Exodus 38,21. “These are the accounts of the Tabernacle of the Testimony that were rendered according to the commandment of Moses, etc.;” we have already written previously that the construction of the Tabernacle required holy spirit and the knowledge of how G’d used the aleph bet, i.e. the letters of the Torah and their respective combinations that G’d used when He created heaven and earth. (based on Yevamot 47).
The subject has been elaborated on further in Bereshit Rabbah section 12,14 which quotes the school of Shammai saying that the idea to create the universe crystallized in G’d’s mind at night whereas the execution occurred by day, and that the letter ה written in smaller script in Genesis 2,4 in the word בהבראם is an allusion to the attribute א-ד-נ-י, one of G’d’s names, whereas afterwards in the same verse when the Torah writes ביום עשות ה' אלוקים ארץ ושמים, “on the day that <ihashem< i=""> made earth and heaven,” the apparent repetition is an allusion to the fact that G’d is unique and the exclusive Creator. [Our author must have had a different version of the Bereshit rabbah, as the second comment concerning the attribute א-ד-נ-י is not found in my updated version of that Midrash.
Ed.]The uniqueness of both Moses and Betzalel paralleled the description of unique attributes possessed by the Creator. Initially, the instructions given by Moses to Betzalel were similar to G’d’s formulating the thought of creating a universe, whereas the execution paralleled the words ביום עשות ה' אלוקים, G’d in His capacity as Hashem carrying out His plan to create the universe. The numerical value of the first letters of the opening words in our portion, אלה פקודי המשכן i.e. א'פ'ה' have a combined value of 86, equivalent to the letters in the name of G’d when it is spelled א-ל-ה-י-ם, i.e. His attribute of א-ד-נ-י, the word signifying the attribute of Justice.
The respective last letters in the same sequence of words are ה'י'נ equaling 65, or the numerical value of the attribute א-ד-נ-י. When we examine the respective first and final letters in the second half of the introductory verse of our portion, i.e. משכן העדות, we find that the letters מ'ה correspond to the holy name of G’d consisting of 45 letters, whereas the final letters in these words, i.e. ת'נ or 450 i.e. ten times the value of the opening letters.
This suggests that whereas Betzalel was indeed granted great insights, it was Moses, אשר פקד על פי משה who had the highest level of understanding how to manipulate all the letters in the names of G’d. An alternate interpretation of the unusual line: אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדות אשר פקד משה על פי ה' וגו'. According to a statement in Taanit 8 blessings do not take hold on matters that are subject to being weighed measured or counted.
This poses a problem with respect to the Tabernacle, as its components were subject to being numbered, weighed and measured. In spite of this principle, blessings most certainly were manifest in the process of the construction of the Tabernacle, and its operation without known mishaps for hundreds of years. Scriptural proof for the fact that the Tabernacle was indeed blessed is furnished by Song of Songs 7,5 where we read: עיניך ברכות בחשבון,”your eyes are like the pools in Cheshbon,” which, according to Rashi, is to be understood as “your wise men are preoccupied with the calendar and how to adjust it to allow for seasonal factors.”
The root of the word עין, “eye,” is the evil use that can be made by one’s eyes, the prime example being the prophet Bileam who would ruin anything that he set his eye on. (Compare Zohar I 68) The reason that this is so is that an evil person tries constantly to disrupt other people’s connection to their divine roots which are the source of their being alive. The harm befalling items subject to measuring, weighing or counting, is the result of the evil person’s overpowering desire to acquire for his personal advantage anything that his eye desires.
The above quoted verse from Song of Songs teaches that the leaders of the Jewish people, the “eyes” of the community, as well as their undertakings, were blessed, ברכות, even in matters involving counting, weighing and measuring, בחשבון. The reason why this is so, is that the average Jew, whenever he contemplates a new phenomenon that he sees with his eyes, automatically relates it to its source, the Creator.
When a Jew encounters phenomena he was not aware of, his respect and awe for the Creator of such phenomena is enhanced beyond what it had been previously. The word ברכות in Song of Songs can have two meanings, one of which is “fountains,” sources of water, “life.” The message of our verse is that seeing that the materials for the Tabernacle were counted not once but repeatedly and still clearly the blessing continued to rest on it, it is proof that this was due to Moses having done the counting, i.e. having given the instructions.
His constant close attachment to the Divine prevented any negative vibes normally associated with counting, measuring and weighing from harming the Tabernacle. Still another interpretation of the opening verse of our portion. We have explained repeatedly that service of the Lord is a concept that manifests itself on two levels. One level is the result of our being aware of miracles performed by the Creator which demonstrate His ability to change what we previously considered as unalterable “laws of nature.”
