he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. ³⁵ He has filled them with wisdom of heart to forge all the works of an engraver, an artisan, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, scarlet and in fine linen, as well as weaving—they can perform every craft and ingenious designs.

More Than Enough!

36 “So Bezalel and Oholiab are to work, along with every wise-hearted man in whom Adonai has placed insight and understanding to know how to perform all the labor for the service of the Sanctuary, according to everything Adonai has commanded.”

² Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab and all the wise-hearted men in whose minds Adonai had set wisdom, along with everyone whose heart stirred him up to come do the work. ³ They received from Moses the entire offering that Bnei-Yisrael had brought for the work of the service of the Sanctuary, to build it. They brought freewill offerings to him morning after morning. ⁴ Then all the skilled men who were doing all the work of the Sanctuary came, one by one from the work he was doing, ⁵ and said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the work of this construction that Adonai has commanded to be done.”

⁶ So Moses gave an order, and they proclaimed it throughout the camp saying, “Let neither man nor woman make anything else as an offering for the Sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing more. ⁷ For the work material they had was sufficient for all the work, with much left over.

⁸ So all the wise-hearted men among them did the work. They made the Tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen, along with blue, purple and scarlet, with cheruvim—the work of a skillful craftsman. ⁹ The length of each curtain was 28 cubits and the width of each curtain was four cubits. All the curtains had one measure. ¹⁰ Then he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he also coupled together. ¹¹ He made blue loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost within the first set. He did the same along the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set. ¹² He made 50 loops in one curtain and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set, so that the loops were opposite to one another. ¹³ Also he made 50 clasps of gold and coupled the curtains one to another with the clasps, so the Tabernacle was one.

¹⁴ Then he made curtains from goat hair for a tent over the Tabernacle. He made 11 curtains. ¹⁵ The length of each curtain was 30 cubits, and the width of each was four cubits. The 11 curtains had one measure. ¹⁶ He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six other curtains by themselves. ¹⁷ He made 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the first set and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set. ¹⁸ Also he made 50 bronze clasps to couple the tent together, so that it would be one. ¹⁹ Then he made a covering for the tent of ram skins, dyed red, along with a covering of sealskins above.

²⁰ He also made the framework of boards for the Tabernacle from acacia wood, standing upright. ²¹ The length of a board was ten cubits, the width was a cubit and a half. ²² Each board had two supports, joined one to another. He did this for all the boards of the Tabernacle. ²³ So he built the boards for the Tabernacle, 20 boards from the south side southward. ²⁴ And he made 40 silver bases under the 20 boards, two bases under one board for its two supports, and two bases under another board for its two supports. ²⁵ Also for the second side of the Tabernacle, on the north side, he made 20 boards, ²⁶ along with their 40 silver bases, two under one board and two under the next. ²⁷ For the back part of the Tabernacle westward he made six boards. ²⁸ He also made two boards for the corners of the Tabernacle in the back, ²⁹ so that they could be doubled underneath, and in same way to be fixed to the top, at the first ring. He did this for both of them at the two corners. ³⁰ So there were eight boards, along with their silver bases, 16 in all, two under each board.

³¹ Then he made crossbars from acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the Tabernacle, ³² five for the boards on the other side of the Tabernacle, and five crossbars for the boards of the Tabernacle for the back part, westward. ³³ He built the middle crossbar to pass through, in the center of the boards, from one end to the other. ³⁴ He overlaid the boards with gold and made golden rings for them, as holders for the crossbars, and overlaid the crossbars with gold.

³⁵ Then he made the curtain of blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen, along with the cheruvim, the work of a skillful craftsman. ³⁶ He made four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold, having golden hooks, and he cast four silver bases for them. ³⁷ Then he made a parokhet for the entrance of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen, the work of a color weaver. ³⁸ Also he made the five pillars with their hooks, and overlaid their capitals and bands with gold, along with their five bronze bases.

Ark, Table, Menorah, Incense Altar

37 Bezalel also made the Ark from acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. ² He overlaid it with pure gold inside and out, and made a crown of gold for it all around. ³ He cast four golden rings for it, in the four feet, two rings on the one side, and two on the other. ⁴ He also made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ Then he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the Ark, to carry the Ark.

⁶ He made an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide. ⁷ Then he forged two cheruvim of gold, from hammered work, at the two ends of the atonement cover, ⁸ one cheruv at one end, and one cheruv at the other. He made the atonement cover from a single piece with the cheruvim on the two ends. ⁹ So the cheruvim spread out their wings on high, overshadowing the atonement cover with their wings, with their faces to one another, and the faces of the cheruvim toward the atonement cover.

¹⁰ Then he made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. ¹¹ He overlaid it with pure gold and made a golden crown all around. ¹² Also he made a border for it, a hand-width around, and made a golden crown for the border all around. ¹³ He cast four golden rings for it, and put the rings into the four corners that were on the four feet. ¹⁴ The rings were close to the borders, as holders for the poles to carry the table. ¹⁵ He also made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. ¹⁶ He forged the articles that were on the table, the dishes, pans, bowls and jars, with which to pour, out of pure gold.

¹⁷ Then he made the menorah of pure gold, of hammered work, even its base, its stem, its cups, its bulbs and its flowers, were one piece with it. ¹⁸ There were six branches going out of the sides, three branches out of one side, and three branches out of the other. ¹⁹ Three cups made like almond blossoms were in one branch, a bulb within a flower, and three cups made like almond blossoms in the next branch, another bulb within a flower. It was just so for the six branches going out of the menorah. ²⁰ Also within the menorah were four cups made like almond blossoms, bulbs and flowers, ²¹ with a bulb under two branches of one piece, a second bulb under two branches of another piece, and a bulb under two branches of a third piece, for six branches extending out of it. ²² Their bulbs and their branches were one piece with it, an entire hammered work of pure gold.

