Vayakhel-Pekudei: More than Enough

Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skilled person whom יהוה had endowed with skill, everyone who excelled in ability, to undertake the task and carry it out. They took over from Moses all the gifts that the Israelites had brought, to carry out the tasks connected with the service of the sanctuary. But when these continued to bring freewill offerings to him morning after morning, all the artisans who were engaged in the tasks of the sanctuary came, from the task upon which each one was engaged, and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed for the tasks entailed in the work that יהוה has commanded to be done.” Moses thereupon had this proclamation made throughout the camp: “Let no man or woman make further effort toward gifts for the sanctuary!” So the people stopped bringing: their efforts had been more than enough for all the tasks to be done.

AND THEY TOOK FROM BEFORE MOSES ALL THE OFFERING. In one day they brought all this donation to the Tent of Meeting where Moses was, and the wise men took it from Moses on that very same day and on the following day, early in the morning. On the second day, too, the people still continued to bring the donation to Moses’ tent and he commanded them to bring it to the craftsmen, until they told him that the people bring much more; thus there was sufficient [for all the work to make it], and too much. The surplus, however, was not a sufficiently important amount to warrant Moses’ telling in the section of Eileh Pekudei what they did with it. Perhaps it remained in the tent to repair the breaches of the Tabernacle, or to make with it vessels used in the Tabernacle service, as they used to do with the surpluses in the Sanctuary. Scripture mentions, the people bring much more than enough, in order to praise the people who brought with such generosity, and to glorify the wise men for their honesty. The one who was in charge principally over them [namely Moses], also comes in for praise for having caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp that the people should stop bringing, telling us that he had no desire for their silver and gold, as do other rulers over peoples, in a similar way to that which it says, I have not taken one ass from them.

למלאכה אשר צוה ה' לעשות אותה. The donations of the people exceeded what was needed to perform the specific tasks which alone G’d had commanded to be performed. G’d wanted no additions, nor omissions. This is expressed by the words לעשות אותה בלבד, “to perform only this task alone.” This was different from the Temples built by Solomon and Herod. אל יעשו עוד מלאכה לתרומת הקדש, he did not proclaim that no more donations should be brought. But he did proclaim that no more work, such as spinning, weaving, etc, intended for materials used in the construction of the Tabernacle should be begun. Also timber which had been brought in the correct dimensions with the carved parts should not be brought anymore. Compare 35,24 which discusses the need of treatment of both skins and trees.

GEMARA: With regard to the main issue, the Gemara asks: After all, throwing is a subcategory of carrying out. Where is the primary category of prohibited labor of carrying out itself written in the Torah? Isn’t it necessary to clarify the primary category before discussing the subcategory? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: As the verse said: “And Moses commanded, and they passed a proclamation throughout the camp saying: Neither man nor woman should perform any more work to contribute to the Sanctuary; and the people stopped bringing” (Exodus 36:6). According to Rabbi Yoḥanan, Moses commanded the people to cease bringing contributions in order to prevent them from bringing their contributions on Shabbat. He then explains: Where was Moses sitting? He was in the camp of the Levites, and the Levites’ camp was the public domain. And he said to Israel: Do not carry out and bring objects from the private domain, your camp, to the public domain, the camp of the Levites. The Gemara asks: And how do you know that he was standing and commanding the people on Shabbat? Perhaps he was standing during the week, and Moses commanded the cessation of contributions because the labor of the Tabernacle was completed, since all the necessary material was already donated, as it is written: “And the work was sufficient for them for all of the work to perform it, and there was extra” (Exodus 36:7). Rather, derive this by means of a verbal analogy between passing mentioned in this context and passing mentioned with regard to Yom Kippur. It is written here, with regard to the Tabernacle: “And they passed a proclamation throughout the camp,” and it is written there, with regard to Yom Kippur: “And you shall pass a blast of a shofar on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom Kippur you shall sound a shofar throughout your land” (Leviticus 25:9). Just as there, with regard to the shofar of the Jubilee Year, passing is on a day on which it is prohibited to perform labor, so too, here passing is on a day on which it is prohibited to perform labor.

Perhaps the Torah wished to tell us that G'd's fondness for the Jewish people increased as a result of the oversubscription of the materials needed for G'd's Sanctuary. As an act of recognition, G'd miraculously absorbed all these donations and they were used in the Tabernacle, i.e. דים, they were sufficient, none was rejected, i.e. remained unused. The word דים refers to המלאכה, the finished work was all used, though והותר, the raw material contained therein seemed quite excessive. There was a miracle which reconciled the paradox which the report of the Torah implies. Alternatively, the Torah means that the ready-made work which the people contributed appeared to be adequate, whereas in terms of the raw materials used it was actually excessive. It required a miracle for nothing to remain as "left-over."

מרבים העם להביא, “the people are bringing more than enough.” The expression מרבים indicates that the people did not stop contributing. The Torah compliments the people, both men and women. The men contributed silver, copper, blue and purple wool, etc., the women contributed their golden jewelry. The principal contributions were all brought on the first day. The wording hints at the speed with which these contributions were made when the Torah writes: “all the people came out and they came (arrived).” (35,20-21). The Torah adds in 36,3 that “the people kept on bringing contributions morning after morning.” One gains the impression from what is written that even after it had become clear that there was enough, some people kept on bringing gifts every morning. The moral and ethical integrity of the people engaged in that work is evident from the fact that they took time out from their work to tell Moses that they had received more materials than they could use to complete the project. The words ויאמרו אל משה לאמור indicates that they told Moses about this overage time and again. The Torah also testifies to the superior trust Moses displayed in the craftsmen seeing he did not demand an accounting, nor did he make use of his legal position as their ruler to appropriate any of the leftover material claiming it was for the people’s “communal treasury.” This is why the Torah writes that Moses announced throughout the camp that there were to be no more contributions.