Parashat Vayekhel - Pekude
Parashat: “Vayakhel Pekude”
Haftarah: “Vaihi devar Amonai”
Shabbat Parah
The pasuk says: “And the men came with the women (Shemot 35:22)."
This verse, which describes the offering of the women’s jewelry toward the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), is ambiguous. It is not clear from the phrasing whether the men and women came as equals or who took precedence.
Rashi says that the word “al," which literally means “on," can also be translated to “with."
We propose that these two meanings refer to different attitudes, both of which are relevant in this context. If the meaning is with, it indicates that the men and women came together not as equals. Thus, it seems that the initiative to contribute the jewelry to the construction of the Mishkan came from the women.
The men came along to show their consent to the women's gifts since they also had a share in the ownership of the jewelry, which the women used to make themselves to be attractive to their husbands.
On the other hand, the word al also suggests that the men were over the women in this matter and superior to them. According to this interpretation, it was the men who took it upon themselves to urge their wives to give up their jewelry, in expiation for the fact, that they had given their ornaments for the construction of the golden calf.
It may be that the Torah phrased this verse ambiguously in order to indicate that both interpretations are correct - that both the men and the women came to bring the offering for the construction of the Mishkan, with equal enthusiasm, but with different motivations.
--- from sefer “Kol Dodi”
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Yehuda Benhamu