It follows logically that all His creatures are duty bound to serve Him to the best of their ability.The second level of service of G’d stems from our having recognized the Creator’s preeminence by dint of His being the origin of all life, etc., so that as a result of this it is clear that we His creatures are obligated to serve Him as our master. The basic difference between these two levels of serving G’d is whether we would have done so also if He had not resorted to performing miracles in order to bring Himself and His power to our attention. [Another difference is that people during whose lifetime no miracles were experienced would feel the need to serve Him merely on the basis of being told that He used to perform miracles.
Ed.]If one’s service of G’d is based on our awareness of Him as the Creator, any miracles if and when performed, will be of secondary importance in our relations with Him, as we consider His ability to perform miracles as natural, seeing that He is the Creator of nature. They see in the performance of miracles only proof that the Creator supervises the fate of the Jewish people especially, and intervenes at times of His choosing to prevent great harm befalling His chosen people.Prior to the giving of the Torah, the Jewish people’s service of the Lord was based on the miracles they had seen G’d perform in Egypt.
After the giving of the Torah even the physical parts of the Jewish people underwent a process of refinement which enabled them to serve the Lord without constant prompting by G’d demonstrating His power by performing miracles. Ever since they recognized that even the miracles which they had witnessed in Egypt were not intended to show them G’d’s power as a G’d, but were manifestations of His love for His people. Based on the considerations outlined, we will try and explain why we have been commanded to eat Matzah on Passover and to offer certain sacrifices in the Temple, and why on the festival of Shavuot we have been commanded to present two loaves of bread which had to consist of leavened dough, as well as a thanksgiving offering consisting partly of unleavened breads and partly of leavened breads.Matzah alludes to creatures who serve the Lord due to the impact upon them of G’d’s miracles; even the plain meaning of the text in Exodus 12,15-17 alludes to this as it contains a commandment to eat matzah as a reminder to future generations of the speed, i.e. suddenness, with which the Egyptians reversed their attitude as the masters of the Jews, to driving them out with all possible speed as we know from Exodus 12,39 which tells us that the departure of the Jews from Egypt occurred in such haste that they did not even have time to allow the dough for next day’s bread to rise before baking.
Consuming the meat of the Passover took place in similar haste, the people being dressed while eating it, ready to begin marching at any moment. (ibid, i.e. ויאפו את הבצק עגות מצות וגו', “they baked the dough into matzah cakes etc.,) The symbolic acts that we, the descendants of the generation of Israelites leaving Egypt at that time, perform on the anniversary of that event, all reflect the suddenness and haste in which the redemption literally overtook them.
These acts mirror the impact that G’d’s miracles had on the Jews at that time. In contrast to this, when the same people arrived in the desert of Sinai, prior to receiving the Torah, seven weeks later, they had time to prepare themselves for that event for three days, i.e. the miracles that occurred in connection with that event did not take them by surprise. By that time they had come to realize that G’d’s performing miracles was something “natural,” not supernatural, seeing that the source of these “miracles” was the same Creator Who had performed the greatest miracles by creating the universe.
When they reflected that out of all the phenomena in the universe that they were aware of it was only G’d Who could have created them by merely uttering the necessary words, they no longer needed “miracles” to persuade them that there was such a power, [even though it remained invisible. Ed.] To reflect their new found insights, the offerings presented on the festival of Shavuot did not require matzah as a symbol of the Israelites’ recognition that their redemption had been a miracle, in the sense of something supernatural performed by G’d.The Talmud in B’rachot 54, when stating that 4 types of individuals need to offer thanksgiving offerings (containing also leavened breads) after they had been saved by means of a miraculous event, reflects the sages’ recognition that for the people concerned the miracle had been performed in order that they serve G’d first of all because He demonstrated His ability to transcend the laws of nature.
Subsequently, the people who had learned this lesson would become accustomed to serving the Lord for the same reasons that the Jewish people served Him starting with their experiences at Mount Sinai. This is reflected in the part of the thanksgiving offering consisting of leavened breads. The very fact that this offering consists of these apparently contradictory ingredients, indicates that the person offering it is aware of his own spiritual/philosophical progress.Looking at the history of the Jewish people during their march through the desert, the sin of the golden calf represented a spiritual regression to the level of needing miracles to keep them aware of the greatness of the Lord and the duty to serve Him.
