Vayakhel-Pekudei - The Artist and the Divine

(ל) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רְא֛וּ קָרָ֥א יְהֹוָ֖ה בְּשֵׁ֑ם בְּצַלְאֵ֛ל בֶּן־אוּרִ֥י בֶן־ח֖וּר לְמַטֵּ֥ה יְהוּדָֽה׃ (לא) וַיְמַלֵּ֥א אֹת֖וֹ ר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֑ים בְּחׇכְמָ֛ה בִּתְבוּנָ֥ה וּבְדַ֖עַת וּבְכׇל־מְלָאכָֽה׃ (לב) וְלַחְשֹׁ֖ב מַֽחֲשָׁבֹ֑ת לַעֲשֹׂ֛ת בַּזָּהָ֥ב וּבַכֶּ֖סֶף וּבַנְּחֹֽשֶׁת׃ (לג) וּבַחֲרֹ֥שֶׁת אֶ֛בֶן לְמַלֹּ֖את וּבַחֲרֹ֣שֶׁת עֵ֑ץ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת בְּכׇל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת מַחֲשָֽׁבֶת׃ (לד) וּלְהוֹרֹ֖ת נָתַ֣ן בְּלִבּ֑וֹ ה֕וּא וְאׇֽהֳלִיאָ֥ב בֶּן־אֲחִיסָמָ֖ךְ לְמַטֵּה־דָֽן׃ (לה) מִלֵּ֨א אֹתָ֜ם חׇכְמַת־לֵ֗ב לַעֲשׂוֹת֮ כׇּל־מְלֶ֣אכֶת חָרָ֣שׁ ׀ וְחֹשֵׁב֒ וְרֹקֵ֞ם בַּתְּכֵ֣לֶת וּבָֽאַרְגָּמָ֗ן בְּתוֹלַ֧עַת הַשָּׁנִ֛י וּבַשֵּׁ֖שׁ וְאֹרֵ֑ג עֹשֵׂי֙ כׇּל־מְלָאכָ֔ה וְחֹשְׁבֵ֖י מַחֲשָׁבֹֽת׃

Exodus 35:30-35

(30) And Moses said to the Israelites: See, יהוה has singled out by name Bezalel, son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, (31) endowing him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft, (32) and inspiring him to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, (33) to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of designer’s craft— (34) and to give directions. He and Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan (35) have been endowed with the skill to do any work—of the carver, the designer, the embroiderer in blue, purple, crimson yarns, and in fine linen, and of the weaver—as workers in all crafts and as makers of designs.

שמות ל״א:א׳-ה׳

(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) רְאֵ֖ה קָרָ֣אתִֽי בְשֵׁ֑ם בְּצַלְאֵ֛ל בֶּן־אוּרִ֥י בֶן־ח֖וּר לְמַטֵּ֥ה יְהוּדָֽה׃ (ג) וָאֲמַלֵּ֥א אֹת֖וֹ ר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֑ים בְּחׇכְמָ֛ה וּבִתְבוּנָ֥ה וּבְדַ֖עַת וּבְכׇל־מְלָאכָֽה׃ (ד) לַחְשֹׁ֖ב מַחֲשָׁבֹ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֛וֹת בַּזָּהָ֥ב וּבַכֶּ֖סֶף וּבַנְּחֹֽשֶׁת׃ (ה) וּבַחֲרֹ֥שֶׁת אֶ֛בֶן לְמַלֹּ֖את וּבַחֲרֹ֣שֶׁת עֵ֑ץ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת בְּכׇל־מְלָאכָֽה׃

Exodus 31:1-5

(1) יהוה spoke to Moses: (2) See, I have singled out by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. (3) I have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft; (4) to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, (5) to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of craft.

רש"י על שמות ל״א:ג׳:א׳

חכמה. מַה שֶּׁאָדָם שׁוֹמֵעַ מֵאֲחֵרִים וְלָמֵד:

Rashi on Exodus 31:3:1

חכמה WISDOM is what a person hears from others and learns (makes his own).

רש"י על שמות ל״א:ג׳:ב׳

תבונה. מֵבִין דָּבָר מִלִּבּוֹ מִתּוֹךְ דְּבָרִים שֶׁלָּמַד:

Rashi on Exodus 31:3:2

תבונה UNDERSTANDING is understanding a matter by one’s own intelligence deducing it from the things one has already learned.

