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<DIV>from Vayakhel-Pekudei</DIV>
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<DIV>I have three questions, maybe the learned chevrah here know the answers and
can save me doing further research</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>1. How did they fill the Mizbeach , aka the Mizbeach Adamah,
with dirt? This mizbeach was hollow and was filled with dirt AIUI
only when they camped, presumably to make it more solid and stable. But
how did they fill it? Picture a cardboard box, turned upside down, with
its open side lying face down on the ground. Suppose you now wanted to
fill that box with sand. How would you do it? You could turn it
right-side up to fill it, but when you turned it back over, a lot of the sand
would spill out. You could punch holes in the bottom (which is now the
top), fill it that way and then plug or tape over the holes. You could
make a mound of sand or mud in the size and shape of the box before placing the
box over it. Which of these methods did they use, or is the correct answer
OTHER? </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>2. How did they hold the walls (sides) of the mizbeach
together? Did they hammer the wooden sides together with hammers and
nails? No nails are mentioned in the Chumash, but neither is any other
method. Did they use glue? Did they notch the ends so that protruding
bits of wood on the end of one side fit into matching holes on the end of the
next side, like pegs in holes? Other?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV>3. When it came time to erect the mishkan, the slabs of wood were so
high and so heavy that Moshe Rabeinu couldn't manage to get the walls up, so a
miracle occurred (says Rashi) and the walls stood up by themselves. Was
this a one-time miracle in Moshe's honor? Why did he have to do it
himself, anyway? Why not get several men together to put the walls
up? And can we assume that whenever they took apart the mishkan and put it
back together during their travels in the desert (other than that first time),
the job was done by groups of men rather than a single man? Or do we
assume that a new miracle had to occur each time they camped, in order to erect
the mishkan in the new place?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><B>--Toby Katz<BR>==========<BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"></B>--------------------</FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>