Parshas Vayakhel
1. Regarding the verse that states G‑d's command1 (which Moshe conveyed) to the Jewish people, "קחו מאתכם תרומה לה' כל נדיב לבו יביאה את תרומת ה'" ("Take from among you an offering to G‑d; whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it, G‑d's offering"), commentators ask2 that there seems to be a contradiction within the verse, from its beginning to its end: from the opening words, "Take from among you an offering to G‑d," it is implied that the offering is to be taken from them, meaning even against their will; whereas from the words "whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it," it is implied that every Jew should bring it on his own, out of the generosity of his heart.
They explain3 that the verse speaks of two kinds of giving:4 the beginning of the verse, "Take from among you an offering to G‑d," speaks of the offering of a beka per head, an offering that was an obligation upon each and every person, and it had to be demanded from each individual; and the continuation of the verse, "whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it," speaks of the offering that each person brings out of the generosity of his heart, without waiting for it to be demanded of him and taken from him.
However, this needs to be understood: our verse already speaks of G‑d's command as Moshe conveyed it to the Jewish people. How is it, then, that earlier, in G‑d's command itself (which G‑d told Moshe5) at the beginning of Parshas Terumah, it says only "דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי וזאת התרומה אשר תקחו מאתם" ("Speak to the Children of Israel, and let them take for Me an offering; from every man whose heart moves him you shall take My offering. And this is the offering that you shall take from them"), and the matter of "whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it" is not mentioned there?
And although in the verses of the command there "ג' תרומות אמורות" ("three offerings are mentioned"),6 not only the two offerings that come as an obligation (the offering of a beka per head "שנעשו מהם האדנים" ("from which the sockets were made"), and the offering for the altar, a beka per head "לקופות לקנות מהן קרבנות צבור" ("for the chests, to buy from them the communal offerings")7), but also the offering for the Mishkan, "נדבת כל אחד ואחד" ("the donation of each individual") for the needs of the Mishkan8 — nevertheless, regarding this offering the verse does not state explicitly that each person should bring it out of the generosity of his heart (as in our verse); rather, it is stated in the words "from every man whose heart moves him you shall take My offering,"9 that it should be taken.10
2. Seemingly, one could say that this depends on another difference between the verses (at the beginning of Parshas Terumah) of G‑d's command to Moshe and the verses (in our parsha) of Moshe's command to the Children of Israel:
At the beginning of Parshas Terumah it says that G‑d instructed "דבר אל בני ישראל" ("Speak to the Children of Israel"), whereas in our parsha it says "ויקהל משה את כל עדת בני ישראל" ("Moshe assembled the entire congregation of the Children of Israel"). This assembly and the address "to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel" were not only in order to convey the warning about Shabbos and "to say" that the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbos,11 but also in order to convey [the instructions] concerning the work of the Mishkan,12 as is explicit in the verse (not only at the beginning of the parsha, but also separately at the instruction concerning the work of the Mishkan): "ויאמר משה אל כל עדת בני ישראל" ("Moshe said to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel").13
One may explain the difference between them as follows: the expression "Speak to the Children of Israel" (unlike, for example, the beginning of Parshas Kedoshim, where G‑d's command was "דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל" ("Speak to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel")14) does not emphasize that it is a command to all of the Children of Israel, and in its plain meaning one must learn15 that this was the command that the treasurers should take16 all three offerings from the Children of Israel. Whereas when Moshe conveyed the command "to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel," speaking to all the Jews17 (not only so that treasurers be chosen to collect the offering), he set out in this command how the manner of the offering must be — also,18 and primarily, as it relates to the Jewish people: "whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it, G‑d's offering."
However, this is still not smooth: it is plainly understood that in conveying G‑d's command to the Children of Israel, Moshe did not add to G‑d's words anything that G‑d had not told him — Moshe certainly said nothing on his own accord. Why, then, is the above detail ("whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it") not stated in G‑d's command to Moshe?
And although we find in several places19 that Moshe instructed the Jewish people in several details that the Torah does not specify in the command that G‑d gave to Moshe — and the reason is: since it is clear that Moshe did not instruct anything on his own accord, it is simple and self-understood that none of the details of the words stated in Moshe's command to the Children of Israel was missing from G‑d's instruction to Moshe; only, the Torah does not state all of them explicitly in G‑d's command to Moshe as well —
beyond this, however — that this itself also requires a reason in each case — our case is not comparable to the other cases found elsewhere. For even if one were to learn that the reason the Torah does not mention G‑d's command to Moshe at all, or states it in a general and brief manner, is because the Torah relies on the details of the words in Moshe's command to the Children of Israel, and one will understand that all of it was in G‑d's word to Moshe —
in our case this is difficult to say: here G‑d's command is stated explicitly and specified in the Torah, in detail and in fine detail,20 both the general work of the Mishkan and the command concerning the offering for the Mishkan; and nevertheless, the detail of "whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it, G‑d's offering" is not explicit here!
