Vayakhel (And He Assembled)
(Sefer Shemot) Exodus 35:1 - 38:20

35:1- “And Moshe gathered all the congregation of the children of Yisrael together, and said unto them, These are the words which YHVH has commanded, that ye should do them.
2- Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Shabbat of rest to YHVH: whosoever does work therein shall be put to death.
3- Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Shabbat day.
5- Take ye from among you an offering unto YHVH: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of YHVH; gold, and silver, and brass,
10- And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that YHVH has commanded;
20- And all the congregation of the children of Yisrael departed from the presence of Moshe.
21- And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought YHVH 's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all His service, and for the holy garments.
22- And they came, both men and women as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto YHVH.
25- And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
26- And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.
29- The children of Yisrael brought a willing offering unto YHVH, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which YHVH had commanded to be made by the hand of Moshe.
30- And Moshe said unto the children of Yisrael, See, YHVH has called by name Betzalel the son of Uri, the son of Chur, of the tribe of Yehudah;
31- And He has filled him with the Ruach of Elohim, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
34- And He has put in his heart that He may teach, both he, and Aholiav, the son of Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
35- Them has He filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman and of the embroiderer in blue and in purple in scarlet and in fine linen and of the weaver, even of them that do any work and of those that devise cunning work.
36:1- Then wrought Betzalel and Aholiav, and every wise hearted man, in whom YHVH put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that YHVH had commanded.
2- And Moshe called Betzalel and Aholiav, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart YHVH had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it.”

“Through wisdom is an house built, and by understanding it is established.”
(Proverbs 4:7)
“Every man also to whom Elohim has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat
thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of Elohim. For he
shall not much remember the days of his life; because Elohim answers him in the joy of his heart.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:19-20)
“I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song
in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.. Will Adonai cast off forever? and will he be favorable no more?”
(Psalms 77:5-7)
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb
of the morning: thou has the dew of thy youth.”
(Psalms 110:3)
“And all Yehudah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought
Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them: and YHVH gave them rest round about.” (2 Chronicles 15:15)

Vayakhel Summary:
1. Willing Hearts Stirred with the Winds of Wisdom:
For those who assemble around Torah this Shabbat, the heart is addressed; beckoned to respond we are confronted with the enigma of identifying the precursor, a wise heart or a willing heart. Similar to the egg-bearing chicken and the dispute over which came first, Vayakhel kindles a debate of eternal depth, calling attention to the metaphysical mystery regarding the heart of man. Does a willing heart instigate the possibilities for receiving needed wisdom from above? Psalms 19:8 infers the catalyst:
“The statutes of YHVH are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of YHVH is pure,
enlightening the eyes.”
Truly, it is a willing response to the commandment, which brings enlightenment, as Isaiah 1:19 defines:
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.”
However, what distinguished those who have willing hearts? In Job 38:36, HaShem asks rhetorically,
“Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the heart?”
The infilling of the Wisdom into the hearts of Betzalel and Aholiav tells of the sophistication of the One behind the raising of the Tabernacle. Jeremiah 10:12 settles the Sovereignty issue, namely:
“He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has
stretched out the heavens by His discretion.”
Signaled with the prohibition from kindling a fire on Shabbat, to recall Creation and reflect a contrast to human limitation, willing hearts find their origin and stirring from Heaven’s prior intent. Identified in Ecclesiastes 3:11 as predating our birth, let us gather today, responding to Hashem’s day of strength:
“He has made every thing beautiful in his time: also He has set Eternity in their heart, so that no
man can find out the work that Elohim makes from the beginning to the end.”
Prophetically portrayed through David’s son, this resolute faith is alive in 2 Chronicles 31:21, as thus:
“And in every work that he began in the service of the house of Elohim, and in the Torah, and
in the commandments, to seek his Elohim, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”

2. Assembled to Respond with a New Heart:
When deficient of wisdom and in need of a greater willingness to respond to the will of Heaven, we ought to humble ourselves and pray for those refreshing Winds. Isaiah 57:15 offers us real hope:
“For thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy; I dwell in the
high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of
the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
In our call to gather unto Him, supernal intervention offers needed revival, as Jeremiah 31:33 confirms:
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Yisrael: After those days says
YHVH, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their
Elohim, and they shall be My people.”
Reformed with a new heart and a fresh wisdom, Ezekiel 36:26-27 divulges the Divine purpose behind this renewed life…that we might walk, keep, and do all from willing hearts, as it is written:
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.”
May HaShem’s Spirit renew us today recreating in us new hearts, fulfilling the words of Psalms 40:8:
“I delight to do thy will, O my Elohim: yea, Thy Torah is within my heart.”