Vayakhel

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Vayakhel, VaYakhel, Va-Yakhel, Vayak’hel, Vayak’heil, or Vayaqhel (ויקהל — Hebrew for "and he assembled,” the first word in the parshah) is the 22nd weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 10th in the book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 35:1–38:20. Jews in the Diaspora read it the 22nd Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in March.

The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 54 weeks, the exact number varying between leap years and regular years. In years with 54 weeks (for example, 2008, 2011, and 2014), parshah Vayakhel is read separately. In years with fewer than 54 weeks (for example, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015), parshah Vayakhel is combined with the next parshah, Pekudei, to help achieve the number of weekly readings needed.

Acacia tree

1 Summary
2 In classical rabbinic interpretation
- 2.1 Exodus chapter 35
3 Commandments
4 Haftarah
- 4.1 Parshah Vayakhel
  - 4.1.1 Ashkenazi — 1 Kings 7:40–50
  - 4.1.2 Sephardi — 1 Kings 7:13–26
- 4.2 Parshah Vayakhel–Pekudei
  - 4.2.1 On Shabbat HaChodesh
  - 4.2.2 On Shabbat Parah
5 Further reading
6 External links

[edit] Summary

Lapis lazuli

Moses convoked the Israelites to build the Tabernacle. Moses started by reminding them of God’s commandment to keep the Sabbath of complete rest. (Ex. 35:1–3.) Then Moses told them to collect gifts of materials from those whose heart so moved them — gifts of gold, silver, copper, colored yarns, fine linen, goats hair, tanned ram skins, acacia wood, olive oil, spices, lapis lazuli, and other stones. (Ex. 35:4–9.) Moses invited all who were skilled to make the Tabernacle, its furnishings, and the priests’ vestments. (Ex. 35:10–19.) The Israelites brought the gifts that Moses requested. (Ex. 35:20–29.) Moses announced that God had singled out Bezalel and Oholiab to endow them with the skills needed to construct the Tabernacle. (Ex. 35:30–35.) And Moses called on them and all skilled persons to undertake the task. (Ex. 36:1–2.) The Israelites brought more than was needed, so Moses proclaimed an end to the collection. (Ex. 36:3–7.) The skilled workers fashioned the Tabernacle. (Ex. 36:8–38.) Bezalel made the ark, cover, table, menorah, incense altar, altar for sacrifices, laver, and enclosure for the Tabernacle. (Ex. 37:1–38:20.)

[edit] In classical rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Exodus chapter 35

Rabbi Judah haNasi taught that the words “These are the words” in Exodus 35:1 referred to the 39 labors that God taught Moses at Sinai. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 97b.) Similarly, Rabbi Hanina bar Hama said that the labors forbidden on the Sabbath in Exodus 35:2 correspond to the 39 labors necessary to construct the Tabernacle. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 49b.)

Rabbi Levi noted that Exodus 35:24 spoke of “every man, with whom was found acacia-wood,” not “with whom would be found,” and deduced that the Israelites had cut down acacia trees in Magdala in the Land of Israel, had taken the wood with them to Egypt, and not a knot or crack was to be found in the wood. (Genesis Rabbah 94:4.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there is one negative commandment in the parshah:

The court must not inflict punishment on the Sabbath. (Ex. 35:3.)

(See, e.g., Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2:297. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:431–33. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)

[edit] Haftarah

[edit] Parshah Vayakhel

Solomon's Temple

When parshah Vayakhel is read alone (as it is in 2008, 2011, and 2014), the haftarah is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: 1 Kings 7:40–50
for Sephardi Jews: 1Kings 7:13–26

[edit] Ashkenazi — 1 Kings 7:40–50

Both the parshah and the haftarah in 1Kings 7 report the leader’s erection of the holy place, Moses’ building of the Tabernacle in the parshah (Ex. 35:4–38:20), and Solomon’s building of the Temple in Jerusalem in the haftarah. (1Kings 7:40–50.) Both the parshah and the haftarah note particular metals for the holy space. (Ex. 35:5; 1Kings 7:45, 47–50.)

[edit] Sephardi — 1 Kings 7:13–26

Both the parshah and the haftarah note the skill (chokhmah), ability (tevunah), and knowledge (da‘at), of the artisan (Bezalel in the parshah, Hiram in the haftarah) in every craft (kol mela’khah). (Ex. 35:30–31; 1Kings 7:14.)

[edit] Parshah Vayakhel–Pekudei

When parshah Vayakhel is combined with parshah Pekudei, the haftarah is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: 1Kings 7:51–8:21
for Sephardi Jews: 1Kings 7:40–50

Ezekiel (painting by Michelangelo)

[edit] On Shabbat HaChodesh

When the parshah coincides with Shabbat HaChodesh ("Sabbath [of] the month," the special Sabbath preceding the Hebrew month of Nissan — as it does in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2013), the haftarah is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: Ezekiel 45:16–46:18
for Sephardi Jews: Ezekiel 45:18–46:15

On Shabbat HaChodesh, Jews read Exodus 12:1–20, in which God commands that “This month [Nissan] shall be the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year” (Ex. 12:2), and in which God issued the commandments of Passover. (Ex. 12:3–20.) Similarly, the haftarah in Ezekiel 45:21–25 discusses Passover. In both the special reading and the haftarah, God instructs the Israelites to apply blood to doorposts. (Ex. 12:7; Ez. 45:19.)

[edit] On Shabbat Parah

When the parshah coincides with Shabbat Parah (the special Sabbath prior to Passover — as it does in 2012 and 2015), the haftarah is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: Ezekiel 36:16–38
for Sephardi Jews: Ezekiel 36:16–36

On Shabbat Parah, the Sabbath of the red heifer, Jews read Numbers 19:1–22, which describes the rites of purification using the red heifer (parah adumah). Similarly, the haftarah in Ezekiel 36 also describes purification. In both the special reading and the haftarah in Ezekiel 36, sprinkled water cleansed the Israelites. (Num. 19:18; Ezek. 36:25.)

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Psalms 26:6 (washing, altar); 51:16–19 (sacrifices); 80:2 (cherubim); 84:2–3, 11 (Tabernacle, courts); 92:14 (courts); 96:6 (God's sanctuary); 100:4 (court of the Tabernacle); 134:2 (God's sanctuary); 141:2 (incense); 150:1 (God's sanctuary).
Philo. Allegorical Interpretation 3:33:101; On the Migration of Abraham 17:97–98. Alexandria, Egypt, early 1st Century C.E.. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge, 61, 262. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1993. ISBN 0-943575-93-1.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 3:6:1–10:1. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 85–95. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael 82:1. Land of Israel, late 4th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 2:258–62. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-237-2.
Genesis Rabbah 94:4. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 2:871. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Babylonian Talmud: Shabbat 20a, 49b, 70a, 74b, 96b; Eruvin 2b; Yoma 66b, 72b, 75a; Beitzah 4b; Rosh Hashanah 34a; Chagigah 10a–b; Yevamot 6b–7a, 33b; Sotah 3a; Kiddushin 37a; Bava Kamma 2a, 54a, 71a; Sanhedrin 35b, 69b; Makkot 21b; Shevuot 26b; Avodah Zarah 12b, 24a; Zevachim 59b; Bekhorot 41a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Exodus Rabbah 48:1–50:5. 10th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Exodus. Translated by S. M. Lehrman, 3:546–61. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Rashi. Commentary. Exodus 35–38. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 2:487–505. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-027-7.
Zohar 2:194b–220a. Spain, late 13th Century.
Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:34. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 431. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.