Commentary for Exodus 36:8

AND EVERY WISE-HEARTED MAN AMONG THEM THAT WROUGHT THE WORK, MADE THE TABERNACLE OF TEN CURTAINS. The Torah has repeated the [description of the] work of the Tabernacle five times.⁵⁵1. When commanding to make it — designating each part specifically [in the section of Terumah — Chapters 25-27, and in parts of Tetzaveh]. 2. In a general way [in the section of Ki Thisa — 31:6-11]. 3. At the time of the actual making thereof — in a general way [at the beginning of this section — 35:10-19]. 4. Specifically at the time of construction. For even though this is not mentioned expressly, yet Moses surely told them details, such as that the curtains should be of such and such a length, etc., as will be explained by Ramban further on. 5. The specific account of how each part was made [beginning with our verse here]. It mentions the whole of it at the time of the command in detail, and in general terms. First it says, “and you shall make it thus,” “and you shall make it thus,” and then it mentioned all things in a general way, and they will make all that I have commanded thee: the Tent of Meeting, and the ark of the Testimony,⁵⁶Above, 31:6-7. — This is the second time it is mentioned (see above, Note 55). until according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.⁵⁷Ibid., Verse 11. The reason [why the command is repeated in a general way], is that G-d commanded Moses that he should tell Bezalel and Oholiab and all the wise men about the work in general terms, and only afterwards should they begin to do it, for they would not be suited for the sacred work until they had heard the scope of the whole undertaking and understood it all, and only then could they accept it upon themselves, when they know how to finish it. At the time of its actual construction he described it to them first in the general way as mentioned here, saying, let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that the Eternal hath commanded: the Tabernacle, its tent, etc.⁵⁸Ibid., 35:10-11. This is the third time (see Note 55). The statement of the details is, however, missing here; for surely Moses had to say to the wise men who did the work: “make the Tabernacle of ten curtains, each curtain of such-and-such a length and such-and-such a width,” and so on with the whole work. This procedure [of Moses’ telling the workers the exact details of the measurements] Scripture does not mention, for it is understood that he told them everything in order, since they made each part exactly as prescribed. And the reason why Scripture does not mention it is that it was not necessary for Moses to go with them into the smallest details as they are mentioned at the command and the construction; instead, he told it to them briefly, as if to say that they should make the Tabernacle of ten curtains, five opposite five, and they themselves understood that they had to make loops corresponding to clasps of gold in order to couple the curtains together. Similarly with the rest of the work, he hinted to them the matter in brief, and they understood everything. It is for this reason that Scripture does not dwell at length on this detail [of Moses’ instruction to the workers], since its hints [at the same time] at their wisdom, understanding, and good sense. After this Scripture describes again the whole work in a specific way as at first, stating, And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work made the Tabernacle; and he made curtains of goats’ hair;⁵⁹Further, Verse 14. and he made the boards etc.⁶⁰Ibid., Verse 20.
Now it would have been sufficient in this whole subject for Scripture to have said, “and Moses told the whole congregation of the children of Israel all the work which G-d had commanded him,” and then say, “and the children of Israel did according to all that the Eternal had commanded Moses,⁶¹Ibid., 39:42. so did they. And Moses saw all the work, and behold they had done it, as the Eternal had commanded, even so had they done it. And Moses blessed them.”⁶²Ibid., Verse 43. Scripture, however, wanted to state that Moses mentioned to the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the wise men who were there all the work in general, for he intended thereby to stir the people to donate sufficiently for the large work, and in order also that the wise men should hear [the entire scope of the work] and would know if they could undertake to do everything as he had been commanded. Then Scripture mentions in detail the whole work in order to tell us that all the wise men worked on the Tabernacle. It is with reference to this that Scripture states here, And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work made the Tabernacle of ten curtains. The verses stating, and he made curtains of goats’ hair,⁵⁹Further, Verse 14. and he made the boards,⁶⁰Ibid., Verse 20. mean: “and every wise-hearted man made the curtains of goats’ hair,” [not Bezalel alone].
In the case of the ark, however, Scripture mentions specifically, and Bezalel made the ark,⁶³Ibid., 37:1. in order to say that the greatest craftsman amongst them made the ark alone. The reason for this is because he was filled with the spirit of G-d, in wisdom, and understanding, and in knowledge,⁶⁴Above, 31:3. so that he could contemplate its meaning and make it with the proper intention. For in the actual making of the ark there was no great craftsmanship entailed, there being amongst the other work things which required greater skill than that of the ark. [Hence we must conclude that Bezalel was required to make the ark on account of its great significance.]
Then Scripture again states without elaboration, and he made the table,⁶⁵Further, 37:10. and he made the candelabrum.⁶⁶Ibid., Verse 17. In the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra,⁶³Ibid., 37:1. this alludes to Bezalel who made all the sacred vessels. But this is not my opinion, for in the case of the court of the Tabernacle it likewise says, and he made the court.⁶⁷Ibid., 38:9. And it would not be reasonable to say that Bezalel alone made the court. Rather, this refers back to every wise-hearted man as mentioned in the making of the Tabernacle.⁶⁸Mentioned here in the verse before us (36:8), and as explained above.
After Scripture completed the account of the construction of the Tabernacle in general and particular terms, it mentions their bringing it to Moses in a general way, stating, And they brought the Tabernacle unto Moses, the Tent, and all its vessels etc.,⁶⁹Further, 39:33. in order to tell of their wisdom, in that they brought everything in order and no one brought his work to Moses until the whole work had been completed, as Scripture says, Thus was finished all the work of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.⁷⁰Ibid., Verse 32. After it was finished they all gathered and showed it to Moses in order, saying at first: “Our Rabbi, here is the Tent and there are its vessels,” and afterwards they said, “Here is the ark and here are its staves,” and so on with everything.
Now [in this whole section of Vayakheil] Scripture does not state that the Tabernacle and its vessels were made “as the Eternal commanded Moses.” But in the next section of Eileh Pekudei, with reference to the garments of priesthood, it mentions such a statement at each item. The reason for this is that the whole work of the Tabernacle is included in the verse mentioned at the end, And Bezalel the son of Uri… made all that the Eternal commanded Moses.⁷¹Ibid., 38:22. Perhaps it is because of the change of the order, as our Rabbis have mentioned.⁷²Berachoth 55a. Moses told Bezalel to make “the ark, vessels and the Tabernacle.” But Bezalel said to him, “It is the way of the world first to build a house and then to place in it its various utensils. Perhaps G-d told you to make the Tabernacle, and then the ark and vessels.” Moses consented, and Bezalel made them in this order.
In general, then, all this repetition in the account of the Tabernacle is a sign of love and distinction, showing that G-d desires the work, and He mentions it in His Torah many times in order to increase the reward of those who engage themselves in its study. This is similar to what the Rabbis have said in the Midrash:⁷³Bereshith Rabbah 60:11. “The ordinary conversation of the servants of the patriarchs’ homes is more pleasing to the Holy One, blessed be He, than even the Torah-discourses of their children, for the section about Eliezer [as he recounts his journey],⁷⁴Genesis 24:34-48. comprises two or three columns in the Torah, [whereas many important principles of the Torah are derived from only slight references in the text].”

