WRJ Voices: Vayak'heil P'kudei

Vayak’hel/Pekudei concludes the book of Exodus, solidifying the freed Israelites into a people through the establishing of Shabbat (holy time) and the building of the Mishkan (holy space). The detail with which the text describes the artistic design and execution of the Mishkan creates a vibrant image of the holy space for our community in their transition from slavery to freedom. There is much to grab our attention in this parshah, from the community’s donations towards building the Mishkan to the detailed depiction of Betzalel and Oholiab’s work. In the midst of the lengthy description of their artistic designs, it is easy to miss the contributions of other skilled workers in creating the necessary adornments for our holy space in the desert. There is a particular line that sticks out to me, the feminist rabbinical student, always attempting to uncover the suppressed voices in the text. Exodus 35:25 reads, “And all the skilled women spun with their own hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen.”

This verse is so rich. By specifically naming these women’s work, the text highlights the importance and elevates the value of the skill that these women had to contribute to the building and decorating of the Mishkan. The spinning of the yarn, a daily and likely mundane task of women in the ancient world, becomes an essential element in the creating of our people’s holy space in the desert. Beyond naming the task, the text elevates even further the work of these women by adding the phrase, “with their own hands.” The sentence would have been complete without this prepositional phrase, but with its addition, the text illuminates and emphasizes the contributions the women made.

In one Hebrew word, b’yadeha, the text gives us insight into the world these women inhabited. You can imagine the women sitting in a circle in a crowded desert tent, fleece, spindles, and whorls in hand, laughing and spinning and creating the threads that would string together the tapestries of our holy tabernacle. The spinning of the spindles in their own hands, the connection to the community of creators, the winding of the whorls that wove holiness into the mundane task of spinning yarn. The warmth of the desert and the constantly spinning threads in their hand create a spirituality that highlights the holiness of their work. These women contributed not only their creation, but their spirituality, their holiness, to the building of the Mishkan.

In this one verse in an entire parshah describing the contributions, building, and decorating of the Mishkan, we can dive deep into the lives of our female ancestors. We can see a reflection of ourselves in their lives, the ways in which we weave holiness into our everyday work. As a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR, I spend much of my time running around, doing homework, teaching Hebrew, writing papers. Often, the work seems mundane in the sea of obligations I fulfill on a daily basis. When I take a moment and look to these skilled women, who daily spun yarn and wove it, I can recognize the ways I, and all of us, spin and weave holiness into our lives.

Rachael Pass is a second-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She serves as the New York campus’ Women’s Rabbinic Network ambassador and enjoys finding feminist meaning in our texts and liturgy.