SEDRAH SELECTIONS PARSHAS VA'YAKHEIL 5774 BS"D

Ch. 35, v. 2: "Sheishes yomim tei'o'seh m'lochoh" - Six days work will be done - Tosfos in his commentary on the gemara P'sochim asks: How is it permitted for any adult to do "m'lochoh" on any work day? There is a law that on a day that a person offers a sacrifice he is prohibited from doing work, a sort of Yom Tov, and since the daily tomid offering belongs to everyone, no work should be allowed any day of the year. Tosfos answers that we see that the Torah permits work, as the verse says, "V'osafto d'go'necho" (Dvorim 6).

I wonder why Tosfos does not cite earlier proofs, such as "Uvkutz'r'chem."

Ch. 35, v. 2: "Sheishes yomim tei'o'seh m'lochoh uvayom hashvii yi'h'yeh lochem kodesh" - Six days work will be done and on the seventh day it will be for you holy - Must a person work during the six weekdays? This refers to the fulfillment of mitzvos during the six thousand years ("Elef shonim b'einecho k'yom") of this world. On the seventh day, when the time of olom habo comes the mitzvos will bring the person to great sanctity. (Shal"oh Hakodosh)

Ch. 35, v. 2: "Sheishes yomim tei'o'seh m'lochoh uvayom hashvii yi'h'yeh lochem kodesh Shabbas Shabosone laShem" - Six days work will be done and on the seventh day it will be for you holy A day of complete rest for Hashem - "Tei'o'seh," beibg done of itself, refers to the creation of the Mishkon. Although people laboured an angel came from Hashem and helped complete things. One might then think that he may labour on Shabbos for the building of the Mishkon given that an angel is a partner in the work and "shnayim she'ossu p'turim." The verse therefore says that this is still prohibited because if he were to labour on Shabbos no angel would come to help him as it is also a day of restraint from work for Hashem, "Shabbos Shabosone laShem." (Mahari"l Diskin)

Ch. 35, v. 2: "Tei'o'seh m'lochoh" - Work will be done - This is expressed in the "nifal" form, it is done, to teach us that even when we work during the six weekdays nothing is accomplished without Hashem's will. (Admor of Ishbitze in Mei Hashilo'ach)

Ch. 35, v. 2: "Uvayom hashvii lochem kodesh" - And on the seventh day it is holy for you - All week long that which we do for ourselves, "lochem," is not totally kodesh, but on the seventh day, Shabbos Kodesh, even the "lochem" is holy. (Chid"o)

Ch. 35, v. 2: "Shabbas Shabosone" - Besides the basic time of Shabbos we should add on "tosfos Shabbos." (Yalkut Shimoni)

Ch. 35, v. 3: "Lo s'vaaru aish b'chole moshvoseichem b'yom haShabbos" - Do not ignite a fire in any of your residences on the Shabbos day - The gemara Shabbos derives from these words that we should avoid having fires destroy our homes through our desecration of Shabbos.

I live close to a row of stores that are almost totally run by bnei Yisroel. Only one of them was open on Shabbos. Numerous attempts were made to convince the proprietor to close on Shabbos, but alas, to no avail. During the week that this section of gemara was studied world-wide in the daf yomi schedule, his store burned down. The problem is obvious. He did not learn this piece of gemara, and even if he would have I truly doubt it would have made an impact. What we must take from this incidence is that when we read the words of chaza"l that mention matters in which we are weak, we must take them very seriously. The above gemara offers another explanation. Guard Shabbos lest I burn down your synagogues and study halls. An insurance salesman asked me to look through all the Torah Scrolls that his shul possessed for the purpose of evaluating them so that if ch"v there was a fire or some other damage the value of the Torah Scrolls would be documented. I did this for him, giving him a written report. I asked him if the insurance rates rise if there is a greater likelihood of fire, etc. he told me that of course this was so. When asked if people in his shul talked during davening he answered in the affirmative. I told him that since talking during davening is a cause of Hashem's responding by ch"v burning down the shul he should rightfully increase the insurance premiums. The story ends here.

Ch. 35, v. 5: "K'chu mei'itchem trumoh laShem" - Take from among you a tithe for Hashem - Originally Hashem would have accepted donations even from the erev rav. Once they sinned with the golden calf and were the source of drawing some bnei Yisroel into the sin Hashem no longer accepted donations from them, only "mei'itchem." (Eitz Hadaas Tov based on the Holy Zohar)

Ch. 35, v. 30: "R'u kara Hashem b'shem B'tzal'eil ben Uri ben Chur" - See that Hashem has called by name B'tzal'eil the son of Uri the son of Chur - I have written this insight in an earlier edition on parshas Ki Siso 31:2 where a very similar set of words appears. Since I feel it so powerfully I take the liberty of repeating it. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in Dibros Moshe asks that we find no calling to B'tzal'eil. He answers that the verse goes on to say that Hashem has filled him with the wisdom of numerous crafts, gold smith, silver smith, stone carving, wood carpenter. These are the "calling." When Hashem gives someone skills, it is Hashem's direct message to the person to make good use of his skills. In the vernacular there is an expression: He has found his CALLING. Likely this is taken from "kara-karasi." This is a profound responsibility. When a person has a skill he may not squander it or let it go to waste.

Ch. 36, v. 1: "Chacham lev" - Wise of heart - He who has wisdom but no emotion has no wisdom either. (Rabbi Aharon Hagodol of Karlin)

Ch. 36, v. 7: "Da'yom …… voho'seir" - Sufficient …… and extra - What did they do with the extra? Medrash Hagodol says that Hashem told Moshe to use it for a tent of study for himself. ("Voho'seir" has the letters of "V'Torah.")

The Ohr Hachaim Hakodosh says that miraculously the extra condensed into the basic amounts that were needed and nothing was left over.

B'derech drush: The two botei Mikdosh were destroyed, but the Mishkon was "vo'ho'seir," and "left over," it remains intact. (n.l.)

Ch. 38, v. 8: "Va'yaas es hakior n'choshes" - And he made the copper lave - The copper was donated by the women. They had so highly polished the copper that it functioned as mirrors. It is most appropriate to use women's donations for the lave. The washing of the Kohanim's hands and feet was a sanctifying prerequisite to their doing their service. This is similar to a benefit one has from his wife. She tends to the children's sanctity, and maintains her husband's sanctity as well. (N'tziv)

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See also Oroh V'Simchoh - Meshech Chochmoh on the Weekly Parsha, Chasidic Insights and Chamisha Mi Yodei'a