Even the casual reader of these Parshiot cannot help but wonder at the amount of seemingly unnecessary repetition involved in the description of these events. What is the reason that the Torah, which is usually quite terse in its discussion of even the most weighty subjects, suddenly becomes so verbose and repetitive in this instance? Would it not have sufficed to simply say, "Betzalel and Moshe did all that Hashem had commanded them," as we find elsewhere in the Torah (see B'reishit 6:22, Sh'mot 17:6, and Bemidbar 17:26?

Ramban (Sh'mot 36:8) and Rabbenu Bachya (ibid. 35:1 and Bemidbar 8:19) discuss this issue. They explain the uncharacteristic repetitions by citing a Midrash which points out a similar anomaly in B'reishit 24. After giving a detailed description of Eliezer's (Avraham's servant) expedition to Charan and his successful search for a bride for his master's son, Yitzchak, the Torah quotes at length how Eliezer recounts the entire story of his trip for the bride's parents. Couldn't the Torah have said simply, "And Eliezer told Betuel and Lavan all about his journey and mission?" The Midrash (quoted by Rashi ibid. 24:42) notes this anomaly, and remarks, "The casual conversation of even the servants of the Patriarchs is more beloved to Hashem than the Torah laws written for their descendants, for the story of Eliezer is told twice in the Torah, while many of the most important laws of the Torah were written so that they could only be derived through allusion." The reason the Torah repeats the story of Eliezer then, is that Hashem wanted to show how beloved Eliezer's master, the Patriarch Avraham, was to Him.

In reference to the Mishkan, the Ramban and Rabbenu Bachya continue, the same idea can be invoked. The Torah uses the literary tool of repetition in order to show the great love that Hashem feels for His people, who built Him the Mishkan.

The Chatam Sofer (new edition, Parshat Chayyei Sarah) explains, using the idea mentioned above, that Hashem wanted to show how beloved the actions of the Nesi'im were to Him by reviewing the details of their offering again and again.

In Parshat Mas'ei (Bemidbar 33) we are given a list of all the encampments made by the Bnai Yisrael on their journey from Egypt to the land of Israel. The Torah had already described most of these places, and the events that transpired in them, in the course of telling the story of the Exodus, from Sh'mot 12:37 to the end of Bemidbar. What was the need to repeat this list of place names now?

Rashi (Bemidbar 33:1, quoting from Midrash Tanchuma) explains with a parable. There was once a king [=Hashem] who had to take his sick son [=the Bnai Yisrael, still flawed in their trust in Hashem] on a distant journey [=the trip through the desert to Eretz Yisrael] to seek medical help. On the return trip [= after the 40 years of wandering], after the son was healed, the father would fondly remark, "This is where we stopped to sleep, this is where you didn't feel well, this is where we stopped to eat, etc." This may be understood as yet another example of the idea developed above. The father expressed his intense love for his son, and his joy over his recovery, by recounting all the details of their journey. So too, Hashem showed His intense love for the Jewish people by reviewing all the various stops made along the long, arduous journey that was now about to come to a successful end.

We have thus found four instances where the Torah uses the instrument of repetition to impart the message of Hashem's intense love for a particular person, or group of people, at a particular time: the story of Eliezer, the description of the Mishkan, the detailing of the inauguration-offerings of the leaders of the tribes, and the reviewing of all the stops of the Israelite camp during the journey to Eretz Yisrael.

"Hashem is your shadow, by your right side" (Tehillim 121:5). his teaches that Hashem is like a person's shadow (or reflection). When the person smiles, his reflection smiles back at him; when he cries, his reflection cries back at him; when he shows a sad face, his reflection also shows the same to him. So too with Hashem -- whatever attitude you (the people of Israel) show towards Him, He reflects the same attitude back to you.

(Midrash, quoted by Rav Meir Ibn Gabbai in his Avodat HaKodesh and the Sh'lah in Sha'ar Hagadol, Ot Lamed.)

We find that Avraham's servant Eliezer served him with tremendous devotion. Perhaps this too was a lesson he had learned from his master. Since Avraham served *his* master with an outpouring of love, his servants learned from him not only to serve the Creator, their ultimate Master, with dedication. They also learned to serve their direct master, Avraham, with dedication.