The Jewish people only recaptured even the first level of serving the Lord, i.e. through the help of miracles to remind them of Him and His power at the time when the Tabernacle was inaugurated, almost nine months after their having worshipped the golden calf. According to Nachmanides, this is the reason why the Tabernacle is referred to as משכן העדות, “Tabernacle of Testimony,” i.e. its consecration bore testimony to the fact that the people had regained their spiritual level as it had been at the time when they had been redeemed from slavery in Egypt.The word פקודי in our verse needs to be understood in the sense of something being lacking, absent, as we know from Numbers 31,49 ולא נפקד ממנו איש, “not a single man from us is missing.” [after the punitive expedition against the Midianites) The word appears in a similar sense also repeatedly in the Book of Samuel.
Ed.] The Torah hints that even with the completion of the Tabernacle, the former lofty spiritual level of the Jewish people as it had been at the end of the revelation at Mount Sinai had not been restored. Yet another interpretation of the opening verse in our portion. We need to consider this verse in conjunction with Exodus 40,18 ויקם משה את המשכן וגו', “Moses, (personally) erected the Tabernacle, etc.;”We have a rule expressed in the Zohar that the Tabernacle represented this lower world, as well as the world beyond earth as well as the Torah, in miniature. [Possibly a reference to Zohar Pekudey, 220 where the author of the Zohar uses the word אלה here and in Genesis 2,4 אלה תולדות השמים והארץ, as a basis for this comparison.
Ed.]Nachmanides quotes Genesis 18,19 כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו....ושמרו דרך ה' לעשות צדקה ומשפט, where he explains the expression דרך ה' to mean the “attributes that G’d has revealed of Himself.” The Torah credits Avraham in that verse as emulating G’d’s attributes of שלום וחסד, “peace and loving kindness, etc.” These attributes are also reflected in the legislation we read in the Torah, as we find commandments that clearly reflect the need for us to be kind even to the undeserving, such as helping one’s enemy to load or unload his donkey, whereas some of the commandments clearly reflect the attribute of Justice, such as to ensure that people convicted of deliberate wrongdoing be punished in accordance with the law.
Similarly, other attributes that reflect G’d’s attributes are represented in different parts of Torah legislation. The requirement to wear phylacteries is understood as reflecting the fact that G’d represents תפארת, “glory,” and that is why we recite a benediction when putting on phylacteries which describes G’d as having distinguished us with glory, i.e. עוטר ישראל בתפארה. When Betzalel constructed the Tabernacle and all its components, i.e. the candlestick which represented the attribute of love, the table which reflected the attribute of awe, and the furnishings representing other Divine attributes, he constructed a miniature replica of the universe.Our sages in B’rachot 55 alluded to this when they said: Betzalel knew how to combine the letters of the holy tongue that had been used by G’d when He created the universe.
This enabled Betzalel to fashion the various furnishings of the Tabernacle so that they reflected the attributes which we mentioned. According to the Talmud there the name בצלאל is a combination of the two words: בצל א-ל, “in the Lord’s shadow,” i.e. his soul must have been present when G’d created the universe and have absorbed the secret of how G’d had done so. Betzalel did not know, however, to which particular commandment in the Torah each one of the vessels he fashioned corresponded.
It was therefore left for Moses himself to reveal the relationship between each vessel and utensil used in the Tabernacle and how it related to a particular commandment in the Torah. This is hinted at in the verse in Exodus 40,18 which describes Moses as erecting the Tabernacle. According to tradition, Betzalel and his helpers had vainly attempted to do this, and they had to call on Moses to do this. (Tanchuma yashan, 8) “Erecting” the Tabernacle, does not refer to the mere physical act of arranging all the boards, etc, in their proper order, but it is a term used to describe Moses as ensuring that the Tabernacle would fulfill the functions for which it had been made, i.e. to mirror Torah philosophy.
The reason that the Tabernacle had to be completely dismantled each time the Israelites broke camp and had to be re-erected anew when they encamped was that their trek through the desert was intended to elevate the “sparks” that had fallen off the Shechinah, a task that would be accomplished in stages each time it was erected again. [The concept of these “sparks” has been discussed on pages 21-22.
Ed.]We know through the Baal Shem Tov how the spiritual elevations, עליות, of these “sparks, נצוצות, work. When these sparks come face to face with something of a mundane or secular nature, or even more so when they encounter something actually evil or sinful, they grasp the opportunity to serve their Creator. [If I have understood the concept correctly, it is based on every phenomenon in the universe containing an element of sanctity, קדושה, though it may be almost completely hidden. [The “fallen” sparks that once were part of the Shechinah, due to their sacred origin, are able to locate that element of Divinity within the phenomenon in question.
