The Second Census

35:1The day Moses descended Mount Sinai for the third and final time, he reported to the people that God had forgiven them and exhorted them to reciprocate by repenting accordingly. He also explained the differences between the first and second tablets and how their relationship to God and the Torah had changed in light of these differences.1 The following day, Tishrei 11, 2449, Moses counted the people, as God had commanded him.2 In this census, Moses counted the male laymen between the ages of 20 and 60 by collecting a half-shekel from each, as he would do again seven months later, on the 1st of Iyar.3 The total number of individuals counted was 603,550.4

The Sabbath

Moses then assembled the entire congregation of the Israelites and said to them, “God has agreed to let you build the Tabernacle, so His presence can again dwell among you.5 You are certainly eager, as you should be, to build it as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, take care that your alacrity not lead you to transgress the prohibition of working on the Sabbath.6 The Sabbath is important enough to have been included as one of the Ten Commandments. God commanded us to keep it constantly in mind.7 Remember, then, that these things—keeping the Sabbath constantly in mind—are what God has commanded us to do in order to observe the Sabbath actively,8

[2] and that, in addition, work may be done only for six days, but the seventh day shall be holy for you—a complete rest from work—unto God. This is the passive aspect of observing the Sabbath. Whoever does any one of the thirty-nine prohibited types of work on the Sabbath shall be put to death.

[3] The exception to this is kindling fire. Although you shall not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day, the punishment for doing so is not death but only lashes. Furthermore, each one of the thirty-nine categories of work is separately prohibited on the Sabbath; therefore, if you transgress several of them inadvertently, you must atone for each act with a separate sin-offering.”

The Tabernacle

4Having exhorted the people to remember what they heard themselves from God, Moses then related to them what God had told him during the last forty days.9 Moses spoke to the entire congregation of the Israelites, saying, “This is what God has commanded me to say to you:

5 Take contributions for God from among yourselves for the construction of the Tabernacle and its accoutrements. This command applies only to you and not to me, because the fact that God is allowing you to make the Tabernacle indicates that He has forgiven you for having made the Golden Calf and is agreeing to let His presence dwell among you. Since I was not involved in this sin, (a) I am not required to contribute toward the Tabernacle; and (b) God’s presence has remained accessible to me,10 so I have no technical need of the Tabernacle.11 Since the Tabernacle’s purpose is to counteract the negative effect of the incident of the Golden Calf, you must prepare and donate your contributions expressly for the purpose of fashioning the Tabernacle and atoning for having made the Golden Calf.12 Let every generous-hearted person bring the contribution for God. Your generosity and alacrity in donating materials for the Tabernacle will demonstrate the extent to which you regret your involvement in the incident of the Golden Calf and your desire to have God dwell again among you.13 The following materials are needed: gold, silver, and copper;

6wool dyed turquoise, wool dyedpurple, wool dyed scarlet, linen, goat hair;

7 red-dyed ram skins, tachash skins, and acacia wood;

8olive oil for illumination in the Candelabrum, and spices for the anointing oil and for the incense offering;

9 and onyxstones and inset stones for the Ephod and the Breastplate, respectively.” Moses did not, at this point, ask for flour for the Showbread, since the Tabernacle would not be set up for some months yet, and the bread would not stay fresh that long.14

10Moses continued: “Although you may all be relied upon to have pure enough intentions to prepare and donate the materials, you may not all be relied upon to have proper intentions necessary for fashioning them into the Tabernacle’s component parts, for your participation in making the Golden Calf has tainted you. Rather, God shall endow specific individuals with the requisite wise-heartedness for this task.15 Every such wise-hearted person shall then come forth and make all that God has commanded:

11 The inner tapestries to cover the Tabernacle, with its middle cover and its outer roof; its clasps, its planks, its crossbars, its pillars and its bases;

12 the Ark, its rods, and the Ark Cover, and the partition Curtain;

13 the Table, its rods, and all its utensils, and the showbread;

14 the Candelabrum for illumination and all its utensils, including the main utensil16—its lamps, and oil for illumination;

15 the incense Altar and its rods, the anointing oil, the incense offering, and the entrance Screen for the entrance of the Tabernacle;

16 the sacrificial Altar, its copper Grate, its rods and all its utensils; the Laver and its base;

17 the crocheted hangings of the Courtyard, its pillars and its bases, and the Screen for the entrance of the Courtyard;

18 the stakes for the Tabernacle, the stakes for the Courtyard, and their tying ropes;

19 the netted packing cloths for use in the Tabernacle, the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests.”

