Parashat Pekudei (Exodus 38:21-40:38)
(Parashat Vayakhel and Parashat Pekudei are often read together in the same week, in a non leap Jewish year. See https://aish.com/double-torah-portion/.)
Exodus 38 (continued)
38:27 And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
Comment: We didn’t hear about the 100 silver sockets directly until now. This was hinted in Exodus 26 in four different verses (Exodus 26:19,21, 25, 32); which mentioned 40 silver sockets in the south, 40 sockets in the north, 16 sockets in the west, and 4 sockets in the east. This wasn’t obvious at all. When I hosted several Ph.D. students studying Exodus 26 together and asked them to find the total number of silver sockets, only one statistics Ph.D. student reported the closest answer 96. However, even he had missed the 4 silver sockets on the only opening side of the East. These last 4 sockets support the four pillars, unlike the other 96 sockets supporting the forty eight boards. We see that the Bible is very exact. Also the Bible uses hints; that is, sometimes it does not say a statement directly and Gd wants us to use intelligence to derive what is hinted at. The verse here is a rare example that an answer is given in the Bible, albeit 12 chapters later, to give the wiser students a chance to think before providing the correct answer. This is like a textbook with exercises, sometimes only the odd numbered problems have answers at the end of the book, but in fact all problems are intended to train the students by inviting them to solve them.
Another example is how many shekels equal one talent. This is never directly stated in the Bible, but many hints are given. Exodus 38:24,25,29 stated weights in talents with remaining shekels in a progressive manner. This gives a wise reader a chance to think and to refine his conclusions again and again. Exodus 38:24 counts Gold: 29 talents and 730 shekels. We can then infer that a talent is at least 731 shekels. Verse 25 counts Silver: 100 talents and 1775 shekels. We now infer that a talent is at least 1776 shekels. Verse 29 counts Copper: 70 talents and 2400 shekels. We now infer that a talent is at least 2401 shekels. The true answer is 1 talent =3000 shekels (according to Rashi on Exodus 38:24). This is only derived from some complicated mathematics based on verses 38:25,26, where it is stated that 100 talents and 1775 shekels of silver were donated by 603550 people, each contributing 0.5 shekels. Then the number of shekels should be 603550*0.5=301775. So 301775 shekels =100 talents+1775 shekels . Solving this equation, we find that 1 talent=3000 shekels.
It is noted that the Bible could have been much simpler by saying vaguely that the tabernacle should be made of much gold and silver, without specifying the number of silver sockets or how much silver is needed. Also, it could have directly stated (in the much earlier place in Exodus 26) that there were a total of 100 silver sockets, each weighing 1 talent, and that 1 talent = 3000 shekels. However, the Bible chooses this current indirect way for presentations. I view the above as two examples which convincingly show that Gd’s Bible is designed for us to investigate deeply and actively. It is not something that encourages laziness and provides all the answers right away, nor is it like a casually written fantasy that doesn’t allow a chance of scrutiny. Many modern era Chinese youngsters who grew up in an atheist environment have a false impression, that the religions encourage folly and simplemindedness, and that the religious classics are wild fantasies which are quite arbitrary. The above examples convincingly prove them wrong for our Bible.
Exodus 39
39:9 It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.
Comment: It is NOT stated that these workers also made the Urim v’Tumim, which was mentioned in Exodus 28:30. This is consistent with Rashi’s comments there. Urim v’Tumim is not made by the artisans. Instead, Moses wrote a name of Gd, which is placed in the double fold of the breastplate, which can light up selected letters inscribed on the 12 stones on the breastplate, in order to answer an inquiry on behalf of the nation of Israel.
39:43 And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Comment: Jewish tradition (described inRashi’s comment here) says that Moses blessing is recorded as the last two verses of Psalm 90 (which in some version starts with <A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.>):
(Psalm 90:16-17) “Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”
I think this is reasonable since after this blessing, as recorded in the next chapter, indeed the glory of Gd appears in the tabernacle. This is indeed the ultimate purpose of building the tabernacle: to welcome the presence of Gd and to bring people closer to Him by teaching them to recognize His manifestation in the physical world.
Exodus 40
40:2 On the first day of the first month you are to put up the House of the Tent of meeting.
Comment: This was at the start of the spring season, on Nisan 1, 2449, in the calendar starting from the creation, which was Sun, 17 March 1311 B.C.E..
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2462354/jewish/Interpolated-Translation.htm
https://www.hebcal.com/converter?hd=1&hm=Nisan&hy=2449&h2g=1
In the Jewish arrangement of the yearly reading of the weekly Torah portions, the current portion (Pekudei) on completion of building the tent of meeting, is often read in the same season when the tent of meeting actually started to serve in the bible, i.e., near “the first day of the first month’’ (which starts the season of spring). See, e.g.,
https://torahportions.ffoz.org/torah-portions/thisyear/
40:32 Whenever they went into the Tent of meeting, and when they came near the altar, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
Comment: Kitzur Baal HaTurim [1] comments here that “as the LRD commanded Moses” (or similar verses) appeared 18 times in recent chapters, which corresponds to the standard 18 Jewish prayers “shemoneh esrei” [2], that they pray thrice daily on weekdays as the prophet Daniel did.
Since 18 is also the numerical value of the word “living חי ” in Hebrew [3], I think this may also imply the following teaching: that true living involves carrying out Gd’s commandments repeatedly and faithfully, as Moses and the Israelites did when building the tabernacle. Alternatively: the true goal of living is to “build the tabernacle”, in the general sense of glorifying Gd, i.e., to recondition mankind and his habitat, so as to welcome the dwelling of the glorious presence of Gd. As said in Isaiah 43:7: “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”
Some references:
[1] https://www.sefaria.org/Kitzur_Baal_HaTurim_on_Exodus.40.32?lang=bi
[2] https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/Daily_Prayers/Shemoneh_Esrei/shemoneh_esrei.html