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Ep. 15 · Vayakhel & Pekudei · 12 min · 2018-03-08

Work Hard, Rest Harder

Before Moshe asks for a single donation to the Mishkan, he first talks about Shabbos. The pasuk then says the work of the six days "will be done," as if by someone else. Why does Shabbos come first, why mention the six days at all when the mitzvah is to rest, and why that passive wording? Rashi and the Or HaChaim each give their own reading, and Rabbi Asaf Prisman adds another that speaks to anyone working long hours. A factory owner in Russia and the Chofetz Chaim give it a sharp ending.