Pekudei, Pekude, Pekudey, P'kude, or P'qude (—Hebrew for "amounts of," the second word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 23rd weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It is the 11th and last in the Book of Exodus. The parashah tells of the setting up of the Tabernacle (, Mishkan).
It constitutes Exodus 38:21–40:38. The parashah is made up of 4,432 Hebrew letters, 1,182 Hebrew words, 92 verses, and 159 lines in a Torah scroll (, Sefer Torah)."Torah Stats—Shemoth," Akhlah Inc. Jews read it the 22nd or 23rd Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in March. The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2027, 2030, 2033, 2038, 2041, 2043, 2046, and 2049), Parashat Pekudei is read separately. In common years (for example, 2026, 2028, 2029, 2031, 2032, 2034, 2036, 2039, 2040, 2042, 2044, 2047, 2048, and 2050), Parashat Pekudei is generally combined with the previous parashah, Vayakhel, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings (although in some non-leap years, such as 2025, 2037, and 2045, they are not combined).Fred Reiss, The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars: A Parallel Jewish and Civil Calendar from 1899 to 2050 with Parashiyyot and Haftarot and Candle-Lighting Times for Selected Cities (West Orange, New Jersey: Behrman House, 1986);
Readings In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , aliyot.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Shemos/Exodus (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2008), pages 281–95.
First reading—Exodus 38:21–39:1 In the first reading, at the direction of Moses, Aaron's son Ithamar oversaw the accounts of the Tabernacle, and the text sets forth the amounts of gold, silver, and copper that Bezalel, Oholiab, and their coworkers used.. The silver came from the half-shekel a head for each man 20 years old or older who was counted in the census..
Second reading—Exodus 39:2–21 In the second reading, Bezalel, Oholiab, and their coworkers made the priests' vestments, the ephod, and the breastpiece—just as God had commanded Moses..
Third reading—Exodus 39:22–32 In the third reading, Bezalel, Oholiab, and their coworkers made the robe, the tunics of fine linen, and the frontlet inscribed "Holy to the Lord"—just as God had commanded Moses..
Fourth reading—Exodus 39:33–43
In the fourth reading, they brought the Tabernacle and all its furnishings to Moses, and he blessed them..
Fifth reading—Exodus 40:1–16
In the fifth reading, God told Moses to set up the Tabernacle, and Moses did just as God had commanded him..
Sixth reading—Exodus 40:17–27 In the sixth reading, it was the first day of the second year of the Exodus that Moses erected the Tabernacle and its furnishings—just as God had commanded Moses..
Seventh reading—Exodus 40:28–38 In the seventh reading, Moses finished the work, and the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and God's Presence filled the Tabernacle.. When the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set out, and when the cloud did not lift, they would not set out.. And God's cloud rested over the Tabernacle by day, and fire would appear in it by night, throughout the Israelites' journeys..
Readings according to the triennial cycle Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading may read the parashah according to a different schedule.See, e.g., Richard Eisenberg, "A Complete Triennial Cycle for Reading the Torah," in Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement: 1986–1990 (New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2001), pages 383–418.
In inner-Biblical interpretation The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:For more on inner-Biblical interpretation, see, e.g., Benjamin D. Sommer, "Inner-biblical Interpretation," in Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, editors, The Jewish Study Bible, 2nd Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), pages 1835–41.
Exodus chapters 25–39 This is the pattern of instruction and construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings:
ItemInstructionConstructionOrderVersesOrderVersesThe Sabbath16Exodus 31:12–171Exodus 35:1–3Contributions1Exodus 25:1–92Exodus 35:4–29Craftspeople15Exodus 31:1–113Exodus 35:30–36:7Tabernacle5Exodus 26:1–374Exodus 36:8–38Ark2Exodus 25:10–225Exodus 37:1–9Table3Exodus 25:23–306Exodus 37:10–16Menorah4Exodus 25:31–407Exodus 37:17–24Altar of Incense11Exodus 30:1–108Exodus 37:25–28Anointing Oil13Exodus 30:22–339Exodus 37:29Incense14Exodus 30:34–3810Exodus 37:29Altar of Sacrifice6Exodus 27:1–811Exodus 38:1–7Laver12Exodus 30:17–2112Exodus 38:8Tabernacle Court7Exodus 27:9–1913Exodus 38:9–20Priestly Garments9Exodus 28:1–4314Exodus 39:1–31Ordination Ritual10Exodus 29:1–4615Leviticus 8:1–9:24Lamp8Exodus 27:20–2116Numbers 8:1–4
Exodus chapter 39 2 Chronicles 1:5–6 reports that the bronze altar that Bezalel built, which they brought to Moses in Exodus 39:39, still stood before the Tabernacle in Solomon's time, and Solomon sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings on it.
