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ויהי ביום כלות משה AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE DAY THAT MOSES HAD FINISHED [RAISING THE TABERNACLE] — The word כלות is written defective (without ו after the ל) thus indicating: on the day that the Tabernacle was erected Israel was like a bride (כלה) who goes beneath the marriage canopy (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 20). (Cf. Rashi on Exodus 31:18.)

AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE DAY THAT MOSES HAD FINISHED SETTING UP THE TABERNACLE. “Scripture does not say ‘on the day that Moses set up’ [but it states ‘on the day that Moses had finished setting up’]. This teaches us that on each of the seven days of initiation [of the priests] Moses erected and dismantled the Tabernacle, and on that day [the eighth day] he erected it but did not dismantle it. Therefore it says, on the day that Moses had finished setting up the Tabernacle, since it was on that day that he finished all his erections. This happened on the first of Nisan; on the second day the Red Heifer was burnt, on the third day they sprinkled [upon the Levites]¹²⁵Further, 8:7. the first sprinkling [of the water of purification in which the ashes of the Red Heifer were mingled],¹²⁶Ibid., 19:12. and on the seventh day [of Nisan, after having been sprinkled again]¹²⁶Ibid., 19:12. the Levites were shaven¹²⁵Further, 8:7. [and were ready to be initiated into their service].” This is Rashi’s language on the basis of the words of our Rabbis¹²⁷Sifre Naso 44. of blessed memory. But it is not a complete proof [that Moses set up the Tabernacle and dismantled it again on each of the seven days of initiation], for the expression on the day that he had finished is not connected only with the word l’hakim (setting up), but [its meaning is rather as follows]: “on the day that Moses had finished setting up the Tabernacle and anointing and sanctifying it, and [doing likewise to] the altar and all the vessels thereof — the princes offered their offerings, when all this was done.” Nonetheless [however we explain the verse], it was [indeed] on the eighth day [of the initiation of the priests].
This section was written here because on the first day of the initiation He called unto Moses out of the Tent of Meeting and G-d spoke to him¹²⁸Leviticus 1:1. all the sections [of the Torah] from the beginning of the Book of Leviticus until the section of Vayehi Bayom Ha’shemini,¹¹¹Leviticus 9:1. The verse referred to is ibid., 22. which all deal with the laws of the offerings. From that eighth day on Moses was told all the sections beginning with These are the beasts which ye may eat,¹²⁹Ibid., 11:2. which contain the laws of forbidden and permitted foods, since they are all related to the subject of the offerings, and these topics continued in their correct order up to this place [before us], as I have explained.¹³⁰In Exodus 40:2, and Leviticus 25:1. Thus when He had completed the commandments which Moses was ordered to say to Israel, all of them being laws of the Divine Service and the offerings, the charge of the Tent of Meeting and its Service, He reverted here afterwards to tell of the freewill offerings of the princes, which took place from the eighth day until the nineteenth day of Nisan,¹³¹This is the opinion of Rabbi Akiba, who says that the first day of the initiation of the priests was the first of Nisan, and accordingly “the eighth day” [which marked the final erection of the Tabernacle] was on the eighth of Nisan. On that day the twelve princes began their offerings, and each one brought an offering on a separate day, so that they finished on the nineteenth of Nisan. or until the twelfth day of the month in accordance with the words of our Rabbis.¹³²This is the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael, and is also the finally agreed opinion of the Rabbis in general. Hence the language of Ramban [“in accordance with the words of our Rabbis”]. According to this opinion, the Tabernacle was first put up on the twenty-third of Adar, and “the eighth day” was therefore the first of Nisan, so that the princes completed their offerings on the twelfth of Nisan. See further on this matter in my Hebrew commentary p. 217, and in Ramban, Vol. II, pp. 616-622.

ואת המזבח ואת כל כליו, and to erect the altar and all its appurtenances, each in its proper place.

