פקודי

Pekudei means “accountings of,” and it is the final Torah reading in the book of Exodus. Moses asked for a careful record of what was given and how it was used for the holy building called the Mishkan, which means “dwelling place.” The Levites handled the work under Ithamar, Aaron’s son.

Bezalel from the tribe of Judah led the building, and Oholiab from the tribe of Dan helped as a carver, designer, and embroiderer. People brought offerings of gold, silver, and copper. The gold was counted as 29 talents and 730 shekels. The silver came from the census: each man age twenty and up gave a half-shekel, 603,550 men, adding up to 100 talents and 1,775 shekels. Silver became the strong sockets and the hooks and bands for the posts. Copper, 70 talents and 2,400 shekels, became the altar’s parts, the entrance sockets, and the pegs.

They also made priestly garments for Aaron and his sons: an ephod woven with gold threads, a breastpiece set with twelve stones, blue robes with pomegranates and bells, and a gold frontlet engraved, “Holy to God.” When Moses saw everything was done exactly as God commanded, he blessed the people.

Then God told Moses that on the first day of the first month, he must set up the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. Moses began with the frame: sockets, planks, bars, and posts. He spread the tent over it and placed the coverings on top.

Next he brought in the Ark of the Pact. He put the Pact inside, fixed the poles, set the cover on top, and hung the curtain to screen it off. Outside the curtain he placed the table on the north side and arranged the bread of display. Opposite it, on the south side, he set the lampstand and lit its lamps. Before the curtain he placed the gold altar and burned aromatic incense.

At the entrance he set the altar of burnt offering and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering. Between the Tent and the altar he placed the laver and filled it with water so Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons could wash their hands and feet when they entered or approached the altar. Finally, Moses set up the enclosure around everything and hung the screen at the gate, following God’s instructions step by step.

When Moses finished the work, a cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of God filled the Tabernacle. The cloud settled so strongly that Moses could not enter.

From then on, the people watched the cloud closely. When it lifted from above the Tabernacle, the Israelites packed up and set out on their journeys. When it did not lift, they stayed where they were until it moved. By day the cloud rested over the Tabernacle, and by night fire appeared inside the cloud, visible to the whole house of Israel.

So the Tabernacle stood at the center of the camp: the place where the Ark was screened by a curtain, where the lamps were kept in order, where incense rose, and where washing and offerings were done as commanded. And as the people traveled through the wilderness, the cloud and fire showed them when to go and when to remain.