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Rashi to Shemos 35:2 explains that by teaching about Shabbos before the Mishkan, Moshe was emphasizing that Shabbos could not be pushed off to build the Mishkan.

However, Rashi made the statement from the juxtaposition between Shabbos and the Mishkan in Shemos 31:13. Why did this teaching need to be taught twice?

If you'll say that once is from HaShem to Moshe and once is from Moshe to the people, why couldn't the passuk just say the latter and I will understand the former on my own?

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  • Seems that indeed, we asked closely related questions. I think Sifsei Chachamim on 35:2 answers your question. I have trouble with the copy I see online as well as translating his main point, well enough, to English. I get the overall gist, but not the detail.
    – DanF
    Mar 24, 2017 at 15:01
  • @DanF I think aderabah it's an answer to your question. I'll post it as an answer in just a minute. He bavarns my question as an "im tomar" - perhaps my question is an answer to his, but he answers that it's different and answers yours in the process.
    – DonielF
    Mar 24, 2017 at 15:07
  • Sounds good as long as you and I avoid recursion :-)
    – DanF
    Mar 24, 2017 at 15:09
  • @danf We're already sharing the same name, so why not share the same question while we're at it? ;) Even with the Sifsei Chachamim, my question still applies: just teach Vayakhel with Shabbos first, and all the same lessons are taught.
    – DonielF
    Mar 24, 2017 at 15:20

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It's not teaching the same thing twice. The verse in Chapter 31 is where God spoke to Moses in such a way that Moses could infer that Shabbat supercedes Mishkan. The verse in Chapter 35 is where Moses told the people the laws in a certain order to teach them that Shabbat supercedes Mishkan.

If we only had the second instance we would not know how Moses knew this to be true. If we only had the first instance we would not know that Moses taught this to the people.

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  • If Moshe told it to the people, isn’t it obvious that Hashem told him to do so?
    – DonielF
    May 10, 2019 at 2:28
  • @DonielF 1) Perhaps, but the way Moshe told them (by preceding Shabbos to Mishkan) was not the way Hashem told Moshe. 2) Isn't it obvious that Moshe does what Hashem tells him to do? Yet the Torah often says "and Moshe did what Hashem said".
    – Alex
    May 10, 2019 at 2:31
  • Then wouldn't we need that for every case where first God tells Moshe and then Moshe tells the people? Does Rashi in fact repeat the commentary in other cases of this?
    – Monica Cellio
    May 10, 2019 at 3:07
  • @MonicaCellio I'm actually not sure if the question was why the Torah has two separate verses, or why Rashi gives the explanation twice.
    – Alex
    May 10, 2019 at 3:08
  • @DonielF Can you clarify?
    – Alex
    May 10, 2019 at 3:08

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