Accounts are made of all the parts of the Mishkan. Numerous times in the parsha we are reminded of the fulfilled commandments in the building of the Mishkan.
Betzalel and Aholiav, (and assistants) make the garments worn by the Kohanim: apron, breastpiece---with all the stones and their placement, cloak, crown, hat, tunic, sash and breeches.
The Mishkan is completed and brought to Moses.
Moses erects it and annoints it with oil.
Aaron and his sons are initiated into service as Kohanim.
A cloud, signifying God's presence, appears over the Mishkan and will 'dwell' there.
אֵ֣לֶּה פְקוּדֵ֤י הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ מִשְׁכַּ֣ן הָעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר פֻּקַּ֖ד עַל־פִּ֣י מֹשֶׁ֑ה עֲבֹדַת֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם בְּיַד֙ אִֽיתָמָ֔ר בֶּֽן־אַהֲרֹ֖ן הַכֹּהֵֽן׃
These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, which were drawn up at Moses’ bidding—the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
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- v
- to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for
- (Qal)
- to pay attention to, observe
- to attend to
- to seek, look about for
- to seek in vain, need, miss, lack
- to visit
- to visit upon, punish
- to pass in review, muster, number
- to appoint, assign, lay upon as a charge, deposit
- (Qal)
וַֽיהוָ֛ה פָּקַ֥ד אֶת־שָׂרָ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר אָמָ֑ר וַיַּ֧עַשׂ יְהוָ֛ה לְשָׂרָ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֵּֽר׃
יהוה took note of Sarah as promised, and יהוה did for Sarah what had been announced.
לֵ֣ךְ וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֞ אֶת־זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ אֲלֵהֶם֙ יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ נִרְאָ֣ה אֵלַ֔י אֱלֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם יִצְחָ֥ק וְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לֵאמֹ֑ר פָּקֹ֤ד פָּקַ֙דְתִּי֙ אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְאֶת־הֶעָשׂ֥וּי לָכֶ֖ם בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃
“Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: יהוה, the God of your fathers’ [house]—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said, ‘I have taken note of you and of what is being done to you in Egypt,
אלה פקודי המשכן, all the individual components described previously are the ones concerning which the Torah wrote ובשמות תפקדו את כלי משמרת הקדש...ביד איתמר, “you shall list by name the objects that are their porterage tasks.” (Numbers 4,32-33) The meaning of the line is that each and everyone of these items was important enough to be known by its specific name. In other words, one did not refer to it only by the name of the category of utensils it belonged to, such as “fork,” but one had a name for each fork. This method of naming each item individually contributed to their being of permanent significance. The Talmud Yuma 71 goes to the length of stating categorically that if anyone thought that once such a utensil had been “used up,” i.e. had outlived its usefulness it would be permanently consigned to oblivion this is not so. It will even resurface after the resurrection of the people who used it when they were alive. This is derived from Exodus 26,15 עצי שטים עומדים, the word עומדים being taken to mean that they will endure indefinitely. Neither will any of the utensils used in the Tabernacle fall into the hands of our enemies. This is the opposite of what happened to the “permanent” Temple, בית עולמים, built by Solomon. It is significant that in the account of what Nebuchadnezzar captured not a word is mentioned about a single item that used to be part of the Tabernacle in the desert.
פקד פקדתי אתכם. שתי פקידות האחת לישראל והשניה לשכינה שירדה עם יעקב אבינו ע"ה למצרים שהיה עמהם בצרה והיא הה"א הנרמזת בפסוק (בראשית מ״ו:ד׳) אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה ואנכי אעלך גם עלה וכמו שכתבתי שם והיא כנסת ישראל הנקראת בכתוב צעקת בני ישראל, וזהו שאמר אתכם ואת העשוי לכם במצרים כלומר אתכם ואות ה"א שהיא בצער עמכם במצרים ולשון עשוי מלשון (צפניה ג׳:י״ט) הנני עושה את כל מעניך כלומר מצטער על צרתכם והבן זה. עוד יש לפרש ב' פקידות האחת במדת רחמים על ישראל ומזה אמר הכתוב פקדתי אתכם והשנית במדת הדין על המצריים על מה שעשו להם במצרים ומזה אמר ואת העשוי לכם במצרים כי כן הבטיח לאברהם (בראשית ט״ו:י״ד) וגם את הגוי אשר יעבדו דן אנכי.
