Glossary of Terms Used in the VaYakhel and Pekudei Weekly Torah Portion

Work

“Work” is correction of the system of the tabernacle. This is nothing more than that. There are nine works in the work of the tabernacle; the rest are neither work nor craft.

Cloud

A “cloud” indicates concealment. The Creator hides Himself, but the disclosure is in concealment, when one sees that He is hidden. There are opposites here, which is why it corrects us. The cloud leads us, and even Moses went into the cloud.

Donation

A “donation” to the Creator means that the more we increase the importance of the Creator in our eyes, the importance of the quality of love and bestowal, the more we can advance.

Tabernacle and Tent of Meeting

The soul contains a surrounding, external Kli (vessels). Although it contains great lights, they are surrounding lights. Also, there are the inner Kelim (plural of Kli), which are the tabernacle. Similar to our world, we have a Shoresh, Neshama, and Guf (root, soul, and body respectively) within us, and Levush and Heichal (clothing, hall respectively) that are the rest of the world. This is how we are built, how we perceive the Kli we are in. But everything is within us, even when it seems to us that everything is external.

The same is true for the tabernacle. It is an inner tabernacle, surrounded by the tent of meeting, a court, and many other details. When we begin to notice it and study it, we see that each element is truly a unique form of work.