parsha bit: T'rumah

[cellio]

In this week's parsha God commands Israel to build the mishkan, a rather large sanctuary in which God will dwell. I've long wondered where the Israelites found all the needed wood (and other materials) in the desert. One midrash says that the trees used for this wood were planted by Yaakov, who foresaw that wood would be needed by his descendants later. He instructed his sons to plant the trees, and when Israel came out of Mitzrayim the full-grown trees waited, ready to be used. (Tanhuma, T'rumah 9)

Comments

[zevabe.livejournal.com]

So I spoke with a rabbi over Shabbat about this question. He pointed out that a forge is an oven made of either clay bricks (hey, we got really good at making those in Egypt) or stones (presumably abundant everywhere). And a loom is made of wood & string. If we had wood, which we needed for other parts of the Mishkan, and string which would be logical if we needed a loom in the first place, then a loom is possible. Also, borrowing hand tools (hammer, saw, hatchet, etc) isn't so unlikely. So as they were "borrowing" gold & jewels that they found during the plague of darkness, they could also borrow hammers & axes.

[cellio]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks! (I thought a forge required more specialized materials, including iron.)