Midrasch zu Mischlej 3:4

And Moses said unto the children of Israel: “See, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel” (Exod. 35:30). Scripture states elsewhere: So shalt thou find grace and favor in the sight of God and man (Prov. 3:4). How is this so? At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke to Moses on the mountain about the construction of the Sanctuary, He revealed to him every vessel that was to be made for the Sanctuary and how to make it, as it is said: And see that thou make them after their pattern (Exod. 25:40). Moses believed that he was to build the Sanctuary, since He had said to him: Thou shalt make the staves, thou shalt make a table, thou shalt make an altar, thou shalt make an ark-cover, and thou shalt make a basin. He told him all about the implements that were to be in the Sanctuary. After He had mentioned every item, Moses said: Master of the Universe, who will do all this? He replied: I have called by name, Bezalel.

For example, Bezalel, who built the ark, was extolled before the Holy One, blessed be He, and the angels. He was praised in the upper regions and in the terrestrial regions, as it is said: See, I have called by name Bezalel (Exod. 31:2) and See, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel (ibid. 35:30). The word see in the former verse speaks of the upper regions, and the word see in the latter verse refers to the terrestrial regions. Thus Scripture says: So shalt thou find grace and favor in the sight of God and man (Prov. 3:4).

After Moses descended, he said to the Israelites: “The Holy One, blessed be He, told me how to build a Sanctuary, an altar, and a table for Him.” They asked: “Who will do all this?” “Bezalel,” he replied. The Israelites began to complain against Moses, crying out: “The Holy One, blessed be He, did not tell Moses that Bezalel would build the Sanctuary, Moses made that decision by himself because he is related to him; Moses is king, and his brother, Aaron, is the high priest; his sons are officials of the priesthood, Eleazar is chief of the Levites and the sons of Kohath are the bearers of the Tabernacle. Now this one is being given the authority to build the Sanctuary! Moses seeks to elevate him by giving him this great honor.” Moses attempted to explain. He said to them: “I have done nothing on my own; the Holy One, blessed be He, told me what to do.” And he showed them the words: See, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel. He did this to fulfill what is stated: So shalt thou find grace and good favor in the sight of God and man (Prov. 3:4). In the sight of God alludes to Bezalel, as the Holy One, blessed be He, said: See, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel. And man refers to Israel, as it is said: And ye My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are men (Ezek. 34:31).

It is written: So shalt thou find grace and good favor in the sight of God and man (Prov. 3:4). Every person loved by his king is also loved by the king’s courtiers, but if he is loved by the courtiers he is not necessarily loved by the king. The righteous, however, are loved by the Holy One, blessed be He, by the angels, and by all creatures. Whence do we know this to be so? You find that when the angel visited Daniel he called him greatly beloved three times: And he said unto me: Daniel, thou man greatly beloved, give heed unto the words that I speak unto thee (Dan. 10:11); O man, greatly beloved, fear not! (ibid., v. 19); and And I come to declare it, for greatly beloved art thou (ibid. 9:23). Why was he called greatly beloved? Happy indeed is the man who hears an angel calling unto him: O man, greatly beloved, for that man is beloved by the Holy One, blessed be He, extolled by the heavenly bodies, and adored by his generation. Similarly, Bezalel was loved by the Holy One, blessed be He, by those on high, and by those on earth, as is said: See, I have called by name Bezalel (Exod. 31:20), and it is written elsewhere: See, the Lord hath called Bezalel by name (ibid. 35:30). The word see in the latter verse refers to the heavenly beings, and the word see in the former verse alludes to the earthly beings. Hence, Scripture states: So shalt thou find grace and good favor in the sight of God and man (Prov. 3:4).

