Looking to Betzalel for Inspiration

Last week's Torah portion, Ki Tissa, recounted what is quite possibly the Torah's low point in the relationship between God and the people of Israel. As Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the commandments, a devastating breach was simultaneously transpiring down below, as the Israelites turned to idolatry with the building of the Golden Calf. As Moses began his descent from the mountain and learned of this betrayal, he threw the first set of tablets to the ground. The physical shattering of the tablets echoes the brokenness of the relationship, and feels so profound that we the reader might wonder: is there even a possibility of returning from this abyss, this seemingly bottomless chasm of brokenness?

This week, however, the Torah moves boldly into a new chapter. The Israelites begin a second collective building project -- this one not idolatrous in nature, but rather commanded by God and with the purpose of creating a place on earth for sanctity, community and togetherness.

One key ingredient in this powerful pivot from brokenness towards hope is a person, a talented artisan by the name of Betzalel. As Parashat Vayakhel recounts (Exodus 35:30-36:2): 

And Moses said to the Israelites: See, Adonai has singled out by name Betzalel, son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, endowing him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft, and inspiring him to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of designer’s craft... Betzalel [together with Oholiab and other skilled individuals] will undertake the task and carry it out.

Of course, the rabbis of our tradition have long wondered what made Betzalel so special that God singles him out by name? A number of aggadic midrashim (interpretive stories) offer answers to this question. This week, I've found myself particularly drawn to one -- a midrash about Betzalel from Bamidbar Rabbah 15:10 -- and I invite you to join me in reading and parsing it:

When the Holy One said to Moses (in Exod. 25:31), ‘And you shall make a menorah of pure gold,’ Moses said to God, ‘How shall we make [it]?’ God said to him, ‘Of hammered work shall the menorah be made.’ Nevertheless Moses had difficulty; for when he descended, he had forgotten its construction. 

He went up and said, ‘Master of the world, I have forgotten [it].’ God showed Moses, but it was still difficult for him. God said to him (in Exod. 25:40), ‘Observe and make [it].’ Thus God took a pattern of fire and showed him its construction, but it was still difficult for Moses. 

The Holy One then said to him, ‘Go to Bezalel and he will make it.’ [So] Moses spoke to Bezalel, [and] he made it immediately. Moses began to wonder and say, ‘In my case, how many times did the Holy One, blessed be He, show it to me; yet I had difficulty in making it. Now without seeing it, you have made it from your own knowledge. Bezalel (btsl'l), were you perhaps standing in (b') the shadow (tzl) of God (el) when the Holy One, blessed be He, showed it to me?’

This is a beautiful midrash. On the surface, the text of it cleverly plays with Betzalel's name -- as the punchline explains -- imagining a situation in which Betzalel could have absorbed what he needed to know by standing "in" (b') "the shadow" (tzel) "of God" (el). 

But on a deeper level, this midrash is saying something far more profound. Moses - the leader who last week wanted to see God face to face, who participated with God in creation of the second set of tablets - has hit a wall; it turns out there's something quite important he can't do. For all of his great qualities, Moses lacks imagination; he is unable to conjure a vision of what doesn't already exist and bring that vision to life. Even when the image of the menorah is showed to him visually in a pattern of fire (I imagine this hologram style... or today we might say, even when shown the youtube tutorial!), he simply doesn't have the ability to conceive of what is not yet.

Fortunately, someone else can. Betzalel's great gift, according to this midrash, isn't his incredible craftsmanship alone -- the dexterity of his hands, his ability to work multiple materials, or his flair for color and texture -- but rather is his ability to imagine what has never before existed. At a time of tremendous brokenness -- where the tablets have been shattered and so too the relationship between God and the people of Israel -- it is Betzalel's creative imagination that has the potential to lift the Israelites out of the abyss and towards a hopeful future.

As we head into this Shabbat, it's easy for me to relate to the Torah's sense of brokenness in thinking about the world. Hatred and fear abound, and the global move towards autocracy feeds off of them. I lament the tragedy of Israel facing war on multiple fronts and struggling under the weight of its own morally corrupt leadership. And last but certainly not least, looking at Gaza -- with tens of thousands dead, mass displacement and famine-like conditions -- is particularly excruciating and feels so profoundly broken (an unfathomable abyss!). With low points this low and brokenness this shattered, how can it be that we/they/the world will ever find the ability to move forward in building towards a more hopeful future?!

This week, I look to Betzalel for inspiration. Even in the most broken and stuck of moments, he has the capacity to envision different possibilities than the ones that have been, or that exist before him. He can see, in his mind's eye, the menorah of wholeness and light that yet might shine on the world. With his artist's sensibility, he has the super-power of being able to conjure a vision of something new, that has never existed before. He enables a future that is different and brighter (literally).

The good news is that there are Betzalels all around us. These are artists and visionaries, leaders with start-up sensibilities, and -- especially at this moment -- peace-makers who are defying all odds and generating creative solutions. One such example I've been reading up on is the shared movement of Israelis and Palestinians thinking expansively about what it might look like to create two independent states that share a single homeland (A Land for All)... I'm not yet sure how it could work in practice, but it's a beautiful example of a Betzalel-like vision for something that has never existed before emerging at a time of immense brokenness.

On this Shabbat, I hope that each of us will have the opportunity to pause and consider who and what gives us hope in this moment. Who are the inspirational visionaries of our day who promise that the future could look radically different than the past or the present? What visions and holograms can we see in our minds eye? Parashat Vayakhel teaches us that the future can and will contain hope that transcends the broken present. Let's channel Betzalel this week, seeking out spots of our own "in the shade of God" (b'tzel'el), and renewing our hope in the future through the power of creative imagination.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum