B) Our portion 'Vayakhel' begins with Moses commanding the Jewish People regarding the shabbat, but the rest of the portion is basically about making the physical structure of the mishkan, and the 'kelim' within it (menorah, mizbeach[altar] etc); it is clear from this juxtaposition that there is a strong relationship between shabbat and the mishkan - Tradition teaches that when God commanded us to 'rest from melachot' on shabbat, the meaning is refrain from the 'mlachot' of crafting the mishkan [ie the word 'mlacha' defining that which is forbidden on shabbat is not 'work' - work is allowed, eg the Rabbi of a community works hardest on shabbat, and conversely tearing paper is hardly 'work' yet it is forbidden - rather it is defined by the menaing of the word in the context of the creating of the mihshkan.
See eg my speculative piece relating the actions of God in creating the universe and the actions required to construct the mishkan, as revealed via parallel wording of the creation account and the Traditional list of the 39 mlachot of shabbat.]
Next week's portion 'Pikudei' is about the making of these entities, specifically making the bigdei kehuna [priestly garments] etc, then completing the work and sanctifying, at which point God's presence rests on us.
Appendix to B): To see how the two topics of shabbat and mishkan are juxtaposed, you can peruse the first passages of the portion
1 And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them: 'These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
2 Six days shall 'melachah' be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest to the LORD; whosoever doeth any 'melachah' therein shall be put to death.
3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.'
And then the next passage switches to the topic of the mishkan:
4 And Moses spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: 'This is what the LORD commanded, saying:
5-10: Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD, whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, the LORD'S offering: gold, and silver, and brass....... for the ephod, and for the breastplate... And let all the wise-hearted among you come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded..the Mishkan, its tent, and its covering, its clasps, and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets....
These juxtapositon of the two topics and the use of the key word 'melachah' is a hint to the close connection between shabbat and mishkan.
..
SAME AS THE ABOVE BUT WITH THE HEBREW:
שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי תִּשְׁבֹּת; בֶּחָרִישׁ וּבַקָּצִיר, תִּשְׁבֹּת.
21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
כב וְחַג שָׁבֻעֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה לְךָ, בִּכּוּרֵי קְצִיר חִטִּים; וְחַג, הָאָסִיף--תְּקוּפַת, הַשָּׁנָה.
22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year.
כג שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים, בַּשָּׁנָה--יֵרָאֶה, כָּל-זְכוּרְךָ, אֶת-פְּנֵי הָאָדֹן יְהוָה, אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
23 Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
And then the description of Moses coming down with the tablets, and his face was glowing...
The next passage (which is the beginning of our portion) has Moses telling the people about shabbat (three passages) after having heard about this from God, but the Torah records not the entire list we just read about but only about the shabbat, and then starts the intructions about the mishkan, thus drawing a connection betwen the two. And the Torah even utilizes the same word "dvarim/davar" for the two topics - the word used in the Torah for the 'ten utternaces"" which in English is called "the ten commandments" - though the two have slightly different meanings and are translated into different words in English (things/words):
א וַיַּקְהֵל מֹשֶׁה, אֶת-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל--וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם: אֵלֶּה, הַדְּבָרִים, אֲשֶׁר-צִוָּה ה, לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָם.
1 And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them: 'These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
ב שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יִהְיֶה לָכֶם קֹדֶשׁ שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן, לַיהוָה; כָּל-הָעֹשֶׂה בוֹ מְלָאכָה, יוּמָת.
ג לֹא-תְבַעֲרוּ אֵשׁ, בְּכֹל מֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם, בְּיוֹם, הַשַּׁבָּת. {פ}
3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.' {P}
And then the fourth passage switches to the topic of the mishkan:
ד וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה, אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר: זֶה הַדָּבָר, אֲשֶׁר-צִוָּה ה' לֵאמֹר.
4 And Moses spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: 'This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying:
These juxtapositon of the two topics and the similar wording is a hint to the close connection between shabbat and mishkan.
......
The reader now can understand the motivation for my speculation that the actions of God in creating the universe were the samne as those God instructed us to use in constructing the mishkan.