They are able to utilize any of the Divine attributes they encounter and respond to it in kind, be it love, awe, harmony or any of the attributes of G’d. Ed.] When they do this they elevate the respective phenomenon to a higher spiritual level, i.e. it is a kind of repentance for their erstwhile negligence without which they would not have “fallen off” the main body of the Shechinah in the first place.When the Tabernacle was dismantled, it had lost its cohesion to the various attributes of G’d, something that had been established when it had last been erected.
By having dismantled the Tabernacle, the Israelites had contributed to the spiritual rehabilitation of these “sparks,” as they had been presented with an opportunity to elevate these phenomena to a higher spiritual niveau while they were “in limbo,” so to speak. The Israelites therefore were directly instrumental in “salvaging” part of the Shechinah. Seeing that during the period that the Tabernacle had been dismantled the holy attributes of G’d had had an opportunity to be used negatively, i.e. the attribute of love had been used to love that which is evil, or the attribute of harmony had been used to organise a rebellion against G’d, [as had been the case during the building of the Tower after the deluge, Ed.] the Israelites in the desert, where most of these “sparks” had taken refuge on earth, had become instrumental in contributing to the restoration of the Shechinah to its full glory.If, after having established the connection with the Divine attribute contained within a phenomenon one does not exploit this good fortune and make this attribute part of one’s personality, one will forfeit all the benefits that one’s discovery had presented.
The reason for this is that good attributes that remain in a vacuum are worse than good attributes never discovered. Possessing אהבת השם “a love for G’d,” without following this up by performing the commandments in the Torah that reflect this attribute, results in one’s losing even the theoretical, or “platonic” love of G’d. As soon as the Jewish people became aware that they had become an instrument for restoring one of the “sparks” to the Shechinah, they would re-erect the Tabernacle and make a point of observing the commandments associated with that attribute meticulously.
As only Moses was on a level that enabled him to understand all these connections between the terrestrial world and its celestial counterpart, it was his task to erect the Tabernacle (each time). He thereby connected the appropriate sections in the appropriate manner. All this is alluded to in the words: אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדות. The word עדות is a reference to the Torah and its commandments; the word פקד means that a connection was established, a union, much as when a husband joins his wife in the marital bed in order to jointly produce a child which is the visible symbol of their union. [We read in Genesis 21,1 that Hashem פקד את שרה , as a result of which she became pregnant.
In other words, the union of Avraham and Sarah was finally completed when Sarah conceived Yitzchok. Ed.]If, G’d forbid, attributes such as love and awe, etc., instead of being utilized in accordance with Torah principles are “wasted” on unworthy objects or ideas, the Torah, or its representative the Tabernacle, is perceived as not enjoying מנוחה a state of calm satisfaction; similarly, if these attributes are abused by being squandered on useless objects or alien concepts and their representatives, G’d is in a state of restlessness, His mind not being at ease.There is still another aspect to this subject of the attributes of G’d and our duty to emulate them.
When the attributes of G’d are constantly being emulated by His creatures, in this case by the Jewish people, this results in this “union” influencing the dispensation of G’d’s largesse due to the connection to our Divine source being a constant, never interrupted for even a brief period. Putting the various vessels of the Tabernacle to use on a daily basis, seeing that each represented part of a Divine attribute, the unbroken connection was assured.
Only in the desert, or subsequently in Jerusalem, the site of the Temple, was it possible to ensure that unbroken contact with the Divine origin of these attributes, which served as a reminder to G’d that His people were serving Him by trying to emulate His attributes. The distinction possessed by the city of Jerusalem in this regard, was also accorded to Shiloh and other locations where the Tabernacle stood before Solomon built the Temple, though only on an ad hoc basis. The difference between the status of Shiloh and Jerusalem was symbolised by the Tabernacle in Shiloh, which, though not being a collapsible structure as the one in the desert, did not have a permanent solid roof (although it functioned for more than 300 years). (Compare Zevachim 112) The Torah had alluded to this distinction when speaking of מנוחה and נחלה as separate concepts in Deuteronomy 12,9.
The stage of נחלה, ancestrally owned territory, would not be reached until the erection of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. [The capital of Israel that had been captured only during the latter part of David’s reign, more than 450 years after Joshua crossed the Jordon with the people. Ed.] The author sees an allusion to this already in Exodus 25,15, where the Torah refers to the poles that were to be used to carry the Holy Ark were to remain permanently in the rings attached to the Ark for that purpose, and that they were not to be removed even temporarily under any circumstances. The reader will ask himself why the Torah added this restrictive clause as applicable only to the poles used to carry the Ark, and not to the poles used to carry the Table, for instance?
Our author suggests as an answer to this question that we remember that he had described the very trek of the Israelites through the desert as a spiritual ascent, i.e. return of the “sparks” that had fallen from the Shechinah in disgrace on a previous occasion, and that it had been the act of dismantling the Tabernacle that had enabled these “sparks” to grasp an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves. (compare pages 533-534).