פקד פקדתי אתכם, “I have surely remembered you.” The Torah speaks here of two distinct remembrances. One is that Israel is being remembered, the other that the שכינה, which had descended with Yaakov to Egypt and had been exiled and subjected to abuse together with the Jewish people, was also now being “remembered.”.....Another reason for the repetition of the words פקד יפקד is that it refers to two separate remembrances one by the attribute of Mercy the other by the attribute of Justice. The first one is extended to the Jewish people, hence the Torah writes פקדתי אתכם, “I have remembered you.” The second is that G’d’s attribute of Justice will remember יפקד, (future tense) the Egyptians and what they had done to the Israelites in Egypt. This is a reference to the promise G’d made to Avraham in Genesis 15,14: “and also the nation who enslave them I will judge.”
משכן העדת THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY — The Tabernacle was a testimony to Israel that God had shown Himself indulgent to them in respect to the incident of the golden calf, for through the Temple He made His Shechinah dwell amongst them (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 6).
המשכן משכן OF THE TABERNACLE, EVEN OF THE TABERNACLE — The word משכן is mentioned here twice in allusion to the Temple that was taken in pledge (משכן) — as it were — (as a security for Israel’s repentance) by being twice destroyed for Israel’s iniquities (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 5).
וַיְכַ֥ס הֶעָנָ֖ן אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וּכְב֣וֹד יְהֹוָ֔ה מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃ וְלֹא־יָכֹ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לָבוֹא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד כִּֽי־שָׁכַ֥ן עָלָ֖יו הֶעָנָ֑ן וּכְב֣וֹד יְהֹוָ֔ה מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃ וּבְהֵעָל֤וֹת הֶֽעָנָן֙ מֵעַ֣ל הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן יִסְע֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל בְּכֹ֖ל מַסְעֵיהֶֽם׃ וְאִם־לֹ֥א יֵעָלֶ֖ה הֶעָנָ֑ן וְלֹ֣א יִסְע֔וּ עַד־י֖וֹם הֵעָלֹתֽוֹ׃ כִּי֩ עֲנַ֨ן יְהֹוָ֤ה עַֽל־הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ יוֹמָ֔ם וְאֵ֕שׁ תִּהְיֶ֥ה לַ֖יְלָה בּ֑וֹ לְעֵינֵ֥י כׇל־בֵּֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּכׇל־מַסְעֵיהֶֽם׃
From the Netivot Shalom of the Slonimer Rebbe (Rabbi Sholom Noach Berezovsky)
From Everett Fox, commentary on Exodus (excerpted and edited for clarity)
distinction—The Israelites learn what it is to be separated out, first for oppression and later for God’s service. This process occurs during the Plagues and throughout the legal sections, which are often based on the making of distinctions (the Hebrew word for “holy,” kadosh, may originally have had this connotation). In general, Exodus is a book that abounds in polarities and distinctions: between God and Pharaoh, life and death, slavery and freedom, Egyptianness and Israeliteness, city and wilderness, visible gods/magic and an invisible God who is not conjurable, doubt and trust.
construction—The Israelites are enslaved as builders of Egyptian cities; they go on to build a society, a calf-god, and a Tabernacle.
rebellion—From the beginning, God and Moshe are often unheeded, as the Israelites seek to maintain or return to their status as dependent slaves in Egypt (Chaps. 2, 5, 14, 15–17, 32).
