Pekudei 23-1

Accounts of

Exodus 38:21 – 39:1

Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the LORD commanded Moses.

Ex. 38:22 NIV

Who was Betzalel?

The Eternal chose Betzalel to manage the works of the tabernacle. His name means "in the shadow of the Mighty One". Betzalel's grandfather was Hur, the one who stood on the mount with Aharon holding Moshe's hands during the war against Amalek (Ex 17:10-12). Hur's father was Calev (1 Chron. 2:19-20), one of the two spies who refused to speak ill of the Promised Land and survived the evil generation's death sentence.

Betzalel was a young man with no experience in life. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 69b) shows how his age can be calculated and it concludes that he was only 13 years old when he built the tabernacle.

This also teaches us on the one hand that parents' good deeds benefit their descendants for several generations.

On the other hand, it teaches us that the Eternal can take a 13 year old boy and grant him such wisdom that he becomes able to work with a great variety of materials and crafts of different sorts; and be able to guide and teach others to collaborate with him in such a wonderful endeavour.

In 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 it is written: "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things ‹and the things that are not‹ to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (NIV)

Blessed be the Eternal for His wonderful works in the sons of men!