The Sabbath
On 11 Tishrei 2449, Moses assembled the entire community of the Israelites and said to them, “These are the things that GOD has commanded you concerning the Sabbath. Firstly, the things you are to do in order to observe it actively: you must remember it and anticipate it throughout the workweek.

Secondly, what you must do in order to observe it passively: work may be done only for six days, but the seventh day must be holy for you – a complete rest from work – unto GOD. This is so important that whoever does any one of the 39 types of work prohibited on the Sabbath must be put to death.

The exception is kindling fire. Although you must not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day, the punishment for doing so is not death but only lashes. Furthermore, each one of the 39 categories of work is separately prohibited on the Sabbath; therefore, if you transgress several of them inadvertently, you must atone for each act separately.”

The Tabernacle
Having exhorted the people to remember what they heard themselves from God, Moses then related to them what God had told him during the last 40 days. Moses spoke to the entire community of the Israelites, saying, “This is what GOD has commanded me to say to you:

Take contributions for GOD from among yourselves for the construction of the Tabernacle and its accoutrements. Let every generous-hearted person bring the contribution for GOD. The following materials are needed: gold, silver, and copper;

wool dyed turquoise, wool dyed purple, wool dyed scarlet, linen, goat hair;

red-dyed ram skins, tachash skins, and acacia wood;

olive oil for illumination in the Candelabrum, and spices for the anointing oil and for the incense offering;

and onyx stones and inset stones for the Ephod and the Breastplate, respectively.” Moses did not, at this point, ask for flour for the showbread, since the Tabernacle would not be set up for some months yet, and the bread would not stay fresh that long.

Moses continued, “Although you may all be relied upon to have pure enough intentions to prepare and donate the materials, you may not all be relied upon to have the proper intentions necessary for fashioning them into the Tabernacle’s component parts, for your participation in making the Golden Calf has tainted you. Rather, God will endow specific individuals with the requisite wise-heartedness for this task. Every such wise-hearted person must then come forth and make all that GOD has commanded:

The inner tapestries to cover the Tabernacle, with its middle cover and its outer roof; its clasps, its planks, its crossbars, its pillars, and its bases;

the Ark, its poles, the Ark Cover, and the partition Curtain;

the Table, its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread;

the Candelabrum for illumination and all its utensils, including the main utensil – its lamps, and the oil for illumination;

the incense Altar and its poles, the anointing oil, the incense offering, and the entrance Screen for the entrance to the Tabernacle;

the sacrificial Altar, its copper Grate, its poles and all its utensils; the Laver and its base;

the nettings of the Courtyard, its pillars and its bases, and the Screen for the entrance to the Courtyard;

the stakes for the Tabernacle, the stakes for the Courtyard, and their tying ropes;

the netted packing cloths for use in the Tabernacle, the sacred garments for Aaron the high priest, and the garments of his sons in which to minister as priests.”

The entire community of the Israelites then left Moses’ presence. Also on the day following Moses’ descent from Mount Sinai, his father-in-law, Jethro, advised him to set up a system of judges, as recounted earlier.

Donations
Among the materials Moses listed as needed for the Tabernacle were precious gems, spices, and oil. Although the people had taken an abundance of these things with them when they left Egypt and from the plunder at the Sea of Reeds, they had used them all up by now. The princes, however, still possessed these items, and they planned on donating them. But they had learned from Moses’ example to attend to their respective tribes’ affairs before their own. Therefore, before they thought of making their own contributions, they encouraged and exhorted the people to contribute whatever they had as quickly as they could, and continued doing this as long as the people kept contributing. Thus, everyone whose heart uplifted him came forward, and everyone of generous spirit brought a contribution for GOD, for the labor of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service, and for the sacred garments.

Although the women were exempt from the obligation to donate, they did so nonetheless. Since a wife may not donate household property without her husband’s knowledge and consent, the men accompanied the women when they brought their donations so it would be clear to the treasurers that they consented to their wives’ donations. All those women who were generous of heart brought bracelets, nose-rings, finger-rings, and chastity belts, as well as gold objects of all kinds. In addition, all those men who donated a wave-offering of gold to GOD brought their gold at the same time. They did not have enough gold for all that was needed to construct the Tabernacle and its furnishings, but they gave whatever they could, even their personal jewelry. Moses, who was exceptionally wealthy, supplied the lacking gold.

Whoever had turquoise, purple, or scarlet wool, or linen, or goat hair, or red-dyed ram skins, or tachash skins, brought them, despite the extra trouble it took to dye the wool and ram skins.

Whoever set aside a contribution of silver or copper, brought it as a contribution for GOD; and whoever had acacia wood for any of the work, brought it.