ביום כלות משה, on the day Moses completed, etc. Rabbi Levi in Midrash Hagadol on our verse claims that the word כלות is written without the letter ו. In our editions of the Torah it is spelled with the letter ו. How is it possible that scribes could take liberties with the spelling of the Torah? Such a situation would lead to apostasy and a denigration of the respect in which the scholars are held! You should know that the text of our sacred Torah, including every vowel has been carefully counted. Every letter or even crown is sacred enabling us to derive meanings from it. Let me give you a small example of how important an even minute departure from the accepted spelling would be. There are letters which are noticed only by the way they are pronounced, letters which do not even appear in the written text. An example of such a letter is the letter ו before the final ע in the word יהושע. When pronounced properly, we hear that there is a vowel shuruk which does not appear in the written text. On the other hand, such a vowel does appear in the written text in the same word between the letter ה and ש although it cannot be heard when we read the word aloud. This little example ought to alert the intelligent student to the fact that there can never be a question of altering the spelling in the written Torah such as adding a letter ו in the word כלות in our verse, even if only to ensure that the word would be pronounced correctly. If the Torah decided to write a letter ו in a place where we would not have expected it it serves to alert us to hidden meanings in the text. It may have been the intention of the Torah to include three letters of the holy name of G'd in the name of the righteous יהושע. If the Torah had written the letter ו before the letter ע and had omitted the letter ו after the letter ה, we would not have noticed that the Torah had intended to include the first three letters of the tetragram in the name of Joshua. When our sages speak about the word כלות being written without the letter ו, they mean that the letter ו which does appear in the text is to be viewed there as if it were only "on loan." The intelligent student will appreciate that this was the mystical dimension of Moses on whom was fulfilled the verse in Jeremiah 31,21 that נקבה תסובב גבר, that "the female will enclose the male." Moses' exclusive preoccupation with putting together the Tabernacle is alluded to in the word כלות a reference to the "groom-bride" relationship between him and the Tabernacle. When the Midrash says that the word כלות is spelled כלת, the author merely wishes to draw our attention to this relationship of bride and groom. The physical presence of the letter ו in the written text is an allusion to Moses, the גבר, i.e. the male. Inserting the ו into the word כלת is a clear indication of the male-female relationship between the two. No human being has the right to make up such an explanation out of his own mind. Such interpretations are traditional and reflect inspiration by the Holy Spirit.

ויהי ביום כלות משה, “It was on the day that Moses completed, etc.” Nachmanides writes that the meaning of the word כלות, completing, as opposed to הקים erecting, is to tell us that on the first day when the Tabernacle was put up to become functional, i.e. on the seventh day of the מילואים, the consecration rites, Moses did not dismantle the Tabernacle as he had done on the previous days. Whereas G’d had spoken to Moses on the first of those seven days from inside the Tabernacle and He communicated to him all the chapters of the Torah beginning with the first chapter of Leviticus. He issued all the laws about the sacrifices, both animal and meal offerings. On the eighth day of the consecration rites, i.e. after their conclusion, G’d communicated to Moses the legislation about what may and may not be eaten (Leviticus chapter 11) All these laws contain some aspects of the legislation pertaining to sacrificial offerings, the maintenance of the Tabernacle, and the service to be performed in it by the priests. Having dealt with these aspects, the Torah proceeds to describe the donations of the people and the princes that enabled the Tabernacle to have been erected. The donations of the princes were brought between the 8th and the 19th day of Nissan.

ויהי ביום כלות משה להקים את המשכן, “It was on the day Moses completed erecting the Tabernacle, etc.” This chapter was written after the priests had bestowed their blessing on the people, i.e. in chronological order. On the day Aaron raised his hands over the people in blessing them the inauguration of the Altar commenced. This verse is proof of the opinion expressed in Sifri Nasso 43 that during the seven preceding days Moses erected and dismantled the Tabernacle each day.

