Rabbi’s Message: March 18, 2025

In this week’s Torah portion, the Torah’s greatest named artist, Bezalel, makes an appearance. Bezalel is described as endowed with divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft. In the midrash Ein Yaakov, Rabbi Samuel Ben-Nachmeini describes Bezalel’s artistic abilities as a kind of wisdom. Later, in the Ein Yaakov, Rabbi Abuhu remarks that “What you infer from that passage, we derive from another; it is written (Ex. 31:6.) ‘And in the heart of all that are wise-hearted have I put wisdom.’”

What does it mean to be “wise hearted”? 

Within the Torah, the phrase is rarely used - twice to describe Bezalel’s brilliance, and once to describe Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, who worked in collaboration with Bezalel and all others who helped them build the Tabernacle. However, versions of this phrase are used twice more in the Bible as a whole, specifically in the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 24:3 

A house is built by wisdom,

And is established by understanding;

Proverbs 3:19

Adonai founded the earth by wisdom;

God established the heavens by understanding;

Each of these examples comes from moments in which one person (or entity) has a vision of what is possible - a holy space of the traveling Tabernacle, the warmth and comfort of a home, the majesty of Creation - and then partners with others to make this happen. All of these things - the erection and maintenance of our holy spaces, the construction of our housing, the cultivation and preservation of healthy Creation - require collaboration with others. While wise heartedness seems partially endowed, it is also clearly an attribute built in partnership and collaboration with others. 

Communities are no different. Fostering wise-heartedness - bringing the gifts of one’s own heart and being open the heart’s gifts and passions from others - is part of the divine artistry that crafts supportive connections. It is one of the greatest underpinning hopes for our policy of co-creation. After all, even from the foundations of our sacred stories, wise-hearted co-creation is how we build our holy spaces, our homes, our celebrations of Creation. In this season, as we celebrate the joy of Purim (whose schpiels require collaborative teamwork!) and look forward to re-telling of our collective narrative during our community Passover seders (see below for information!), we hope that you will consider lending a wise-hearted hand.