Parashat Terumah, which we read a few weeks ago, is the first in a five-parasha series all about the mishkan, including the structure, the holy vessels, the garments, the commandments and construction and even the capital campaign. Parashat Terumah describes the detailed instructions that Hashem gave to Moshe regarding the construction of the mishkan – the Tabernacle – and its kelim – the vessels, including the aron, the ark, which contained the luchot, the shulchan, the table which held the shewbread, the menorah, the candelabra, and the mizbach hanechoshet, the altar for offering sacrifices.
Betzalel was charged with overseeing the construction of the mishkan and its vessels. The final installment of this series – Parashat Pekude – which we read this Shabbat – opens with the statement, “And Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur of the tribe of Yehudah did everything that Hashem commanded Moshe.”
Rashi, is bothered by the phrasing of this verse. Quoting the Talmud Yerushalmi, Rashi explains that we would have expected the Torah to say that Betzalel did everything that Moshe commanded him to do. After all, Hashem revealed to Moshe the instructions and plans for the mishkan – not to Betzalel. Thus, the Torah’s language that Betzalel did everything that Hashem commanded him to do seems imprecise.
Basing himself on a passage from the Talmud in Masechet Berachot, Rashi explains that Betzalel did certain things that his teacher, Moshe, had initially not agreed with. Specifically, Moshe instructed Betzalel to make the vessels first and to subsequently construct the mishkan. Betzalel disagreed with Moshe and argued that the mishkan should be constructed first and subsequently the vessels should be made.
On the surface, this comment is very difficult to understand!
Moshe was the greatest prophet and he received the commandment directly from Hashem. How could such an important fact – the order in which to make the mishkan and its vessels – have escaped Moshe? How could Betzalel have known a fact that his teacher, Moshe, did not know?
The answer is that the disagreement between Moshe and Betzalel was not an argument regarding a fact. If Betzalel knew a commandment, Moshe would surely have known it. To say differently would call into question Moshe’s competence as a prophet and his role as Moshe Rabbenu.
Instead, the argument concerned an application of the law that Hashem commanded Moshe – a query about which there was no direct teaching. Our chachamim explain that Moshe and Betzalel were debating a question – which should be constructed first, the mishkan – the Tabernacle itself – or the kelim – the vessels that would be housed in the mishkan. Moshe argued that the vessels should be made first. The mishkan would then be completed and subsequently the vessels would be brought to their home. Betzalel argued that the minhago shel olam, the way of the world, is to first make a house and then to place the vessels inside. After the construction of the mishkan, the vessels would be made and brought to their home in the mishkan. Moshe was won over by Betzalel’s argument.
Betzalel had correct intuition even about things that Moshe did not teach him to such a degree that it was as if he had been taught the law by Hashem at Sinai.
Like the greatest of Jewish scholars have done in each generation since, Moshe and Betzalel were debating a question that did not have a revealed answer. Moshe and Bezalel used their respective understandings of the laws that Hashem gave regarding the nature of the mishkan and its vessels to draw a conclusion regarding this new question – what should be constructed first. Moshe used his intuition and Betzalel employed his intuition – each respective intuition honed by Torah learning, aptitude and experience. Perhaps because he was an expert craftsman, Betzalel understood well the impact that the mishkan and its vessels would have on those who saw them. He gave primacy to something that Moshe’s intuition did not – despite their importance, the vessels must not be left outside of their home – not even to wait for the home to be built. The mishkan must be built before the vessels. To do so would be to damage the people’s relationship to the mishkan and its vessels.
Jewish leadership must be rooted in Torah knowledge, in a commitment to perpetuating Torah values and must be intended le’shem shamayim, for the purpose of advancing Hashem’s plan in the world. Betzalel argued in this situation that if the mishkan – the place dedicated to promulgating the manifestation of Hashem’s presence in this world and His relationship to the Jewish People – was to have a full impact on the people, the Torah had to be taught in a way that would best speak to the people. Moshe agreed with this approach but came to agree with Betzalel about how to best communicate the Torah’s ideas and ideals to the people.
Parents have a unique understanding of their children and should seek to imitate Betzalel’s model of Jewish leadership. Without compromising standards or watering the Torah down to make it more palatable, we should seek to imitate Betzalel and use our own insight into our children to determine how best to connect them to the Torah. We should do our best to use our understanding of our children to help communicate the Torah’s messages to them.
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