Take the First Step

Parshas Vayakhel-Pikudei

Take the First Step

By: Daniel Listhaus

“...Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur, from the tribe of Yehuda. He filled him with G-dly spirit, with wisdom, and with understanding...He filled them with wisdom of the heart to do every work of the craftsman, artist, embroiderer, and the weaver - those who perform every labor and those who make artistic designs.”

-Vayakhel 35:30-35

The passukim (verses) describe the involvement of Betzalel and the chachomim in the building of the Mishkan and its keilim (vessels). Betzalel actually received a few personal shout-outs among the passukim because, as Rashi¹ explains, Betzalel was even more devoted to the building of the Mishkan than the others.

Why was Betzalel one of the few individuals who were so heavily involved in the building of the Mishkan? Rashi², based on a Gemara³, relates an incident through which Moshe was certain that Betzalel had achieved a level of Ruach HaKodesh. When Hashem commanded Moshe to tell Betzalel what to do, He said, “Go tell Betzalel to make Me a Mishkan, Aron, and the keilim.” However, Moshe, to test Betzalel's wisdom, reversed the order and told him that the commandment was to, “Make an Aron, keilim, and the Mishkan.” At that point, Betzalel said to Moshe that he must have misunderstood what Hashem had told him to say, because as Betzalel said, “The way of the world is that a person first builds a house and then brings in the keilim into it. However, you are telling me to do the opposite. Perhaps what Hashem really told you is to build the Mishkan first.” To this, Moshe responded, “And perhaps you were in the shadow of G-d⁴ and that is how you were able to figure this out”.

Clearly, Betzalel was someone who was privy to understand the ways of Hashem. Where did this skill come from? From where did Betzalel learn this ability?

The Torah⁵ tells us that he was one of the people who earned a level of Ruach HaKodesh and a special degree of understanding and wisdom from Hashem. The Rosh⁶ comments that even before Hashem granted Betzalel this knowledge, he was already someone of great wisdom. The Rosh then comments that we learn from this passuk that Hashem only gives wisdom to those who already have it.

This Rosh is very complex and paradoxical. First of all, why would Hashem only grant His wisdom to those who already have it? Is this a “the rich get richer” scheme? Would it not make more sense for Hashem to bestow His wisdom on those who have yet to achieve it? Second of all, this Rosh presents a paradox. If Hashem only gives His wisdom to those who already have wisdom, how does one get knowledge in the first place?

The Nefesh Hachaim⁷ explains that only those who are deserving and capable of receiving Hashem's wisdom could in fact be a receptacle. The way one prepares oneself to achieve this readiness is by working on one's yiras shamayim (fear of Heaven). Yiras shamayim is the “knowledge” required as a prerequisite in order to attain a level of Ruach HaKodesh and chochma from Hashem. This is what Dovid ha'melech taught in Tehillim⁸ that, “The beginning of wisdom is fear of Hashem”. Similarly, Rebbe Chanina taught, “Everything is in the hands of Hashem except for fear of Hashem.”⁹ It is our job to work on our yiras Hashem. This is the one thing we are here to accomplish, as the Torah tells us, “And now, Yisroel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you but to fear Him.”¹⁰

Fear of Hashem is necessary to achieve a level of divine understanding. This is the knowledge required in order to be a fitting vessel to contain the wisdom of Hashem. As a matter of fact, the Gemara¹¹ offers a parable for this, “R' Zeira or R' Chanina bar Pappa once said: Come and see how different the characteristics of Hashem are from the characteristics of humans. The characteristic of humans is such that an empty vessel could hold things you pour into it, whereas a full container cannot hold anything more. However, regarding matters involving Hashem, it is exactly the opposite. A full vessel (one with yiras shamayim and Torah knowledge) can hold even more, whereas an empty vessel cannot hold anything.”

The Orchos Tzadikkim¹² in his hakdama (introduction) writes that a person must train his middos in a way of yiras shamayim because yiras shamayim is the kesher (connector, knot) which ties and strengthens the middos together in the right way. Yiras shamayim is as vital a part in sharpening one's traits, as the string of a necklace is necessary to hold its jewels. Just as if the string of a pearl necklace would be cut, the pearls would all scatter – bouncing across the floor, so too without yiras shamayim to channel the middos in a person, the middos run wild without restraint.¹³

Our job is to make ourselves into vessels which could hold the deep understandings of the Torah and the infinite wisdom of da'as Hashem. In order to accomplish this, one must work on his yiras shamayim and then direct his middos appropriately. However, for every area which one thinks is not important to channel in the way of Hashem, one is essentially making a puncture in himself. The vessel he is supposed to complete has holes! Anything poured in is really only being poured in superficially, and it will all just come pouring out. This person is handicapped; and just as a handicapped man cannot climb a ladder, so too as long as this person keeps his ways, he will never climb the stairs to greatness.¹⁴