The women, however, did not merely bring raw materials. Since they were not involved in making the Golden Calf, they could be relied upon to have the proper intentions even in fashioning these materials into the Tabernacle’s components. Therefore, every wise-hearted woman spun by hand, and they then brought the spun yarn of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and linen. They spun the woolen yarn from wool that had been shorn off the sheep and then dyed.

But the goat yarn did not have to be dyed, and the women understood that by spinning it directly from the living goats – while the goat hair was still soft and pliable – it would be of superior quality. So all the women whose hearts inspired them with skill spun the goat hair directly off the living animals into yarn; this required special skill.

The princes brought the onyx stones and inset stones for the Ephod and the Breastplate,

as well as the spice and the oil for illumination, for the anointing oil, and for the incense offering.

Every man and woman among the Israelites whose heart impelled them to bring something for all the work that GOD had commanded to be done through Moses brought a donation for GOD. The women even donated their mirrors. Moses wanted to reject these mirrors since they had been used to arouse lust. But God told him to accept them, saying that these were more precious to Him than all the other contributions, for their use had led to the exceptional growth of the Jewish population in Egypt. The tallies of some of the raw materials contributed are given further on.

Betzalel and Oholiav
Moses said to the Israelites: “Look: I mentioned previously that God will allow only specially endowed wise-hearted individuals to work on the Tabernacle. For this purpose, GOD has singled out by name Betzalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

He has endowed him with a Divine spirit, with the wisdom that enables him to learn both from others and on his own, deductive insight, Divine inspiration, the talent for all types of craftsmanship –

enabling him to devise woven designs and to work in gold, silver, and copper –

and the art of gem-setting and woodcarving, and all kinds of other skilled crafts.

He has also given him and Oholiav son of Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach.

He has endowed them with wise-heartedness to work in all the crafts of the carver, the weaver, and the embroiderer; with turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and linen – in the crafts of every kind of artisan and skilled weaver. These two are to be in charge of the work and will oversee the artisans and craftsmen. Even though Betzalel is from the royal tribe of Judah, while Oholiav is from the undistinguished tribe of Dan, what matters is their skill, not their lineage. Thus, the Tabernacle belongs no more to the pedigreed or wealthy than it does to the commoner or poor – even though the rich were able to contribute much more than their less-wealthy compatriots.

Betzalel and Oholiav, together with all the wise-hearted people whom GOD has endowed with the requisite wisdom and Divine understanding to know how to do all the work required for the Tabernacle, must execute everything that GOD has commanded.”

Moses then summoned Betzalel and Oholiav and all the wise-hearted people (who were such because GOD had endowed their hearts with wisdom) – every one whose heart uplifted him to step forward and do the work.

They took from Moses’ presence all the contributions that the Israelites had brought on the first day for carrying out the required work for the Tabernacle. The people brought him further contributions the following morning.

So all the skilled men who were doing all the work for the Tabernacle came to Moses, each of them from the work that he was doing,

and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed for the work that GOD has commanded to do.”

Moses gave the order to announce throughout the camp as follows: “Let no man or woman do any more work for the contribution to the Tabernacle.” The people were thus prevented from bringing additional contributions on the second day, because

the people’s work of contributing the first day sufficed to provide the artisans with all they needed for all the work that had to be done, and there was no need to have a surplus. Moses instructed Betzalel first about fashioning the furnishings and then about fashioning the Tabernacle itself. Betzalel commented, “Isn’t it better to make the structure first and only then the furnishings that will be placed inside?” Moses answered, “Yes, and this is indeed how God told me to do it. You have intuited God’s intention.”

Making the Coverings
All the wise-hearted among the craftsmen made the first cover of the Tabernacle out of 10 tapestries of threads each composed of 24 strands: six intertwined strands of linen, six intertwined strands of turquoise wool, six intertwined strands of purple wool, and six intertwined strands of scarlet wool. The craftsman made them with a woven design of cherubim: eagles on one side and lions on the other.

The length of each tapestry was 28 cubits and the width of each tapestry was four cubits, all the tapestries being of the same size.

The craftsman attached the first five tapestries to one another by sewing, and he likewise attached the other five tapestries to one another by sewing.

He made loops of turquoise wool along the edge of the tapestry at the end of the first set and then did the same along the edge of the endmost tapestry of the second set.

He made 50 loops on the one tapestry and 50 loops along the edge of the tapestry of the second set, each loop being exactly opposite its counterpart.

He then made 50 gold clasps and joined the two sets of tapestries to each other with the clasps, so that the cover of the Tabernacle became one.

