Honoring Our Past and Building Our Future (homage to Betzalel and his forebears)

Parshat Vayakhel

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

While he was introduced to us in last week’s parsha, the Midrash goes on a bit of a wild tangent over the introduction of Betzalel this week, when we meet him along with his father and grandfather and Shevet. The Midrash ties this introduction to the concept of שבח לו ולמפשחתו ולשבטו (praise for him, his family, and his tribe), for both Betzalel and Oholiav, while comparing to other characters who are introduced to us with ancestry (the megadef in Emor – שם אמו שלומית בת דברי) and Akhan - עכן בן כרמי בן זבדי בן זרח למטה יהודה, who was from the tribe of Yehuda and stole from the Cherem against the city of Yericho in the time of Yehoshua. 

 The Midrash goes on to ask a specific point, why is he associated with his grandfather Chur? Because Chur stood against the mob who were looking to worship the Egel (Golden Calf), and gave his life for Hashem. He was thus promised that God would reward him in the only way he could be compensated in this world, as illustrated with the following parable (Shmos Rabba Vayakhel 48). 

A king had his legions rebel against him. One officer fought against the rebels, saying “You are rebelling against the king!” And so they fought back and killed him. The king said, “Had he given me money wouldn’t I have to pay him back? Even more so that he gave his life for me, what can I do for him? I’ll promote his descendants to important positions!” 

 משל למלך שמרדו עליו לגיונותיו עמד שר הצבא שלו ונלחם עמהם אמר להם על המלך אתם מורדים עמדו והרגו אותו, אמר המלך אילו ממון נתן לי לא הייתי צריך לפרוע לו עאכ"ו שנפשו נתן עלי מה אני עושה לו אלא כל בנים שיצאו ממנו אני מעמידם דוכסים ואפרכים 

The Midrash goes on to say how many people were gifted wisdom to work on the Mishkan? Even animals were gifted wisdom (ibid)! Since the verse says He gave wisdom - חכמה ותבונה בהמה- even though the word בהמה there means “into them,” the word is still spelled בהמה, which is the same spelling (and therefore a homonym) with the word that means animal. Implying that He put wisdom into animals, in addition to the humans.

AND YET – only one person is known by name: Betzalel. Even if we know the name Oholiab, he is still not given the same kind of aura that we have around Betzalel. 

In fact, the Midrash goes on to take Betzalel to the next level asking why he is given this kind of credit and status? 

 ומהיכן זכה לכל החכמה הזאת בזכות מרים. The Midrash’s answer is that Betzalel achieved this status in Miriam’s merit. After all, she and her mother were credited with saving the Israelite babies in Egypt, through the phrase ויעש להם בתים, and as Rashi there notes, that refers to the houses of כהונה מלכות and חכמה. Aharon got Kehunah, Moshe, at that time, was the equivalent of a king. Which left חכמה (wisdom) to Miriam. The Midrash goes on to demonstrate that חכמה was eventually gifted to דוד who was a descendant of Betzalel – likely through a woman who married one of David’s line from Nachshon to Yishai (see his lineage at the end of Megilas Rus). Miriam is credited with being Chur’s mother, based on a verse in Divrei HaYamim in which Chur’s mother is identified as אפרת, which is the same Efrat who is identified as Miriam in the Midrash at the beginning of Shemos 

 שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת שמות פרשה א 

ויקח לו כלב את אפרת זו מרים, למה נקרא שמה אפרת שפרו ורבו ישראל על ידיה 

The Midrash on our Parsha continues by saying that David was the son (descendant) of a man from Efrat, which means he came from Miriam, who was also known as Efrat. (ודוד בן איש אפרתי שבא מן מרים שנקראת אפרת) 

 The message of all of this is a very simple one. 

 Every single one of us is a product of a huge line of people who existed in this world for us to be created. We all have 2 biological parents, 4 biological grandparents, 8 biological great grandparents, 16 biological great grandparents. Etc – it doubles in each generation. 

 Who were they? If we were to meet them, would we honor them? They all have countless descendants! We are each but a speck in the annals of their existence, as, one might argue, each of them was in ours. But they certainly lived, had a child, and had hopes that their descendants, however long down the road, would have a better life than they had, made the most of the gift of life given to them, and most importantly, would do them proud. 

 If Chur had lived to see what his grandson would end up accomplishing, would he have been proud? I am sure he would have been very proud. 

 Was Betzalel proud of his grandfather? I sure hope so. Even though we don’t know a lot about him, Chur, in our eyes, is a legend. One who gave up everything for God, who stood up for what was right in a very trying moment in time, and who became, in God’s eyes as well, a legend whose descendants were worthy of all blessings for all time – assuming they’d be minimally deserving as well. 

 Our lesson from Betzalel is to be a blessing to those who preceded us, and to live our lives in such a way that those who descend from us are proud of us – and hopefully we will be of them as well. What does it take? 

 It takes asking ourselves a very simple list of question. How will my children and grandchildren remember me? Will their grandchildren know of me at all? 

 This is not a knock on anyone’s existence. How many of us know where our great great grandparents lived, died, or where they are buried? This is part of the world – דור הולך ודור בא והעולם hopefully לעולם עומדת. Generations come and go, and we are the ones who stand on the shoulders of giants, no matter how “little” they may have been. 

 But – at least as far as the hopefully foreseeable future is concerned, how do we aim to cement our legacy? 

 Here are a few questions worthy of consideration. They are aimed in a positive way, leaving the implied opposite of each question as something I imagine we’d all like to avoid. Everyone is encouraged to use these questions and add others of our own imagination to the list of how we would want to be remembered when the time comes. 

Do we want to cement our legacy: As someone who was a baal tzedakah? As someone who primarily had kind things to say? As someone who aimed to avoid Lashon Hora? As someone who pursued peace and tried to avoid Machlokes? As someone who, when Machlokes was inevitable, did what was necessary to resolve it according to halacha and with still respecting the other party when the issue was resolved? As someone who was a shul goer? As someone who studied Torah? As someone who had kavod haTorah? As someone who was constantly working on improving and refining middos? As someone who aimed to have close and special relationships with our children and grandchildren, if we are blessed to have them, and with our loved ones and friends otherwise? 

 Will we be like Betzalel and Chur, both of whom were legendary in their time and until today? At the very least, such a thought gives us much to live for, and should be a blessing for each of us for the rest of our days – עמו"ש (until 120).