Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Exodo 35:26

And his heart was uplifted in the ways of the Lord His heart was lifted up in this matter, that he went only in the ways of the Lord. An example of this is (Exod. 35:26): “whose hearts had uplifted them in wisdom.”

ויבואו האנשים על הנשים, “and the men came to the women intending to deny them to offer their jewelry such as חח ונזם nose rings and ear rings; however the women were quite anxious to donate even these pieces of jewelry, seeing that it was for holy purpose. This is why the Torah gives them special credit for their general attitude in verse 26: וכל הנשים אשר נשא לבם אותנה, “and all the women whose heart stirred them, etc.” According to our sages, this is the reason why they were given a holiday each Rosh Chodesh by being allowed to treat it as a sort of holiday, not having to perform tedious activities. This was also in recognition of the fact that they had refused to part with any of their jewelry during the episode of the golden calf. (Compare Exodus 32,2, as interpreted by Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer in chapter 45). According to our author, they were given off on the first day of the month of Nissan during that year, as that was the day when the Tabernacle was put up. Subsequently, every Rosh Chodesh became a semi-holiday for the women.

ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים, “the man took a golden nose-ring weighing a beka and two bracelets, etc.” Why did the Torah need to tell us the weight of these pieces of jewelry? We are dealing with an allusion to the fact that eventually Rivkah’s descendants, i.e. the generation who would contribute to the building of the Tabernacle in terms of shekalim. In Exodus 35,26 the Torah speaks of the weight of these shekalim also in terms of בקע לגולגולת, one “beka per person.” When the Jewish people received the two tablets with the Ten Commandments you will find that these comprised 172 words. This corresponds to the numerical value of the letters in the word בקע. This corresponds to what we read here ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם. The words עשרה זהב are an allusion to the Ten Commandments. We may also perceive the word שקל as an acronym describing אש קול, i.e. the ingredients most prominent during the revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai. We were told that on that occasion מן השמים השמיעך את קולו ליסרך ועל הארץ הראך את אשו הגדולה, “from the Heavens he let you hear His powerful voice, and on earth He showed you His great fire“ (Deut. 4,36).