Exodus chapters 39–40 The Priestly story of the Tabernacle in Exodus 39–40 echoes the Priestly story of creation in Genesis 1:1–2:3.See generally Jon D. Levenson, "Cosmos and Microcosm," in Creation and the Persistence of Evil: The Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), pages 78–99; see also Jeffrey H. Tigay, "Exodus," in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, page 157. As the creation story unfolds in seven days,(1) ; (2) ; (3) ; (4) ; (5) ; (6) ; (7) . the instructions about the Tabernacle unfold in seven speeches.(1) ; (2) ; (3) ; (4) ; (5) ; (6) ; (7) . In both creation and Tabernacle accounts, the text notes the completion of the task.; . In both creation and Tabernacle, the work done is seen to be good.; . In both creation and Tabernacle, when the work is finished, God takes an action in acknowledgement.; . In both creation and Tabernacle, when the work is finished, a blessing is invoked.; . And in both creation and Tabernacle, God declares something "holy."; .
Jeffrey Tigay notedJeffrey Tigay, "Exodus," in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, page 157. that the lampstand held seven candles,. Aaron wore seven sacral vestments,. the account of the building of the Tabernacle alludes to the creation account,Compare to ; to ; and to . and the Tabernacle was completed on New Year's Day.. And Carol Meyers noted that Exodus 25:1–9 and 35:4–29 list seven kinds of substances—metals, yarn, skins, wood, oil, spices, and gemstones—signifying the totality of supplies.Carol Meyers, "Exodus," in Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins, editors, The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version With The Apocrypha: An Ecumenical Study Bible, revised 4th edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), page 117. Martin Buber and others noted that the language used to describe the building of the Tabernacle parallels that used in the story of creation:See generally Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden, Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities (Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997), page 157.
+Creation and the TabernacleVerses in GenesisTextsWords in CommonVerses in ExodusTexts1:7, 16, 257And God made () the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so... . 16And God made () the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars... 25And God made () the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.made make25:8, 10, 23, 318And let them make () Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them... 10And they shall make () an ark of acacia-wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof... 23And you shall make () a table of acacia-wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof... 31And you shall make () a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it.2:1–21And the heaven and the earth were finished (), and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished () His work that He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had made.finished39:32; 40:3332Thus was finished () all the work of the Tabernacle of the tent of meeting; and the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they... 33And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished () the work.1:3131And God saw () everything that He had made, and, behold (), it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.saw ... behold39:4343And Moses saw () all the work, and, behold (), they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it. And Moses blessed them.2:33And God blessed () the seventh day, and hallowed it; because in it He rested from all His work that God in creating had made.blessed39:4343And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it. And Moses blessed () them.
In early nonrabbinic interpretation The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:For more on early nonrabbinic interpretation, see, e.g., Esther Eshel, "Early Nonrabbinic Interpretation," in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, pages 1841–59.
Exodus chapter 38 Josephus taught that when the Israelites brought together the materials with great diligence, Moses set architects over the works by the command of God. And these were the very same people that the people themselves would have chosen, had the election been allowed to them: Bezalel, the son of Uri, of the tribe of Judah, the grandson of Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Oholiab, file son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews book 3, chapter 6, paragraph 1, clause 104.
In classical rabbinic interpretation The parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud:For more on classical rabbinic interpretation, see, e.g., Yaakov Elman, "Classical Rabbinic Interpretation," in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, pages 1859–78.
Exodus chapter 38 The Midrash Tanḥuma taught that God considers studying the sanctuary's structure as equivalent to rebuilding it.Midrash Tanḥuma, Tzav 14.