Summary:
In our fairly short Torah portion, Moses teaches the rules of Shabbat. Then the main theme appears when Moses asks the Israelites for a donation of gifts for the building of the Tabernacle. Next, God appoints Bezalel and Oholiab to help build the Mishkan [Tabernacle]. They are skilled artisans inspired with the spirit of God.
Lessons from our Haftarah - I kings 7:40-7:50
This week’s haftarah is quite short – only 11 verses. However, very often, good things come in small packages! The parallel between the Torah and haftarah portions is quite clear. Both portions focus on the building of holy space. In the Torah the focus is on the construction of the Tabernacle in the desert while in the haftarah the focus is on the building of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.
Most of the haftarah portions about which I’ve written are words uttered by prophets…one who speaks words and shares visions inspired by God. Both our Torah and haftarah portion focus on a different version of someone inspired by God – an artist. When Moses embarks upon the building of the Tabernacle, God singles out Betzalel, along with Oholiab, and fills him “with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills to make artistic designs…” God also gives special wisdom to Solomon, in our haftarah, together with the craftsman, Hiram as they embark upon the creation of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Holy people are those who are inspired by God - prophets who speak God’s word, priests who serve God in the Temple, and even rabbis who teach God’s word. However, we learn from our portion this week that artists and artisans are also imbued with a special gift given by God. Our texts recognize that artists are endowed with spirit, with skill, with ability, and with knowledge. Judaism recognizes and celebrates these unique talents and sees them as holy.
Just as God created the world and saw that it was good, and blessed it, and declared it holy, so too does God see the construction projects in our Torah and haftarah portions and describe them as good, as blessed, and as holy. In an echo of the creation story, our haftarah recognizes that artists, with their inspirational work, also create new worlds. Just as we find inspiration and holiness when we gather together at Beth Shalom, so too can we find not only inspiration but also holiness when we listen to beautiful music, read beautiful words and see beautiful art.
And yes, what do Jews do when they experience holiness? We say a blessing. May each of you have many opportunities to recite this blessing!
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁכָּכָה בְּעוֹלָמוֹ
Barukh atah Adonay Eloheynu me lekh ha-olam she-kacha lo b'olamo.
Blessed are you, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has such [beautiful things] in God’s universe.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Don Goor