Because he utterly dedicated. It appears that Rashi is answering the question: The notation above the words “Moshe finished” separate it from the words “erecting the Mishkon” meaning that “Moshe finished” is not to be read together with “erecting the Mishkon” and it is as if they are two separate topics. But what two topics could there be here? Rather one must say that the verse is to be explained as saying “It came to pass on the day that Moshe finished the making of the Mishkon and the erection of the Mishkon”. Thus Rashi asks “Betzalel and all the wise-hearted men…” He answers that “because he utterly dedicated himself…” With this one may answer the widely asked question: The verse merely attributes the erection of the Mishkon to Moshe, and he did this alone as is written previously in Parshas Pekudei (Shemos 39:33) Maharai explains that Rashi was answering the question: The Torah should have merely said “It came to pass, on the day Moshe erected the Mishkon. …

Kap. 7. V. 1. Wie wir bereits zum Eingange dieses vierten Buches bemerkt, schloss sich der Inhalt des ganzen dritten Buches der Errichtung des Heiligtums an, mit welchem das zweite Buch geendet hatte, indem es die Gesetze der Heiligung lehrte, welche das Heiligtum und das Gesetzeszeugnis, dem es errichtet war, als Aufgabe unseres Lebens setzen. Dieses vierte Buch hat nun das Verhältnis und das Verhalten der Nation zu diesem Gesetzesheiligtume zum Inhalt, und hatten die ersten sechs Kapitel die Gesamtnation in allen ihren Gliedern, Familien und Stämmen durch Zählung jedes einzelnen für den Dienst des Heiligtums berufen gezeigt, hatten sie dann in ihrer näheren und ferneren Gliederung — כהנים ,לויים ישראל — um das Heiligtum als ihren gemeinsamen Mittelpunkt geschart, hatten die Wirkung dieses heiligen Mittelpunkts auf die es umkreisende dreigliedrige nationale Umgebung symbolisch in שלוח מחנות, konkret in סוטה ,גזל הגר und נזיר vergegenwärtigt, und endlich die in der plastischen Darstellung des Heiligtums und seines Inhalts gegebenen Verheißungen einer die Gottesgegenwart bezeugenden nationalen Heilesblüte im täglichen Ausspruch des Priestersegens, ברכת כהנים, zum Ausdruck gebracht.

ויהי ביום כלות משה להקים את המשכן, “it was on the daythat Moses had completed erecting the Tabernacle;” the Torah here refers to chapter 4,116. The Torah there had discussed the tasks allocated to the sons of Kehat which needed to be performed by carrying the furnishings on their shoulders. Now it turns to discussing the tasks of the sons of Gershon and Merari, which could not be performed by carrying on their shoulders, and which needed to be transported on the wagons donated by the princes. The subject of consecrating the altar follows that of the priests, to teach that on the day that Aaron raised his hands in blessing the Jewish nation, this was followed immediately by the consecration of the altar. (Ibn Ezra)

כלות משה MOSES HAD FINISHED — Bezalel and Ohaliab and all the wise-hearted men made the Tabernacle (cf. Exodus 36:1), but Scripture attributes it to Moses (describes it as his work), because he devoted himself wholeheartedly to it, to see that the shape of each article was exactly as He had shewn him on the mountain — to show the workmen how it should be made; nor did he err in a single shape. — A similar thing do we find in the case of David: because he devoted himself to the building of the Holy Temple, — as it is said, (Psalms 132:1—5) “Lord, remember David, and all his affliction: How he swore unto the Lord … [I will not give sleep to mine eyes … until I find out a place for the Lord …]”, therefore it is called by his name, as it is said, (1 Kings 12:16) “Now see your own house, David" (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 13).

VAYIMSHACHEIM’ (AND HE HAD ANOINTED THEM), ‘VAYEKADEISH’ (AND SANCTIFIED) THEM. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explains that “Moses anointed them with the oil of anointment, and sanctified them by [sprinkling upon them] the blood of the sin-offering, as it is said there, and he purified the altar, and poured out the remaining blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement upon it. ”¹³³Leviticus 8:15. But it is not so, for it is likewise said about the Tabernacle [in the verse before us], and he had anointed it, and sanctified it and all its vessels, and yet the Tabernacle was not sanctified by means of [sprinkling upon it] the blood and any offering. Rather, the meaning [of the phrase vayimshacheim vayekadeish otham] is that “he anointed them in order [thereby] to sanctify them.”

וימשחם ויקדש אותם, after each component had been positioned in the place assigned to it.

ואת המזבח ואת כל כליו, “and the altar and all its appurtenances.” Conceptually, these words belong to the beginning of our verse, i.e. להקים, Moses did not only erect the Tabernacle on that day but also the altar etc., as he had been doing for the previous seven days. He also performed the anointing, etc. all on that day.