ויעשו כל חכם לב בעושי המלאכה, the most qualified among them built the Tabernacle (components) which involved weaving shapes of figures into the cloth so that they could be seen both on the outside and on the inside. (compare Yuma 72) These “curtains” were not thick as was the dividing curtain, פרכת. This portion repeats everything that has already been mentioned in connection with the instructions in Parshat Terumah. The reason why the Torah repeated all this is to inform us that when it came to the execution of the project they did everything so as to correspond to G’d’s will and to bring it to conclusion and make it functional as G’d desired. הארון, seeing that the Ark was the most distinguished of the furnishings of the Tabernacle, Betzalel, the master craftsman and architect fashioned this item personally. The sages say of Betzalel that he was capable of using the letters of the alphabet of the Holy Tongue in a manner similar to the way G’d had used them when creating the universe. (compare Berachot 55)

ויעשו כל חכם לב, Every wise-hearted man (employed for that task) made the Tabernacle, etc. The reason that the word עשה "he made" is used at the end of the verse though many artisans were involved in the construction, indicates that the work was performed as if only a single individual had made it all. The miraculous feature was that the normal minor discrepancies between how different artisans perform the same type of work could not be noticed in the completed product though that product was a composite to which many people had contributed their skills. This is how we can explain the repeated use by the Torah of the singular when speaking of a number of people who performed work. The singular used by the Torah again and again cannot refer to Betzalel as he obviously did not perform all this work himself. The fact that the Torah mentioned in 37,1 that Betzalel made the Holy Ark is proof that he did not make everything else. The reason the completed Tabernacle appeared as the work of a single artisan was that G'd inspired the various artisans in the manner in which they carried out their assignments. They did not strive to display the artist's normal individuality but strove to be part of a team.

ויעשו כל חכם לב; first they fashioned the Tabernacle itself; after that they made the furnishings, etc., as I explained on Exodus 25,10.

