Bezalel made: Because he gave over his very soul for the task more than
the other clever craftsmen it is attributed to his name. (Rashi)
Bezalel was not the only one busy with the project of building the Holy
Ark or the rest of the Tabernacle but extra credit is given to him for his
role in completing the task. The Torah is not a history book recording
some ancient event as much it is a dense collection of lessons and
teachings. What can we learn from the fact that Bezalel was singled out
for his performance in building the Holy Ark? Was it simply that he did
better or more than others did? We know that Bezalel was an extremely
talented fellow. Did that alone make him worthy of such an everlasting
honor?
Allow me please to share with you an exercise we do at our Shabbos table
every Friday night for the last few years. I’m only sorry we had not done
for twenty years before then, but it’s never too late. The kids and adults
have grown to accept and even look forward to these special moments at the
meal. At first I was met with huge resistance. Eyes rolled way back in the
head and some groaned aloud, “Are we in school?!” Now it’s a highlight of
the week. Even my six year old wants to know if he can go first. We go
around the table and everyone is asked to give their answer to the
question, “What do you feel accomplished by this week?”
The variety and range of answers to that question is fascinating and very
telling. One older guest said, “I had a good conversation with my mother
this week.” Another younger Yeshiva student told us that he finished the
whole Book of Tehillim every day this week. The fellow seated next to him
felt accomplished that he made it to morning davening three days that
week. My little boy was anxious to tell everyone about the chart that he
made for himself with fifty-five boxes to be checked off leading him to
the reward of a Pez dispenser. He made his mother the arbiter of what’s
deserving of a check and he felt extra good about himself to have a goal
and to be making measurable progress. Another child revealed that she felt
accomplished to have gotten an85 on a math test. Someone immediately
remarked that 85 is not such a good grade which got the response, “I’m not
so good at math and I studied hard. I was afraid I would fail!”
We have come to realize and we mention it constantly with amazement that
the things that make us feel the most rewarded and accomplished may not be
what others consider to be our successes. We find time and again, that
people feel accomplished by having done or resisted doing something
difficult, by overcoming some limitation or fear, or by doing something
for somebody else. One of our daughters proudly proclaimed, “I feel
accomplished that I didn’t go shopping for shoes in three weeks!” Wow!
Nobody ever said, “I feel accomplished by buying an extra pair of shoes!”,
unless the shoes were for someone else.
The beauty is that in anticipation people are already thinking during the
week days what they are going to declare as an accomplishment for the
week, only to be outdone by some new sense of accomplishment later the
same week. Through the process everyone gets a little rub of
congratulations and encouragement and at the same time discovers where
their individual struggle lies. What is easy for one to do will rarely
yield real feelings of accomplishment.
Does that mean we should not work in our area of natural talent? Of course
not! Bezalel was extremely gifted as an artisan and a builder but Rashi is
careful to point out that his accomplishments are made worthy because
he “gave over his very soul” to get the job done. That‘s something that
can never be given to a person nor can it be taken away. It remains yours
truly!
DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.