He made sheets of goat hair as a Tent to spread over the tapestries that formed the first cover of the Tabernacle. There were 11 such sheets.

The length of each sheet was 30 cubits and the width of each sheet was four cubits, all 11 sheets being of the same size.

He attached five of the sheets together, as a set by themselves, by sewing; and the other six sheets as a set by themselves by sewing.

He made 50 loops of goat hair along the edge of the endmost sheet of the first set and 50 more loops of goat hair along the edge of the endmost sheet of the second set.

He made 50 copper clasps to couple the goat-hair Tent together and make it one.

He made a third cover, to act as a roof over the Tent, out of red-dyed ram skins, and a fourth cover, a roof of tachash skins above the roof of ram skins.

Making the Walls
He made the planks for the Tabernacle out of acacia wood, standing vertically.

The length of each plank was 10 cubits, the width of each plank was one-and-a-half cubits, and the breadth of each plank was one cubit.

The base of each plank had two tenons, parallel to each other; he did the same for all the planks of the Tabernacle.

He made the following number of planks for the Tabernacle: 20 planks for the southern side.

And he made 40 silver bases to place under the 20 planks, two bases under one plank, to accommodate its two tenons, and two bases under each following plank, to accommodate its two tenons.

For the second side of the Tabernacle, to the north, he likewise made 20 planks

with their 40 silver bases: two bases under one plank, and two bases under each following plank.

For the back of the Tabernacle, to the west, he made six planks whose widths would be fully exposed inside the Tabernacle,

and he made another two planks for the back corners of the Tabernacle whose width would be partially covered by the planks forming the north and south walls.

All the planks were flush against each other at the bottom and flush against each other at the top, where every pair of adjoining planks was fitted together into a rectangular band. The two planks on the two corners he also made like this.

Thus, on the west side, there was a total of eight planks with their silver bases. There were thus 16 bases, two bases under each plank.

He made crossbars out of acacia wood: five crossbars for the planks of one long side of the Tabernacle,

and five crossbars for the planks of the other long side of the Tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks at the back of the Tabernacle, to the west. He made four half-length crossbars and one full-length crossbar for each side. Two of the half-length crossbars traversed the walls at a height of seven-and-a-half cubits and the other two at a height of two-and-a-half cubits.

He made the full-length crossbar of each side in order to traverse the walls at their middle height, and to penetrate holes drilled through the planks within, from one end of the Tabernacle to the other.

He overlaid the planks with gold. He made gold rings for the planks, to hold the half-length crossbars at the correct height, and gold tubes to cover the crossbars over the rest of the width of the planks, and thereby, in effect, overlaid the crossbars with gold.

Making the Curtain and the Screen
He made the partition Curtain woven out of threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen. He made it with a woven design of cherubim having the appearance of eagles on one side of the Curtain and lions on the other side.

He made four acacia pillars for it and overlaid them with gold, their hooks also being of gold, and he cast four silver bases for them.

He made a Screen for the entrance to the Tent, i.e., the Tabernacle, embroidered out of material woven out of threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen.

He made its five pillars with their hooks, and overlaid them, their tops, and their bands with gold. Their five bases were made of copper.

Making the Ark
Betzalel made the Ark of acacia wood, two-and-a-half cubits long, one-and-a-half cubits wide, and one-and-a-half cubits high. Even though Betzalel used his exceptional talents to supervise and oversee the fashioning of all the Tabernacle’s components and furnishings, in the case of the Ark, he applied his talents to the actual work of fashioning it, as well. Therefore his name is mentioned here singly and explicitly – as if he had fashioned the Ark all by himself.

He overlaid it with pure gold inside and out by making two golden chests, one slightly larger and one slightly smaller, and inserting the wooden ark in between them. He made a gold rim on the outer golden chest for it all around.

He cast four gold rings for the Ark on its four corners, two rings on one side and two rings on its other side.

He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

He then inserted the poles through the rings on the sides of the Ark, so that the Ark could be carried with them.

Making the Cover of the Ark
He made for the Ark a Cover of pure gold, two-and-a-half cubits long and one-and-a-half cubits wide.

He made two golden cherubim; he hammered them out of the two ends of the Cover.

He made one cherub from one end and one cherub from the other end; he thus made the cherubim from the Cover itself, from its two ends.

The cherubim had their wings spread aloft to the level of their heads, so that their wings shielded the Cover. They faced one another, the faces of the cherubim being inclined downward toward the Cover.

Making the Table
He made the Table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high.

He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a gold rim for it all around.

He made a frame for it all around, one handbreadth wide, and made a gold rim for its frame all around.