ויעשו כל חכם לב, ”the wise-hearted among those doing the work, etc.” Nachmanides writes that the Torah repeats the expression מלאכת המשכן no fewer than five times during the stage where the carrying out of these instructions is described. In two instances the operative instruction is in the singular mode ועשית, i.e. 25,23 and In 25,10 the Torah uses the plural mode, indirect speech, i.e. ועשו, whereas in 31, 6-7 the plural mode indirect speech is used again although the directive is addressed primarily to Oholiov. The reason for all this is that initially, Moses, at the command of G’d, instructed the main architects and supervisors of the work, Betzalel and Oholiov, respectively, whereas these two experts instructed the various artisans working under them in their individual duties. None of these workers had become capable of performing these tasks until the holy spirit had descended on Betzalel through his being instructed and charged by Moses, personally. In chapter 35 the directive to make coverings as a portable roof for the Tabernacle was given, but only at this stage some details such as the need to make 10 carpet-like coverings, and the length and width of each of these, were revealed. As a general rule, although Moses had received detailed instructions in chapter 25-27, all the details were revealed to the people concerned as and when the time had come to commence work on them. The artisans already understood that in order to link two large carpets such as described one to another, they had to fashion loops and clasps in order to join them in such a fashion that they could easily dismantle the structure. The artisans had been granted sufficient insights by G’d to enable them to spontaneously attend to the details described in Parshat Terumah and Tetzaveh. When the Torah in chapter 36,8 first mentions ויעשו in the plural mode, this includes all the people previously described as חכם לב, “wise-hearted.” The subsequent use of the singular mode ויעש, describes individuals of this group of artisans fashioning certain parts of the project. When, in chapter 37,1 the Torah attributes certain furnishings as having been made by Betzalel, mentioning him by name, the Torah tells us that the work of making these furnishings required additional skill, skills not possessed by the חכמי לב. After all, he had been described as מלא רוח אלוקים, “filled with the spirit of G’d.” However, the Torah then reverts to the anonymous ויעש, in order for us to understand that he word ויעש, “he fashioned,” refers to one of the artisans filled with חכמת הלב in the paragraphs dealing with the fashioning of the Table and the Menorah, the golden altar and the copper altar, as well as the basin and the courtyard in all its details. Ibn Ezra, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the “anonymous” ויעש continues to describe work performed by Betzalel personally, so that that all the sacred vessels would have been attributed to him by the Torah. Nachmanides does not agree, pointing out that the same word ויעש in 38,10 introduces the construction of the courtyard around the Tabernacle, and it is most unlikely that this part of the project required the kind of holy spirit possessed only by Betzalel. The Torah, at that point or even earlier, reverts to the people endowed “only” with חכמת לב. Just as the actual making of all these components of the project “Tabernacle” are described both in general terms as well as in its specifics, the presentation of the work to Moses is also described both in general terms as in specific terms, i.e. only the finished product was brought to Moses. It is noteworthy that during the report of the construction of the Tabernacle and its auxiliaries, we do not find the recurring sentence כאשר צוה ה' את משה, “as Hashem had commanded Moses,” whereas in Parshat Pekudey, in connection with the garments of the Priests, this sentence recurs no fewer than eight times. The reason, presumably, is that when constructing the Tabernacle the Torah sums it all up in the 38,22 when the Torah writes that “Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Chur, had completed all that G’d had commanded Moses.” It is possible that the reason why the Torah repeats these matters in different ways is due to changes in the order of construction having taken place. The Torah, i.e. G’d, wanted to signal that in spite of Betzalel having changed the order in which the Tabernacle and the furnishings respectively were constructed, G’d had approved the changes so that whatever he had done was considered as complying with what “G’d had commanded Moses.”

