Moshe conducts a census by counting each
silver half-shekel
donated by all men, age twenty and over.
Moshe is commanded to make a copper
laver for the Mishkan.
The women donate the necessary metal. The formula of the anointing
oil is specified, and G-d instructs Moshe
to use this oil only for dedicating the Mishkan, its
vessels, and Aharon and his sons.
G-d selects Betzalel
and Oholiav to be the master craftsmen for the Mishkan
and its vessels. The Jewish People are commanded to keep the
Sabbath as an eternal sign that G-d made the world.
Moshe receives the two Tablets of
Testimony
on which are written the Ten Commandments.
The mixed multitude who left Egypt with the Jewish
People panic
when Moshe's descent seems delayed, and force Aharon
to make
a golden calf for them to worship. Aharon stalls and
tries to
delay them. G-d tells Moshe to
return to the people immediately,
threatening to destroy everyone and build a new nation from Moshe.
When Moshe sees the spree of
idol-worship, he smashes the tablets,
and destroys the golden calf. The tribe of Levi
volunteer to punish
the transgressors, executing 3,000 men. Moshe
ascends the mountain to
pray for forgiveness for the people, and G-d accepts
his prayer.
Moshe sets up the Mishkan,
and G-d's cloud of glory returns.
Moshe asks G-d to show him the rules by
which He conducts
the world, but is granted only a small portion of this request.
G-d tells Moshe to hew new tablets, and
reveals to him
the text of the prayer that will invoke His mercy.
Idol worship, intermarriage, and the combination of
milk and meat
are prohibited. The laws of Pesach, the first-born,
the first-fruits,
Shabbos, Shavuos and Succos
are taught.
When Moshe descends with the second set
of tablets,
his face is luminous as a result of contact with the Divine. |
