Sometimes people are driven to give charity out of peer pressure or for some ulterior motive. Usually this is acceptable and even praiseworthy – since the goal is to help the needy and so the motive is less important. The Tabernacle – God’s house – is different. God is not “needy” and therefore the verse

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. Bezalel, the grandson of Hur, was chosen to construct the Mishkan. Who was Hur? Rashi identifies him as Miriam’s son and Josephus claims he was Miriam’s husband. Miriam was Moses’

And you Moses, bring you forward Aaron your brother and his sons with him from the midst of the Israelites to be priests to Me…A midrash suggests that there were unanswered questions about Aaron’s role in making the golden calf. Moses thought his brother deserved some blame, and Aaron was disappointed in himself. In requiring

A midrash record that after God spoke to Moses about building the tabernacle, Moses asked, “Master of the Universe, is Israel capable of completing it?” God responded, “any individual among them can complete it - from every person, as his heart may move him (Exodus 25:2).” This means, explains the Yefeh To’ar, that each individual

There’s a positive commandment to follow the majority of Sages. The verse that teaches this is phrased in an awkward manner – it warns us not to follow the majority to do harm: You shall not follow the many for evil…From this we infer that usually we must follow the majority. The awkward phrasing suggests

And Jethro priest of Midian, Moses’s father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. Not only did Jethro hear about it, everyone else heard about it too. Rahab tells Joshua’s spies For we have heard how the LORD dried up

And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites that they journey onward.” (Exodus 14:15) A midrash points out that while human beings listen to wealthy people and ignore the poor, God operates differently. The Psalms contain: A prayer of Moses, man of God (Psalm 90) and:

Maimonides posits that a sinner can lose their free choice. This is how he explains the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Sforno takes the opposite view – if Pharaoh’s heart was not hardened, he would have immediately freed the people but he would not have been acting freely. Pharaoh’s servants advise him: “Send off the men,

Before Jacob dies, he apportions a double inheritance to Joseph. And then, he apologizes to him: As for me, when I was coming from Paddan, Rachel died to my grief in the land of Canaan on the way, still some distance from Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way.” Why does Jacob offer Joseph

Before he dies, Jacob blesses all his children and to Joseph he apportions a double inheritance. Joseph’s children, Manasseh and Ephraim, will inherit equal portions along with Jacob’s children. And then Jacob offers Joseph an apology: As for me, when I was coming from Paddan, Rachel died to my grief in the land of Canaan