רש"י על שמות ל״א:ג׳:ג׳

דעת. רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ:

Rashi on Exodus 31:3:3

דעת means holy inspiration.

Plato, Ion. pp. 219-220. Plato, Collected Works, ed. E. Hamilton and H. Cairns.

A poet is a light and winged thing, and holy, and never able to compose until he has become inspired, and is beside himself, and reason is no longer in him.... Herein lies the reason why the deity has bereft them of their senses, and uses them as ministers, along with soothsayers and godly seers; it is in order that we listeners may know that it is not they who utter these precious revelations while their mind is not within them, but that it is god himself who speaks, and through them becomes articulate to us.

ברכות נ״ה א:י״ב-י״ג

אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: בְּצַלְאֵל עַל שֵׁם חׇכְמָתוֹ נִקְרָא. בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמֹשֶׁה: לֵךְ אֱמוֹר לוֹ לִבְצַלְאֵל ״עֲשֵׂה לִי מִשְׁכָּן אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים״. הָלַךְ מֹשֶׁה וְהָפַךְ וְאָמַר לוֹ: ״עֲשֵׂה אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים וּמִשְׁכָּן״. אָמַר לוֹ: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, מִנְהָגוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אָדָם בּוֹנֶה בַּיִת וְאַחַר כָּךְ מַכְנִיס לְתוֹכוֹ כֵּלִים, וְאַתָּה אוֹמֵר ״עֲשֵׂה לִי אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים וּמִשְׁכָּן״, כֵּלִים שֶׁאֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה, לְהֵיכָן אַכְנִיסֵם? שֶׁמָּא כָּךְ אָמַר לְךָ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, ״עֲשֵׂה מִשְׁכָּן אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים״?! אָמַר לוֹ: שֶׁמָּא בְּצֵל אֵל הָיִיתָ וְיָדַעְתָּ?

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: יוֹדֵעַ הָיָה בְּצַלְאֵל לְצָרֵף אוֹתִיּוֹת שֶׁנִּבְרְאוּ בָּהֶן שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ. כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״וַיְמַלֵּא אֹתוֹ רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים בְּחׇכְמָה וּבִתְבוּנָה וּבְדַעַת״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״ה׳ בְּחׇכְמָה יָסַד אָרֶץ כּוֹנֵן שָׁמַיִם בִּתְבוּנָה״. וּכְתִיב: ״בְּדַעְתּוֹ תְּהוֹמוֹת נִבְקָעוּ״.

Berakhot 55a:12-13

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Bezalel was called by that name on account of his wisdom. When the Holy Blessed One said to Moses: Go say to Bezalel, “Make a tabernacle, an ark, and vessels” (see Exodus 31:7–11), Moses went and reversed the order and told Bezalel: “Make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle” (see Exodus 25–26). He said to Moses: Moses, our teacher, the standard practice throughout the world is that a person builds a house and only afterward places the vessels in the house, and you say to me: Make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle - the vessels that I make, where shall I put them? Perhaps God told you the following: “Make a tabernacle, ark, and vessels” (see Exodus 36). Moses said to Bezalel: Perhaps you were in God’s shadow [betzel El], and you knew.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Bezalel knew how to join the letters with which heaven and earth were created. It is written here: “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge...” (Exodus 31:3); and it is written there: “The Eternal, by wisdom, founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19), and it is written: “By God's knowledge the depths were broken up and the skies drop down the dew” (Proverbs 3:20).

Artistic Intuition and Creativity by Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield

What Moses misses here, is that Bezalal’s ability to understand is not a matter of overhearing. It’s an act of artistic intuition. He has an ability to instinctively understand how the physical world can be reshaped to mediate a sacred relationship between the congregation and God. He is in God’s shadow not as a conduit of God’s word, but as a creative interpreter of it. The ability to fashion the created world into structures, however imperfect, in which the Divine feels proximate and family and community are uplifted and inspired is a sacred one. In some sense, we can all strive to be artists in the spirit of Bezalel, imbued with the sensibility to design homes, synagogues and other Jewish spaces as physical manifestations of our spiritual aspirations.

Michael Ibn Ezra, Introduction to 'In the Shadow of God' by Chaya Rosen

From 'In the Wake of the Goddesses' by Tikva Frymer-Kensky