Who Gets the Credit?

I distinctly remember getting a check in the mail prominently signed by the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, a check that was accompanied by a letter touting the president's personal concern, and desire to offer each individual aid in light of the crippling economic fallout from the Corona crisis. At the time, I couldn't help smirk inside, for two reasons: the letter very much made it seem that the aid was coming directly from Trump himself, a product of his munificence, care and unprecedented largesse, and secondly, Trump didn't seem to care very much about Corona as long as it didn't hurt his re-election prospects. 

Now, fast-forward to Parshat Vayakhel. The Midrash seems to struggle with the fact that the signatory of the Aron, that would house the holy and inimitable tablets, the luchot was Betzalel, and not Moshe. And the Midrash struggles with that, the same way were the name at the end of the bombastic letter from the U.S. Treasury to not be Trump - who recently boasted that Hamas was smart to attack Israel (excuse my foray into politics), but rather a far lower level officer of the state, the financial or tactical architect of the stimulus program. Or, alternatively - to bring the point home, were an investment letter that should have been signed by the Chief Executive Officer, to be signed by the COO or CFO, or someone on a lower rung. 

That, if anything would seemingly be the question that the midrash grapples with - which is why it embellishes it so much. The Torah shares but a few simple, almost, self-explanatory words: "And Betzalel made the Aron." The Midrash, perplexed by these words, contrives a narrative that likely never happened, in fact a narrative that seems overly simplistic. 

Betzalel: And what is this mishkan?

Moshe: (It is) for Hashem to place his divine presence within it, so that He can teach the people Torah. 

Betzalel: And where will the Torah (i.e. the tablets) be placed?

Moshe: After we make the mishkan, we will make the Aron. 

Betzalel: Moshe, our Leader, that would be unbecoming for the honor of the tablets to do so. We will make the Aron, and then, the mishkan. 

What, then, is the midrash trying to illuminate here? In my humble opinion, it was that in the view of Chazal, our rabbis, it was strange that something of such importance should be attributed to Betzalel - "And Betzalel made the Aron" - and not to Moshe. 

The deeper question, though, is what faculty did Betzalel have, that Moshe did not. On the opening verses of this coming week's Torah portion, Pekudei, Rashi writes that Betzalel had fantastic intuitive powers to the point that Betzalel was able to decipher that God had said things to Moshe that Moshe in fact had never transmitted onwards, nor conveyed to Betzalel, which is why the verses say that God had commandend Betzalel, even though He had not. 

There was most certainly something unique to Betzalel, that - far be it from me to say - Moshe, seemingly lacked. We see this not infrequently. Aharon was mourned by the entirety of the Jewish people, men and women; Moshe, only by the men. Betzalel, the artist, the visionary, had a skill that Moshe could not match  – Moshe needed Hashem, for example, to explain to him how the menorah looked, something, to the best of my knowledge, we don't find with Betzalel. Betzalel did not need 3D blueprints, or miraculous visions; from his heart of hearts, his wise heart, he knew what it was that Hashem wanted. I think something analogous could be said about David and Shlomo, Shlomo, the artist and visionary, having abilities that David did not have; David filled the state coffers with gold and silver, fighting battles, looting, plundering, collecting taxes, Shlomo, though being the king who could bring peace by actualizing the mission of David's wars. 

On a similar level, I think the meeting between Moshe and Betzalel could be likened to that between an academic, a person who is very cerebral and erudite - and a masterful artisan who can see things on a temporal level, who can see how shapes are designed, and configured, to create meaning in time. The latter was most certainly Betzalel, the former, seemingly Moshe, who, because of his sheer closeness to God needed to mask, in a certain respect, his sheer wisdom, filtering it, making it amenable and construable to the common man.