20 The entire congregation of the Israelites then left Moses’ presence.

Also on the day following Moses’ descent from Mount Sinai, his father-in-law, Jethro, advised him to set up a system of judges, as recounted earlier.17

Donations

Second Reading 21 Among the materials Moses listed as needed for the Tabernacle were precious stones, spices, and oil. Although the people had taken plenty of these things with them when they left Egypt and from the plunder at the Sea of Reeds, they had used them all up by now. The princes, however, still possessed these items, and they planned to donate them. But they had learned from Moses’ example18 to attend to their respective tribes’ affairs before their own. Therefore, before they thought of making their own contributions, they encouraged and exhorted the people to contribute whatever they had as quickly as they could, and continued doing this as long as the people kept contributing.19 Thus, everyone whose heart uplifted him came forward, and everyone of generous spirit brought a contribution for God, for the labor of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service, and for the sacred garments.

22Although the women were exempt from the obligation to donate,20 they did so nonetheless. Since a woman may not donate household property without her husband’s knowledge and consent,21 the men accompanied the women when they brought their donations so it would be clear to the treasurers that they consented to their wives’ donations.22 All those who were generous of heart brought bracelets, nose-rings, finger-rings, and chastity belts—gold objects of all kinds—as well as all those who donated a wave-offering23 of gold to God. They did not have enough gold for all that was needed to construct the Tabernacle and its furnishings, but they gave whatever they could, even their personal jewelry.24

[23] Whoever had turquoise, purple, or scarlet wool, or linen, or goat hair, or red-dyed ram skins, or tachash skins, brought them, despite the extra trouble it took to dye the wool and ram skins.25

24 Whoever set aside a contribution of silver or copper brought it as a contribution for God, and whoever had acacia wood for any of the work, brought it.

25The women, however, did not merely bring raw materials. Since they were not involved in making the Golden Calf,26 they could be relied upon to have the proper intentions even in fashioning them into the Tabernacle’s components.27 Therefore, every wise-hearted woman spun by hand, and they then brought the spun yarn of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and linen. They spun the woolen yarn from wool that had been shorn off the sheep and then dyed.

26But the goat yarn did not have to be dyed, and the women understood that by spinning it directly off the living goats—while the goat hair was still soft and pliable—it would be of superior quality. So all the women whose hearts inspired them with skill spun the goat hair directly off the living animals into threads; this required special skill.28

27At the end of the day,29 when the people had finished contributing, it was found that they had given more than enough of all the materials they possessed.30 Thus, there was enough capital available to purchase the materials they could not bring themselves, which the princes had planned on donating. The princes indeed brought the onyxstones and inset stones for the Ephod and the Breastplate,

28 as well as the spice and the oil for illumination, for the anointing oil, and for the incense offering. But the excess of the people’s contributions had rendered the princes’ donations technically superfluous: the princes’ donations merely saved the treasurers the trouble and expense of purchasing these items. The princes were disappointed that their contributions would not have the same status as the rest of the people’s. Furthermore, they realized from what happened that it was incorrect to wait to contribute until the end. Although their reasons for doing so were entirely proper—ensuring that their flock behave properly before fulfilling their own personal responsibilities—it still smacked of laziness, especially since constructing the Tabernacle was a collective concern of the community and they should have done whatever they could to hasten its construction without delay. They should have made their contributions at the beginning while encouraging the people to contribute.31

29 Every man and woman among the Israelites whose heart impelled them to bring something for all the work that God had commanded to be done through Moses brought a donation for God. The women even donated their mirrors. Moses wanted to reject these mirrors since they had been used for vain purposes. But God told him to accept them, saying that these were more precious to Him than all the other contributions, for their use had led to the exceptional growth of the Jewish population in Egypt.32 The tallies of some of the raw materials contributed are given further on.33

Betzalel and Oholiav

Third Reading (Second when combined) 30 Moses said to the Israelites: “Look: I mentioned previously34 that God will allow only specially endowed wise-hearted individuals to work on the Tabernacle. For this purpose, God has singled out by name Betzalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

31 He has endowed him with a Divine spirit, with knowledge, insight, and inspiration, and with the talent forall types of craftsmanship—32 to devise woven designs and to work in gold, silver and copper—33 and with the art of setting gems and carving wood, and all kinds of skilled crafts.

