Commento su Esodo 31:2

קראתי בשם I HAVE CALLED BY NAME — to accomplish My work — BEZALEL.

SEE, I HAVE CALLED BY NAME BEZALEL THE SON OF URI, THE SON OF HUR. G-d said to Moses, See, I have called by name, and Moses said to Israel, See, the Eternal hath called by name.²⁰⁴And the question appears: Why was that special designation called for? The answer is that it was needed because etc. The reason for this is because Israel in Egypt had been crushed under the work in mortar and in brick,²⁰⁵Above, 1:14. and had acquired no knowledge of how to work with silver and gold, and the cutting of precious stones, and had never seen them at all. It was thus a wonder that there was to be found amongst them such a great wise-hearted man who knew how to work with silver and gold, and in cutting of stones [for setting] and in carving of wood, a craftsman, an embroiderer, and a weaver.²⁰⁶See further, 35:35. For even amongst those who study before the experts, you cannot find one who is proficient in all these crafts. And even those who know them and are used to doing them, if their hands are continually engaged in [work with] lime and mud, lose the ability to do with them such artistic and delicate work. Moreover, he [i.e. Bezalel] was a great Sage in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge,²⁰⁷Verse 3. to understand the secret of the Tabernacle and all its vessels, why they were commanded and to what they hinted. Therefore G-d said to Moses that when he sees this wonder he should know that I filled him with the spirit of G-d,²⁰⁷Verse 3. to know all these things in order that he would make the Tabernacle. For it was His Will to make the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and He created him for His glory,²⁰⁸See Isaiah 43:7. And in Chapter Kinyan Torah: “Whatsoever the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world He created it but for His glory.” Bezalel thus was born for that sacred purpose, as the thought continues to be unfolded by Ramban. for it is He that called the generations from the beginning,²⁰⁹Isaiah 41:4. — See Vol. I, p. 59, Note 240, for important note on this topic. it being similar in meaning to the verse, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.²¹⁰Jeremiah 1:5. The same type of expression we find in the verse, See that the Eternal hath given you the Sabbath; therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days.²¹¹Above, 16:29. Here too the sense of the verse is: “See the wonder…”
Our Rabbis have on this topic a Midrash:²¹²Shemoth Rabbah 40:2. “G-d showed Moses the book of the first man and told him: ‘Each person I have given a role from that moment on, and Bezalel too I have given a role already then, as it is said, See, I have called by name Bezalel.” This is similar to what I have explained. The Rabbis have also said:²¹³Berachoth 55a. “Bezalel knew how to combine the letters with which heaven and earth were created.” The purport of this saying is that the Tabernacle alludes to these matters [heaven and earth], and he knew and understood its secret.

ראה קראתי בשם, try and understand that I did not appoint Betzalel for this task arbitrarily, as it is of the essence that someone who is very senior also in spiritual matters must carry out such a sacred task as fashioning the parts of the Tabernacle. Such a person must not only have in mind the desire to technically execute first class artisanship, but he must constantly be conscious of performing a Divine commandment.

ראה קראתי בשם בצלאל, "See, I have called by name Betzalel, etc." Perhaps the extra word בשם is intended to draw our attention not only to Betzalel's name but also to that of his father and grandfather and how those names reflected Betzalel's impact on his contemporaries. The name בצל־אל suggests that he was the man through whom a shelter was provided for G'd on earth. בן אורי suggests that Betzalel's father looked upon G'd as the source of his inspiration and enlightenment. בן חור is a reference to freedom, בן חורים. Betzalel helped free the Israelites from the remaining stigma of the golden calf by helping Israel to regain its good graces. Our sages in Shemot Rabbah 51,4 in connection with the words משכן העדות in Exodus 38,21 point out that the reason for that designation of the Tabernacle was that its existence was testimony, עדות, that G'd had forgiven the Jewish people for the sin of the golden calf. This very thought was also anchored in Betzalel's name and the name of his forebears. The allusions we just referred to would justify the conjunctive letter ו in front of the words ו־אמלא אותו רוח אלוקים בחכמה,"and I will fill him with a spirit of wisdom." This may also be the reason that the Torah speaks of בחכמה, instead of simply חכמה when describing G'd's input as additional to Betzalel's natural talents and virtues. Alternatively, the word בחכמה may reflect a statement of our sages in Berachot 55 based on Daniel 2,21 that G'd adds additional wisdom to people aleady possessed of a measure of wisdom. Accordingly, the words ואמלא…בחכמה, mean: "and I will add wisdom to Betzalel who already possesses wisdom."