3. The explanation of this is: the essence of the Mishkan is an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf, as Rashi states21 the reason it is called "משכן העדות" ("the Mishkan of the Testimony") — "עדות לישראל שויתר להם הקב"ה על מעשה העגל שהרי השרה שכינתו ביניהם" ("a testimony to Israel that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave them for the incident of the Calf, for He caused His Shechinah to rest among them").
[This applies according to both opinions — both according to the opinion22 that G‑d's command to Moshe as well,23 "ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם" ("They shall make Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell within them"), was (after the sin of the Calf) on Yom Kippur; and also according to the opinion24 that G‑d said the command "They shall make Me a Sanctuary" before the sin of the Calf, but the Jews heard the command from Moshe Rabbeinu (and brought the donations for the Mishkan) only after Yom Kippur.25]
How did the Jews express, through this (the building of the Mishkan), their complete regret for the sin of the Calf? By the fact that instead of the gold that they had earlier given with alacrity for the Calf,26 they now gave gold27 with exceptional generosity of heart for the building of the Mishkan, so that the Shechinah would rest among them — "and I will dwell within them" (the opposite of the sin of the Calf).
And indeed, they actually displayed tremendous alacrity28 and generosity of heart for the work of the Mishkan, as related in the verses and at length in the Midrashim of our Sages,29 until it reached the point30 that "מרבים העם להביא מדי העבודה למלאכה" ("the people are bringing more than enough for the work"), and "והמלאכה היתה דים גו' והותר" ("the work was sufficient for them... and there was extra").
And within this itself: when are the regret of the Jews, and their desire that G‑d rest among them willingly and wholeheartedly, expressed in an inner and true way? Not so much in the offering of "a beka per head," in which all Jews were equally obligated — for even when one fulfills such a command of G‑d with alacrity, which shows a desire of the heart, this does not yet conspicuously bring out the true desire and wholeheartedness, since one can attribute the alacrity to the obligation placed upon him. Rather, specifically in the offering31 that has no obligation and no fixed measure, but which each Jew gives out of his own feeling and the generosity of his heart — specifically in this is expressed the complete regret, the desire and wholeheartedness for the resting of the Shechinah (the opposite of the sin of the Calf).
And this is the reason that in G‑d's command to Moshe regarding the offering, only the detail of the taking is stated — "from every man whose heart moves him you shall take" — and not the detail of the giving and bringing on the part of the Jews ("whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it..."): G‑d's command fits (primarily) the taking (which is done by the treasurers), whereas the whole point of the bringing is that the Jews give in a manner in which what is felt is (not the command and obligation, but) only the feeling and generosity of the heart. Specifically in this is expressed the "כמים הפנים לפנים" ("as water reflects face to face")32 — just as the Holy One, blessed be He, was reconciled with Israel "בשמחה ובלב שלם" ("with joy and with a whole heart") (regarding the sin of the Calf),33 so too the Jews had the desire, "with joy34 and with a whole heart," toward G‑d.
4. The above matter — the generosity of heart of the Jews toward the work of the Mishkan, not as it is connected with the command from Above — is relevant not only to the atonement for the sin of the Calf, but also, and primarily, to the very resting of the Shechinah in the Mishkan — within the Children of Israel:
It is explained in several places35 that although at the Giving of the Torah the Jews saw extremely lofty matters — "וירד ה' על הר סיני" ("G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai"),36 "אתם ראיתם גו'" ("You have seen...")37 — and they were so elevated that "פסקה זוהמתן" ("their impurity ceased"),38 nevertheless the Jews afterward stumbled in the sin of the Calf39 (for seemingly, how is that possible?) — because the revelation at the Giving of the Torah came from Above;40 that is, the refinement and elevation that was then accomplished among the Jews was not from their own side, but from Above — from G‑d. In the words of the Midrash,41 "העליונים ירדו לתחתונים ואני המתחיל שנא' וירד גו'" ("The higher beings shall descend to the lower ones, and I am the one who begins, as it says, 'And G‑d descended...'").
