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TORAH SPARKS

 

Parashat Pekudei

March 5, 2022, 2 Adar II 5782

Torah: Exodus 38:21-40:38; Triennial 39:22-40:38

Haftarah: I Kings 7:51-8:21


 

In God s Shadow

Ilana Kurshan

 

Parashat Pekudei describes the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and its furnishings in accordance with the specific instructions given by God to Moshe. The chief artisan responsible for the project is Bezalel, who is described as being filled with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and all kinds of skills (Exodus 31:3). The account in our parashah suggests that Moshe and Bezalel worked side by side, with Moshe receiving the architectural specifications from God and Bezalel implementing them. But the Talmud tells a more nuanced story about the nature of their collaboration, suggesting ways in which we can work constructively with one another.

The Talmud (Berakhot 55a), in discussing Bezalel s unique talents, highlights a discrepancy between God s instructions for building the Mishkan as conveyed to Moshe, and the Torah s account of its actual construction. Moshe, in transmitting God s instructions, speaks first of the construction of the ark, along with its golden cover and golden cherubim (see chapter 25). Only then are we told about the construction of the Mishkan itself, with its cloth coverings and planks of acacia wood (chapter 26). But when the instructions are actually carried out, the Torah states that Bezalel made the tents and planks (chapter 36) and only then built the ark and its accessories (chapter 37). If God s instructions to Moshe specified building first the ark and then the Mishkan structure, why did Bezalel reverse the order?

The rabbis recount a conversation between Moshe and Bezalel about this discrepancy. According to the rabbis, God told Moshe to instruct Bezalel to build the Mishkan and then the ark inside it. But Moshe perhaps inadvertently switched the order and told Bezalel to build the ark and then the Mishkan to house it. When Bezalel heard Moshe s instructions, he was puzzled, as they seemed inconsistent with his own experience and expertise as an artisan. And so, he questioned Moshe about what he d been told: Moshe our teacher, he began politely and deferentially, The standard practice throughout the world is that a person builds a house and only afterward places the vessels inside it. And yet you said to me: Make an ark and vessels and a Mishkan. If I do so in the order that you commanded, where would I put the [ark and] vessels? It seemed unlikely to Bezalel that God would want him first to build the ark, and only then build a Mishkan in which to house it. Boldly but respectfully, Bezalel went on to ask Moshe, Perhaps God rather told you to make the Mishkan, then the ark?

We can imagine a moment of silence in which Moshe tried to recall exactly what God had told him up on Mount Sinai, amidst the thunder and lightning of revelation. And then suddenly Moshe remembered that indeed Bezalel was right God had indeed told him to build first the Mishkan and then the ark, as Bezalel had supposed. How could Bezalel have known? The Talmud records Moshe s response: Perhaps you were in God s shadow, and you knew precisely what God said? The Hebrew word for in God s shadow are be-tzel el, and thus this Talmudic account also serves as a midrashic explanation for Bezalel s name. Bezalel was so wise that he could intuit God s instructions to Moshe even without hearing them directly, as if he were all along standing in the shadow of God s presence.

It is telling that Moshe assumes that the ark should be built first, whereas Bezalel reasons that the Mishkan takes primacy. As Rabbi Yehuda Brandes explains (in Torat Imecha, Maggid, 2008, untranslated), Moshe lists the ark first because the ark is of central religious importance it is here that God s presence will be revealed, and it is here that God will speak to the people from between the golden cherubs. The ark, too, is the house for the Ten Commandments containing God s holy word as spoken to Moshe on Sinai. Surely the ark should be built first, followed by the Menorah and altar and the other vessels used in the worship of God. And surely the tent coverings and curtains of the Mishkan should come last since they are merely the enclosure for the holy items inside. For Moshe, a visionary leader who speaks face-to-face with God, it is clear that the most sacred items take primacy. But for Bezalel, the expert craftsman, it is obvious that the holy vessels can t exist without a place to house them, and thus he assumes that the Mishkan must be built prior to the ark and its furnishings.

As we learn from Moshe and Bezalel, it takes all kinds of talent to build a home for God. I think about this lesson nearly every Shabbat afternoon, when my kids embark on an elaborate construction project involving blocks, cushions, chairs, kitchen utensils, bed sheets, and stuffed animals. One week they build a synagogue, the next week a swimming pool, the next week a sushi shop. Usually, it is my daughter who conceives of the idea, and my son who directs the construction. Let s make the sushi free for homeless people, says my daughter, and my son responds, we ll give them xylophone sticks for chopsticks. They don t always see eye to eye, but in those moments when they are able to appreciate one another s talents and contributions, I sometimes imagine that I m catching a glimpse of the indwelling of God s presence behind the Fisher Price cash register.