Clearly, the process of the fallen sparks could not continue indefinitely, for how long would G’d rebuke the same evildoers to return in penitence without finally giving up and subjecting them to their deserved punishment? On the other hand, it is perfectly plausible to hold up a reminder to sinners, that there is a method through which they could rehabilitate themselves.The Holy Ark’s function is to serve as a reminder to man that at all times he must strive to repent and rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the Lord.
The regulation that the poles that serve to carry the Holy Ark in the desert, [although once it had been positioned in the Temple, the Ark was never to be removed from there so that its poles became strictly symbolic in nature, Ed.] served as this reminder. The “sparks” themselves, are not only to be viewed as parts of the Shechinah which had somehow gone astray, but they symbolize parts of the human personality which had gone astray and were in need of rehabilitation.
Man (and in the first instance the Jewish man) is supposed to be the “carrier” of the throne of G’d, in a sense similar to the poles of the Holy Ark on top of which were the cherubs between whose outstretched wings the Shechinah is presumed to reside while the Ark is within the Temple. [Some of these words are my own, but I am confident that they supplement the exegesis of our author. Ed.] It did not matter that the Ark, physically, once it had come to a place of מנוחה ונחלה as stated in Deuteronomy 12,9 would no longer be in motion.
It is enough that we keep before our mind’s eye the picture of the Holy Ark to remind us of the need to constantly strive to rehabilitate any weakness in our personality that manifested itself through our not emulating one of G’d’s attributes by transgressing one of His commandments. It is this thought that prompted our sages in Keritut 6 to state that whenever we pray we must always include the habitual sinners in our prayers, i.e. express the wish that they too turn to G’d for forgiveness of their sins by changing their lifestyles.
This is our contribution to “repatriating” holy sparks that had gone astray. Yet another aspect of the opening verse of our portion. [Our author, as is his custom, endeavours to explore the different meanings that the same word (root) has on different occasions. Ed.]It is a fact that many people although going through the motions of performing the commandments of the Torah do not thereby achieve a spiritual level that provides a תענוג, spiritually pleasurable experience, for their Creator.
In other words, although they have tried “to catch the train or plane,” and establish a close connection with their Creator they find that they have been left behind.It is necessary for a Jew,-seeing he is the beneficiary of the Torah- to serve G’d in a manner that affords G’d the תענוג or נחת רוח, that we have discussed on numerous occasions. This is also alluded to in the opening verse of our portion where the word פקודי refers to the connection or union of the parts of the Tabernacle and by implication to the connection or union between the creature and its G’d, seeing that we explained that the Tabernacle was a miniature of the universe.
If further proof were needed for this interpretation, we need only look at the word משכן itself to realize that is a slightly abbreviated form of the word שכינה, “Divine Presence.” The erection of the משכן in the “lower” part of the universe, i.e. on earth, became the key to this uninterrupted connection between the celestial and the terrestrial part of the universe. The word עדות or a derivative of it , i.e. עדי עדיים in Ezekiel 16,7 refers to the נחת רוח, “wellbeing of a spiritual dimension,” that G’d experiences when the Tabernacle fulfills its function on earth as planned. Still another exegesis of the first verse of our portion, this time including the concluding words of that verse:עבודת הלוים ביד איתמר בן אהרן הכהן, “through the service of the Levites under the direction of Ittamar, a son of the High Priest Aaron.”It is a generally accepted rule that G’d constantly channels loving kindness and mercy to His people Israel, and if nonetheless we find that from time to time the Jewish people appear to be victims of evil, this is only a prelude to their eventually being rehabilitated and elevated to a higher level than previously.
G’d would never allow evil to happen unless this evil were capable of serving as a prelude to good. In other words: G’d does not channel evil in the direction of the Jewish people, period. In our verse this concept is also alluded to when both the Levites and priests are mentioned, the former as representing Justice and Judgment, [as when the Levites executed the idol worshipping Israelites during the episode of the golden calf, Ed.]
The word כהן is an allusion to the attribute of חסד, loving kindness, an attribute personified by Aaron during all the years that He was High Priest, whereas the attribute of Justice was something that had to be called upon only on rare occasions. What this means is that the attribute of Justice is not even able to function unless the attribute of חסד “supervises” i.e. tempers it, so that it does not take center stage exclusively.