That is, since this was not accomplished by the Jews themselves (through their own preparation and service), afterward — after the revelation of the Giving of the Torah — there could be the possibility of a descent, to the point of the sin of the Calf.
[This is similar to the holiness of Mount Sinai in the plain sense: at the time of the Giving of the Torah, when "ירד ה' . . על הר סיני" ("G‑d descended... upon Mount Sinai"),42 such lofty holiness was drawn into the physical matter of Mount Sinai that "כל הנוגע בהר מות יומת" ("whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death");43 but immediately afterward, "במשוך היובל" ("when the ram's horn sounds a long blast") — the sign of "the departure of the Shechinah" — "המה יעלו בהר" ("they may ascend the mountain");44 Mount Sinai once again became, from one extreme to the other, entirely mundane.]
And the accomplishment of the Jews from their own side, through which they become fitting vessels to receive the light of holiness permanently, was expressed in giving the offering "with joy and a whole heart." By giving away their gold, silver and copper for the Mishkan, not because of a command from Above but out of generosity of heart, the resting of the Shechinah among them became a permanent matter; it also permeated the physicality of the body and of the world, so that the holiness became fixed in the object (the physical matter) of the Mishkan and its parts forever.45
5. Based on this, one can also explain another difference between the two parshiyos:
The wording in Parshas Terumah, speaking of the offering that comes as a donation, is "from every man whose heart moves him...", which in its plain meaning refers only to men;46 whereas in our parsha it is stated "whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring it, G‑d's offering," and "generous of heart" without qualification means both men and women.
This is especially so since the command "whoever is of a generous heart..." was said to "the entire congregation of the Children of Israel" (whom Moshe assembled), which includes not only men but also women (as the Ramban states on the spot47).
And as related in the continuation of the parsha, (not only men but) women too actually participated in the donation for the Mishkan,48 and on the contrary: "ויבואו האנשים על הנשים" ("The men came along with the women")49 (the men were secondary to the women50).
This is not understood: why is it not mentioned earlier, in Parshas Terumah, that women too are included in the (third) offering?
6. The explanation of this:
It is known that man and woman also allude to the two levels of giver (mashpia) and recipient (mekabel). This is why G‑d and the Jewish people (Knesses Yisrael) are compared to man and woman,51 groom and bride.
This is also the explanation of why the Written Torah is called "מוסר אביך" ("the instruction of your father") and the Oral Torah "תורת אמך" ("the teaching of your mother"):52 the difference between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah is that the Written Torah was given entirely from Above — it is the revelation of Torah from the side of the "giver"; whereas the revelation of the Oral Torah is through the Jews, who toil in Torah and innovate in Torah, such that over the course of the generations more and more of the Oral Torah is revealed. Therefore the Oral Torah is attributed to "your mother" — the woman, the recipient53 — because54 the revelation of the Oral Torah comes from the side of the recipient, the woman.
From this the matters descend, down to man and woman in the plain sense — that within the Jewish people itself, women have an added virtue over men55 in this respect: in them the matter of service from the side of the recipient is more revealed.
As we see tangibly, women do not need as much urging in matters of Yiddishkeit as men, because in them, by their nature, faith in G‑d56 shines more than in men (and they have fear of G‑d), to such an extent that this affects their actual conduct.57
And so we find regarding the first mitzvah stated in the Torah58 — "פרו ורבו" ("Be fruitful and multiply"):
The command to "be fruitful and multiply" was given only to the man, whereas the woman is not commanded regarding being fruitful and multiplying.59 And the reason for this is —
not because this is not part of the woman's mission on earth [similar to how the Torah exempted her from positive time-bound mitzvos60 (one of the explanations of which is61 that this is) because she is subservient to her husband to attend to his needs, and her task is to manage all the affairs of the household] — on the contrary, it is specifically on her that it depends whether the man can fulfill his command.62 Moreover, the main matter of childbearing is carried out specifically through the woman, and she is called the akeres habayis (the mainstay of the home). Rather, the reason is —
that this very thing is the cause: a man requires a command regarding being fruitful and multiplying, because without the Torah's command one could not rely on him, by his nature,63 to engage in being fruitful and multiplying; whereas a woman needs no command for this, because, feeling that her mission on earth is to be the akeres habayis and to raise up generations of Jews (and to secure the continuity and existence of the Jewish people), she does so on her own.
