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Your donation will be tax deductible in the US to the extent allowed by the IRS.
To make a tax-deductible donation by wire transfer in the US, please contact:
Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
To make a tax-deductible donation in Israel, please contact:
Dina Gudai, Israeli Representative
Phone: 074-7800643
Email: dina@schechter.ac.il
Please mail your check to:
The Schechter Institutes, Inc. (a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization)
Box #3566
PO Box 8500
Philadelphia, PA 19178-3566
Attn: Mr. Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
Please indicate the donation is "for your joint Schechter Institutes program."
Checks should be made payable to the Jewish Theological Society of Canada and mailed to:
Jewish Theological Society of Canada
c/o Camp Ramah in Canada
3845 Bathhurst St., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, M3H 3N2
Phone: 416-789-2193, ext. 2139
E-mail: accounting@campramah.com
Please mail a check to:
The Schechter Institutes
Attn: Dina Gudai, Finance Department
PO Box 16080,
Jerusalem, 9116002
Israel
For assistance, please call Dina Gudai at 074-780-0643 (8:00 AM – 3:00 Israel time Sunday through Thursday).
In this week’s Parasha, Vayakhel, we shift from commanding the building of the tabernacle to actually building it.
The verses we read at the end of chapter Exodus 35 repeat the words written before:
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רְאוּ קָרָא ה’ בְּשֵׁם בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן אוּרִי בֶן חוּר לְמַטֵּה יְהוּדָה: וַיְמַלֵּא אֹתוֹ רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים בְּחָכְמָה בִּתְבוּנָה וּבְדַעַת וּבְכָל מְלָאכָה: וְלַחְשֹׁב מַחֲשָׁבֹת לַעֲשֹׂת בַּזָּהָב וּבַכֶּסֶף וּבַנְּחֹשֶׁת: וּבַחֲרֹשֶׁת אֶבֶן לְמַלֹּאת וּבַחֲרֹשֶׁת עֵץ לַעֲשׂוֹת בְּכָל מְלֶאכֶת מַחֲשָׁבֶת: וּלְהוֹרֹת נָתַן בְּלִבּוֹ הוּא וְאָהֳלִיאָב בֶּן אֲחִיסָמָךְ לְמַטֵּה דָן:
Shemot 35:30-34
And Moses said to the Israelites: See, God has singled out by name Bezalel, son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, endowing him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft, and inspiring him to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of designer’s craft- and to give directions. He and Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan
Who is Bezalel, and why was he chosen to be the builder of the Tabernacle?
The Torah emphasizes that he was filled with the spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all manner of workmanship. Today we would probably call such a person talented, creative, and full of inspiration.
He was also blessed with multiple abilities: goldsmithing, stone setting, carpentry, embroidery, and architecture. In addition, he was gifted with the talent of teaching all these skills: וּלְהוֹרֹת נָתַן בְּלִבּוֹ
The ability to delegate his wisdom and his talent to others, to manage a team, to deliver instructions and to inspire others with his spirit, this is what made him worthy of being the builder of the Tabernacle. This is also the reason his name, Bezalel, was given to the first and most famous academy of arts and design in Israel almost 120 years ago.
The Talmud finds an interesting connection between Bezalel’s name to his virtues:
He was called Bezalel because of his wisdom, for at the time, God said to Moses, “Go, tell Bezalel, ‘Make for me a tabernacle, an ark and vessels.'” Moses went and inverted the order, saying to him: “Make an ark and vessels and a tabernacle.” He replied: “Moses our teacher, it is the way of the world for a man to build a house and afterwards furnish it; but you say, ‘Make an ark, vessels and a tabernacle’! Where shall I place the vessels which I make? Perhaps god told you: ‘Make a tabernacle, an ark and vessels’?
Moses replied, “Perhaps you were in God’s shadow [betzel El], and you knew.”
This midrash suggests that Bezalel was not only gifted with the merit of talent and teaching, he was also able to conclude from the words of Moses what God really meant. The name Bezalel marks his prophetic ability, so to speak.
The Torah does not tell us a lot about this person, though it does tell us of his ancestors: he was the son of Uri, son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. Hur is associated with the battle against Amalek and also as Aaron’s partner for leadership while Moses was on mount Sinai.
His grandson Bezalel became famous for a totally different kind of leadership: not military, but that of spirit and art.
Dr. Gila Vachman is a Lecturer in Midrash at The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies and coordinates The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary’s Torah Lishmah program at Neve Schechter in Tel Aviv.
Dr. Gila Vachman received her BA (summa cum laude) in Talmud and Hebrew Literature, MA (summa cum laude) in Midrash and Aggadah, and her PhD from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is also a lecturer in Midrash and Aggadah at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Born on Kibbutz Yavne, Dr. Vachman is married, the mother of three children, and lives in Jerusalem.