The משכן itself may be viewed as an instrument designed to “sweeten” even the attribute of Justice when it momentarily overshadows the attribute of loving kindness. [all this refers, of course, only to how G’d deals with the Jewish people. Ed.] The line stating that a priest, i.e. Ittamar, son of Aaron, was in charge of what the Levites did in connection with the Tabernacle, is meant to alert the reader to these concepts. Exodus 38,22. “and Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Chur, of the tribe of Yehudah, executed all that G’d had commanded Moses.”
A look at Rashi will reveal that in fact it is remarkable that the Torah did not write: “which Moses commanded Betzalel”, but wrote “which G’d commanded Moses.” This suggests that Betzalel had divined even the sequence of things that Moses had not revealed to him either deliberately or because he had forgotten. For example: Moses had instructed Bezalel to construct the furnishings of the Tabernacle before he had given him details for constructing the structure that was to house these furnishings. (Compare Jerusalem Talmud Peyah 1,1 According to the version there when Moses instructed Betzalel to first construct the furnishings, Betzalel queried this wondering if Moses had heard it in that order on Mount Sinai.) Upon hearing this, Moses reminded himself that G’d had in fact told him to construct the structure housing the furnishings first. He complimented Betzalel, saying that apparently he had stood in G’d’s shade at the time G’d had spoken to Moses.
As a result, Betzalel constructed the structure, i.e. the boards and “carpets” serving as the ceiling of the Tabernacle, before he proceeded to fashion the furnishings.I believe that it is in order to elaborate on this somewhat. When a person gets out of bed in the morning he needs to wash forthwith, i.e. as a prelude to reiterating that he accepts the kingdom of heaven, i.e. the commandments of the Torah, anew. This includes his faith in G’d, Who is the Creator of all the phenomena that we can perceive with our senses.
Subsequent to this it is incumbent on the person to turn to G’d in prayer, and after that to study some of the Torah. This is followed by the performance of various commandments in the order in which the opportunity to do so presents itself. All of this is designed to teach us the attributes of the Creator and help us to have absolute faith in Him and to enable us to emulate His attributes.“Faith” in the Creator consists of two levels.
It begins with what we call “little faith,” i.e. faith based on the most basic intellectual faculties every human being is endowed with, which dictates that the universe as we know it could not have come into existence on its on, but must have been created by a Supreme Intelligence, that Intelligence which for want of a better word we call “G’d.”After having realized this and having accepted it, we proceed to a more profound level of אמונה, “faith,” a level which results from our intellectual faculties having been refined through the study of G’d’s Torah.
The level of “faith” that results from studying Torah is known as השראת שכינה, Divine inspiration. It is important to realize that the tribe of Levi who was singled out by G’d to perform special religious duties on behalf of the whole nation, was appointed twice. The male members of this tribe became distinctive at the time they had completed the first month of their lives. (Numbers 3,15) They were included in the census already at that tender age, whereas the other Israelites had to await their 20th birthday before they could be included in the census. (Numbers 1,3).The concept of 12 tribes [excluding the Levites, Ed.] alluded to the commandments of the Creator handed down in the Torah, and that is why they had been given the collective name מטות, “staffs,” as the commandments by which Israelites guide themselves, and which are their main support during their lifetime on earth serve as their support, [in the sense of a walking cane.]
They draw on this support to maintain and reinforce their faith in G’d. Performance of the commandments refines our intellect. The tribe of Levi is a special example of this as pointed out in Bamidbar Rabbah 1,12 where the author of the Midrash draws our attention to the fact that this tribe had to be counted in the proximity of the Tabernacle, as it had proven during the episode of the golden calf that it had absolute faith in G’d, and although a tiny minority (about 5%) of the nation, had risked their lives on behalf of G’d, by executing idol worshipping members of the nation. (Exodus 32,27-28).We already explained that there are two levels of faith in G’d, and corresponding to that the Levites were counted on two levels. (at 30 days, and again when they reached the age of 30 years, (compare Numbers 4,23 et al) By that time their intellects had matured to the extent that they could be described as their faith in G’d reflecting the higher level.
Their duties in and around the Tabernacle made it mandatory that they had spiritually matured enough to carry them out while thinking the appropriate religious thoughts.Initially, G’d had commanded Moses to teach the Jewish people first about the Tabernacle, i.e. to instruct them in the ways to have faith in G’d on the basic level, i.e. to believe that He is the Creator of all phenomena perceived by the senses.
The visible symbol of that faith was the structure called משכן. Only afterwards was Moses to teach them about the furnishings in the Tabernacle, the variety of attributes of the Creator, as symbolized in the Tabernacle by the various vessels and furnishings, or in the Torah by the various commandments. Moses, believing that the Jewish people as a whole had already attained the second and higher level of faith, considered it appropriate to acquaint them immediately with the details of the vessels to be used in the Tabernacle.
