Torah 101-Vayakhel Parsha

I.

ANSWERS TO STUDY QUESTIONS (Ki-Tissa)

1) Question for Exodus 30:11- 31:18:

How are the details of the making of the incense related to the solar year according to
Rabbinic Traditions?
VAYOMER YAHWEL EL-MOSHE KACH LECHA SAMIM NATAF
USHCHELET VECHEL BENAH SAMIM ULEVONAH ZAKAH BAD BEVAD
YIHYEH (30:34) = Yahweh said to Moses: Take fragrances such as balsam, onycha
galbanum, and pure frankincense, all of the same weight, as well as [other specified]
fragrances. One of the additional fragrances alluded to here is SPIKENARD, the
expensive perfume that the woman anoints Yshuas head and feet with at the house
of Shimon the Pharisee. In addition, Rabbinic tradition tells us they believe there
were seven additional spices referred to here, bringing the total to eleven. They
also note that the ingredients for the incense formula are given in MANEH, or 100
shekels, equivalent to 5 pounds. When you add up all the MANEH that are required
for the mixture, it comes to 365, so that each individual 100 shekel mixture could be
offered on each day of the solar year. If true, it obviously proves the Hebrews also
reckoned in solar time, as well as lunar time.
2) Question for Exodus 32:1-33:23:
How is a phrase Moshe uses when bargaining for the lives of the Israelites at the same
time suggest something scandalous regarding the Egyptian gods?
LAMAH YOMERU MITSRAYIM LEMOR BERAAH HOTSIAM LAHAROG
OTAM BEHARIM ULECHALOTAM MEAL PENEY HA-ADAMAH SHUV
MECHARON APECHA VEHINACHEM AL-HARAAH LEAMECHA (32:12) =
Why should Egypt be able to say that You took them out with evil intentions, to kill
them in the hill country and wipe them out from the face of the earth. Withdraw
Your display of anger, and refrain from doing evil to Your people. But another way
to translate with evil intentions (beraah) is against the power of Ra which in a
way is worse. Moshe may be suggesting something very scandalous: That Abba
YHWH and Ra would supposedly agree that the Hebrew slaves were useless and
Abba YHWH just took them off Ras hands! Sometimes the names of deities,
though false, could be mentioned in their refutation or degradation. Or, if Moshe
was not saying that directly, his word choices may have opened that up as a possible
meaning for Abba YHWH to interpret as such, but Moshe could say, No, I meant
evil intentions. If this is the case Moshe is being most brilliant, even for him.
3) Question for Exodus 34:1-35:

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How does the mistranslation of one Hebrew word lead a famous artist to make one of
the biggest misrepresentations of a Biblical figure in all of history?
VAYEHI BEREDET MOSHE MEHAR SINAY USHNEY LUCHOT HAEDUT
BEYAD MOSHE BERIDETO MIN HAHAR UMOSHE LO-YADA KI KARAN
OR PANAV BEDABRO ITO (34:29) = Moses came down from Mount Sinai with
the two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand. As Moses descended from the
mountain, he did not realize that the skin of his face had become luminous when
[YHWH] had spoken to him. The word KARAN can mean rays of light as it does
here or horns. It was this latter meaning that caused countless anti-semitic
depictions of Jews having horns on their heads, including one famous small statue of
Moshe done by Michelangelo.
4) Haftorah Question of the Week: 1 Kings 18:1-39
When Eliyahu confronts the prophets of Baal, he at least is partially re-enacting a
procedure that was done before. What is the procedure and who is Eliyahu emulating?
Here is what Eliyahu does: 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, 'Come over to me,'
and all the people came over to him. He repaired Yahweh's altar which had been torn
down. 31 Elijah took 12 stones, corresponding to the number of tribes of the sons of
Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh had come, 'Israel is to be your name,' 32 and
built an altar in the name of Yahweh. Round the altar he dug a trench of a size to hold
two measures of seed. (1 Kings 18:30-32 NJB)
And this is who Eliyahu is emulating: When the whole nation had finished crossing
the Jordan, Yahweh spoke to Joshua and said, 2 'Choose twelve men from the people,
one man from each tribe, and give them this order, 3 "Here, from mid-Jordan, from
the place where the priests' feet were standing, take 12 stones; carry them with you
and set them down in the camp where you pass the night." ' 4 Joshua called the 12
men whom he had selected from the Israelites, one man from each tribe, 5 and Joshua
said to them, 'Go on ahead of the ark of Yahweh your God into mid-Jordan, and each
of you take one stone on his shoulder, corresponding to the number of the tribes of
Israel, 6 to make this a sign among you; and when, in the future, your children ask
you, "What do these stones mean for you?" 7 you will then tell them, "The waters of
the Jordan separated before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it crossed the
Jordan, the waters of the river separated. These stones are an everlasting reminder of
this to the Israelites." 8 The Israelites did as Joshua ordered; they took 12 stones from
mid-Jordan corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel, as Yahweh had told
Joshua; they carried them over to the camp and set them down there. 9 Joshua then
erected 12 stones in mid-Jordan, on the spot where the feet of the priests carrying the
ark of the covenant had stood; and they are still there today. (Joshua 4:1-9 NJB)
A similar design is of course also given in the 12 stones on the high priest.