The trait of devotion and dedication to one's master by a servant is perhaps illustrated nowhere better than in Eliezer's journey to Charan to find a prospective bride for his master's son. We are told in B'reishit 24:10 (according to Rashi there) that Eliezer traveled with such determination, that he arrived in Charan, with Divine assistance, on the same day he left Canaan. He prayed to Hashem that He show him on that same day the proper choice of a bride through a particular test that the girl would pass. Hashem responded to his fervent request by sending the proper bride to him immediately. When speaking to the girl's parents to obtain their consent to the marriage, they requested a delay of a few months. Eliezer responded, "Do not detain me, when Hashem has granted me success with my mission!," and left Charan on that same day.

From all these details we can see how devoted Eliezer was to his master and to the fulfillment of his wishes (all this despite the fact that he himself wanted Isaac for his own daughter, according to the Midrash quoted by Rashi in 24:39). It was this trait of thorough dedication to following the wishes of the beloved master, which was the hallmark of Avraham, and which had been imbibed by Eliezer, that aroused Hashem's love for Avraham. Avraham's love for Hashem caused Hashem to "reflect" that love back to him. It is for this reason that at this particular place in the Torah Hashem chose to illustrate His love for the "casual conversation" of the servant of the Patriarch, by repeating the details of Eliezer's mission. This section illustrates better than any other the root cause of Hashem's love for Avraham -- his own trait of love and selfless devotion to Hashem.

In Sh'mot 25:2 and 35:5, when donations to the Mishkan from the populace are discussed, the expression "he whose heart aroused him" is used to describe those who donated their riches towards the building of the Mishkan. The Chatam Sofer explains this peculiar choice of words in the following manner. In reality it is not possible for a human being to "donate" to Hashem of his possessions to build a Temple -- "Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold, says Hashem!" (Chaggai 2:8). The only thing a person can render unto Hashem is his heart -- to channel his sentiments and emotions toward devotion to Hashem. Thus, explains the Chatam Sofer, the Torah, when describing the donation of material objects for the construction of the Mishkan, emphasizes that what made these donations meaningful was not their monetary worth, but the fact that they were given by people "who were aroused by their hearts" to participate in this undertaking. The Chatam Sofer is obviously alluding to the Gemara in Sanhedrin (106b) that tells us, "Hashem desires man's heart, as it says (I Shmuel 16:7) `Hashem sees what is in the heart.' "

The donations towards the building of the Mishkan were thus tokens of the love and devotion the people felt toward Hashem. It was not the physical beauty of the Mishkan that brought Hashem's presence to rest there. Rather, it was the outpouring of love that went into the construction of the Mishkan, that found favor in the eyes of Hashem. Support for this suggestion can also be found in Shir HaShirim 3:9-10: "A Temple [=the Mishkan; Rashi] was made for the King of Peace [=Hashem]... inside, it was paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem [= the Bnai Yisrael]." The Bnai Yisrael built the Mishkan not with material wealth, but with love.

It is thus fitting -- bearing in mind what was explained above -- that upon describing the collection of the donations for the Mishkan and their being fashioned into the articles and components of the Mishkan, that Hashem "reflect" this love back, through the vehicle of "repetition."

The Nesi'im, who brought their offerings for the dedication of the Mishkan, also acted with great feeling and devotion. Rashi in Sh'mot 35:27 quotes a Midrash to the effect that the tribal leaders were so anxious to play a leading role in the Mishkan's inauguration that they made sure they would be the first ones to bring offerings on that occasion. Thus, Hashem reflected this enthusiastic love by repeating the exact makeup of those offerings several times.

In Yirmiyah 2:2 we read: "Thus said Hashem: I remember for you the compassion of your early days, the love of your nuptials, when you followed Me into the desert, into an unsown land." The fact that the Bnai Yisrael left Egypt and headed into a completely desolate desert, without taking any provisions along, is considered by Hashem to be a consummate act of love and devotion. Thus, we may again apply the theory developed above to explain the repetition found in Parshat Mas'ei, when the details of all the stations of the travels of the Bnai Yisrael are repeated. Their act of total devotion to Hashem was mirrored by an identical reaction from Hashem Himself, which is expressed by the repetition of the details of that devotion.

Thus, in all four instances we see the same concept at work: whenever the Bnai Yisrael showed an extraordinary outpouring of love for Hashem, Hashem reciprocated by showing His love for them, as represented by a seemingly "superfluous" act of repetition of the details of their act of love!