Betzalel, having a more realistic view of the spiritual level of his peers, considered that they should first become familiar with more basic aspects of faith in the Lord as symbolized by the structure called משכן, Tabernacle.Having said this we can also solve the problem raised by Nachmanides in connection with Exodus 19,4 where the Torah writes: אתם ראיתם אשר עשיתי למצרים....ואביא אתכם אלי, “you have seen what I have done to Egypt……. and I have brought you to Me.”
Nachmanides questions the wording there as at that point the Jewish people had not yet experienced the revelation at Mount Sinai and had not yet been given the Torah. We may best understand this by remembering that while in Egypt the Jewish people (the generation experiencing the redemption, not the Israelites who had come to Egypt with Yaakov and their children) had not believed in the G’d of Avraham at all, -to wit their failure to circumcise their male children- so that the redemption was the starting point from which their faith in G’d as the Creator and as the G’d of Israel must be counted.
True faith of the whole people did not commence until the first day of the month of Sivan, when for the first time, the Torah describes the Jewish people as united, i.e. ויחן ישראל , “Israel encamped,” (singular mode) as opposed to all previous encampments when the Torah always writes: ויחנו ישראל, Israel encamped, (plural mode). At that time they did not know yet how to serve the G’d Whom they all believed in as the Creator and as the G’d of their forefathers.
This nuance is also evident in Onkelos’ rendering the end of Exodus 19,4 ואביא אתכם אלי, usually translated as “I have brought you to Me,” as: וקרבית יתכון לפולחני, “I have brought you near to perform service for Me.” Another approach to the verse: ובצלאל בן אורי....עשה את כל אשר צוה ה' את משה, a look at Rashi who emphasizes the word כל in this verse as an allusion to Exodus 35,32 where Betzalel’s function is not only described as executive, i.e. someone meticulously carrying out instructions, but as לחשוב מחשבות, “contributing original ideas of his own.”
This is explained even better when we look at psalms 119,59 חשבתי דרכי וגו', “I have considered my ways, etc.” On psalms 121,5 ה' צלך, “the Lord is your shadow,” a most difficult statement, the Midrash Shocher Tov explains that just as man’s actions are reflected by his shadow, so G’d also acts in a manner that reflects what man had done. For example; G’d says that “when you (the collective soul of the Jewish people) cry, I too join in your cries.”
Therefore, as long as we (the collective soul of the Jewish people) do not forget Jerusalem (while we are in exile), we can be assured that G’d will not forget Jerusalem either. (psalms 137,5). Keeping this in mind we learn how important it is that we carefully consider every step we take in life, as if it is in the wrong direction, G’d may follow our footsteps to our detriment. This is not only a warning but also a compliment, so that we do not consider our actions as insignificant in this great universe, believing that what we do or do not do, does not matter to G’d anyways.When these considerations are applied to Betzalel, whose very name meant that he had been in G’d’s shadow, he would certainly have to have in mind the appropriate thoughts when fashioning each one of the many vessels used in the Tabernacle. The word בצלאל can just as easily be translated as א-ל הוא הצל שלו, “G’d is his shadow.”Man’s body, according to our sages, consists of 248 limbs, an allusion to the 248 positive commandments in the Torah, as well as of 365 tendons, corresponding to the 365 negative commandments in the Torah.
This has been explained in Kohelet Rabbah (Kohelet 1,3) on the words: והארץ לעולם עומדת, “but the earth endures forever,” as an allusion to the structure of the celestial regions, i.e. just as man has 248 limbs and 365 tendons there are parallel phenomena in heaven. Both the inhabitants of heaven and those of earth share components that correspond to the positive and negative commandments found in the Torah, [and enumerated as such by our sages. Ed.]
Seeing that the Tabernacle was designed as the home of the Shechinah on earth, it is natural that it contained components that are parallel, [otherwise how would G’d feel “at home,” in it? Ed.] This is what is meant when the Torah wrote that Betzalel constructed all the components in strict compliance with what G’d had commanded Moses. All the individual components of the Tabernacle conformed to the commandments of the Torah.When understood along these lines, Rashi’s query how this was possible, seeing that at the time Moses was given these instructions most of the commandments in the Torah had not yet been revealed and communicated to the people; in fact they were only communicated to Moses when the latter was in the Tabernacle. (Compare Leviticus 1,1 ויקרא אל משה וידבר ה' אליו מאהל מועד לאמור, “He called (invited) to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tabernacle saying, etc.” (instructing him to communicate G’d’s commandments to the people.)
