ויעש בצלאל את הארון וגו'. ובמדרש (תנחומא סי' זיי"ן) בשביל ששם צילו של הקדוש ברוך הוא בין שני הכרובים וכו', מעשה מבעל שם עליו השלום, שהיה אומר שיעור כדרכו, והיה אומר בזה הלשון, כי זה הכלי הוא מעפר ויש לו התחברות על ידי אדם, ואמר, שהחומר הוא חומר פשוט, אך העיקר הוא הצורה, על דרך סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה, לכן הכלי תקבל מחכמתו, דהינו חיותו של האדם תקבל בחיות הכלי, ויש בהכלי שכל נאצל מהאומן, לכן יכולין להכיר בהעובדא דהכלי כל ההנהגה וטובו של האומן, כי ידוע שבהענף יש כח מהשורש וד"ל, והיה עומד לפניו כד נאה של שכר, והיה אומר, נמצא בכלי זה אני רואה, שהאומן שלה הוא איש בלא רגלים, ונמצא התחברות כלי זה מכח אצילות ושכל, לאפוקי אם מוציאין השכל שלו מהכלי זה, אזי הכלי הזה אין לו שום התחברות, ואחר השיעור לקח תלמיד אחד הכד בידו לעמוד אותו על ספסל ותיכף בעמידת הכלי נתפרד לפירורים כבראשונה: (כתבי קודש דכ"ו ע"א).
And Betzalel made the ark… (37:1) For the shadow of the Holy One was there, between the Cherubim.8G‑d’s “shadow” refers to the Divine Presence that was manifest over the Ark of the Covenant. The name Betzalel means, “In the shadow of G‑d.” Thus, Betzalel knew how to build the Ark, so that it would be a fitting place for the revelation of G‑d.Midrash Tanchuma, VaYakhel 7 The Baal Shem Tov once taught his students the following lesson. Pointing to a cask of beer that was in the room, he said, “This cask is made from clay and formed by human hands. Its material substance is simple, for the main thing is its form, as it is said, ‘The last in deed is the first in thought.’9From the Lecha Dodi prayer recited at the onset of Shabbat. This means that the original intention (of G‑d or of an artisan) is reflected in the final product. Thus, the vessel is actually formed from the craftsman’s thoughts, so that the life-force of the craftsman is embodied in the life-force of the vessel, and his intellect radiates into it. It is therefore possible to discern in the vessel the entire personality and conduct of its maker, just as a branch bears the life-force of the root. “It turns out, then, that I can see in this cask that it was made by a craftsman who had no legs. Now, if the existence of the cask depends upon the presence of his wisdom, were we to remove his wisdom from it, it would lack any unifying factor.” After the class, one of the students lifted the cask and set it on one of the benches. As soon as he did so, the entire cask crumbled into dust, as though it never existed.10Apparently, the Baal Shem Tov removed the life-force from the cask, as he said. See Ohr HaMeir, by R. Zev Wolf of Zhitomer, parashas Ha’Azinu, who writes:Once, the Baal Shem Tov heard a wicked man playing on the violin, and could hear in the music all the sins that the man had ever committed. And had he heard the man singing, he could have discerned even more, such as the outcome of all of his sins, because a person puts all of his energy into his singing (therefore revealing more of his soul). The meaning of the verse from Exodus, quoted above, is that because Betzalel put all of himself into the work of building the Ark, it became an appropriate place for the dwelling of the Divine Presence, itself called the “Shadow of G‑d.” Kisvei Kodesh, p. 26a.
ויעש בצלאל את הארון וגו'. ובמדרש (תנחומא סי' זיי"ן) בשביל ששם צילו של הקדוש ברוך הוא בין שני הכרובים וכו', מעשה מבעל שם עליו השלום, שהיה אומר שיעור כדרכו, והיה אומר בזה הלשון, כי זה הכלי הוא מעפר ויש לו התחברות על ידי אדם, ואמר, שהחומר הוא חומר פשוט, אך העיקר הוא הצורה, על דרך סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה, לכן הכלי תקבל מחכמתו, דהינו חיותו של האדם תקבל בחיות הכלי, ויש בהכלי שכל נאצל מהאומן, לכן יכולין להכיר בהעובדא דהכלי כל ההנהגה וטובו של האומן, כי ידוע שבהענף יש כח מהשורש וד"ל, והיה עומד לפניו כד נאה של שכר, והיה אומר, נמצא בכלי זה אני רואה, שהאומן שלה הוא איש בלא רגלים, ונמצא התחברות כלי זה מכח אצילות ושכל, לאפוקי אם מוציאין השכל שלו מהכלי זה, אזי הכלי הזה אין לו שום התחברות, ואחר השיעור לקח תלמיד אחד הכד בידו לעמוד אותו על ספסל ותיכף בעמידת הכלי נתפרד לפירורים כבראשונה:
(כתבי קודש דכ"ו ע"א).
And Betzalel made the ark… (37:1)
For the shadow of the Holy One was there, between the Cherubim.8G‑d’s “shadow” refers to the Divine Presence that was manifest over the Ark of the Covenant. The name Betzalel means, “In the shadow of G‑d.” Thus, Betzalel knew how to build the Ark, so that it would be a fitting place for the revelation of G‑d. Midrash Tanchuma, VaYakhel 7
The Baal Shem Tov once taught his students the following lesson. Pointing to a cask of beer that was in the room, he said, “This cask is made from clay and formed by human hands. Its material substance is simple, for the main thing is its form, as it is said, ‘The last in deed is the first in thought.’9From the Lecha Dodi prayer recited at the onset of Shabbat. This means that the original intention (of G‑d or of an artisan) is reflected in the final product. Thus, the vessel is actually formed from the craftsman’s thoughts, so that the life-force of the craftsman is embodied in the life-force of the vessel, and his intellect radiates into it. It is therefore possible to discern in the vessel the entire personality and conduct of its maker, just as a branch bears the life-force of the root.
“It turns out, then, that I can see in this cask that it was made by a craftsman who had no legs. Now, if the existence of the cask depends upon the presence of his wisdom, were we to remove his wisdom from it, it would lack any unifying factor.”
After the class, one of the students lifted the cask and set it on one of the benches. As soon as he did so, the entire cask crumbled into dust, as though it never existed.10Apparently, the Baal Shem Tov removed the life-force from the cask, as he said. See Ohr HaMeir, by R. Zev Wolf of Zhitomer, parashas Ha’Azinu, who writes: Once, the Baal Shem Tov heard a wicked man playing on the violin, and could hear in the music all the sins that the man had ever committed. And had he heard the man singing, he could have discerned even more, such as the outcome of all of his sins, because a person puts all of his energy into his singing (therefore revealing more of his soul).
The meaning of the verse from Exodus, quoted above, is that because Betzalel put all of himself into the work of building the Ark, it became an appropriate place for the dwelling of the Divine Presence, itself called the “Shadow of G‑d.”
Kisvei Kodesh, p. 26a.
סליק פרשת ויקהל בס"ד