Rabbi Yoḥanan interpreted the verse: “Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and with all the powders of the merchant” regarding the incense of the house of Avtinas,⁵⁸The incense in the Temple was prepared by the priestly house of Avtinas; see, e.g., Mishna Shekalim 5:1; Yoma 3:11. and this is one of the eleven spices that they would place in it.⁵⁹The reference is to myrrh, although frankincense, which is also mentioned in the verse here, was also an ingredient in the incense. Rav Huna interpreted it: “The Lord said to Moses: Take spices for you” (Exodus 30:34), that is two;⁶⁰The word spices is plural, indicating at least two spices. “stacte, onycha, and galbanum” (Exodus 30:34), that is five; “spices” (Exodus 30:34), if you say that this is two, but did it not already say “spices”? “Each part shall be equal” (Exodus 30:34), these are five corresponding to the five, that is ten.⁶¹Based on the phrase “each part shall be equal,” the midrash interprets the second mention of “spices” to refer to an additional five types of spices. “And pure frankincense” (Exodus 30:34), these are eleven spices. From here the Sages examined and found that only these eleven spices are ideal for incense.
It is taught: The house of Avtinas were experts in the preparation of the incense, in the blending of the incense, and it would generate a column of smoke, but they were unwilling to teach it.⁶²They were unwilling to teach others how to prepare the incense such that it would rise in a straight column of smoke. The Sages sent and brought craftsmen from Alexandria who were expert in the preparation of the incense, but were not expert in generating a column of smoke. That of the house of Avtinas would rise and ascend like a cluster until the rafters, and would then spread and descend like a rod.⁶³The text should be reversed to read: It rose like a rod to the rafters and would then spread and descended like a cluster (Etz Yosef). That of [the craftsmen from] Alexandria would spread and descend downward immediately. When the matter became known to the Sages, they said: ‘Everything that the Holy One blessed be He created, He created only for His glory, as it is stated: “Everything that is called by My name, for My glory I created it”’ (Isaiah 43:7),⁶⁴It was not befitting the glory of God for the smoke of the incense to spread out rather than rising straight up. and they restored the house of Avtinas to its position.
They sent for them, but they did not want to come until they doubled their wages. They had been receiving twelve maneh each day and they then received twenty-four maneh, in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yuda says: They had been receiving twenty-four maneh each day and they then received forty-eight maneh.⁶⁵Some interpret this passage to mean that the sums mentioned were paid per year, on behalf of their preparation of the incense to be offered each day (Rashash, Yoma 38a).
They said to them: ‘Why did you see fit not to teach?’ They said: ‘We have a tradition from our ancestors that the Temple is destined to be destroyed, and we did not wish to teach so that they would not become accustomed to offering it before their idols in the manner that we do so before the Holy One blessed be He.’ Regarding this matter, they are commended; moreover, no woman from among them or child from among them ever went out perfumed. And when they would marry a woman from another place they would make an agreement with her that she would never perfume herself, so that Israel would not say that they were perfuming themselves from the blending of the incense, to fulfill what is stated: “You shall be vindicated before God and before Israel” (Numbers 32:22), and it says: “you will find grace and good favor in the eyes of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4).
Rabbi Akiva said: Shimon ben Loga related to me: I and a child from the descendants of the house of Avtinas were gathering herbs in the field, and I saw that he cried and laughed. I said to him: ‘My son, why did you cry?’ He said to me: ‘Due to the honor of my patrilineal home that has been diminished.’ ‘Why did you laugh?’ He said to me: ‘Because it is preserved and designated for the righteous, and ultimately, the Holy One blessed be He is destined to bring joy to His children in the near future.’ What did you see?’⁶⁶What did you see that reminded you of the incense that your family would prepare in the days of the Temple? He said to me: ‘Is this not a substance that generates a column of smoke before me?’ I said to him: ‘Show me.’ He said to me: ‘We have a tradition to never show it to any person.’ They said: Not many days elapsed in the world until that child died.⁶⁷This was a punishment for having divulged the little that he divulged.
Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri said: One time I was walking along the way and I found a certain elder of the house of Avtinas who had in his hand a scroll [containing a list] of spices. I said to him: ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said to me: ‘When they were discreet, the members of my patrilineal house would pass the scrolls one to another, but now, here it is for you, but be careful with it, as it is a scroll of spices.’ When I came and related the matters before Rabbi Akiva, his tears flowed. He said to me: ‘From now on, we are no longer permitted to denounce them.’⁶⁸Since the elder did not find anyone in his family worthy of these secrets, he had passed them on to Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri. This made it clear that all along they had acted for the sake of heaven (Etz Yosef).

“With the arrival of the turn of Esther, daughter of Aviḥayil uncle of Mordekhai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go to the king, she did not request anything except that which Hegai, the king's official, guardian of the women, said; and Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her” (Esther 2:15).
“With the arrival of the turn of Esther…Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her” – Rabbi Yuda says: Like that portrait that a thousand people look at and it is beautiful to them all. Rabbi Neḥemya says: They positioned Median women on one side and Persian women on the other side and Esther was more beautiful than them all. The Rabbis said: “And Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her” – in the eyes of the higher beings [angels] and of the lower [humans]; that is what is written: “And you shall find favor and good grace in the eyes of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4).