Betzalel’s having stood in G’d’s shadow at the time when Moses had heard the instructions while on Mount Sinai, was aware of what G’d had told Moses at the time, so that he was able to query what he thought was a lapse of memory on the part of his great leader. The laws of the Torah were first communicated to Moses as a potential, whereas once the Tabernacle had been erected (also called Tent of Testimony), G’d repeated His instructions as an actual, i.e. as applicable as and when capable of being performed. Exodus 38,23. “and at his side, Oholiov son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan, carver and designer, etc.;” Our sages in Chagigah 14 comment on the words חרש וחושב by explaining that the word חרש, or חרשים refers to a wise student, who as soon as he opens his mouth causes his teachers to become even wiser when they hear his questions, whereas חרשים are people who when they open their mouths cause others to fall silent, acknowledging superior knowledge.Perhaps the Talmud refers to two levels of serving G’d; the first uses his intellect, i.e. the common sense G’d has endowed him with to do so, whereas the second does so by contemplating the enormity of the אין סוף, the indescribable superiority of the Creator, something that our common sense cannot even try to comprehend.
This distinction has been alluded to in Numbers 12,8 [where the subject is Miriam and Aaron having compared their statures as prophets to that of Moses, Ed.] When G’d explains to them that Moses’ stature of prophecy enables him to תמונת ה' יביט, “to conceptually visualize the Creator as if he saw a picture of Him,” He alluded to the Divine assistance Moses enjoyed when visualizing such difficult concepts.
He would only have been able to do so if he had first abandoned and negated any attempt to comprehend G’d’s essence by applying ordinary human intellect. People on that level are described in the Torah as חרש, having made themselves deaf to “normal” ways of perceiving and comprehending phenomena they see. When a person, after having been granted such superhuman perceptions and insights, reverts to his day to day routine, a residue of his experiences while he was on a higher level remains, i.e. he is filled with שפע, divinely transmitted spiritual largesse.
As a result he is able to perform the work performed by embroiderers both on blue woolen fabrics, תכלת, and on purple and crimson coloured woolen fabrics, ארגמן. [The finished product of Oholiov’s handiwork reflected that he had been divinely inspired. Ed.] Exodus 39,3. “they hammered out sheets of gold and cut threads to be worked into the blue wool, etc.;” ….., “the work of a skilful craftsman.”
A major criterion of the categories of work prohibited to be performed on the Sabbath is called מלאכת מחשבת, “work requiring skill.” In order to obtain a more detailed definition of this, the Talmud refers us to all the kinds of work needing skill that were performed in the construction of the Tabernacle. (Compare Beytzah, 13) What the Talmud means is the kind of work performed by Betzalel in connection with the Tabernacle, all of which required for him to be inspired by G’d specifically so that he could carry it out.
Seeing that the Tabernacle symbolized the creation of the universe, it is plausible that the type of work, [creative activity, for want of a better expression. Ed.] performed by G’d during those 6 days, (though He only uttered the directive by word of mouth) is what we are to abstain from on the day that G’d abstained from creative activity.According to Bereshit Rabbah 12,15, G’d commenced creating the universe by employing only the attribute of Justice, but when He saw that the universe would not be able to be stable and could not endure, He co-opted the attribute of Mercy.When G’d created the universe, He had also prepared all the materials that would be required to ensure that the “work” was carried out successfully, i.e. all the gold, silver and copper, etc; originally, He had planned to use only gold.
Upon reflection, He decided that it would be better to use primarily silver. Betzalel similarly, used many different kinds of materials in order to create a Tabernacle that would be a fair replica of the universe G’d had created at the time. Just as G’d decided to co-opt the attribute of Mercy to the attribute of Justice when He was in the process of creating the universe, so Betzalel and his assistants proceeded after first working with chunks of gold to beat the gold into thin sheets, i.e. [as when covering the wooden boards with sheets of gold, (Exodus 26,29) not make them nor the shittim wood the exclusive material, and to make golden threads to interweave with blue wool, etc., so that the precious metal gold would not be the exclusive or even predominant raw material.
The composition of different materials used in the making of the Tabernacle demonstrated that though gold may be the most precious material, unless the universe also contained less precious materials it just would not be a “universe.”[This editor finds it difficult to accept that G’d, Who according to all of our sages, intended for man, and amongst man Israel, to be the crowning achievement of the creation, originally intended to only use the attribute of Justice.
It is much easier to understand the fact that the term Hashem is not mentioned in the Torah until G’d had created a free-willed human being, one that could rebel against Him, made the involvement of the attribute of Mercy necessary, is much more plausible, especially when we accept the principle of סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה, “the final product was the original vision of the Creator”, as we sing in לכה דודי every Friday night. Ed.].