34 He has also given him and Oholiav son of Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach.

35 He has endowed them with wise-heartedness to work in all the crafts of the carver, the weaver, and the embroiderer, with turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and linen—in the crafts of every kind of artisan and skilled weaver. These two are to be in charge of the work and oversee the artisans and craftsmen. Even though Betzalel is from the royal tribe of Judah and is my great-nephew, while Oholiav is from the undistinguished tribe of Dan, what matters is their skill, not their lineage. Thus, you see that the Tabernacle belongs no more to the pedigreed or wealthy than it does to the commoner or poor—even though the rich were able to contribute much more than their less wealthy compatriots.35

36:1 “Betzalel and Oholiav, together with all the wise-hearted people whom God has endowed with knowledge and insight to know how to do all the work required for the Tabernacle, shall execute everything that God has commanded.”

2 Moses then summoned Betzalel and Oholiav and all the wise-hearted people whose hearts God had endowed with knowledge—every one whose heart uplifted him to step forward and do the work.

3 From Moses’ presence they took the entire contribution that the Israelites had brought on the first day for carrying out the required work for the Tabernacle. The people brought him further contributions the following morning.

[4] So all the skilled men who were doing all the work for the Tabernacle came to Moses, each of them from the work in which he was engaged,

5 and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed for the work that God has commanded to do.”

6 Moses gave orders and they announced throughout the camp as follows: “Let no man or woman do any more work for the contribution to the Tabernacle.” The people were thus prevented from bringing additional contributions on the second day, for

7 the people’s work of contributing the first day sufficed to provide the artisans with all they needed for all the work that had to be done, and there was no need to have a surplus.36

Moses instructed Betzalel first about fashioning the furnishings and then about fashioning the Tabernacle itself. Betzalel commented, “Isn’t it better to make the structure first and only then the furnishings that will be placed inside?” Moses answered, “Yes, and this is indeed how God told me to do it.37 You have intuited God’s intention.”38

Making the Coverings

Fourth Reading 8 Logically, the artisans should have made the walls of the Tabernacle first and then the roof-coverings. But the women had spun the yarn quickly and it was ready before the other raw materials. Also, they had spun the goat yarn directly off the living goats, which lent this yarn exceptional softness and pliability.39 If the yarn had been left on the goats, the goats’ hair would have continued growing and undone the threads. Furthermore, it was painful for the goats to have their natural freedom of movement somewhat restricted by having their hair spun into yarn hanging off their bodies. Moreover, even after the yarn was cut off the goats, it had to be woven immediately, before it stiffened, in order to take advantage of its exceptional softness and pliability. Therefore, in order to take advantage of this yarn’s superior quality and to minimize the goats’ suffering, the goats were shorn and the yarn was woven into cloth without delay. And since the goat hair sheets were secondary to the primary covering of sheep wool tapestries, the tapestries were made first.40 All the wise-hearted among the craftsmen made the first cover of the Tabernacle out of ten tapestries of threads composed of 24 strands: six strands of linen twined together, six strands of turquoise wool twined together, six strands of purple wool twined together, and six strands of scarlet wool twined together. The craftsman made them with a woven design of cherubs: eagles on one side and lions on the other.

9 The length of each tapestry was twenty-eight cubits and the width of each tapestry was four cubits, all the tapestries being of the same size.

10 He attached the first five tapestries to one another by sewing, and the other five tapestries he likewise attached to one another by sewing.

11 He made loops of turquoise wool along the edge of the tapestry at the end of the first set, and did the same along the edge of the endmost tapestry of the second set.

12 He made fifty loops on the one tapestry, and made fifty loops along the edge of the tapestry of the second set, each loop being exactly opposite its counterpart.

13 He then made fifty gold clasps and joined the two sets of tapestries to each other with the clasps, so that the cover of the Tabernacle became one.

14 He made sheets of goat hair as a Tent to spread over the tapestries that formed the first cover of the Tabernacle. There were eleven such sheets.

15 The length of each sheet was thirty cubits and the width of each sheet was four cubits, all eleven sheets being of the same size.

16 He attached five of the sheets as a set by themselves by sewing, and the other six sheets as a set by themselves by sewing.

17 He made fifty loops of goat hair along the edge of the endmost sheet of the first set, and fifty loops of goat hair along the edge of the endmost sheet of the second set.