[This is also one of the explanations64 of why, as a preparation for the Giving of the Torah, G‑d instructed Moshe:65 "כה תאמר לבית יעקב" ("So shall you say to the House of Yaakov") — "אלו הנשים תאמר להם בלשון רכה" ("these are the women; say it to them in gentle language") (unlike the men, to whom "ותגיד" ("and tell") the Children of Israel... "דברים הקשין כגידין" ("words as harsh as sinews")) — because for women, even a statement in gentle language suffices to bring about in them the readiness to receive the Torah.]
7. This is also the explanation in our matter: the advantage of the women's donation over the men's donation relates to the third offering, which is not a donation with a set measure and obligation, etc.,66 but an offering that comes from the generosity of heart of the giver on his own — and in this, women are on a higher level than men.
Therefore: in Parshas Terumah, where the main content of the offering is as it is in the command of the Holy One, blessed be He (as above), it is not the place to emphasize that women too are included in it;
specifically in our parsha, which speaks of how the offering actually came about from the side of the Jews (and their generosity of heart, as above), the superior virtue of the women relative to the men is therefore explicitly emphasized here.
And the virtue of the women was expressed (not only with regard to the quantity of the donations, but) also with regard to the type and quality of the donations:
a) The women brought not only their most precious jewelry; they also put their vitality and the powers of their soul into the donations for the Mishkan, to the point that "וכל אשה חכמת לב בידיה טוו ויביאו מטוה גו'" ("every wise-hearted woman spun with her hands, and they brought the spun yarn...")67 and "כל הנשים אשר נשא לבן אותנה בחכמה טוו את העזים" ("all the women whose hearts uplifted them with wisdom spun the goats' hair") — "אומנות יתירה שמעל גבי העזים טוויין אותן" ("an exceptional skill, for they spun it on the backs of the goats").68 That is: they gave away and invested their wisdom, senses and talents in the donation for the Mishkan.69
b) As related at the conclusion of the parsha,70 in addition to the copper of the wave-offering,71 the women donated "מראות הצובאות" ("the mirrors of the women who assembled") for the laver and its base. And as Rashi cites,72 "the mirrors of the women who assembled" were the mirrors that the Jewish women used in Egypt in order to raise up "צבאות רבות במצרים" ("many legions in Egypt")73 — and specifically regarding this donation G‑d said, "אלו חביבין עלי מן הכל" ("These are dearer to Me than all"), because specifically in this is expressed the virtue of generosity of heart that comes entirely from the side of the recipient: out of their own feeling of the necessity to raise up the legions of G‑d, the women made efforts with the help of the mirrors, until they actually accomplished it.
8. According to this explanation — of the difference between men and women — one can also explain a puzzling Zohar in our parsha:
On "Moshe assembled," the Zohar says:74 "רבי אבא פתח הקהל את העם האנשים והנשים והטף מה להלן כללא דכלהו ישראל אוף הכא כללא דכלהו ישראל ומאן אינון שתין רבוא" ("Rabbi Abba opened: 'Assemble75 the people, the men, the women and the children.' Just as there it was the entirety of all Israel, so too here it was the entirety of all Israel. And who are they? The six hundred thousand").
This seems not understood: he says that the assembly here, at the command concerning the offerings, was similar to that at (the mitzvah of) Hakhel — "Assemble the people, the men, the women and the children" — that here there was "the entirety of all Israel," just as there; and he immediately concludes, "And who are they? The six hundred thousand," which is the number only of the males from twenty years old and up,76 and certainly not of the women and children!77
The explanation of this is: the number of six hundred thousand is stated regarding the Exodus from Egypt,78 "כשש מאות אלף רגלי הגברים לבד מטף" ("about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides the children"), and similarly this number is emphasized regarding the Giving of the Torah in several sayings of our Sages.79 It is obvious that the Torah was given not only to the six hundred thousand males (from twenty years old), but also to (all the males,) the women and the children [on the contrary: in the preparation for the Giving of the Torah it says first, "So shall you say to the House of Yaakov" — "these are the women," and only afterward "and tell the Children of Israel" (the males); and furthermore — it was specifically through the guarantee of "our children"80 that G‑d gave the Torah to the Jewish people] — and nevertheless, the number of six hundred thousand is emphasized specifically, in which the women and children are not counted.
This is understood according to the above: at the Giving of the Torah the resting of the Shechinah was from Above, and when the revelation comes from Above, the virtue of the recipient is not felt, only the virtue of the giver; the recipient is drawn along automatically after the giver. Therefore it turned out, regarding the women, that their elevation (as "recipient") was not felt, and therefore they are not counted on their own; they are included in the general number of six hundred thousand81 males — "their families":82 the women (and children) are a detail of (and secondary to) the head of the household — the family.