On the second the [red] cow was burned. Rashi wished to answer this so that you would not ask: Didn’t the Levites begin their service immediately after the erection of the Mishkon as is written shortly? How would they be permitted to do this, since they were impure due to contact with a corpse and could not be purified since the red cow has not yet been burned? One cannot say that the cow was burned before the erection of the Mishkon because concerning its sprinkling in Parshas Chukas (Bamidbar 19:4) the Torah writes “opposite the face of the tent” implying that the Mishkon has already been erected when it was slaughtered. He answers “on the second, the cow was burned…” thus it emerges that they were purified on the seventh.

Dieses siebente Kapitel greift nun etwas zurück auf den bereits im Schmot Kap. 40, 17 genannten Tag der definitiven Errichtung des Heiligtums, den ersten Nissan des zweiten Jahres, an welchen auch bereits das Kap. 9, 1 des dritten Buches wieder angeknüpft, und den der Anfang dieses Buches nur um einen Monat überschritten hatte, um durch die Zählung, Gliederung, Lagerung und die sich diesen anschließenden Gesetzesgruppen die durch dies errichtete Heiligtum veranlassten Anordnungen zu vollenden. Es greift dieses Kapitel auf jenen Tag der Errichtung des Heiligtums zurück, um nun diesen Anordnungen gegenüber zu berichten, wie selbst vor Erlass dieser Anordnungen, wie gleich am Tage der Errichtung des Heiligtums, die Stammesfürsten der Nation ihre Stellung zu diesem Heiligtum begriffen und in welcher Weise sie dieses Bewusstsein und diese Gesinnung betätigten.

וימשח אותו, “and he had anointed it;” having done so it became holy, i.e. ויקדש אותו. Our sages in the TalmudSh’vuot, folio 15 state that all the vessels which Moses anointed became holy through the act of having been anointed. They were ready for immediate use.

כלות משה להקים [AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE DAY] THAT MOSES HAD FINISHED SETTING UP [THE TABERNACLE] — but it is not said, “on the day Moses set up”; this (the phrase כלות … להקים, “had finished setting up”) teaches us that during each of the seven days of installation Moses used to erect and dismantle it (the Tabernacle), but on that day (the eighth) he erected it but did not again dismantle it; for this reason it is said: “on the day that (Moses) finished setting up” — i.e. on that day his several erections of it came to an end. — It was the New Moon (the first day) of Nisan (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 9:1 and Note thereon), on the second the Red Heifer was burnt, on the third they (the Levites) were sprinkled for the first time with the water in which its ashes were mingled (cf. Rashi on 8:7), and on the seventh day, after having been again sprinkled, they shaved their bodies and were ready to enter on their duties (cf. 8:6—7) (Sifrei Bamidbar 44).

AND THE ALTAR AND ALL THE VESSELS THEREOF. This is connected with the beginning of the verse, [so that the sense thereof is as follows]: “and it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished setting up the Tabernacle [and the altar]¹³⁴Tur. In our editions of Ramban this phrase is missing, but the Tur’s reading is clearly correct. and all its vessels, and had anointed them and sanctified them — [that the princes of Israel offered etc.].”

וימשחם ויקדש אותם, “He anointed them and sanctified them.” Nachmanides, quoting Ibn Ezra writes that the anointing was done with the special oil for anointing described in Exodus chapter 30, whereas the “sanctification” was accomplished by taking the blood from the sin offering as we read in Leviticus 8,15ויחטא את המזבח ואת הדם יצק אל יסוד המזבח ויחטאהו לכפר עליו, “he purified the Altar; he poured the remaining blood upon the base of the Altar and he sanctified it to provide atonement for it.” Nachmanides disagrees with Ibn Ezra, basing himself on similar language used by the Torah when describing the sanctification of the Tabernacle, and at that sanctification there certainly was no blood involved. (Compare our verse above)

And on the seventh they were shaven. This is the shaving mentioned in Parshas Beha’alosecha (Bamidbar 8:7) “and they shall pass a razor over their entire bodies…”

