The passage starts by quoting Exodus 37:1: “Betzalel crafted the Ark of acacia wood: its length was two and a half cubits, its width a cubit and a half, and its height a cubit and a half.” Simple enough, right? But then it leaps to Psalm 119:130: “Your opening words enlighten; they bring understanding to the simple.” What’s the connection?
The Midrash is suggesting that just as God’s “opening words” brought light and understanding to the formless void, so too should we begin every endeavor with a spark of illumination, a guiding principle. But what does that mean in practice?
The text then launches into a debate about creation itself. Imagine the world before anything existed. Just water, darkness... chaos. As Genesis 1:2 says, "And darkness on the surface of the deep…" Now, picture this: Rabbi Yehuda suggests that God created light first, before the world itself. He uses a beautiful analogy: a king wants to build a palace on a dark site. What does he do? He lights lamps and torches to see where to place the stones. So too, light was created first, to provide the framework for the world.
But Rabbi Neḥemya disagrees. He argues that the world was created first, and then adorned with light, like a king building a palace and then decorating it with lamps. Which came first, the world or the light? It's a classic chicken-and-egg scenario!
The Midrash then introduces Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak, who asks Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman a crucial question: where did the light come from? Rabbi Shmuel’s answer is breathtaking: “The Holy One blessed be He wrapped Himself in a garment and illuminated the entire world from His aura from its beginning to its end, as it is written: ‘Covers Himself with light like a garment’ (Psalms 104:2), and then ‘spread the heavens like a tapestry’ (Psalms 104:2). Therefore, ‘Your opening words enlighten.’”
Think about that for a moment. The light didn't come from a lamp, or a star, but from God's very essence. God is the light. And this light illuminates not just the physical world, but also the path forward.
This divine light, this initial spark of understanding, is a model for human action. "From Him the righteous learned that when they would begin a matter, they would begin with light," the Midrash tells us.
And that brings us back to Betzalel and the Ark. When God told Moses to build the Tabernacle, Betzalel asked, "With what shall I begin?" He chose to start with the Ark, as Exodus 25:10 instructs: "They shall craft an Ark." Why the Ark? Because, as the Midrash points out, the Ark housed the Tablets of the Law and the Torah itself. And Torah, as Proverbs 6:23 reminds us, is compared to light.
So, Betzalel, in his wisdom, began with the source of divine wisdom and guidance. He began with light.
What does this all mean for us today? Perhaps it's a reminder to approach every task, every challenge, with intention and clarity. To seek out the "light" – the guiding principle, the core value – that will illuminate our path. Before we build our own "arks," whatever they may be, we need to find our own inner light.