by Morah Yehudis, Boulder Aish Kodesh
THE GREATEST BAR MITZVAH PROJECT IN HISTORY
As we read about the myriad of details and itemized inventory of each aspect of the Mishkan, do we ever stop and think of the mind blowing fact that it was a thirteen year old boy who built so much? ‘And Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur of the tribe of Yehudah made all that G-d commanded Moshe.’
On this second verse in Pekudei- which actually means accounting- Rashi provides us with a striking contrast between the viewpoint of the 80 year old Moshe and the young craftsman. ‘That he commanded is not written here, but rather ALL that G-d commanded- even the things that his teacher did not tell him, his opinion was in agreement with what was said to Moshe on Sinai. Moshe had commanded Bezalel to first make the vessels and afterward the sanctuary. However, Betzalel said to him: ‘It is the custom of the world to first make a house and then place the vessels within.’ Moshe said to him-‘so I heard from the Holy One Blessed be He…In the shadow of G-d (the meaning of Betzalel’s name) you have been, for surely so did G-d command me. Thus he made the tabernacle first and afterward made the vessels.’ Rashi, based on the Talmud in Brachot, explains that Betzalel ‘guessed’ what G-d had originally told Moshe, and not what Moshe later told the people.
Reasons aside for now, this would have been quite an accomplishment for anyone, to ‘best’ Moshe in a disagreement, especially this young boy with such unusual, almost superhuman abilities and insight. Why did Betzalel merit this talent? There are several responses to this question. One refers us to the merit of his grandfather Chur, who gave up his life in his attempt to stop the building of the golden calf. What an appropriate reward for a man who died to prevent the building of an idol to the people’s fears and doubts, that his grandson should use the gold and other wealth of the Jews to now build a sanctuary in the service of G-d.
For me, a relevant lesson is that we in the post holocaust generation may be experiencing a surge of Baalei Teshuva in the actual merit of those who were killed and tortured just because they were Jewish. Even if a generation or two might have been skipped in the process of this return, the energy behind their self-sacrifice had to become a legacy to their descendants. Sooner or later, the dormant coals of soul connection are bound to come alive.
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