18 He made fifty copper clasps to couple the goat hair Tent together and make it one.

19 They made a third cover, to act as a roof over the Tent, out of red-dyed ram skins, and a fourth cover, a roof of tachash skins above the roof of ram skins.

Making the Walls

Fifth Reading 20 He made the planks for the Tabernacle out of acacia wood, standing vertically.

21 The length of each plank was ten cubits, the width of each plank was one and a half cubits, and the breadth of each was one cubit.

22The base of each plank had two tenons, parallel to each other; he did the same for all the planks of the Tabernacle.

23 He made the following number of planks for the Tabernacle: twenty planks for the southern side.

24 And he made forty silver bases to place under the twenty planks, two bases under one plank, to accommodate its two tenons, and two bases under each following plank, to accommodate its two tenons.

25 For the second side of the Tabernacle, to the north, he likewise made twenty planks

26 with their forty silver bases: two bases under one plank, and two bases under each following plank.

27 For the back of the Tabernacle, to the west, he made six planks whose widths would be fully exposed inside the Tabernacle,

28 and he made another two planks for the back corners of the Tabernacle whose width would be partially covered by the planks forming the north and south walls.

29All the planks were flush against each other at the bottom and flush against each other at the top, where every pair of adjoining planks was fitted together into a squarering. The two planks on the two corners he also made like this.

30Thus, on the west side, there was a total of eight planks with their silver bases—sixteen bases: two bases under each plank.

31 He made crossbars out of acacia wood: five for the planks of one long side of the Tabernacle,

32 and five crossbars for the planks of the other long side of the Tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks at the back of the Tabernacle, to the west. He made four half-length crossbars and one full-length crossbar for each side. Two of the half-length crossbars traversed the walls at a height of seven and a half cubits and the other two at a height of two and a half cubits.

[33] He made the full-length crossbar of each side in order to traverse the walls at their middle height, and to penetrate holes drilled through the planks within, from one end of the Tabernacle to the other.

34 He overlaid the planks with gold. He made gold rings for the planks, to hold the half-length crossbars at the correct height, and gold tubes to cover the crossbars over the rest of the width of the planks, and thereby, in effect, overlaid the crossbars with gold.

Making the Curtain and the Screen

35 He made the partitioning Curtain woven out of threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen. He made it with a woven design of cherubs having the appearance of eagles on one side and lions on the other.

36 He made four acacia pillars for it and overlaid them with gold, their hooks also being of gold, and he cast four silver bases for them.

37 He made a Screen for the entrance of the Tent, i.e., the Tabernacle, embroidered out of material woven out of threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen.

38He made its five pillars with their hooks, and overlaid them, their tops, and their bands with gold. Their five bases were made of copper.

Making the Ark

37:1 Betzalel made the Ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. Even though Betzalel used his exceptional talents to supervise and oversee the fashioning of all the Tabernacle’s components and furnishings, in the case of the Ark, he applied his talents to the actual work of fashioning it, as well. Therefore his name is mentioned here singly and explicitly—as if he fashioned the Ark all by himself.41

2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and out by making two golden chests, one slightly larger and one slightly smaller, and placing the wooden ark in between them. He made a gold rim on the outer golden chest for it all around.

3 He cast four gold rings for the Ark on its four corners, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side.

4 He made rods of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

5 He then inserted the rods through the rings on the sides of the Ark, so that the Ark could be carried with them.

Making the Cover of the Ark

6 He made for the Ark a Cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.

7 He made two golden cherubim; he hammered them out of the two ends of the Cover.

8He made one cherub from one end and one cherub from the other end; he made the cherubim from the Cover itself, from its two ends.

9 The cherubim had their wings spread aloft to the level of their heads, so that their wings shielded the Cover. They faced one another, the faces of the cherubim being inclined downward towards the Cover.

Making the Table

10 He made the Table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high.

11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a gold rim for it all around.

12 He made a frame for it all around, one handbreadth wide, and made a gold rim for its frame all around.

13 He cast four gold rings for the Table, and placed the rings on the four corners of its four legs.

14 The rings were close to the frame, as holders for the rods used for carrying the Table.

15 He made rods of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, for carrying the Table.

16 He made the utensils to go on the Table—its bread-forms, its spoons for the frankincense, its supporting frames for its shelving tubes, and its shelving tubes with which the breadwould be covered—out of pure gold.