ויהי ביום כלות משה להקים וגו׳ (siehe zu Schmot 40, 17 u. 18). — וימשח אתו וגו׳ (siehe zu Schmot 30, 23 — 29). — וימשחם ויקדש אתם, diese Wiederholung wird im ספרי also erläutert: וימשח אותו ויקדש אותו ואת כל כליו שומע אני ראשון ראשון שנמשח היה קדוש ת׳׳ל וימשחם ויקדש אותם מגיד שלא קדש אחד מהם עד שנמשחו כולם, die משיחת וקדושת אותו ואת כל כליו war erst vollendet vollzogen, als וימשחם ויקדש אותם, d.h. die Heiligung eines jeden Teiles des Heiligtums war erst durch die Heiligung des Ganzen vollzogen. Bildet doch das Gesamtheiligtum eine einheitliche Idee, die in ihrer Ganzheit jedem einzelnen Teile die Weihe seiner Bedeutung erteilt. Jeder Teil für sich allein ist in mangelhafter Einseitigkeit nicht fähig, Träger der seine Heiligkeit bedingenden Bestimmung zu sein. Die Heiligkeit jedes Teils ist durch das ergänzende Hinzukommen aller übrigen bedingt. Und ebenso kann das Ganze nicht eines selbst seiner letzten Teile entraten. Nichts ist für die Idee des Ganzen entbehrlich, nichts bedeutungslos. Alles zusammen ist die plastische Darstellung des Satzes: ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם. Wie aber ein Satz keines Wortes, keiner Silbe, keines Buchstabens entraten kann, hinwieder aber kein Buchstabe, keine Silbe, kein Wort für sich allein bedeutungsvoll ist: also ist auch das Heiligtum ein symbolisches Satzganzes, in welchem das Ganze keines Teiles und kein Teil des Ganzen entbehren kann.

אתו ואת כל כליו ואת המזבח ואת כל כליו, es ist hier das Gesamtheiligtum in seinen beiden Hauptbestandteilen bezeichnet: משכן וכל כליו vergegenwärtigt die Aufgabe, (חצר) מזבח וכל כליו den Weg zur Lösung dieser Aufgabe.

להקים את המשכן, “to erect the Tabernacle.” Although the erection of the Tabernacle is credited by the Torah to Moses, the fact is that it erected itself, as we know from Exodus 40,17 הוקם המשכן, “the Tabernacle had been erected.” The Torah had not attributed this to any human being or combination of human beings.
A Midrashic comment based on Tanchuma Nasso 14: the words “to erect the Tabernacle,” are reminiscent of Numbers 24,5 "how goodly are you tents o Yaakov, your sanctuaries, o Israel.” If Bileam mentioned אהליך “your tents,” why did he also have to mention משכנותיך, “your sanctuaries?” The answer given is that the "tents” Bileam referred to were the various locations commencing in the desert where the temporary structure, the Tabernacle would be located. The word משכנותיך, is to be read slightly differently, i.e. משכונותיך, from the word משכון, “pledge, collateral.” The presence of the Tabernacle (containing the Shechinah) in the midst of the Jewish people was to be their pledge that they would be loyal to G’d. Remember that history bears out that this is exactly what happened. When the Jewish people sinned we experienced retribution as described already in Psalms 78,21 and 60. The forsaking of the Tabernacle in Shiloh in that latter verse was a direct consequence of the people’s failure to live up to their part of the bargain.
Another meaning of the words: “to erect the Tabernacle.” According to Rabbi Simon, at the time G’d gave instructions to the Jewish people to erect the Tabernacle, He instructed the angels in the celestial spheres to do something commensurate so that a celestial Sanctuary was established at the same time as the Tabernacle on earth. The celestial Sanctuary is the Tabernacle of the נער whose name is Mattatron. In that Sanctuary the souls of the righteous are being offered in order for them to atone for their errant brethren, the sinners of the Jewish people during the period the latter are in exile. This is why the Torah wrote את המשכן the word את alluding to the other Sanctuary which had been erected simultaneously. This is also the reason for the words מכון לשבתך פעלת ה',”the foundation of Your dwelling-place Hashem” (Exodus 15,17). Thus far the Midrash.