He cast four gold rings for the Table, and placed the rings on the four corners of its four legs.

The rings were close to the frame, as holders for the poles used for carrying the Table.

He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, for carrying the Table.

He made the utensils to go on the Table – its bread-forms, its spoons for the frankincense, its supporting frames for its shelving tubes, and its shelving tubes with which the bread would be covered – out of pure gold.

Making the Cande­labrum
God Himself made the Candelabrum out of pure gold. He formed the Candelabrum as if by hammering: its base, its stem, its decorative goblets, its apple-shaped spheres, and its flowers were an integral part of the same ingot of gold.

Six branches extended diagonally from its two sides, three branches of the Candelabrum on one side of it and three branches of the Candelabrum on its other side.

There were three engraved goblets, as well as a sphere and a flower, on the upper three handbreadths of one branch, and three engraved goblets, as well as a sphere and a flower, on the upper three handbreadths of the next branch; the same applied to all six branches extending from the stem of the Candelabrum.

On the stem of the Candelabrum were four goblets, and its two spheres and flowers were both engraved.

Besides these spheres, there was also one sphere situated on the stem below the uppermost two branches that extended from the stem, another sphere below the next two branches that extended from the stem, and a third sphere below the lowest two branches that extended from the stem. These three spheres thus served as base-points for all the six branches extending from the stem of the Candelabrum.

Together with the base, the stem, the goblets, and the flowers, its spheres – as stated above – and the branches of the Candelabrum were an integral part of the Candelabrum; it was all hammered out of a single ingot of pure gold.

He made its seven lamps, its wick-tongs, and its ash pans of pure gold.

He made it, together with all its utensils, out of one talent of pure gold.

Making the Inner Altar, the Anointing Oil, and the Incense
Betzalel made the incense Altar of acacia wood. It was square, one cubit long and one cubit wide, and two cubits high; its protrusions were an integral part of it.

He overlaid it with pure gold – its top, its walls all around, and its protrusions – and he made a gold rim for it all around.

He made two sets of gold rings for it below its rim, on each of the two corners of its two opposite sides, to serve as holders for the poles with which it would be carried.

He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

He made the sacred anointing oil and the pure incense-offering, blended as by a perfumer.

Making the Outer Altar
He made the sacrificial Altar out of panels of acacia wood. It was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide, and three cubits high above its Border.

He made protrusions for it on its top four corners, the protrusions being of one piece with it, and he overlaid the entire Altar with copper.

He made all the Altar’s implements – the pots, scoops, basins, flesh-hooks, and fire pans; he made all its implements out of copper.

He made for the Altar a Grate of copper network under its decorative Border, extending downward until the middle of the Altar’s height.

He cast four rings for the four corners of the copper Grate, as holders for the poles.

He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with copper.

He inserted the poles through the rings on the sides of the Altar, so that it could be carried with them. He made the Altar a hollow structure, of panels.

Making the Laver
He made the copper Laver and its copper base out of the mirrors of the legions of women who congregated in the Courtyard, outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, to donate their mirrors. God instructed Moses to use this copper to make the Laver. Since the women had used these mirrors to promote marital harmony, it was fitting to use them to make the Laver, for a suspected adulteress drinks water taken from the Laver as part of the rite used to demonstrate her innocence and thereby restore marital harmony between her and her husband.

Making the Nettings for the Courtyard
He made the Courtyard as follows: On the south side, the nettings of the Courtyard, which were made of twined linen, were 100 cubits long.

They had 20 pillars with their 20 copper bases. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver.

On the north side, the nettings were also 100 cubits long, with their 20 pillars and their 20 copper bases. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver.

On the west side, there were nettings 50 cubits long, with their 10 pillars and their 10 bases. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver.

On the east side, the enclosure was also 50 cubits long, as follows:

there were 15 cubits of nettings along one flank at the side of the entrance, with their three pillars and their three bases,

and likewise along the other flank – the flanks being at either side of the entrance to the Courtyard – there were 15 cubits of nettings, with their three pillars and their three bases.

The nettings surrounding the entire Courtyard were made of twined linen.

The bases for the pillars were made of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were made of silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. All the pillars of the Courtyard were banded with silver.

The Screen for the entrance to the Courtyard was embroidered out of material woven of threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen. It was 20 cubits in length, and its width – when it was hung vertically – was its height of five cubits, like the width of the nettings of the Courtyard.

The Screen had four pillars with their four copper bases; their hooks were silver, and their tops and bands were overlaid with silver.

All the stakes for the Tabernacle and for the surrounding Courtyard were made of copper.