Looking back at this concept we see how, simultaneously, man is so small yet so great. On the one hand, the only thing we are really capable of doing is attaining yiras shamayim. But on the other hand, once that great task is accomplished, there is no limit to the heights one could reach with siyata d'shmaya (Heavenly help). Moshe saw in Betzalel someone who had “insider information” in the thoughts of Hashem. This was not a power that Betzalel was born with, rather it came as a gift from Hashem to him because he had already worked on himself to become a yarei shamayim of the highest degree. Betzalel truly reached the level of “reishis chochma yiras Hashem”¹⁵ (The beginning of wisdom is fear of Hashem), which is why he was hand chosen to be showered with even more Ruach HaKodesh.

It is important to note, however, that the power of one who has yiras shamayim does not stop here. The Kli Yakar¹⁶ writes that when the B'nei Yisroel and all the Chachmei Lev tried to erect the Mishkan, they found themselves unable to do so. Hashem then said to them that if they merely start to involve themselves in the construction of the Mishkan, that it would stand on its own.¹⁷ Now, if the Kli Yakar would stop here, we would say that he is saying something specific to the Mishkan; that it stood through a miracle, and somehow, if the Jews in the desert merely showed that they cared, by involving themselves, then Hashem would take care of the rest. However, the Kli Yakar continues to comment that what happened at that time during the building of the Mishkan is really an allusion to every action a person does. Sometimes a person has a task before him that he wants to do l'shem shamayim, but comes to the realization that it is an impossibility. Once these thoughts start entering this person's head, he may get turned off from going forth with the job. However, Hashem tells us that all we have to do is start, He will help us finish. It will look as if we are somehow doing the task on our own, just as it seemed Moshe was carrying the heavy beams of the Mishkan himself. In reality, though, as the beams, Hashem will make the task carry itself.

When Hashem decided to destroy Sodom, the Torah describes that Hashem said, “Shall I conceal from Avraham what I am going to do?”¹⁸. The Orchos Tzadikkim writes that when Hashem says such things about a person, it is a sign that that person is a tremendous ba'al anavah (humble person). Humility goes hand in hand with yiras shamayim. The anav is one who knows his place as a human being, and realizes that it is his job to do only what Hashem wants of him. Such a person is privy to Hashem revealing his plans to him. This is obvious. After all, if a man achieves a level of wanting only what Hashem wants and has developed da'as Torah and da'as Hashem, then clearly what Hashem wants and what this person wants should be the same.

Yiras shamayim is the one thing we must achieve. As mentioned, this is an explicit passuk in the Torah, “And now, Yisroel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you but to fear Him?”¹⁹ Once one achieves yiras shamayim, one enters a world with no limits. G-dly wisdom and understanding is poured into his complete kli (vessel), and as long as he takes the first step in doing any task l'shem shamayim, Hashem will ensure that it gets completed.

1Shemos 37:1

2Shemos 38:22

3Berachos 55a

4The name Betzalel in Hebrew comes from two words: b'tzel (in the shadow of) and [k]el (G-d).

5Shemos 35:31

6Ibid.

7Nefesh Hachaim: Sha'ar 4 Perek 5

8Tehillim 111:10

9Berachos 33b

10Devarim 10:12

11Berachos 40a

12Orchos Tzadikkim: Hakdama

13This is not only true for the bad middos within a person, but for the good ones as well. The Orchos Tzadikkim maintains that each middah could be used for good or bad. Even the middos we generally praise people with: kindness, patience, humbleness, etc. could unfortunately be used at inappropriate times as well if not trained properly.

14Orchos Tzadikkim: Hakdama

15Tehillim 111:10

16Shemos 40:2

17This is actually a Medrash Tanchuma brought by Rashi a little earlier in the parsha (Shemos 39:33). Rashi writes that the B'nei Yisroel brought Moshe the Mishkan because they were unable to erect it. As Rashi says, “Because Moshe did no work on the Mishkan, Hashem left its erection to him. For no man was able to erect it because of the weight of the beams, as a man does not have the strength to set them upright, but Moshe erected it. Moshe then said before Hashem, 'How can the erection be accomplished by man?' Hashem said to him, “Involve yourself with your hand and it will appear as if you were setting it up but it will rise upright and stand by itself.'”

18Beraishis 18:17

19Devarim 10:12