Note the contradiction in the following verses discussing the construction of the desert temple:
• Ex36-01:02 states Then, Bezalel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all kinds of work for the service of the sanctuary, did according to all that the Lord had commanded. And Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, every one whose heart stirred him up to come to the work to do it;
• Ex37-01 states And Bezalel made the ark of shittim wood; two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height;

We see the contradiction. Which is it? Did Besalel make the Temple utensils or did the wise hearted menmake them? Although technically one of these verses speaks about the Ark and one speaks about the general Temple construction nevertheless we could bring in numerous similar verses showing that the construction of all Temple vessels was a group effort with however sporadic verses giving credit to individuals.

We resolve this contradiction using the method of 2 aspects. There were 2 aspects to constructing the Temple
• Besalel was the manager of Temple construction
• The crafstmen were the staff of Temple construction.

Sermonic points: In this particular example Rashi's sermonic point is embedded in the Rashi comment itself.

There is a conceptual way to clarify the Rashi comment: Credit is not necessarily based on work but instead may be based on accomplishment. Here, the manager typically does not do all the work of Temple construction; but through his direction the manager accomplishes the entire Temple construction. Hence he can take credit for it.

Generally, throughout Jewish literature we see an emphasis not only on personal deeds but also on the consequences of those deeds. For example, Kayin's murder of Hebel is not perceived as a murder of an individual but rather as the murder of all potential descendants of that individual. The Talmud states: He who takes a life it is as though he had destroyed a planet; and he who saves a life it is as though he had saved a planet.

Biblical verse Ex30-32 is written in a General-Detail style as follows:
• General: Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting finished;
• Detail: [because] the people of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they do.

We have inserted the type-faced word because into the above translation to conform to Rashi's comment - Rashi sees the General clause, The Temple was completed as being clarified and explained by the detail clause, the Jews did as God commanded them.

Advanced Rashi: The above explanation of Rashi may appear simplistic. Using it we explain a very wild Rashi presented below. We give a simple explanation to this wild Rashi making it straightforward.

Verse Ex40-17:18 states And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was erected. And Moses erected the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up its boards, and put in its bars, and erected its pillars. Rashi comments on the passive was erected: After completing all the utensils the Jews could not erect the Tabernacle because of the heaviness of the boards. Moses also attempted to erect the Temple but the boards were too heavy for him. If nobody could erect the Temple how then did the Temple get erected? The verse explicitly says that the Temple was erected that is, by itself. The boards stood upright and fit together.

Because every utensil was made exactly as commanded therefore the erection of the temple went smoothly: For example if the wood boards were not smooth they would not remain standing after erected. Precisely because they were cut properly therefore they stood in place. And precisely because the Jews worked as a team therefore, all Temple parts were made to precision. We learn this from the emphasis in Ex30-32: The Temple was erected because the Jews did as God commanded.

Thus the miracle did not consist of boards floating upwards! Rather the miracle consisted of all staff precisely following orders so that the boards and parts fit togethere smoothly and enabled a quick efficient erection. The emphasis here is on the compliance of the Jews with Gods commands.

Rashi citing a Midrash simply states this in a pictueresque way: The boards helped erect themselves by the spirit of God. But again: The emphasis is that the building fit together quickly and smoothly because the Jews did as God commanded.

Today we ask the database query: In the Bible, does God select by lineage or merit? Surprisingly, as Rashi points out Selection for important posts was frequently done by merit not by lineage. The list below justifies this Rashi observation.

Sermonic Points: As can be seen from the above list God in many situations choses people based on merit rather than on tribal status (Judah vs. Benjamin or Dan) or seniority (the eldest). A famous clash between Jacob and Joseph in Gn48 further emphasizes that merit takes place on lineage and form. Judaism firmly believes that our standing before God is based on our own deeds. Such a positive attitude, placing responsibility on each individual, strongly encourages good deeds and action.

Rashi provides the equivalent of pictures and diagrams for many Temple constructions. One example is provided by Ex39-03
1. And they did skied the gold into thin plates,
2. and cut it into threads,
3. to fix it
   • in the blue,
   • and in the purple,
   • and in the scarlet,
   • and in the fine linen,
4. a woven work.
Hence the Rashi comment, almost mirrored by the above verse structure, depicting the production process of the threads
1. The gold sheets were flattened
2. the flat gold sheets were cut into gold threads
3. One gold thread was woven with the blue, purple, scarlet and linen threads
4. All 4 threads - the blue-gold, the purple-gold, the scarlet-gold, and linen-gold - were now woven into one thread. This one thread was used to produce certain of the Priestly garments such as the Ephod