SIMCHAT SHMUEL BY RABBI SAM SHOR
Program Director, OU Israel Center
O
ur Sedra this week, Parshat VaYakhel, highlights the efforts of Betzalel and his team of artisans who are charged with the sacred task of crafting the many vessels to be used in the Mishkan. However in describing the construct of the Aron, the Torah tells us Vayaas Betzalel et HaAron- And Betzalel fashioned the aron. Unlike all the other vessels, which were worked on by many, the Torah tells us that when it came to the aron, Betzalel himself fashioned the aron. One might ask, why were all the other keilim constructed by many, but the aron, Betzalel seems to have insisted to construct himself- what was so significant about the aron that Betzalel chose to construct it himself?
Our Chazal in the Midrash Rabba offer the following explanation: When Moshe instructed Betzalel to assemble a team to construct the Mishkan, Betzalel in turn
asked Moshe, what is the purpose of this tabernacle? Moshe answered him by saying that Hashem desires a dwelling among the Jewish people to be able to teach them Torah. Betzalel then insisted that if that is the purpose of the Mishkan, then first there must be a proper place for Torah within the Mishkan, and then and only then the rest of the enterprise can be constructed. The Avodat Elazar of Koshnitz zy’a, in explaining this Midrash, points out that every single Jewish home is called a Mikdash Me’at- a miniature sanctuary. If indeed the actual sanctuary required that the focal point, or essential purpose of the sanctuary, was to create a space for Hashem’s presence to teach Torah to the Jewish People, then to our homes must have as their essence a central place for Torah. Torah should be the focal point that one sees and experiences when they enter the Jewish Home. This beautiful teaching should inspire each of us to consider the atmosphere and environment we create in our homes. Do our furnishings, decor and overall settings indeed project that sense that Torah is the focal point of our Mikdash Me’at? May each of us take to heart to emulate the lesson we learn from Betzalel, to create within our own homes a place for Torah and Hashem’s presence.
46
TORAH TIDBITS / VAYAKHEL-PEKUDEI 5780