[Indeed, analyzing the wording of Gensis we can find parallel wording of the creation account and the Traditional list of the 39 mlachot of shabbat.]
......
Note the somewhat astonishing fact that 'Shabbat' as a concept, a special day, is NOT MENTIONED IN GENESIS! (the word 'rested' = shovat, using the same letters as shabbat, of course does appear.)
The concept Shabbat (and the word shabbat vs the word shovat) is only mentioned after the Jewish People became a nation, when they exited Egypt. It would seem that it was only when the Jewish People were free to celebarate shabbat that shabbat was intiated!
And now we can understand the connection of shabbat and mishkan; God says we were taken out of Egypt in order (to build the mishkan so) that God could rest in us - so we can speculate that it was only when the Jewish Pepple as a whole were free to construct the mishkan that they became 'partners in creation' and therefore worthy of being obligated to observe shabbat, which could therefore only come into being at that point, which was also when they first became able to observe shabbat freely!!!
...
C) The passages describing the men and women who engaged in this holy craftsmanship seem to be relating to the special human qualities perhaps related to being created in the divine image - creativity of the highest sort - and this is of course parallel to the creative act of God in bringing the world into being.
..
Note here the Torah;s description of the characteristics of the people engaged in crafting the mishkan and the priestly garments!
ה קְחוּ מֵאִתְּכֶם תְּרוּמָה, לַיהוָה, כֹּל נְדִיב לִבּוֹ, יְבִיאֶהָ אֵת תְּרוּמַת ה': זָהָב וָכֶסֶף, וּנְחֹשֶׁת.
5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD, whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, the LORD'S offering: gold, and silver, and brass;
י וְכָל-חֲכַם-לֵב, בָּכֶם,
10 And let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded:
כא וַיָּבֹאוּ, כָּל-אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ; וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר נָדְבָה רוּחוֹ אֹתוֹ,
21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and brought the LORD'S offering, for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all the service thereof, and for the holy garments.
כב וַיָּבֹאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים, עַל-הַנָּשִׁים; כֹּל נְדִיב לֵב, .
22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought nose-rings, and ear-rings, and signet-rings, and girdles, all jewels of gold; even every man that brought an offering of gold unto the LORD.
כה וְכָל-אִשָּׁה חַכְמַת-לֵב,
25 And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen.
כו וְכָל-הַנָּשִׁים--אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂא לִבָּן אֹתָנָה, בְּחָכְמָה: טָווּ, אֶת-הָעִזִּים.
26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair.
כט כָּל-אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה, אֲשֶׁר נָדַב לִבָּם אֹתָם, לְהָבִיא לְכָל-הַמְּלָאכָה,... לַעֲשׂוֹת.
29 The children of Israel brought a freewill-offering unto the LORD; every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all the 'work' [AR: remember, this is the same word used in the Torah regarding what we must refrain from on shabbat]..., which the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses to be made. {P}
ל בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן-אוּרִי בֶן-חוּר, לְמַטֵּה יְהוּדָה.
30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel: 'See, the LORD hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
לא וַיְמַלֵּא אֹתוֹ, רוּחַ אֱ', בְּחָכְמָה בִּתְבוּנָה וּבְדַעַת, וּבְכָל-מְלָאכָה.
31 And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.[AR: Again the word mlachah)
לב וְלַחְשֹׁב, מַחֲשָׁבֹת--לַעֲשֹׂת בַּזָּהָב וּבַכֶּסֶף, וּבַנְּחֹשֶׁת.
32 And to devise skilful works (!), to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
לג וּבַחֲרֹשֶׁת אֶבֶן לְמַלֹּאת, וּבַחֲרֹשֶׁת עֵץ; לַעֲשׂוֹת, בְּכָל-מְלֶאכֶת מַחֲשָׁבֶת.
33 and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of skilful workmanship (!).
לד וּלְהוֹרֹת, נָתַן בְּלִבּוֹ: הוּא, וְאָהֳלִיאָב בֶּן-אֲחִיסָמָךְ לְמַטֵּה-דָן.
