Parashat HaShavua: Ki Tisa

Bezalel's Sincerity

“And God spoke to Moses, saying: 'See, I have called by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.'”

(Exodus, 31:1,2)

These two verses depict God choosing Bezalel to be the architect of the Tabernacle. It would be he, with the help of Oholiav, who would ultimately construct the Tabernacle. The Midrash says that Bezalel and Oholiav were teenagers at the time of the constructing of the Tabernacle — Bezalel was thirteen years old, and although the Midrash does not give a specific age for Oholiav, we are told that he was also around twelve or thirteen years old as well. Many people question this Midrash: why would God have two teenagers be architects of the Tabernacle? Perhaps someone older, with more life experience, would be able to do a better job of being architect. 

 

The generation before Bezalel and Oholiav was the generation that was enslaved in Egypt. They were forced to work with no pay whatsoever. If God had asked someone from that generation to be the architect of the Tabernacle, he or she would do it because they were constantly afraid of punishment. (In Egypt, if you did not obey the Egyptians, then they would punish you. Because of this, the generation of B'nei Yisrael that were enslaved would do it because they thought they were being forced to.) Bezalel's generation, however, was not familiar with this type of lifestyle — this story took place after the giving of the Ten Commandments, which was two years after B'nei Yisrael left Egypt. If Bezalel was thirteen now, then he was only eleven years old when he left Egypt; he was still a child and did not really know about the hardships that B'nei Yisrael were facing at the time. Since Bezalel and Oholiav were not yet enslaved, they did not have the same slave mentality as the previous generation. 

Rather, Bezalel and Oholiav belonged to the generation that witnessed only miracle after miracle that God performed for B'nei Yisrael, and it would be this generation that would ultimately enter Israel forty years later. This generation was extraordinary in other ways, too. In the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses rebukes B'nei Yisrael for sins such as the golden calf (which also takes place in this week's parashah) and the sin concerning the spies (which would take place in the book of Numbers), and this generation did not partake, in any way, with either of these sins. Despite this, however, the Midrash says that their generation did not say a word in response, and took the rebuke to heart, even though they had no part in these sins.

 

Bezalel and Oholiav were a perfect example of what their generation stood for. They obeyed unconditionally, not out of fear, but out of want to do the right thing. God wanted someone who would be able to design the Tabernacle out of love for doing the right thing; he did not want someone who would do it half-heartedly and would do it to get over with.

 

Bezalel and Oholiav were not tainted by. slavery, unlike the previous generation. They were not cynical and jaded, and were able to bear the weight of the “yoke” of the 613 commandments sincerely and enthusiasm, unlike the previous generation that still maintained the slave mentality of obeying a command to simply avoid punishment. It was because of this that Bezalel and Oholiav were able to merit being the architects of the Tabernacle. These same characteristics were shared across their generation, which would be the reason that this generation, and not the previous one, would be able to enter Israel.