Did you know? Vayakhel - Pikudai

The passuk says that Hashem gave special wisdom to all those who worked on the mishkan. Chazal teach us that this 
was the case also with animals; they also were given special wisdom. For example, when wool was needed, sheep would come on their own to the mishkan to provide it! (Medrash)

Why was the kiyor made out of mirrors?

There are two fascinating answers: 

1. So that the Kohanim can look at themselves in the mirror and make sure they are dressed befittingly for the heiligeh avodah. (Meshivas Nefesh)
2. So that women who want to daven and participate in the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash can be able to see from far what is going on through the mirrors! (Sifsei Cohen)

The Chasam Sofer teaches us that the Yidden made a miniature mishkan and bigdei kahuna (clothes for Kohanim), before making the real ones, to practice making everything in the most precise way! 

The famous Steipler Gaon was enlisted in the Russian army as a young bachur. He tried as hard as possible not to be mechalel Shabbos.

Once on Shabbos, the general decided to practice gun shooting. Every soldier had to practice hitting the target. If you missed, you had to shoot again till you hit.

The Steipler’s turn came around. He knew that he had to shoot. If not, he would be killed, but he decided to shoot with a shinui, [if one does a melacha but changes from the regular way it is done, it is a lesser form of chillul Shabbos]. He therefore flipped the rifle over.

The general noticed this and was enraged. “How dare you do this?” Without blinking, the Steipler gave a shot and hit the target on the first hit, a feat that would be very difficult even for someone well trained to shoot!

The general ran over to him and said, “Now I see you are a holy young man, if you can hit the target when the rifle is flipped over! It wasn’t you who shot, it was your G-d. It only looked like you!”

Sometimes it looks like we are doing something, but really it’s Hashem doing it! That is what this wicked general knew. 

We see this as well in this week’s parsha! Rashi says that when the Yidden brought the mishkan to Moshe to build, he told Hashem, “It is so heavy. How will I ever build it?” Hashem told him, “You make it look as if you are picking it up, and I will pick it up.”