²³ He also made the seven lamps, along with tongs and censers of pure gold. ²⁴ He made them from a talent of pure gold, along with all the pieces.

²⁵ He made the altar of incense from acacia wood, a cubit long, a cubit wide, squared, and two cubits high. The horns were one piece with it. ²⁶ Then he overlaid it with pure gold on top, on the sides all around and over its horns. Also he made a crown of gold for it all around. ²⁷ He made two golden rings for it underneath the crown, on two sides as holders for poles in order to carry it. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

²⁹ Then he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, the blend of a perfumer.

Altar for Sacrifices

38 He then made the altar for burnt offering from acacia wood. It was square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. ² He also made the horns on the four corners from one piece, and overlaid it with bronze. ³ Then he made all the utensils for the altar—the pots and the shovels, the basins, the forks and the fire pans. He made all the utensils from bronze. ⁴ He also made a bronze grating net for the altar, under the ledge around it, reaching halfway up. ⁵ He cast four rings for the four ends of the bronze grating, to be holders for the poles. ⁶ He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ Then he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it, and he made it hollow, out of boards.

⁸ He made the basin and the base from bronze, with mirrors from the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

⁹ Then he made the courtyard. For the south side the hangings of the courtyard were finely twisted linen, 100 cubits long. ¹⁰ There were 20 pillars and 20 bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. ¹¹ Likewise, for the north side, 100 cubits long, with 20 bronze pillars and bases, and the hooks for the pillars and their bands were silver. ¹² For the west side the hangings were 50 cubits, with ten pillars and their ten bases, as well as the hooks for the pillars and their silver bands. ¹³ Likewise, for the east side, 50 cubits long. ¹⁴ The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with three pillars and their bases. ¹⁵ Similarly for the other side, on either side of the gate of the courtyard were hangings of 15 cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. ¹⁶ All the hangings of the courtyard all around were of finely twisted linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, the overlaying of their capitals were silver, and all the pillars of the courtyard were ringed with silver.

¹⁸ The curtain for the gate of the courtyard was the work of a color weaver, of blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen. It was 20 cubits long and five cubits high, like the hangings of the courtyard. ¹⁹ Their four pillars and four bases were bronze. Their hooks along with the overlaying of their capitals and their bands were silver. ²⁰ All the pegs of the Tabernacle and the courtyard all around were bronze.

Hiram the Bronze Craftsman

¹³ King Solomon sent for and had Hiram brought from Tyre. ¹⁴ He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, while his father was a man of Tyre, a coppersmith, and he was filled with wisdom, understanding and skill to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and executed all his work. ¹⁵ He fashioned the two bronze pillars, 18 cubits high and 12 cubits in circumference each. ¹⁶ He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set upon the tops of the pillars (the height of each capital was five cubits), ¹⁷ nettings of latticework and twisted threads of chain work for the capitals were on top of the pillars—seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ So he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates all around on the netting covering the capitals on top of each capital. ¹⁹ The capitals that were on the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily design, four cubits high. ²⁰ So also the capitals on the two pillars—close to the belly next to the netting were the pomegranates in rows of 200 around both capitals.

²¹ Thus he set up the pillars at the porticos of the Temple. He set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. ^{[a] 22} On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

²³ Next he made the sea of cast metal, ten cubits across from brim to brim, circular in form, five cubits in its height and 30 cubits in circumference. ²⁴ Under its brim there were gourds encircling it, ten per cubit, completely surrounding the sea. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with it. ²⁵ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts were inward. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the petals of a lily; it held 11,000 gallons.

⁴⁰ Then Hiram made the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls.

So Hiram finished doing all the work that he performed for King Solomon on Adonai’s House: ⁴¹ the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, the two nettings to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, ⁴² the 400 pomegranates for the two nettings, two rows of pomegranates for each to cover the two bowls of the capitals on top of the pillars, ⁴³ the ten bases and the ten basins on the bases, ⁴⁴ the one sea and the 12 oxen under the sea, ⁴⁵ the pots, the shovels and the basins. All these vessels Hiram made for King Solomon in the House of Adonai were made of polished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, with clay of the ground between Sukkot and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were too many—the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

⁴⁸ So Solomon made all the equipment that was to be in the House of Adonai: the golden altar, the table on which was the bread of the presence, of gold; ⁴⁹ the menorahs—five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner Sanctuary—of pure gold; the flowers, the lamps and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰ the cups, the snuffers, the bowls, the wick trimmers and the fire pans, of pure gold; the hinges for the doors of the inner House, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the House, that is, of the Temple, of gold.

Messiah Enters the Heavenly Holies

9 Now even the first one had regulations for worship and the earthly sanctuary. ^{[a] 2} For a tent was prepared: in the outer^[b] part were the menorah, the table, and the presentation of the bread^[c]—this is called the Holy Place. ³ Beyond the second curtain^[d] was a dwelling called the Holy of Holies. ^{[e] 4} It held a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, completely covered with gold. In the ark was a golden jar holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant^[f]— ⁵ and above it, cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.^[g] But it is not now possible to speak in detail about these things.

⁶ Now with these things prepared this way,

the kohen gadol alone^[j]—and not without blood which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins^[k] of the people. ⁸ By this the Ruach ha-Kodesh makes clear that the way into the Holies has not yet been revealed while the first tent is still standing. ⁹ It is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly, gifts and sacrifices are being offered that cannot make the worshiper perfect with respect to conscience. ¹⁰ These relate only to food and drink and various washings^[l]—regulations for the body imposed until a time of setting things straight.

¹¹ But when Messiah appeared as Kohen Gadol of the good things that have now come, passing through the greater and more perfect Tent not made with hands (that is to say not of this creation),