V. 8 ff. Vergegenwärtigen wir uns, dass das ganze Heiligtum in allen seinen einzelnen Teilen symbolische Bedeutung haben sollte, dass aber kein Objekt als Symbol dastehen kann, wenn es nicht mit Absicht für diesen symbolischen Zweck bestimmt und hergestellt ist; vergegenwärtigen wir uns, dass selbst die Schrift, doch wie wir meinen sollten, so sehr symbolischer Natur, dass sie an sich gar keine andere Bedeutung zulässt und von selbst ihre Bedeutung in sich trägt, gleichwohl in ihrer heiligsten Anwendung von der mit den Schriftzeichen von dem Schreiber verbundenen Absicht bedingt ist, so dass ein ספר תורה nur dann קדושת ספר תורה hat, wenn es mit Absicht לשם קדושת ס׳׳ת geschrieben worden, ja, hinsichtlich der Gottesnamen, אזכרות, die Absicht, diese Schriftzeichen zum Ausdruck der Gottesnamen, לשם קדושת השם, zu schreiben, beim Schreiben einer jeden אזכרה wiederholt ausgesprochen, mindestens dem Geiste des Schreibenden gegenwärtig gewesen sein muss, und der Sinn, den der Schreibende mit den von ihm gemalten Schriftzügen verbindet, so sehr die Bedeutung derselben bedingt, dass sogar ס׳׳ת von welchem der Charakter und die Sinnesart ,ס׳׳ת dass sogar ein ,שכתבו מין ישרף des Schreibers voraussetzen lassen, er habe die von ihm geschriebenen Gottesnamen in einem der göttlichen Wahrheit entgegengesetzten Sinne לשם עבודה זרה geschrieben, geradezu zu verbrennen ist — siehe Joreh Dea 274, 1, 276, 2 u. 284, 1 —; vergegenwärtigen wir uns, dass die Vergegenwärtigung der symbolischen Bedeutung bei Anfertigung von Gegenständen, wie diejenigen, aus welchen das Heiligtum bestand, um so notwendiger die ganze Wirklichkeit der symbolischen Bedeutung derselben bedingen dürfte, je mehr dies alles Gegenstände waren, die, wie Kasten, Tisch, Leuchter, Teppiche, Kleider usw. sonst in ganz gewöhnlicher, konkreter Bedeutung dastehen: so dürften uns diese Erwägungen wohl begreiflich erscheinen lassen, weshalb hier nun von Kap. 36, 8 bis Kap. 39, 32 die Anfertigung des Heiligtums nochmals in vollen Details, die wir bereits aus der Anordnung kennen, angeführt wird, sodann Kap. 39, 33 — 43 bei der Ablieferung nochmals alle einzelnen Stücke genannt, und ebenso Kap. 40, die Aufrichtung wiederholt in allen einzelnen Teilen berichtet wird, und sich nicht die Schrift einfach damit begnügt, zu erzählen: die Künstler und Werkmeister verfertigten alles nach Vorschrift, brachten es Mosche, und Mosche stellte das Heiligtum auf, wie ihm geboten war. Irren wir nicht, so soll uns mit dieser Ausführlichkeit gesagt sein, dass sowohl bei der Anfertigung, als bei der Ablieferung und endlich bei der Aufstellung den Künstlern und Mosche die heilige und symbolische Bestimmung bei jedem einzelnen der das Ganze konstituierenden Teile gegenwärtig und das Ganze und Einzelne in dem Sinne dieser Bestimmung angefertigt, gehandhabt und aufgestellt worden, und so durch Geist und Sinn der Herstellung dem Hergestellten Charakter und Bedeutung vindiziert war.

את המשכן, עשר יריעות, the inner curtains serving as the ceiling of the Tabernacle, ten each; they were the first parts of the Tabernacle to be constructed. This was followed by the structure itself, over which these curtains were spread, the structure being the most important part, they being the most beloved part. Following this, all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, inside and outside were constructed. This was followed by making the hanging curtains of the courtyard around it.

חכם לב בעשי המלאכה, of wise heart when performing the work. Perhaps the reason the Torah appears to repeat itself is that it wishes to teach us that the artisans became "wise-hearted" thanks to their being engaged in their sacred task.

עשה אתם, der Singular hier und in dem folgenden bezieht sich wohl auf Bezalel, dem die Oberleitung des ganzen Werkes übertragen war. Wir haben schon zu Kap. 32, 35. angemerkt, wie durch עשה nicht nur das unmittelbare Schaffen, sondern auch die anordnende, gebietende und leitende Urheberschaft eines Werkes ausgedrückt wird.

כרובים מעשה חושב, “cherublike figures skillfully woven into the fabric by human hands”. When the Torah describes the ten curtain like carpets forming the lowest of the four layers of the Tabernacle’s “roof,” figures which were visible to people allowed into the Sanctuary, the Torah added the words: מעשה אדם, “made by man.” The other eleven carpets above the first ten, which were not seen by anyone, did not have any such pictures woven into them, as who would be there to appreciate them?

ויעשו, They constructed, etc. The reason that the Torah troubled itself to repeat all these details instead of summarising them by saying: "he did in accordance with all that G'd had commanded him," may be explained in the same way as Bereshit Rabbah explained that the Torah repeated the story of Eliezer at the well (Genesis chapter 24) as an expression of appreciation of how Abraham's servant carried out his mission. The same reasoning may be applied to the way Betzalel carried out his task in our portion.