Sabbath—As a newly freed people, Israel is to adapt to a rhythm of work and sacred cessation, which celebrates both creation and freedom. The Sabbath is at issue immediately after liberation (Chap. 16) and is commanded three times (Chaps. 20, 31, 35); and the account of the Tabernacle’s completion echoes the vocabulary of God’s completed creation in Genesis 2, a passage which serves as one justification for observing the Sabbath (see Ex. 20:11).
origins—We are told of the beginnings of the new covenant (distinct from that concluded with Abraham), the law system, the cult/priesthood, and the sacred calendar, but with the significant omission of the monarchy.
covenant—God establishes a relationship with the people of Israel: if they will obey him and observe his laws, he will protect them and treat them as his “firstborn son.” This form of covenant is different from the ones in Genesis, and plays a significant role in subsequent books of the Bible.
God in History—The God of Exodus actively intervenes to rescue a people, defeating their oppressors in battle; he leads them through the wilderness, meets them, and makes a covenant with them.
IMAGERY
Fire is used frequently and in varied contexts (at the Burning Bush and later back at Mount Sinai, in the desert trek, in the Tabernacle service, and at the Calf incident), usually to make a statement about God. In contrast to conventional fire gods (e.g., the Norse trickster Loki), the God of Exodus is most often associated with the more positive aspects of fire: constancy, purity, and transformation. The fire at Sinai does not destroy Moshe and the people, but rather turns them into something new. At the same time it should not be forgotten that fire is used regularly to connote anger in the Bible, especially God’s, and especially in the later wilderness narratives.
Water appears throughout Exodus, not as a backdrop but as an active medium which most often signifies life and death simultaneously. The Nile, into which the enslaved Hebrews’ babies are thrown, gently bears the infant Moshe to safety: the Nile, the giver of life in Egypt, is changed into blood, itself a major signifier of life in the Bible but useless here because it is undrinkable; the Sea of Reeds acts as a passageway of birth for the Israelites but as a graveyard for their Egyptian pursuers. The availability of water becomes a central issue in the wilderness, as an instrument for survival and for the testing of the Israelites’ faith. Finally, water creates the ritual purity necessary for the people at Sinai and their priests in the Tabernacle to approach God.
Desert/Wilderness is the scene of the crucial second part of the book. Only in the desert, away from the massive influence of age-old Egyptian culture, can the new Israelite society be forged. Moshe, like many other real-life and fictional heroes, demonstrates this in his own early life. The desert acts as a purifying agent for him, changing the Egyptian prince into a member of his own true people. Similarly, the Israelites begin the process of transformation from bondage to self-rule, a process which is taught in the harsh reality of desert life and which will take an entire generation to complete.
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All these media—fire, water, and desert—suggest change as a major concern of the book of Exodus. Our text chronicles the start of Israel’s journey as a nation, a transformative journey which takes vastly changed circumstances, a whole generation in time, and indeed several books of recounting to complete. Exodus is very concerned with topography—not for the purposes of historical recollection...but as an account of an inner journey......Change does not occur quickly, and the true molding of a people, like that of an individual, requires formative experiences over time. In Exodus, then, the People of Israel begins in adolescence, as it were. It has survived infancy in Genesis, a period marked by constant threats of physical extinction, and must now begin the tortuous process of learning to cope with adulthood—that is to say, people-hood—in a hostile world.
That process will take us past the present text. Exodus stands at the beginning of a trilogy in the middle of the Torah. It takes us from slavery up to Sinai, inaugurating the law-giving process. Leviticus will concentrate almost exclusively on laws (of “holiness”), never budging geographically, while Numbers will see the conclusion of the Sinai experience and the traveling toward (and actually reaching) the land of Israel....
Exodus is the basis not only of what follows in the Torah, but also sets the stage for the rest of the Hebrew Bible. What Israel understood of its God, and what that God expects of them, are set forth most directly and unforgettably in the memories enshrined in the book of Exodus.