Parsha discussion

Question:  Why is the command for אהרן and his children to not leave the entrance of the אוהל מועד for the even days of מילואים repeated? Approach : Based on the wording, it appears that the second פסוק is actually a positive commandment to stay at the entrance to the אוהל מועד; perhaps so that it would not feel that the family were imprisoned.

Question:  What is the inherent difference between a חטאת and an אשם? Approach: It would seem that, whilst the חטאת is primarily brought for serious "crimes" between G-d and man, the אשם has a more personal element involved; including those related to the מקדש, which could be looked at as the human connection to G-d.

Question:  Why is the mention that the מחצית השקל was collected not mentioned as part of the building of the משכן as with the rest of the commands linked with the building. Approach:  We can suggest that the מחצית השקל was the method for donating the silver, as is clear from the accounting at the beginning of פרשת פקודי. But it still ideally would have been given as a voluntary donation. We might further suggest that since the מחצית השקל was to be an annual payment, it wasn't to be included in the one-off work of building the משכן.

Question:  How can משה use the characteristic of קשיות עורף as a defence for בני ישראל after הקב״ה earlier used it as a reason to destroy them? Approach : It would seem that the strategy employed was to turn the disadvantage into an advantage. As such, after explaining why הקב"ה couldn't let the people die out, their קשיות עורף is precisely the reason why the need the constant attention of הקב"ה in a forgiving manner.

Question:  30:6 Why are two descriptions given for the placement of the עדות? Approach: It seems that there are two aspects to the עדות, as shown by the reference to the placement near the פרכת and the כפרת. Interestingly, these are also the places where the blood in sprinkled during the ceremonies of יום כיפור, as well as the מזבח הקטורת itself. It would seem that these are essentially two "barriers" to be respected when try to have an audience (התוועדות) with הקב"ה