34 And He hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
לה מִלֵּא אֹתָם חָכְמַת-לֵב, לַעֲשׂוֹת כָּל-מְלֶאכֶת .... עֹשֵׂי, כָּל-מְלָאכָה, וְחֹשְׁבֵי, מַחֲשָׁבֹת.
35 Them hath He filled with wisdom of heart, to work (!) all manner of workmanship (!), of the craftsman, and of the skilful workman, and of the weaver in colours, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any workmanship, and of those that devise skilful works.
...
א וְעָשָׂה בְצַלְאֵל וְאָהֳלִיאָב וְכֹל אִישׁ חֲכַם-לֵב, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן ה' חָכְמָה וּתְבוּנָה בָּהֵמָּה, לָדַעַת לַעֲשֹׂת, אֶת-כָּל-מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדַת הַקֹּדֶשׁ
1 And Bezalel and Oholiab shall work, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the LORD hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work (!) for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD hath commanded.'
ב וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה, אֶל-בְּצַלְאֵל וְאֶל-אָהֳלִיאָב, וְאֶל כָּל-אִישׁ חֲכַם-לֵב, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן ה חָכְמָה בְּלִבּוֹ--כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ, לְקָרְבָה אֶל-הַמְּלָאכָה לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָהּ.
2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work (!) to do it.
ג וַיִּקְחוּ מִלִּפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה, אֵת כָּל-הַתְּרוּמָה אֲשֶׁר הֵבִיאוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִמְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדַת הַקֹּדֶשׁ--לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָהּ; וְהֵם הֵבִיאוּ אֵלָיו עוֹד, נְדָבָה--בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר.
3 And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work (!) of the service of the sanctuary, wherewith to make it. And they brought yet unto him freewill-offerings every morning.
ד וַיָּבֹאוּ, כָּל-הַחֲכָמִים, הָעֹשִׂים, אֵת כָּל-מְלֶאכֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ--אִישׁ-אִישׁ מִמְּלַאכְתּוֹ, אֲשֶׁר-הֵמָּה עֹשִׂים.
4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work (!) of the sanctuary, came every man from his work (!) which they wrought.
...
From the above we see how many times these special terms about human creative ability and activity appear:
'ndiv libo', nediv lev
'chacham lev'
'asher nesooi libo', 'nodvo rocho' (21)
25": vechol ishoh chachamas lev
26: vechol hanashim asher nasa libon
osono bechochmo
vechol ha'ish ve'ha'isha asher nadav libam (29)
30: similar expressions re betzalel, and then re oholiov
And the word 'work' and 'workmanship' - from the word 'mlachah' which appears elsewhere only in regards to what we must cease from doing on shabbat - appear over and over. So 'mlachah' does NOT mean "one's professional work" or "doing something difficult" but rather a special specific type of creative act, mentioned only in two contexts in the Torah: 1. regarding creation of the universe and resting from that on the 7th day, and 2. crafting the mishkan.
As we noted above, the passages seem to be stressing at least two aspects:
1. the 'work' ie mlachah;
2. very special human qualities.
These special human qualities perhaps derive from humanity having been created in the divine image - resulting in creativity of the highest sort. Also, the passages stress that they were all engaged in 'mlachah' with a full heart, voluntarily, in a very inspired-seeming creavite spirit, so that the work itself was carried out with deep intention, dedication, love and spirituality,. And all this 'mlachah' by humans acting at their highest level in costructing the mishkan, its furnishing and the prietly garments, is of course parallel to the creative act of God in bringing the world into being.
So when the 'work' of the mishkan and its contents and the priestly garments was completed, and everyone ceased their mlachah, it was very much parallel to God's 'resting' from creation of the universe, ie when God ceased the creative activity associated to the material universe and instead engaged in the spiritual level - as it says "God sanctified the 7th day, made it holy". And indeed the wording in the Torah of the passages regarding the ending of the mlachah of the crafting of the mishkan is quite similar to the wording of God's resting from the mlachot of the creation of the universe! See the comparisons below.