Arts and Crafts: Commentary on Parashat Ki Tissa
There are aspects of the Bible鈥檚 account of the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness that seem incredible; so much so that early critical commentators tended to reject its historical accuracy out of hand. While more recent scholars, citing possible ancient and modern parallels, have taken a more cautious approach, two questions occur immediately to most readers: where did the wilderness wanderers find the precious and exotic materials required for the edifice; and who among the 鈥渕ixed multitude鈥� of ex-slaves and hangers-on would have possessed the skills necessary to assemble those materials into the Tabernacle and its accoutrements?
A conservative estimate of the material requirements would include an unspecified amount of acacia wood (what the Septuagint calls 鈥渨ood that does not rot鈥�), more than a ton of gold, more than three tons of silver, and at least two and a half tons of bronze, along with considerable quantities of dyed fabrics, animal hair, skins, hides, precious stones, oil, and spices.
Concerning the wood, acacias do grow sporadically, if not abundantly, in Sinai wadis. My fifth-grade Bible teacher claimed that prior to the Exodus, the Sinai had been a veritable forest. The depredations of the Israelites and subsequent denizens of the region, he claimed, had denuded it, leaving behind the few remaining groves. The Bible accounts for the gold and silver, and possibly for the fabric (although not the red, blue, and purple dyes), by describing them as 鈥渂orrowed鈥� or 鈥渟tripped鈥� from the Egyptians at the time of the Exodus (Exod. 12:35鈥�36; cf. 3:22 and 11:2).The midrash offers a convenient explanation for the gemstones: 鈥減recious stones and gems would descend along with the manna鈥� to be collected and stored away for future use (Exodus Rabbah 33:8).
This week鈥檚 parashah answers the second question, announcing the divine appointment of the principal artisan who will carry out the grand project. God says to Moses, 鈥淪ee, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have imbued him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, insight, knowledge, and all manner of craftsmanship鈥� (Exod. 31:2鈥�3, adapted from the Judaica Press translation).
The phenomenally gifted Bezalel is exactly the right person for the job, and he is a marvel in more ways than one, as Rabbeinu Bahya (following Ramban) observes:
Ordinarily it would have been impossible for there to be an expert Israelite craftsman. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, consigned to hard labor, and experienced with bricks and mortar, so there hardly would have been anyone skilled in fine craftsmanship. They had neither observed it nor apprenticed in it, so no one was trained. Even someone skilled in a single craft would have forgotten it while preoccupied with the labor of bricks and mortar. How much more so one who had been perfectly skilled in all manner of craftsmanship, with precious metals, stone, wood, and textiles! It is a great wonder that there was a person perfectly 鈥渋mbued . . . with wisdom, insight, and knowledge鈥� as was found in Bezalel.
Similarly (and more pithily), Abraham Ibn Ezra observes that Bezalel and his companion Oholiab (Exod. 31:6) 鈥渨ere chosen because there was no one in Israel like them.鈥�
For Ibn Ezra, singling out Bezalel 鈥渂y name鈥� indicates the honor accorded to him for his capabilities: 鈥渋t would be unfitting for anyone to undertake the crafting of the Holy of Holies except for one imbued with wisdom.鈥� For Bahya, the summoning of Bezalel by name also carries mystical significance. Bahya analyzes God鈥檚 declaration to Moses thus:
鈥淪ee鈥� this great wonder, that I summon the generations from the beginning, and 鈥淚 have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur,鈥� to discern the secret of the Tabernacle and its vessels and to be immersed in its craftsmanship.鈥淏y name鈥� refers literally to Bezalel鈥檚 own name, but also alludes to the Divine Name . . . This hints that BeTZALel (讘爪诇讗诇) was emanated (谞讗爪诇/苍别鈥檈TZAL) by the Great Name, as is the rule for all prophets.
Bahya observes that Bezalel鈥檚 creative gifts are of a particularly godly character:
The sages expounded (B. Berakhot 55a): Bezalel knew how to combine the letters by which heaven and earth were created. Here it is written, 鈥淚 have imbued him with the spirit of God, with wisdom (hokhmah), insight (tevunah), and knowledge (da`at),鈥� and elsewhere it is written, 鈥淭he Lord founded the earth by wisdom (hokhmah); He established the heavens by understanding (tevunah); by His knowledge (da`at) the depths burst apart, and the skies distilled dew鈥� (Proverbs 3:19鈥�20).