Making the Candelabrum

Sixth Reading (Third when combined) 17 God Himself42 made the Candelabrum out of pure gold. He formed the Candelabrum as if by hammering: its base, its stem, its decorative goblets, its apple-shaped spheres, and its flowers were an integral part of the same ingot of gold.

18 Six branches extended diagonally from its two sides, three branches of the Candelabrum on one side of it and three branches of the Candelabrum on its other side.

19 There were three engraved goblets, as well as a sphere and a flower, on the upper three handbreadths of one branch, and three engraved goblets, as well as a sphere and a flower, on the upper three handbreadths of the next branch; the same applied to all six branches extending from the stem of the Candelabrum.

20 On the stem of the Candelabrum there were four goblets, and its two spheres and flowers were both engraved.

21Besides these spheres, there was also one sphere situated on the stem below the first two branches that extended from the stem,another sphere below the next two branches that extended from the stem, and a third sphere below the last two branches that extended from the stem. These three spheres thus served as base-points for all the six branches extending from the stem of the Candelabrum.

22Its spheres and branches were an integral part of the Candelabrum; it was all hammered out of a single ingot of pure gold.

23 He made its seven lamps, its wick tongs, and its ash scoops of pure gold.

24 He made it, together with all its utensils, out of one talent of pure gold.

Making the Inner Altar, the Anointing Oil, and the Incense

25Betzalel made the incense Altar of acacia wood. It was square, one cubit long and one cubit wide, and two cubits high; its protrusions were an integral part of it.

26 He overlaid it with pure gold—its top, its walls all around, and its protrusions—and he made a gold rim for it all around.

27 He made two gold rings for it below its rim, on the two corners of its two opposite sides, to serve as holders for the rods with which it would be carried.

28 He made the rods of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

29 He made the sacred anointing oil and the pure incense offering, blended as by a perfumer.

Making the Outer Altar

Seventh Reading (Fourth when combined) 38:1 He made the sacrificial Altar out of panels of acacia wood. It was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide, and three cubits high above its Border.

2 He made protrusions for it on its top four corners, the protrusions being of one piece with it, and he overlaid the entire Altar with copper.

3 He made all the Altar’s implements—the pots, scoops, basins, forks, and fire pans; he made all its implements of copper.

4 He made for the Altar a Grate of copper network under its decorative Border, extending downward until the middle of the Altar’s height.

5 He cast four rings for the four edges of the copper Grate, as holders for the rods.

6 He made the rods of acacia wood and overlaid them with copper.

7 He inserted the rods through the rings on the sides of the Altar, so that it could be carried with them. He made the Altar a hollow structure, of panels.

Making the Laver

8 He made the copper Laver and its copper base out of the mirrors of the legions of women who congregated at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to donate their mirrors.43 God instructed Moses to use this copper to make the Laver. Since the women had used these mirrors to promote marital harmony, it was fitting to use them to make the Laver, for a suspected adulteress drinks water from the Laver as part of the rite used to demonstrate her innocence and restore marital harmony between her and her husband.44

Making the Hangings for the Courtyard

9 He made the Courtyard as follows: On the south side, the crocheted hangings of the Courtyard, which were made of twined linen, were one hundred cubits long.

10 They had twenty pillars with their twenty copper bases. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver.

11 On the north side the crocheted hangings were also one hundred cubits long, with their twenty pillars and their twenty copper bases. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver.

12 On the west side there were crocheted hangings fifty cubits long, with their ten pillars and their ten bases. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver.

13 On the east side, the enclosure was also fifty cubits long, as follows:

14 there were fifteen cubits of crocheted hangings along one flank at the side of the entrance, with their three pillars and their three bases,

15 and likewise along the other flank—the flanks being at either side of the entrance to the Courtyard—there were fifteen cubits of crocheted hangings, with their three pillars and their three bases.

16 The crocheted hangings surrounding the entire Courtyard were made of twined linen.

17 The bases for the pillars were made of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. All the pillars of the Courtyard were banded with silver.

Maftir 18 The Screen for the entrance of the Courtyard was embroidered out of material woven of threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen. It was twenty cubits in length, and its width was its height of five cubits, like the width of the crocheted hangings of the Courtyard.45

19The Screen had four pillars with their four copper bases; their hooks were silver, and their tops and bands were overlaid with silver.

20 All the stakes for the Tabernacle and for the surrounding Courtyard were made of copper.