Pekudei, Pekude, Pekudey, P'kude, or P'qude (—Hebrew for "amounts of," the second word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 23rd weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It is the 11th and last in the Book of Exodus. The parashah tells of the setting up of the Tabernacle (, Mishkan).
It constitutes Exodus 38:21–40:38. The parashah is made up of 4,432 Hebrew letters, 1,182 Hebrew words, 92 verses, and 159 lines in a Torah scroll (, Sefer Torah). Jews read it the 22nd or 23rd Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in March. The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2024, 2027, 2030, 2033, 2038, 2041, 2043, 2046, and 2049), Parashat Pekudei is read separately. In common years (for example, 2026, 2028, 2029, 2031, 2032, 2034, 2036, 2039, 2040, 2042, 2044, 2047, 2048, and 2050), Parashat Pekudei is generally combined with the previous parashah, Vayakhel, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings (although in some non-leap years, such as 2025, 2037, and 2045, they are not combined).
Readings
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , aliyot.
First reading—Exodus 38:21–39:1
In the first reading, at the direction of Moses, Aaron's son Ithamar oversaw the accounts of the Tabernacle, and the text sets forth the amounts of gold, silver, and copper that Bezalel, Oholiab, and their coworkers used. The silver came from the half-shekel a head for each man 20 years old or older who was counted in the census.
Second reading—Exodus 39:2–21
In the second reading, Bezalel, Oholiab, and their coworkers made the priests' vestments, the ephod, and the breastpiece—just as God had commanded Moses.
Third reading—Exodus 39:22–32
In the third reading, Bezalel, Oholiab, and their coworkers made the robe, the tunics of fine linen, and the frontlet inscribed "Holy to the Lord"—just as God had commanded Moses.
Fourth reading—Exodus 39:33–43
In the fourth reading, they brought the Tabernacle and all its furnishings to Moses, and he blessed them.
Fifth reading—Exodus 40:1–16
In the fifth reading, God told Moses to set up the Tabernacle, and Moses did just as God had commanded him.
Sixth reading—Exodus 40:17–27
In the sixth reading, it was the first day of the second year of the Exodus that Moses erected the Tabernacle and its furnishings—just as God had commanded Moses.
Seventh reading—Exodus 40:28–38
In the seventh reading, Moses finished the work, and the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and God's Presence filled the Tabernacle. When the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set out, and when the cloud did not lift, they would not set out. And God's cloud rested over the Tabernacle by day, and fire would appear in it by night, throughout the Israelites' journeys.
Readings according to the triennial cycle
Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading may read the parashah according to a different schedule.
In inner-Biblical interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:
Exodus chapters 25–39
This is the pattern of instruction and construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings:
Exodus chapter 39
2 Chronicles 1:5–6 reports that the bronze altar that Bezalel built, which they brought to Moses in Exodus 39:39, still stood before the Tabernacle in Solomon's time, and Solomon sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings on it.
Exodus chapters 39–40
The Priestly story of the Tabernacle in Exodus 39–40 echoes the Priestly story of creation in Genesis 1:1–2:3. As the creation story unfolds in seven days, the instructions about the Tabernacle unfold in seven speeches. In both creation and Tabernacle accounts, the text notes the completion of the task. In both creation and Tabernacle, the work done is seen to be good. In both creation and Tabernacle, when the work is finished, God takes an action in acknowledgement. In both creation and Tabernacle, when the work is finished, a blessing is invoked. And in both creation and Tabernacle, God declares something "holy."