In connection with this, the Zohar explains that at "Moshe assembled," which stands as the preparation for the donation of the Mishkan, there was "the entirety of all Israel," but not in the manner of the Giving of the Torah — where the women and children were included within the general body of the men — but rather with the women and children as an important part in their own right:
Similar to the mitzvah of Hakhel, which is not only for the men (with the women and children included and drawn along after the men); rather, each category comes and participates in the "Hakhel" as a category in its own right — as emphasized by our Sages:83 "אנשים באים ללמוד נשים באות לשמוע טף . . ליתן שכר מביאיהן" ("The men come to learn, the women come to hear, the children... to give reward to those who bring them"):
So too with the donation of the Mishkan: since at that time the virtue of the service and generosity of heart as it comes from the side of the recipient was felt, the women and children therefore stood out then in their own virtue — although they are included (then as well) in "those six hundred thousand"84 — and so it was also in the plain sense: the women gave to the donation of the Mishkan on their own,85 and the children also gave to the donation of the Mishkan, as stated in Avos d'Rabbi Nosson.86
9. From the above matter, as from all matters in Torah, one derives a lesson in the service of each and every person:
Every Jew has the task and the mission to set up a Mishkan for G‑d in the environment where he finds himself, by bringing the Jews there closer to G‑d and to His service. A Jew may sometimes make a calculation: the main thing, after all, is to bring about that the man, the head of the family, should be drawn and brought closer to Torah and mitzvos — as at the Giving of the Torah, where the main thing had to be the number of six hundred thousand males — and the women and children will be drawn along automatically;
but to exert oneself to speak separately with the woman, the akeres habayis, so that she too, on her own, should be brought closer and observe Torah and mitzvos — let alone to "lower oneself" and occupy oneself with the children — this (he maintains) is beneath his dignity; and furthermore, it is a waste of time, since meanwhile he could speak and learn Torah with another man, another head of a family.
On this, the lesson from our parsha, Vayakhel, and the donation of the Mishkan is clear: upon each person rests an obligation and a privilege that the resting of the Shechinah should remain in a permanent manner, that the entire family and household should become a Mishkan for G‑d, a place where G‑d rests, through Torah study and the fulfillment of the mitzvos.
And this can be achieved specifically when one is not satisfied with engaging with the man, the head of the household; rather, there must be a separate engagement (in a manner that is appropriate and permitted according to Torah) also with the woman, the akeres habayis, and also to work with the children, adapting oneself and with effort, so that as many Jewish children as possible should be brought into a kosher education, up to an education al taharas hakodesh (in the full purity of holiness).
And through engaging with all the Jews enumerated in Hakhel — "the men, the women and the children" — in addition to the effect on the men, women and children themselves, each of them will add even more to the teshuvah of the others: the women upon the men,87 and the children upon the fathers, as it is written,88 "והשיב לב אבות על בנים" ("He shall return the heart of the fathers through the children") — "על ידי בנים" ("by means of the children");
and one brings about "קהל גדול ישובו הנה" ("a great congregation shall return here"),89 with the coming of our righteous Moshiach, who "יבנה מקדש במקומו ויקבץ נדחי ישראל" ("will build the Sanctuary in its place and gather the dispersed of Israel"),90 speedily in our days, literally.
(From the sichos of Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel 5741 and Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei 5742)
Notes
1) 35:5.
2) Kli Yakar on the verse.
3) Kli Yakar, there. See also Sforno on the verse.
4) See also Midrash HaGadol here, beginning: "בשתי תרומות הכתוב מדבר כו'" ("The verse speaks of two offerings, etc.").
5) 25:2-3.
6) Rashi, Terumah, there, v. 2, s.v. "tikchu." This is from Yerushalmi, Shekalim 1:1.
7) Rashi, there. In the Yerushalmi there, it is not necessarily a beka per head (see the commentators on the Yerushalmi, and Bayis Ra'anan on Yalkut Shimoni on the verse).
8) On the contrary, most of the items listed at the beginning of Terumah are for the donation of the Mishkan, not the beka per head for the sockets and for the offerings.
9) See Midrash HaGadol, Terumah, there: "אשר ידבנו לבו לפי שהתנדבו ישראל במלאכת המשכן בכל לבם כו'" ("'Whose heart moves him' — because Israel volunteered for the work of the Mishkan with all their heart, etc.").
