Sources from essay by Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar in The Mussar Torah Commentary
WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL about Bezalel? Why was he singled out by name? This parashah is one of five portions telling of the construction of the Tabernacle. At times, it appears repetitive, offering an almost verbatim copy of the instructions that God gives to Moses in Exodus 25-31. These divine directives are subsequently carried out in Exodus 35-40 by the people and overseen by Bezalel and a second select individual, Oholiab.
Who were these two individuals? We know almost nothing about their origins, except that Oholiab is from the tribe of Dan in the north, and Bezalel from the tribe of Israel in the south. Neither of them is a priest or from a ruling family, clans we might expect to lead in the building of the Tabernacle.
The Rabbis who commented on this parashah noticed that a new type of leader is being recognized here. In the second century, when leadership was a hereditary rite under Roman rule, the Rabbis understood that Israelite leadership had not derived from heredity right, but instead from merit and wisdom. Great leaders earn power from their followers, and not the other way around.
-Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar
Zrizut is the trait motivating us to get up and get going with cheer and joy. Moshe Chayim Luzzatto devotes four chapters in his book M'silat Yesharim (The Path of the Upright) to this trait. When the opportunity to act positively presents itself, only zeal will answer the call. Our life demands that we engage. We can choose to engage with zeal or choose to sit and be lazy. The path of laziness, Luzzatto warns, leaves an opening for the yetzer hara to enter, allowing us to make unwise choices and fail to achieve a level of happiness or satisfaction.
-Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar
הַמְקָרֵע בְּגָדָיו בַּחֲמָתוֹ, וְהַמְשַׁבֵּר כֵּלָיו בַּחֲמָתוֹ, וְהַמְפַזֵּר מְעוֹתָיו בַּחֲמָתוֹ, יְהֵא בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּעוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה. שֶׁכָּךְ אוּמָּנוּתוֹ שֶׁל יֵצֶר הָרָע: הַיּוֹם אוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲשֵׂה כָּךְ, וּלְמָחָר אוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲשֵׂה כָּךְ, עַד שֶׁאוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲבוֹד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְהוֹלֵךְ וְעוֹבֵד.
One who rends his garments in his anger, or who breaks his vessels in his anger, or who scatters his money in his anger, should be like an idol worshipper in your eyes, as that is the craft of the evil inclination. Today it tells him do this, and tomorrow it tells him do that, until eventually, when he no longer controls himself, it tells him worship idols and he goes and worships idols.
The possibility of filling our life, or overfilling it, with the insipid “110 percent,” with one singular vision above all others, distorts our ability to live a life of balance as God commands. We know that we cannot carry out a task to excess without becoming a slave to the task. The balance must be found between laziness and compulsion, between sloth and vigor. When we make excuses or practice avoidance, we create a scenario in which fear can be paralyzing. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of mediocrity. And that paralysis comes at the expense of every other aspect of a full and balanced life.
-Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar
(ב) תֵּדַע לְךָ, שֶׁהֲרֵי בְּצַלְאֵל עַל יְדֵי שֶׁקָּנָה שֵׁם טוֹב, זָכָה שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן. וּכְתִיב: נִבְחָר שֵׁם מֵעֹשֶׁר רָב, מִכֶּסֶף וּמִזָּהָב חֵן טוֹב (משלי כב, א). מִנַּיִן, מִמַּה שֶּׁקָּרְאוּ בְּעִנְיַן רְאוּ קָרָא ה' בְּשֵׁם בְּצַלְאֵל.
(2) You know this is so from the fact that Bezalel was granted the privilege of building the Tabernacle because he had earned a good name, as it is written: A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold (Prov. 22:1). Whence do we know this? From the name by which he called him: See, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel.3The name Bezalel can be read as betzal el “in the shadow of God.”
Devotion to a task requires resiliency. We may choose to drift from our chosen path, reverting to laziness and using rationalizations as excuses. Living a life of alacrity means engagement even when we might wiah not to engage. Rashi undersood that this trait of commitment is one of the characteristics that ensured the project would
be completed.
-Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar
How many times have we started on a path only to abandon our journey halfway through because we couldn't see the finish line? How many times have we faced obstacles and retreated using rationales such as lack of time and resources? How many times have we faced the unknown and shrunk, unsure how to best finish the task or what the project should look like? When we open our hearts to possibility and hope, we create a path for options and success. By embracing the task at hand with alacrity and joy, we can find the energy and motivation to keep going.
-Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar
Questions to Ask
How have you used excuses or rationalizations to prevent yourself from completing a task?
How have you pushed through and met a goal? Do you think it can become a habit?