📘 Parsha Insights – Rashi Commentary Q&A on Rishon
Rashi Q&A — Shemot 25:1–16
25:1–2 — The Command to Build the Mishkan
Q1: What does “וְיִקְחוּ־לִי תְּרוּמָה” mean?
A: “Take for Me a contribution” — “for My sake,” meaning donations should be given with pure intent.
Q2: What does “תְּרוּמָה” mean in this verse?
A: A separation — the part each person separates from his property to donate.
Q3: What does “יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ” (“whose heart prompts him”) teach?
A: Contributions for the Mishkan were voluntary, given from goodwill (nedavah).
Q4: Rashi says three “terumot” are mentioned. What are they?
- Half‑shekel “beka” for the silver sockets.
- Half‑shekel “beka” for communal offerings.
- Freewill donations for constructing the Mishkan.
25:3–7 — Materials Donated
Q5: Which materials were voluntary and which were mandatory?
A: Everything was voluntary except silver, which was mostly the obligatory half‑shekel.
Q6: What is “תְּכֵלֶת”?
A: Wool dyed with the chilazon blood — a greenish‑blue color.
Q7: What is “אַרְגָּמָן”?
A: Wool dyed with a dye known as argaman.
Q8: What is “שֵׁשׁ”?
A: Linen.
Q9: What does “וְעִזִּים” refer to?
A: Goat hair, not goats themselves.
Q10: What does “מְאָדָּמִים” mean?
A: Red‑dyed ram skins.
Q11: What is the “תַּחַשׁ”?
A: A unique multicolored animal that existed only then; Onkelos calls it “sasgona,” meaning it “rejoices in its colors.”
Q12: Where did Israel get acacia wood in the desert?
A: Jacob brought cedar trees from Canaan to Egypt and instructed his children to take them when they left.
Q13: What was the oil used for?
A: Clear olive oil for lighting the Menorah.
Q14: What were the spices for?
A:
- Anointing oil (for vessels and the Mishkan),
- Incense burned morning and evening.
Q15: What are “אַבְנֵי־שֹׁהַם” and “אַבְנֵי מִלֻּאִים”?
A:
- Shoham stones — for the Ephod.
- Miluim stones — “filling stones” set into gold recesses for the Breastplate.
25:8–9 — Command to Build the Mishkan and Future Temples
Q16: What does “וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ” mean?
A: Build a sanctuary for My sake, infusing the materials with holiness.
Q17: What does “כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מַרְאֶה אֹתְךָ” refer to?
A: The exact form of the Mishkan and its vessels as shown to Moses.
Q18: What does “וְכֵן תַּעֲשׂוּ” mean?
A: Future generations must build any replacements or the future Temple’s vessels following the same blueprint.
25:10–11 — The Ark
Q19: What does the word “אֲרוֹן” imply?
A: A chest/trunk-like container (“escrin” in Old French).
Q20: How was the Ark covered “inside and out” with gold?
A: Betzalel made three boxes:
- Gold outer box
- Wood middle box
- Gold inner box
The wooden box sat between the two gold ones.
Q21: What is the “זֵר זָהָב” (golden crown)?
A: A decorative crown-like rim around the Ark’s top, symbolizing the crown of Torah.
25:12–14 — Rings and Poles
Q22: How many rings were made for the Ark, and where were they placed?
A: Four rings, placed at the upper corners near the Ark-cover, two on each side.
Q23: Why does the verse say “two rings on one side” with a vav (ו)?
A: The vav is extra — the meaning is “two of these rings were on one side.”
Q24: What are “בַדִּים”?
A: Poles, used to carry the Ark.
Q25: How were the poles used?
A: Inserted permanently through the rings so the Ark could be carried without touching it directly.
Q26: What does “לֹא יָסֻרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ” mean?
A: The poles must never be removed from the Ark.
25:16 — The Tablets in the Ark
Q27: What does “וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרוֹן” mean?
A: “Place into the Ark” — the wording “to the Ark” is to be read as “in the Ark.”
Q28: What is “הָעֵדֻת” (the Testimony)?
A: The Tablets of the Covenant, bearing witness that Hashem commanded the Torah’s laws.