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II.

QUESTIONS FOR THIS TORAH PORTION (Vayakhel)

Please NOTE:
For clarity and time constraints, if I elect to not read the whole parsha
(which is the case this week) I may still ask questions relating to the
portions I did not read!

5) Question for Exodus 35:

How is there a hidden message in some the names in this chapter?
6) Question for Exodus 36:
Which name in this chapter has a meaning that parallels a famous saying of
Yshua? What is the saying?
7) Question for Exodus 37:1-38:20:
Name some details on the Tabernacle that are given here which werent offered
earlier in Exodus?
8) Haftorah Question of the Week: 1 Kings 7:40-50
In 1 Kings 7:50 one word gives a beautiful picture of Yshuas family tree and
another word describes Moshes intimate relationship with Abba YHWH. What
are these two words?
9) NT Commentary: Hebrews 9:1-14
9:1 mentions the earthly sanctuary but secretly also refers to the heavenly one in
the Aramaic. As we saw last week, the word for ministrationteshmeshtais
derived from SHEMESH/SHAMASH, meaning the sun. This phrase would
seem to anticipate the great and perfect tabernacle that Yshua entered into in
9:11!
Hebrews 9:3
51) Kadosh Kadoshim (Set Apart of the Set Aparts) translated as "Holy of
Holies"; however, it is important to note that many religions use "holy" as a term
to denote what is sacred unto them. In the Malchut Elohim, the term Kadosh
denotes the "nature" of YHWH. YHWH is the sole Creator and sustainer of Life;
He has made distinct "boundaries" in Himself which He reveals according to His
Word and through the Ruach haKodesh. The word holy is derived from heile
which means to be warmed by the sun. It has a direct connection to sun worship;
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this is not a matter of semantics, but of understanding and applying what belongs
unto YHWH and that which is not of Him. In Christianity being "holy" is often
thought of as "being like Jesus" although most Christians wouldn't dare to live
like Y'shua and His Talmidim for fear of being "too Jewish," or being labeled as
legalists! Y'shua and His followers were Torah Observant; it is within Torah
Observance that one can truly define what it means to be "Set Apart unto
YHWH." "But know that YHWH has Set Apart him that is Chasid (righteous) for
Himself: YHWH will hear when I call unto him" (Psa_4:3).
Hebrews 9:4
52) Some theologians posture that there was no censer in the inner sanctum for
more information see Epistle to the Hebrews in Appendix.
MATLA is Hebrews 9:9 is closely related to MILTHA (Word in John 1:1), both
derived from to speak. In this place though MATLA means symbol but it can
also mean proverb/parable in Matthew 13:18 which would appear to draw near
to Word (MILTHA)! So in a sense this symbol becomes the proverb that
becomes the Word made flesh!

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