"I go to the forest and talk to every tree there"/ShutterStock
"See God called in the name of Bezalel ben Uri ben Hur to the tribe of Judah."
In these passages we deal with the construction of the tabernacle.
As we know, apart from its special holiness, the tabernacle had a wondrous beauty and it was made with the greatest wisdom in the world.
The beauty and craftsmanship with which the tools were made were extremely rare.
And of all the people who were among the people of Israel, Bezalel ben Uri ben Hur was chosen who was an expert in taking the donations of the people and knowing where to inlay the silver and gold that everyone gave and how to do the work in a special and beautiful way.
We must know a great principle in life, not every tree is suitable to be a chair or a table.
There are many pieces of wood that have been built as tables and chairs and they can look very beautiful, but they are not mentally comfortable for people who want to sit on them.
In the past years, Jerusalem was ruled by Faha - a Muslim governor who was a harsh and very bad man who tortured and made everyone miserable.
In Jerusalem in those days there also lived an elderly man who worked as an expert carpenter since ancient times.
Everyone knew that the furniture he builds is the most special of all.
The chairs he built, the tables, the couches he builds.
Every piece of furniture that came out from under his hands gave whoever used it the best comfort and good feeling.
One day Hafaha came to the carpenter and asked him to make him a beautiful office.
"I'll try," the carpenter told him.
A month passed, two and three months passed and the carpenter returns to the carpenter and asks to know if he has already made the requested furniture for him.
"I still haven't succeeded," the carpenter replied.
Another three months have passed and the office is still not ready.
The scrapper who, as mentioned, was a bad man with misdeeds, comes to the carpenter again and demands to know what is going on "Do you dare to avoid Jerusalem's scrapper?!"
asked him with a scowl.
"Look, Mr. Peha," replied the carpenter.
"I don't just build a table and just a chair. I don't just make people's furniture for the house. I go to the forest and talk to each and every tree there, I tell the tree that I want to build a chair for so-and-so unknown, are you ready? I feel the tree's answer and act on it Then I go to another tree and tell it that I want to make a sofa for so-and-so, and again ask it if it is ready. I feel what the tree responds and know if it is or not. That is why the furniture I make is so convenient, because the trees from which I make it have agreed to be used for that That's it. Now, the carpenter said to Peha, I've been walking around the forest for several months looking for the tree that would like to be used for you as a chair, table or couch, but no tree agrees. That's why I haven't built the office for you until now."
And back to the Mishkan - Bezalel's greatness was that he knew who the person was suitable to take the donation from to build the table from and who gave a donation suitable to build the altar, menorah and so on.
With the divine wisdom he was endowed with, Bezalel knew which donation was suitable for which sacred vessel, so that everything would be perfect inside and outside.
Rabbi Pinto/YP Photography
Our sages explain that Bezalel achieved this mental and spiritual strength, this divine wisdom to know how to build, what to build and where to place each contribution, thanks to self-sacrifice.
Bezalel was the grandson of Hur, who was killed for idolatry.
While there were among the people of Israel those who worshiped the calf, Hur stood and resisted and they killed him.
Bezalel's grandmother was Miriam, the sister of Moses, who gave her life so that Moses would be saved and live.
Hor was therefore a man who on both sides - on his grandfather's side and on his grandmother's side - had the power of the greatest dedication, and it was only through the power of dedication that they had that he gained great wisdom.
When a person receives wisdom and intelligence, it is a gift from God. There is a person whose wisdom and intelligence are due to the dedication of his ancestors or due to his own dedication. Such wisdom is not a father but a result. The father is the dedication of the soul that that person gave and with the strength of which God gives him Wisdom and intelligence.
There are people who gave their souls for the whole nation of Israel, for a certain person, gave their lives for someone.
The gift that G-d gave them as a reward for this dedication of the soul is wisdom, understanding and knowledge in the greatest degrees - a result of their dedication of the soul.
In order to buy Torah, a person must surrender the soul - "Thus is the way of the Torah, you shall eat a mouthful of salt and drink water in moderation" (Avot 6:4), and when a person gives up his soul, he receives the greatest understandings and misunderstandings. You touched and you found, believe (Megillah 6:2) A person touches one place, it is not necessary that he will find what he wants there, but suddenly in another place he finds something as easily as a bargain. And yet a person must tire himself, a person who does not touch, does not bother and does not sacrifice his soul, will not achieve or find anything.
That is why a person must have dedication. The power of dedication to a principle, to the Torah or to a great deed, dedication to a poor Jew gives To man as a result, great wisdom and great and sublime things.
David Berger, in collaboration with Shuba Israel
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