Biblical Parallels Index – Shemot 25-27/0

Biblical Parallels Index – Shemot 25-27

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Overview

This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event or law, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.

The Tabernacle and Creation

Classical and modern commentators note many parallels between the Torah’s descriptions of the construction of the Tabernacle and the creation of the world.

Primary Sources

Many sources connect the Tabernacle's construction with the creation of the world, either explicitly or implicitly:

• See Tanchuma Pekudei 2 which notes many linguistic parallels between the two accounts.
• Bavli Shabbat 87b and Bereshit Rabbah 3:9 note that the Tabernacle was built on the first day of Creation, while Bavli Megillah 10b compared the joy of building the Tabernacle with the joy of Creation.
• See also Shabbat 49b, which implicitly associates creation and the Tabernacle by ruling that work done to build the Tabernacle is the kind that may not be done on Shabbat, when we commemorate Hashem’s cessation of the work of creation.

Articles

• See The Architecture of Holiness, by R. Jonathan Sacks, which suggests that the parallels impart the idea that precision and order are essential both in the natural world God created and the moral and spiritual lives human beings create.
• See Making Space, by R. Jonathan Sacks, which develops the idea that the creation of the world represents God’s creation of a home for mankind by making space for the mundane, while the construction of the Tabernacle represents man’s creation of a home for God by making space for holiness.
• Listen to: The Mishkan - A Reflection of Revelation, or of Creation?, by R. Menachem Leibtag, which develops connections between the Tabernacle and the uniqueness of man as conveyed by the narrative of the creation of the world.
• Listen to: What is the Goal of the Mishkan? Two Understandings of the Connection between the Mishkan and the World’s Creation, by R. Yehuda Turetsky, for an analysis of the many parallels between the two stories, discussing the distinction between God’s creation and man’s creation.
• Listen to: Creation and Mishkan: The Shabbos Aspiration, by R. Reuven Brand, for comparison and contrast of the two narratives with attention to its relevance to the laws and meaning of Shabbat.  
  
  

The Tabernacle and the Garden of Eden

Some commentators identify parallels between the Tabernacle and the Garden of Eden, interpreting the building of the Tabernacle as a repair of Adam’s sin.

Articles

• See A Return to the Garden of Eden, by R. Amnon Bazak, which draws a parallel between the construction of the Tabernacle and man’s role of dominion as described in Bereshit 1, and the service of the Tabernacle and man’s role of stewardship as described in Bereshit 2.  Taken together, the construction and service of the Tabernacle serve as a means of repairing Adam’s sin.  
• See פרשת ויקהל מול פרשת תרומה, by R. Menachem Leibtag, which suggests that the building of the Tabernacle serves as atonement both for the sin of the golden calf and the sin of Adam.  Parallels between the stories include the image of cherubs which appear in both. 

Terumah-Tetzaveh vs. Vayakhel-Pekudei

The pericopes of Vayakhel and Pekudei describe the fulfillment of commandments relating to the Tabernacle that are set forth in Terumah, Tetzaveh, and the beginning of Ki Tisa.  Commentators seek to understand both the need for the detailed repetition and to explain the places where the execution does not appear to match the command.

Tools

• Use the Tanakh Lab to compare the two sets of chapters.  The table highlights how the language used to describe the construction of the Tabernacle is almost identical to that used when issuing the original command.

Primary Sources

• See RambanShemot 36:8About R. Moshe b. Nachman who suggests that the repetition is an expression of love, and betrays Hashem's great desire for the Tabernacle and its workers.
• R. HirschShemot 36:8About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch posits that the Tabernacle's construction is mentioned with so many details to highlight the the worker's recognition of their holy task and how they undertook it with this constantly in mind.

Articles

Many modern scholars attempt to explain the repetition as well:

• See פרשת ויקהל מול פרשת תרומה, by R. Menachem Leibtag, who suggests that the differences between the units may be understood by virtue of the perspective from which each pericope is presented (the perspective of Hashem versus that of the people).  The Torah devotes so much attention not only to the commands relating to the Tabernacle but to the people’s fulfillment of them because the building of the Tabernacle serves as atonement for the sin of the golden calf, and even for the sin of Adam.
• See Vayakhel: More than Repetition, by R. Yair Kahn, who suggests that Terumah represents a conceptual approach to the Tabernacle whereas Vayakhel reflects a pragmatic approach.  Alternatively, as R. Leibtag notes, the seeming repetition in Vayakhel demonstrates Hashem’s forgiveness of the Jewish people for the sin of the golden calf. 
• See Vayakhel Pekudei: Repetition in Context, by R. Avraham Walfish, for an explanation of the repetition that draws on the linguistic parallels between the story of the golden calf and the narrative of constructing the Tabernacle.  R. Walfish suggests that the feelings of anxiety and urgency that motivated the people in worshiping the calf are channeled and sublimated through the construction of the Tabernacle, imparting a message about the importance of balance and self-control in spiritual life.
• See שתי הבחינות במשכן, by R. Yehuda Rock, which suggests that there are two conceptual streams in the Torah’s descriptions of the commandments relating to the Tabernacle.  Hashem both gives Moshe detailed commands regarding every vessel and also shows him a general visual model. By understanding these different aspects, one can resolve seeming redundancies and arrive at a deeper understanding of the purpose of the Tabernacle. 

The Tabernacle and the Temple

The building of the Temple is parallel in many ways to the building of the Tabernacle.¹

Tools

• Tanakh Lab demonstrates that (not including other chapters that discuss the Tabernacle) one of the chapters most linguistically similar to Shemot 25 is Melakhim 6, describing the Mikdash.  See here to compare the two.

Articles

• See בין מקדש למשכן, by R. Mosheh Lichtenstein, which contrasts the intimacy and functionality of the Tabernacle with the grandeur and splendor of the Temple.
• See משכן ה’ ומקדש שלמה, by R. Mosheh Lichtenstein, which contrasts the communal generosity which supported the building of the Tabernacle with the compulsory tax imposed by Shelomo. As a result of this, as well as other heavy-handed aspects of Shelomo’s leadership of the building process, the people of Sehlomo’s time did not feel a sense of partnership and pride in the building as they might have with different policies in place. For the same reason, the Temple is often called the Temple of Shelomo, whereas the Tabernacle is never associated with Moshe’s name but with Hashem’s. While Shelomo’s policy choices had negative ramifications, they illustrate that Shelomo directed his considerable ambitions to a project infused with holiness rather than simple self-aggrandizement.

The Tabernacle and Revelation at Sinai

Ramban, in his introduction to Parashat Terumah, draws a number of connections between the Tabernacle and the giving of the Decalogue at Sinai.

Primary Sources

• RambanShemot 25 IntroductionAbout R. Moshe b. Nachman points to a number of linguistic and conceptual parallels which link the giving of the Decalogue at Mt. Sinai and the construction of the Mishkan. Both Mt. Sinai and the Tabernacle served as a vehicle through which Hashem spoke to man, where Hashem's glory was manifest to the nation. Protective boundaries were set around each, and the people were warned against coming too close. These and other parallels highlight how the Tabernacle was meant to enable a continuous revelation of Hashem.

Articles

• See Purpose of the Mishkan which discusses Ramban's understanding that the Tabernacle served as a "portable Mount Sinai", transforming the initial one-time revelation into a continuous ongoing communication and relationship between Hashem and the Children of Israel.

¹ This is likely the reason that the chapter describing the building of the Mikdash as chosen as the haftarah for Parashat Terumah.