Parashas Parashas Vayakhel-Pekudei

Parashas Vayakhel

“Vayavo’u ha’anashim al hanashim”, “And the men came with the women” (Shemos 35:22).

The use of the word “al” (lit.,“upon”) here is difficult; seemingly, it should have said “And the men came ‘el’ ha’nashim (‘to’ the women).”

This difficulty is resolved in light of the explanation of the Maharal Tzintz: As is well known, the women were not part of the sin of the Golden Calf, because they are greater than the men when it comes to “emunah” (“faith”), as is known.

The men, who stumbled in the sin of the Golden Calf due to their lesser emunah, needed to do teshuvah. The building of the Mishkan was a rectification for the sin of the Golden Calf, as is known.

The men exerted themselves and did “teshuvah mei’ahavah” (repentance out of love”), which transforms sins into merits. This is the epitome of what our Sages of blessed memory said: “In the place where ‘baalei teshuvah’ (‘returnees’) stand, even the completely righteous people cannot stand.”

And this is the deeper meaning of the words, “Vayavo’u ha’anashim ‘al hanashim’”—that the men reached a level above the level of the women, because they did teshuvah “out of love” and transformed the sin of the Golden Calf into a merit, thus fulfilling within themselves: “In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, even the perfectly right cannot stand.” 

Parashas Pekudei

The Mishkan was erected in the month of Nisan. The Maharal Tzintz, of blessed memory, explains that this was not by chance. As is known, the Mishkan is a reflection of the entire work of Creation. All the actions that Hashem ceased from on Shabbos — the work of heaven and earth, namely the thirty-nine categories of labor and their derivatives, which are derived from the Mishkan — together constitute the essence of the work of Creation. There is a dispute in the Talmud as to whether the world was created in Tishrei or Nisan. Rabbeinu Tam says that both opinions are the words of the living G-d: in Tishrei the idea of creating it arose in the Divine thought, and in Nisan it was actually created. Correspondingly, the Mishkan, which is the essence of the world, arose in thought — meaning its plans were laid out — on the day after Yom Kippur, which is in the month of Tishrei, but it was actually erected in Nisan — exactly as it was with the creation of the world!