See, I have called. “See” in this context is a call to caution. The fact that the mishkon could only be fashioned by one whom God had imbued with Divine spirit, wisdom, understanding and knowledge, was an indication of its loftiness. Therefore it was fitting for them to behave towards it with special care.

ראה קראתי בשם בצלאל, “See, I have called by name, Betzalel.” Moses repeats this description of Betzalel’s qualifications when he says to them in This was necessary, as it was a miracle that a people who had been forced to perform basic slave labour for hundreds of years should have produced among themselves artisans capable of performing highly skilled work such as was envisioned for the making of the priestly garments, and for the furnishings of the Tabernacle. Betzalel, personally, had been endowed by G’d not only with the wisdom to carry out the physical work required, but he had been endowed with the spiritual insights necessary to comprehend the mystical aspects of the Tabernacle and everything connected with it. He was fully aware of the significance of both the materials used, the measurements G’d had commanded, and the manner in which the entire project represented a re-enactment of מעשה בראשית, the way in which G’d had created the universe. Our sages, in attempting to give us an inkling of all this, stated that G’d had shown Betzalel the book of Adam, the first human being. They meant that just as Adam, initially, had been on intimate terms with his Creator, so Betzalel had been endowed with something parallel, as much as this is possible in the present imperfect world. Some commentators interpret the word: “ראה” as meaning “I want you to know that in My eyes this man appears to be good.” Seeing that this is so, I want you, Moses, to relate to him in a similar manner.

To do My work. . . Rashi is answering the question: Why does it not say קראתי שם לבצלאל — “I gave a name to Betzalel”? Therefore he explains that it means: “I have called [someone] by name to do My work.” And whom did I call? Betzalel.

V. 2. ראה קראתי בשם. Ebenso Mosche an Israel: ראו קרא ד׳ בשם (Kap. 35, 30). קרא בשם: jemanden mit Namen, d. h. speziell und ausdrücklich zu etwas berufen. Indem es heißt: ich habe berufen, und Mosche und Israel aufgefordert sind ראו ,ראה, somit für das Tatsächliche dieser Berufung an ihre eigene Einsicht und Erfahrung appelliert wird, so kann diese Berufung nur in der so ganz speziellen und offenkundigen Begabung Bezalels für diese Aufgabe sich ausgesprochen haben, dass er selbst nach dem Urteile seiner Zeitgenossen als der einzige für den Beruf dagestanden. Diese Begabung und Befähigung wird aber durch Gottes Wort: קראתי בשם als Wirkung einer ganz besonderen göttlichen Fürsorge bezeichnet. Schön weist רמב׳׳ן zur Stelle darauf hin, wie Israels Vergangenheit unter dem Druck der Sklavenarbeit in Ägypten wenig geeignet war, Kunstsinn und Kunstfertigkeit zu wecken und auszubilden, und das Vorhandensein eines Bezalel und seiner Künstlergenossen im Volke nur ein Werk ganz besonderer göttlicher Fürsorge gewesen sein konnte. — Daran, dass hier Gott an Mosche und Mosche an des Volkes zustimmende Einsicht bei Berufung des Bezalel appelliert, knüpfen die Weisen das bedeutsame Wort: אין מעמידין פרנס על הצבור אלא אם כן נמלכים בצבור (Berachoth 55 a), man oktroyiert dem Volke keinen Beamten, man bestellt keinen, ohne das Volk zuvor um dessen Zustimmung zu fragen.

בצלאל בן אורי בן חור, “Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Chur;” the reason why the Torah mentions also the grandfather of Betzalel, whereas in the case of his assistant, Oholiov, it mentions only his father, (verse 6) is that Chur had died a martyr’s death in opposing the Israelites‘ dancing around the golden calf. The major function of the Tabernacle was to atone for that sin. This is why his name is mentioned here in connection with the Tabernacle.

בצלאל בו אורי בן חור, “Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Chur;” Betzalel’s ancestry is given for 3 generations, whereas that of his assistant Oholiov is only traced to his father. The reason is that Betzalel’s grandfather had become a martyr during the episode of the golden calf, when he tried to prevent the people from dancing around the golden calf. Seeing that the building of the Tabernacle was primarily in order to facilitate atonement for the sin of the golden calf, it is appropriate that the Torah mentions Chur’s name in this connection.