10) Especially since, according to the Yerushalmi there, the verse "from every man whose heart moves him" refers to the offering of the shekels (for the offerings), and the following verse, "And this is the offering that you shall take from them" — "זו תרומת המשכן" ("this is the offering of the Mishkan"). It emerges that not only is nothing said about bringing the offering for the Mishkan with generosity of heart, but the expression "generous of heart" is not said at all regarding the offering for the Mishkan. See Kli Yakar, beginning of Terumah.
11) Rashi on our parsha, 35:2.
12) See Ibn Ezra, Ramban, Or HaChaim and others at the beginning of our parsha. See also Rashi, 35:2. See also Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, p. 158ff., and the sources cited in note 6 there. Above, p. 260.
13) 35:4.
14) And in Rashi there: "מלמד שנאמרה פרשה זו בהקהל מפני שרוב גופי תורה תלויין בה" ("This teaches that this section was said in an assembly, because most of the essentials of the Torah depend on it"). See the sources cited below, note 17.
15) See also Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 289.
16) See Abarbanel (at the beginning of his commentary — after the questions) and Sforno, beginning of Terumah.
17) In keeping with the plain meaning of the words "Moshe assembled the entire congregation of the Children of Israel." This is unlike most of Moshe's commands, when all of Israel did not gather, but only "את שנדבה רוחו אותו" ("whoever's spirit moved him") (Or HaChamah on the Zohar, our parsha, 195a (see below, section 8); see Likkutei Sichos vol. 9, p. 325, note 27).
18) In addition to the treasurers — see Sforno here, verse 5.
19) See Ramban, Bo 10:2; 11:1; Korach 16:8. See Torah Or 52d; 60d; Likkutei Sichos vol. 3, p. 72ff., and the sources cited there.
20) Based on this, Rashi on Tzav 8:11 is better understood: "I do not know where he was commanded regarding these sprinklings" — even though the Torah does not state the command every time (see Ramban, Korach, there) — because in this matter it is explicit in the Torah, in G‑d's command in Parshas Tetzaveh (29:1ff.), with the detailed order of performance for the days of the inauguration.
21) Beginning of Pekudei. See also Rashi, Shemini 9:23, and elsewhere.
22) Tanchuma, Terumah 8. Rashi, Tisa 31:18; 33:11.* See also Rashi there, 30:16, at the end.
*) However, some have the reading in Rashi there "לצוותו" ("to command him") (and not "לצוותי" ("to command me")) — see "Likkutim" at the end of Rashi on the Torah, Berliner edition (p. 426), and the sources cited there.
23) Terumah 25:8.
24) Zohar II 195a. Ramban, beginning of our parsha. See Ramban, beginning of Terumah.
25) There is a third opinion (Zohar II 224a) that the actual donation for the Mishkan was also before the sin of the Calf (and even according to this opinion it is connected with atonement for the sin of the Calf — see Or HaChamah on the Zohar there, and on the Zohar cited in the previous note (in the name of Rabbi Chaim Vital)). See (on the inner dimension of the matters) regarding the three opinions — Likkutei Sichos vol. 7, p. 153ff.
26) Rashi, Tisa 32:2; there, v. 24.
27) See also Tanchuma, there. Shemos Rabbah, our parsha, end of ch. 48 (and [OCR unclear] there).
28) See above, p. 258, that this is the explanation of Rashi (Tisa 31:13): "אע"פ שתהיו רדופין וזריזין בזריזות המלאכה שבת אל תדחה כו'" ("Although you will be eager and zealous in the alacrity of the work, Shabbos shall not be set aside, etc.").
29) See Tanchuma, Pekudei 11; Bamidbar Rabbah 12:16 (and elsewhere) — on the verse (in our parsha, 36:3) "בבקר בבקר" ("every morning").
30) There, v. 5; v. 7.
31) Note Kli Yakar, beginning of Terumah, and in our parsha, 35:5, s.v. "kechu."
32) The wording of the verse, Mishlei 27:19. See Tanya, ch. 43ff.
33) The wording of Rashi, Tisa 33:11.
34) See the sources cited in note 29. [OCR unclear] on the Torah, our parsha, on the verse.
35) See the maamar beginning "Vayeired Havaye" 5643, at its end. Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, p. 10. And elsewhere.
36) Yisro 19:20.
37) There, 20:20.
38) Shabbos 146a, beginning, and the sources cited there. The places in the following note. And elsewhere.