 


 

Clean in the Eyes of God and People

Vered Hollander-Goldfarb

 

Shemot 38:21-30

21These are the accounts of the tabernacle, which was counted according to the commandment of Moshe

24All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy,  was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels… 25And the silver was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels  he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made bands for them. 29The offering of bronze was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. 30And with it he made the sockets for the door

 

      Why do you think that Moshe gives an exact accounting of the amounts collected and what was done with every item?

 

Midrash Tanhuma Pekudei 5,8 (Based on translation by Samuel A. Berman)

Our sages teach us: The donor should not enter while wearing a bordered cloak, a money belt lest he becomes wealthy, and the people may say of him: he acquired his wealth from the Temple treasury. Just as a man must be morally pure in the sight of heaven, so must he be above suspicion among his fellowmen, as it is said: Then you shall be clean before the Lord, and before Israel (Num 32:22)

      Why do you think that people should be careful about the garments that they wear when entering the place of the treasury?

      What does it mean to be pure in the sight of heaven? Why is that not sufficient? Which trust is harder to gain?

Why did he trouble to render an accounting? The Holy One, blessed be He, trusted him He gave them an accounting because he heard the deriders of that generation whispering behind his back, as is said: And it came to pass, when Moshe entered into the tent and they looked after Moshe (Exod. 33:8). R. Isaac explained: One person would praise him, but his companion would retort: Fool, do you imagine that a man in charge of the work of building a Sanctuary, with weights of silver and gold so great that they cannot be examined, nor weighed or accounted for, will not become wealthy?! When he heard that he said: Be assured, when the work of the Tabernacle is completed, I will give them an accounting. As it was completed, he said to them: These are the accounts of the Tabernacle.

      Why is the idea of Moshe rendering an accounting of the use of the materials donated to the building of the Mishkan surprising?

      Why might the feelings regarding the treasury of a place such as the Mishkan be extra sensitive? What situations in today should require from the person dealing with the finances meticulous public accounting like Moshe did? Why?

The Builder of the Dwelling

Bex Stern Rosenblatt

 

In the beginning, God created the world, a habitation and home for humanity. However, creation was not complete until this week s parasha in which humanity built a home, the mishkan, for God. But there was still something missing. The mishkan was a traveling home. Just as we see in God s punishment to Cain, God was set to be a restless wanderer with us. It is not until this week s haftarah, many hundreds of years later, that God allows us to build a true home for God. The Temple is built, and creation is complete.

Solomon, whose very name comes from shalom, completeness, is the one chosen to complete creation. After he does, by building the Temple, God comes to dwell in it. Solomon announces this completion with a beautiful verse. As Robert Alter translates, Solomon says, I indeed have built You a lofty house, a firm place for Your dwelling forever.

The idea of building God a dwelling place is bold. Humans become real partners for God in creation, in God s image, we create for God. Solomon celebrates this, starting his declaration by talking about himself. He names himself as the builder of the dwelling, putting himself in direct relationship with God, not as a representative of all the builders or of all the Israelites or even of humanity, but rather as Solomon the individual.

The thing that Solomon says he has built is, as Alter translates, a lofty house. The word translated as lofty is zevul, which appears in only six other places in the Tanakh. Notably, it appears in Psalm 49, addressing the hubris of humanity in assuming that they can be like God. We read of humans, their grave is their house forever, their dwelling place for all generations Sheol is a habitation for them. Here zevul is translated as habitation, which is located in the lowest place, totally cut off from God, in Sheol. Whereas God s zevul is a lofty place, the zevul of humanity is death.

But Solomon also calls it a firm place for Your dwelling. This is a throwback to the Song of the Sea, which Moses recited. Moses sang, as Alter translates, You ll bring them, you ll plant them, on the mount of Your estate, a firm place for Your dwelling You wrought, O LORD, the sanctum, O Sovereign, your hands firmly founded. The LORD shall be king for all time! Here, God s dwelling is equated with human dwelling. God is choosing to plant humans in the place in which God dwells. Moses celebrates that God will be the one who causes the Temple to be built, who makes Jerusalem our forever home. Solomon s use of the phrasing of Moses helps us to understand how humans, whose dwelling place is death, could possibly make a dwelling place for the God who gave us life. It is through our agency as creations of God that we are able to create for God. When Moses and Solomon understand this, they are able to bring completeness to creation.