שמות, פרק ל״ח, פסוק ל׳

The construction of the Tabernacle required vast amounts of materials, and the donated copper was put to extensive use. The sheer volume and variety of the central items cast from this metal suggest that the copper talents brought by the Israelites were exceptionally large and heavy [ביאור שטיינזלץ, קאסוטו וחזקוני].

A precise accounting reveals how the copper was distributed among the various components. Sixty-five talents were dedicated to casting sixty-five sockets for the courtyard and the screen at the Tabernacle entrance, calculating exactly one talent of copper per socket. The remaining material, consisting of five talents and two thousand four hundred shekels, was used to craft the copper altar, its various utensils, and the pegs for both the Tabernacle and the courtyard [חזקוני].

Despite this detailed breakdown, the inventory does not capture every single copper item. Certain functional tools, such as the copper clasps that connected the curtains and the mallets used to drive the pegs into the earth, are absent from the count [חזקוני]. Most notably, the washbasin and its base are completely excluded from the final weight summary. This is because the washbasin was not created according to a predetermined weight. Instead, it was cast entirely from the copper mirrors brought by the women, which were used without being precisely weighed [ביאור יש ר וחזקוני].

The exact measurements recorded might give the impression that the Israelites contributed only the bare minimum required for the work. However, the reality was quite the opposite. People from all levels of the nation gave copper, silver, and gold with immense generosity, resulting in a massive surplus. The detailed record only reflects the specific quantities that were actively used in building the Tabernacle and its furnishings. All remaining donations were transferred to the treasury, where they were dedicated to the future needs of the public [חזקוני].