39) And their impurity returned (Zohar I 52b; 126b; III 193b, end), although it did not return to how it had been before (see Likkutei Sichos vol. 21, p. 151, note 52, and the sources cited there).
40) Likkutei Torah, Re'eh 28b, and elsewhere — see the sources cited in Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 77, note 22.
41) Shemos Rabbah 12:3. Tanchuma, Va'eira 15.
42) Yisro 19:11.
43) There, v. 12.
44) There, v. 13, and Rashi.
45) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 21, there (p. 150ff.).
46) See Ritva, Kiddushin 36a. See Or HaChaim, beginning of Terumah, s.v. "veyikchu li," who infers precisely: "אל בני ישראל — בני ולא בנות ישראל" ("'To the Children of Israel' — the sons, and not the daughters, of Israel"). But see there, s.v. "me'es kol ish."
47) Beginning of our parsha. See below, section 8.
48) From the Sanctuary in the desert we learn the obligation for all generations, that "הכל חייבין לבנות ולסעד בעצמן ובממונם אנשים ונשים כמקדש המדבר" ("All are obligated to build and to assist, in person and with their money, men and women, like the Sanctuary in the desert") (Rambam, Laws of the Chosen House 1:2; see Kesef Mishneh there; see Tzafnas Paneach (compiled) on the Rambam there; Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, p. 109, note 7; vol. 15, p. 454).
49) 35:22.
50) Ramban on the Torah. See also Ibn Ezra in the short commentary here; Rabbeinu Bachya; Midrash HaGadol. But Rashi says: "עם הנשים וסמוכין עליהן" ("with the women, and close to them"). See Sforno, Panim Yafos, and elsewhere. This is not the place to elaborate.
51) See Rashi, beginning of Shir HaShirim. "וכל שיר השירים משל הוא לענין זה" ("The entire Song of Songs is a parable for this matter") (Rambam, Laws of Teshuvah, ch. 10, end of halachah 3).
52) Mishlei 1:8. Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 29 (151a), in the name of the Zohar. Torah Or, our parsha, 68c, beginning. Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 85b (and see the sources cited in the Marei Mekomos there — in the Kehot edition of 5744 and thereafter — 105a). And elsewhere.
53) Although this too was given at Sinai — "כל המצות שניתנו לו למשה בסיני בפירושן ניתנו" ("all the mitzvos that were given to Moshe at Sinai were given with their explanation") (Rambam, at the beginning of his introduction to the Yad — the study portion of this Shabbos (in the year 5747 — according to the division of three chapters a day). See below, note 90).
54) From the Written Torah — for "ליכא מידי דלא רמיזא באורייתא" ("there is nothing that is not alluded to in the Torah") (see Zohar III 221a).
55) See Iggeres HaKodesh, Torah Or and Likkutei Torah, there. And elsewhere.
56) See, on this according to Chassidus — Maamarei Admur HaZaken 5564 (p. 49ff.); "Parshiyos," vol. 1 (p. 55ff.); the maamar beginning "Yom Tov shel Rosh Hashanah" 5659 (and elsewhere) — explaining the matter that "בינה יתירה (ניתנה) באשה יותר מבאיש" ("additional understanding was given to the woman more than to the man") (Niddah 45b). See Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, p. 331. And elsewhere.
*) See Or HaTorah (Yahel Or) on Tehillim, p. [OCR unclear]; there, Nach, vol. 2, p. 927.
57) This is also the reason that they did not sin with the Calf as the men did — see Or HaTorah, Nach, there; Tisa, p. 1987; Likkutei Sichos vol. 8, p. 316ff.
58) Bereishis 1:28 (as cited in Sefer HaChinuch, mitzvah 1; see Mishnah, Yevamos 65b, the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka; Tosafos there, s.v. "velo"). Noach 9:7 (and Rashi there; Sanhedrin 59b, beginning).
59) The first Tanna in the Mishnah, Yevamos there. And this is the halachah (Rambam, Laws of Marriage 15:2; Tur and Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 1:3).
60) Kiddushin 29a (in the Mishnah). Rambam, Laws of Idolatry 12:3. Tur and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 17:2.
61) See Abudraham, Gate 3, on the blessing over the mitzvos and their laws (s.v. "kol Yisrael"). Kol Bo, beginning of the laws of circumcision (end of col. c), in the name of the author of HaMelamed. See Tziyunim LaTorah (by Rabbi Yosef Engel), principle 39 (near its end).
62) Note Ran, Kiddushin, [OCR unclear]; Responsa of the Ran, no. 32. See Likkutei Sichos vol. 4, p. 41ff.; vol. 10, p. 236; vol. 20, p. 138ff.
