Perhaps the most intriguing pasuk in the parsha is also the most easily forgettable.

The parsha begins with Moshe gathering all of bnei yisrael- כל עדת בני ישראל- to tell them about Shabbos and the mishkan.

After Moshe delineates each material necessary for the construction of the mishkan, as well as each product requiring construction, the Torah tells us ויצאו כל עדת בני ישראל מלפני משה. What is the point of this pasuk?

Is it really necessary to tell us that the people left Moshe’s presence?

The next nine psukim tell us how different groups within klal yisrael donated their resources and skills to the mishkan. Therefore, even had the Torah not told us that the people exited, it would have been obvious that the people left to gather materials.

If so, why does the Torah interject with the perfunctory observation that the people left?

Moreover, in an already superfluous pasuk, the Torah adds an additional seemingly unnecessary detail. The people exited from before Moshe- מלפני משה. We know they were  gathered in his presence, it is therefore obvious that if they left, it was an exit from before him!

What does the Torah wish to convey through this detail, and through this pasuk as a whole?

To begin unraveling this pasuk, we first must understand the significance of the term כל עדת בני ישראל. The first time that the Jewish people are referred to as “עדת ישראל” is in the context of the korban pesach. Rav Hirsch (Shemos 12:47) explains that the Torah specifically commands כל עדת ישראל יעשו אתו in this context in order to balance the division created by the korban pesach itself.

“Although they are divided into such carefully separated and individualized homely groups [“בבית אחד יאכל לא תוציא מן הבית מן הבשר חוצה”], they are nevertheless to form one united עדה.”

We see that the term כל עדת ישראל is used in a context where each Jew is acting individually, in order to emphasize the collective component of that very activity.

In the first aliya of our parsha, the phrase כל עדת בני ישראל is used three times. Perhaps the idea here is similar to that which Rav Hirsch expresses in regards to the korban pesach.

Moshe knows he is  going to ask each Jew for a donation to the mishkan. This announcement will give each individual the opportunity to express his personal devotion to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי. As we noted above, this is exactly what happened. As soon as Moshe made his announcement, each person went off to donate his particular asset or skill.

In order to offset the individuality of the contributions, Moshe gathers everyone together as כל עדת בני ישראל in order to convey to them (paraphrasing Rav Hirsch),

“Although each of you has a different set of materials and skills that you will devote to the mishkan, you are nevertheless to form one united עדה. Some of you have gold and silver, some have precious gems, and some simply have wood. All are equally vital to constructing a מקדש in which Hakadosh Baruch Hu will dwell among us.”

So why does the Torah tell us that bnei yisrael left Moshe’s presence?

To demonstrate that the people understood Moshe’s message. They left his presence as כל עדת בני ישראל. They exited מלפני משה because they left with Moshe’s message etched in their hearts. They would fan out in different directions, each one to consecrate his particular materials or skills to the mishkan project, but each one with the awareness that this project was a collective enterprise- כאיש אחד בלב אחד.