Parashat Vayakhel: Wisdom from Unexpected Sources - 5785

From the Holman Bible

Last week, we read about the great saga of the golden calf. In the wake of their grave error, the Israelites undertake a journey of t'shuvah (redemption) and return to God. In recognition of their correct, moral behavior, God determines that the time has come to build the mishkan, the portable sanctuary that will travel with the Israelites and serve as God’s dwelling place on Earth.

In Vayakhel, this week’s portion, we read about that process. The Torah delves into the smallest details involved in creating the structure and the elaborate tools and accessories that are to be placed inside or adorn the mishkan. The person chosen as chief architect to oversee the building of this critical structure was a man from the tribe of Judah named Betzalel. 

There is a wonderful teaching in the Talmud about Betzalel and why he is chosen to fulfill this essential role in the spiritual development of the Israelite nation. As the story goes, God commands Moses to tell Bezalel, “make a tabernacle, an ark, and vessels”.  But, when Moses speaks with Bezalel, he reverses the order and say, “make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle” 

Betzalel, clearly confused by the order presented by Moses, responds that the plan does not make sense. The standard practice, Betzalel explains, is that first you build the structure and only afterwards go about building the vessels that will be placed inside the house. Betzalel even goes one step further and challenges Moses, suggesting that he had gotten his order wrong. 

Moses realizes his mistake, that he had misspoken and given the command in the wrong order to Betzalel. He is impressed by Betzalel’s wisdom, saying that anyone that intuitively knows the content of God’s commands without experiencing them must be an extremely important person. 

In this story, there are two primary characters that hold two radically different positions in the Israelite camp. There is Moses: the leader, the prophet, the only person who interfaces one on one with God, who passes on the divine command to the rest of the nation. Then there is Betzalel: the artist whose name shows up only six times in the entire Torah and is only mentioned in the context of the building of the mishkan. 

On the surface, there is very little reason for Moses to listen to Betzalel. As typically happened in the Torah, Moses received a divine command, passed it onto the person meant to do it - in this case Betzalel - and from there the command was followed. The story could have ended there. But Betzalel, summoning up some chutzpah, dared to challenge Moses’ presentation of the task assigned to him. 

To his credit, Moses displays a wonderful leadership quality in his response. He not only hears what Betzalel has to say, he is also willing to accept that this person, without authority or influence, just might be right. 

The message that this story reminds us of is that insight, that wisdom, can come from truly anywhere. We can all be, at times, Betzalel, providing unexpected depth and perspective on issues that we do not fully understand. The deeper challenge comes in living up to the expectation Moses sets in the story: being humble enough to listen to and accept wisdom from truly unexpected sources. 

Our portion doubles down on this message when Moses calls for kol chacham lev - every skilled person to contribute to the construction and beautification of the mishkan. That is to say that there are no prerequisites for any Israelite to give what their skills allow in the strengthening of the greater society. 

May we all find the courage and humility to be open to the wisdom that surrounds us, even when it comes from the most unexpected sources. Shabbat Shalom!