63) Note the saying of our Sages regarding a groom [OCR unclear] (Torah Or 106a; Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, at the beginning; and elsewhere). See Yevamos 63a: "נחית דרגא נסיב איתתא" ("Go down a step and take a wife").
64) Maharal (in Derashos Maharal — Derush al HaTorah, s.v. "Shuv amar koh somar"), and note Shemos Rabbah (28:2): "למה לנשים תחלה שהן מזדרזות במצות" ("Why to the women first? Because they are quick to perform mitzvos").
65) Yisro 19:3, and Rashi (from the Mechilta there).
66) The women are also not obligated in the offering itself, but give only out of generosity of heart (see Ritva, Kiddushin there), especially since the women did not sin with the Calf and did not need the atonement of the Mishkan (see Kli Yakar, our parsha, there). — But in the Rambam, Laws of the Chosen House, there: "והכל חייבין כו' נשים כמקדש המדבר" ("And all are obligated... women, like the Sanctuary in the desert"), and this requires further study. See Likkutei Sichos vol. [OCR unclear], cited in note 48.
67) Our parsha, 35:25.
68) There, v. 26, and Rashi.
69) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 452ff.
70) 38:8.
71) Rashi, there.
72) From Tanchuma, Pekudei 9.
73) See our Sages on the verse, Shir HaShirim 8:5; cited in Rashi on the verse here.
74) 195a.
75) Vayelech 31:12.
76) See Bo 12:37. See Likkutei Sichos vol. 9, p. 18, and the sources cited there.
77) In Or HaChamah on the Zohar there: "דלא יליף מהתם אלא ס' רבוא אבל לא טף וז"ש ומאן נינהו בנדון דידן שתין רבוא אנשים ונשים" ("He derives from there only the six hundred thousand, but not the children; and this is what it says, 'And who are they in our case? Six hundred thousand, men and women'"). This requires study, for six hundred thousand is only the number of the men, as cited in many places (see the sources cited in the previous note). It should rather have said that Rabbi Abba comes to say that only all the males were there, and not the women. — But in any case, according to this interpretation the comparison to "Assemble the people, the men, the women and the children" is difficult, as in the main text.
78) Bo, there.
79) See Shabbos 88a; Kesubos 111a, end. Note also the acronym of "Yisrael" — "יש ששים רבוא אותיות לתורה" ("there are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah") (Megaleh Amukos, ofan 166; see there).
80) Shir HaShirim Rabbah on the verse (Shir HaShirim 1:4) "משכני" ("Draw me") [OCR unclear].
81) "שהן שרשין וכל שרש מתחלק לששים רבוא כו'" ("that they are roots, and each root divides into six hundred thousand, etc.") (Tanya, ch. 37 — 48a).
82) As emphasized in the countings of the Children of Israel.
83) Chagigah 3a, end. Rashi, Vayelech, there.
84) One may interpret the intent of the Zohar (in that it concludes and emphasizes "And who are they? The six hundred thousand") — that these details of men, women and children are not a new matter; rather, it was the six hundred thousand of the Giving of the Torah, only that they came in an individualized manner. Whereas the men, women and children stated in the mitzvah of Hakhel are the particular levels in their own right, which is why they are stated explicitly in the Written Torah; whereas regarding the donation of the Mishkan only "Vayakhel" is stated, and "the men, the women and the children" are not specified as at Hakhel. — Note that the donation of the children is not related at all in the Written Torah, only in the Oral Torah.
85) But note [OCR unclear], and Tzafnas Paneach on the Torah, our parsha, 35:22.
86) Ch. 1:1. See Tzafnas Paneach on the Torah, beginning of our parsha (and the sources cited in the previous note). And elsewhere.
87) Note Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer, end of ch. 1.
88) Malachi, at the end, and Rashi.
89) Yirmeyahu 31:7.
90) See Rambam, Laws of Kings, [OCR unclear] (the study portion of this Eve of Shabbos (in the year 5742) — according to the division of three chapters a day — in which the second cycle of Rambam study is concluded, and the third cycle begins immediately the next day — Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel).
Key Lesson
The Mishkan became a lasting dwelling for G‑d because the Jews gave out of their own generosity of heart, and in this the women excelled. So too, in making one's surroundings a Mishkan for G‑d, one must not be satisfied with reaching the head of the household alone, but must engage separately with the woman of the home and with the children, so that the entire family becomes a dwelling place for G‑d.