The artist who 鈥渃reates鈥� the Tabernacle鈥攁 world in microcosm鈥攑ossesses the same metaphysical attributes by which God created the world (hokhmah/tevunah/da`at, according to Proverbs).God鈥檚 gracious gift of those attributes to Bezalel effectively turns the artisan into a Creator, one who is 鈥渜ualified to transform inert, profane matter into a semblance of the celestial.鈥�
Note also that the metaphysical gifts alone are insufficient. Ibn Ezra observes that Exodus 31:3 augments the list of three divine attributes with the words 鈥渁nd all manner of craftsmanship.鈥� He comments, 鈥淸Bezalel] exceeded all his contemporaries in knowing 鈥榓ll manner of craftsmanship,鈥� for there are many intellectuals who do not know a single craft; that is why Scripture says 鈥�and all manner of craftsmanship鈥� with the additional word 鈥榓nd.鈥欌�� In another version of his commentary, Ibn Ezra notes that there are individuals endowed with great wisdom who are devoid of practical skill, unlike Bezalel, whose wisdom is complemented by incomparable technical facility. Is that remark a mild criticism of unworldly intellectuals? (The polymathic and well-travelled Ibn Ezra was anything but unworldly himself.)
Even professedly nonreligious people often invoke religious language when encountering an amazing artistic gift, calling it 鈥渄ivine鈥� or 鈥渋nspired.鈥漈hose descriptors are natural responses to the uncanniness, the otherworldliness of that rare combination of imagination and technique at the heart of creative genius. How could an uneducated slave have become one of the greatest artisans the world has ever known? One might ask, similarly, how could the autodidact son of a clerk from a village in India, described as 鈥渁 short uncouth figure, stout, unshaven, not over clean . . . miserably poor,鈥� have become one of the world鈥檚 great mathematicians? Or, how could a blind African-American slave, too incapacitated for fieldwork, have turned out to be one of the most successful musicians of the 19th century?
Those are all great stories鈥攐f geniuses who transcended their unpromising beginnings and achieved greatness by dint of sheer talent. The more unbelievable their stories seem鈥攅ven when we know that they are true鈥攖he more reasonable it is to accept the biblical notion that such individuals must be 鈥渋mbued with the spirit of God.鈥滿eet Bezalel, whose artistic genius enabled him to build the Tabernacle and fill it with beauty and holiness. He is God鈥檚 gift to the Jewish people, and while no physical trace of the Tabernacle survives, his genius has been perpetuated in innumerable Jewish contributions to the arts from his day to ours, manifesting 鈥渨isdom, insight, knowledge, and all manner of craftsmanship.鈥�
It is difficult to explain how the Israelites could have had the flocks of animals necessary to provide skins and hides (not to mention Tabernacle sacrifices), while at the same time they complained about lack of meat and required manna for sustenance.
Bahya ben Asher (Spain, ca. 1255鈥�1340), a student of a disciple of Ramban.
That is, God decides which individuals will be born in which generations. This is Bezalel鈥檚 moment.
Bahya adduces additional wordplays in his commentary in order to demonstrate Bezalel鈥檚 divine affinity. On being instilled with the Divine Name, see Exodus 23:20鈥�21 with Bahya鈥檚 commentary.
William H. C. Propp. Exodus 19-40 (Anchor Bible; 2A; New York: Doubleday, 2006), 487.
The JPS translation of verse 3, in contrast to the above-cited Judaica Press rendering, assimilates the final phrase (讜讘讻诇诪诇讗讻讛) to the three attributes: 鈥淚 have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft.鈥漈hat translation misses Ibn Ezra鈥檚 point.
Srinivasa Ramanujan; see Robert Kanigel, The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan (New York: Washington Square, 1992).With thanks to my friend Mark Chodrow for the reference.
Thomas 鈥淏lind Tom鈥� Wiggins; see Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, African American Lives (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 84鈥�86.
The publication and distribution of the 91快活林 Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee and Harold (锄鈥漧) Hassenfeld.