It is written (in Prov. 3:4): SO YOU SHALL FIND GRACE AND GOOD FAVOR IN THE EYES OF GOD AND HUMANITY. You have one who is pleasing to the king but is not pleasing to the people of the king's palace.³¹Gk.: palation; Lat.: palatium. There is also one who is pleasing to the people of the palace and not pleasing to the king. In the case of the righteous, however, when they are pleasing before the Holy One, they are pleasing before angels and before mortals. This is what you find in < the case of > Daniel. When the angel came to him, he called that person beloved three times: (Dan. 10:11:) < O DANIEL >, GREATLY BELOVED ONE, UNDERSTAND THE WORDS. It is also written (in Dan. 10:19): FEAR NOT, O GREATLY BELOVED ONE! (Dan. 9:23:) AND I HAVE COME TO DECLARE < IT > BECAUSE YOU ARE {ONE WHO IS} GREATLY BELOVED. And why did he call him GREATLY BELOVED three times? It is simply that a person is blessed when the angel brings him good news and says: You are beloved before the Holy One. You are also praised among the heavenly beings and beloved with your generation. Bezalel also was praised before the heavenly beings and among lower beings as well. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Exod. 31:2f.): SEE, I HAVE CALLED BEZALEL < … > BY NAME; < AND I HAVE FILLED HIM WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD, IN WISDOM >…. It is also written (in Exod. 35:30f.): THE LORD HAS CALLED BEZALEL < … > BY NAME; < AND HE HAS FILLED HIM WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD, IN WISDOM >…. See, < he is praised in one verse > among the heavenly beings; see, < he is praised in the other verse > among the lower beings. Ergo, it says (in Prov. 3:4): SO YOU SHALL FIND GRACE < AND GOOD FAVOR IN THE EYES OF GOD AND HUMANITY >.

Another interpretation (of Prov. 3:4): SO YOU SHALL FIND GRACE. This is Abraham, who was pleasing to mortals and to angels. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 23:6): HEAR ME, MY LORD < ABRAHAM >, YOU ARE A PRINCE OF GOD IN OUR MIDST. Ergo, < he was pleasing > to mortals. Where is it shown < that he was pleasing > to the Holy One and to angels? Where it is stated (in Gen. 18:17): THEN THE LORD SAID: SHALL I HIDE FROM ABRAHAM < WHAT I AM DOING > ?

(Bamidbar 6:25) "The L-rd cause His countenance to shine upon you": He will give you "light" of the eyes. R. Nathan says: This refers to the light of the Shechinah, as it is written (Isaiah 60:1-2) "Arise, shine, for your Light has come. For the darkness will cover the earth, and a thick mist, the peoples, but upon you the L-rd will shine, and His glory will be seen upon you," (Psalms 67:2) "G-d will favor us and bless us. He will cause His countenance to shine upon us, Selah," (Ibid. 118:27) "… and He shone for us." Variantly: "The L-rd cause His countenance to shine upon you": This refers to the light of Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 6:23) "For a mitzvah is a lamp, and the Torah, light." "and be gracious to you": in (the granting of) your requests, as it is written (Shemot 33:19) "And I shall be gracious to whom I shall be gracious, and I shall be merciful to whom I shall be merciful." Variantly: Let Him grant you grace in the eyes of man, as it is written (Bereshit 39:21) "And He granted him grace in the eyes of the overseer of the prison," and (Esther 2:14) "And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her," and (Daniel 1:9) "And G-d granted Daniel grace and mercy," and (Proverbs 3:4) "You will find favor and goodly wisdom in the eyes of G-d and man." Variantly: "and be gracious to you": with understanding, insight, mussar, and wisdom. Variantly: "and be gracious to you": in Torah study, as it is written (Proverbs 4:9) "It (Torah) will set a chaplet of grace upon your head," and (Ibid. 1:9) "For they (words of Torah) are a chaplet of grace to your head and a necklace to your throat." Variantly: "and be gracious to you": with gifts of "grace," as it is written (Psalms 123:2) "Behold, as the eyes of servants to their masters; as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes to the L-rd our G-d, until He grants us grace," and (Ibid. 3) "Grant us grace, O L-rd, grant us grace, for we are fully sated with contempt, and (Isaiah 33:2) "O L-rd, grant us grace, for in You have we hoped."

"so that it be well with you (and with your children after you forever") If one merits learning, he merits it for himself and for his descendants until the end of all the generations. "if you do what is good and what is just": what is good in the eyes of Heaven and what is just in the eyes of man. These are the words of R. Akiva. R. Yishmael says: what is just in the eyes of Heaven and what is good in the eyes of man, as it is written (Proverbs 3:4) "and you will find grace and good regard in the eyes of G-d and man."