Parashat Fikudei

“And Betzaleil Ben Uri… did all that Hashem commanded to Moshe.”
It does not write here “that which Moshe commanded him,” but rather “that which Hashem commanded Moshe,” [implying] even things that his teacher Moshe did not instruct. [Betzaleil] determined that which was said to Moshe on Sinai. Moshe told him to first build the Keilim of the Mishkan and then build the building, and Betzaleil replied “But it is customary in this world to first construct the building and then place the Keilim inside of it? Shouldn’t I build the Mishkan first?” [Moshe] said to him, “Such did I hear from Hashem; you obviously must be standing in G-d’s shadow [to have determined this ruling all on your own]!” And so [Betzaleil] made the Mishkan first and then he made the Keilim.
Rashi, Pekudei 38:22

Rashi here describes Betzaleil’s claim to fame, the accomplishment for which he was named. As the leader of the Mishkan’s construction, Betzaleil was the genius who could build the most complex structures from scratch. He had the mental clarity to explain anything to anyone, to make the most difficult instructions look simple. Here, he corrects his teacher Moshe, and is Mechavein to the words of Hakadosh Baruch Hu all on his own.

But what was so special about Betzaleil’s correction in the first place? He receives a command from his teacher and he appeals based on the customs of the world! It would be one thing if Moshe would respond “Oops, my mistake,” but what makes Betzaleil’s simple correction so incredible that Moshe responds “Shema BiTzeil Keil Hayeesa.” Furthermore, didn’t it ever occur to Betzaleil that perhaps the construction the Mishkan might transcend the customs of the world? Why would he ever think Moshe reversed the instructions?

Lastly, we must wonder what Moshe meant when he replied “Such did I hear from Hashem.” If Moshe heard Betzaleil’s instructions from Hashem, why wouldn’t he explain it correctly to Betzaleil. One could speculate perhaps Moshe forgot what he was instructed, as the Gur Aryeh does. One could also speculate that Moshe meant, “Hashem instructed me to build the Keilim first, but I like your way more,” as the Mizrachi does. But both ways seem lacking. The Levush HaOrah emphatically rejects both the Mizrachi’s and the Gur Aryeh’s interpretations of Rashi here. “How could it be that Moshe forgot that which Hashem taught him,” the Levush HaOrah writes. “Chas Vishalom one would ever suggest that of even the smallest Navi, Kal ViChomer Moshe Rabbeinu! And would Moshe ever accept his students reasoning above the command of a King? Of course not!” Therefore, the Levush HaOrah offers an alternative solution.

The biggest problem with the Mizrachi’s and Gur Aryeh’s explanations is that if we look in Parashat VaYakheil, we do find Moshe instructing the construction in the proper order, Es Mishkan Es Ahalo ViEs Michseihu. It is only in Parashat Terumah where Moshe mentions the Aron and the Shulchan and the Menorah etc. and then the pillars and covers. Therefore, when Rashi says Moshe didn’t instruct Betzaleil, what he really means is that Moshe didn’t instruct Betzaleil clearly or explicitly. He delivered instructions to the nation twice, changed the order between the two times, and left it to Betzaleil to figure out which of his instructions correctly detailed the process’s proper order and which instruction did not. Betzaleil therefore approached Moshe with the obvious question, which order is the correct order. Betzaleil also added in his question, “Perhaps I should build the Oheil first and the Keilim second because that is the standard order we follow in this world. Is my guess correct?” And Moshe responded “Such did I hear from Hashem, your guess is 100% correct.”

What the Levush HaOrah fails to explain, however, is why Betzaleil’s question should warrant such praise from his rebbe. Especially now that we see Betzaleil had a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly, what was so impressive about his input? He didn’t even win an argument over his rebbe anymore; he just applied common sense.

Apparantly, there must be something more than common sense to Betzaleil’s inference. But if Betzaleil didn’t just apply common sense, how did he come to the correct solution? How could Betzaleil tell which of Moshe’s instructions was in the proper order and which one served an alternate purpose? Let’s take a look at Betzaleil two options. Either the Aron was to be built first and the Oheil was listed first in VaYakheil for a separate reason, or the Oheil was to be built first and the Aron was listed first in Terumah for a separate reason. This “separate reason,” one would speculate, should be the reason why the Mishkan is being built in the first place, which is “ViShachanti BiSocham,” to establish a closer relationship with Hashem even after the distancing caused by the Cheit HaEigel. Therefore, Betzaleil had to discern which of these objects, the Oheil or the Aron, would facilitate closeness between the Bnei Yisrael and Hashem.

The correct choice is not so obvious. In fact, we need a Kasuv Shlishi, in Parashat Naso (7:89), to break up a contradiction between two pasukim in the Torah, one pasuk in Terumah (25:22) that implies that the voice came from above the Kapores upon the Aron, and a different pasuk in VaYikra (1:1) that implies that the voice came from the Ohiel. Betzaleil’s reasoning now becomes a real accomplishment, for not even Chazal could figure out from where the Shechina’s voice eminated without a drasha in the Torah. What then was Betzaleil’s incredible chidush?

The Cheit HaEigel was a result of the Bnei Yisrael’s feelings of distance from HaKadosh Baruch Hu; it refelcted their need for a physical intermediary. The Mishkan served as a solution to the Eigel because it served as a way the nation could physically feel Hashem’s presence within their midst. Therefore, before Hashem could communicate to the nation, His presence would have to be recognizable; only then would the Shechina reside in the camp’s midst. Between the Aron and the Oheil, the item that best facilitated this feeling of presence was the Oheil.

Betzaleil reasoned, “Common sense dictates that before one can recognize the physical presence of Hashem in this world, He should have a physical resting spot. The way of the world is that one first defines a space, and then fills it; one must always define a set environment before one can begin to discuss the notion of ‘presence.’ Presence can only be defined within a limited window of space and time, and only the Oheil allows for Hashem to have presence, not vice versa.”

Were the purpose of Binyan HaMishkan been for Hashem to simply speak to us, then the Aron would be considered the first item in the order of the construction because the Aron would be the Kli which would enable Hashem to speak from the Oheil. Without an Aron, there would be no place for the Shchina to dwell, and then the Oheil wouldn’t serve any purpose without an inhabitant. But Betzaeil wisely recognized there was more to the Mishkan than its purpose as a meeting place; it was a designated and defined meeting place.

This was the great Chidush of Betzaleil Ben Uri. And when Moshe heard how he reasoned the purpose for the Mishkan and understood exactly why it was being built, Moshe understood just how special Betzaleil was. He didn’t just make complex instructions sound simple, he could analyze an object, break down its components, and conclude what purpose it served from his analysis of those individual components. Betzaleil understood the interworkings of the not just the Keilim of the Mishkan, but of even their individual components, the gold silver copper etc. Perhaps this is what Rashi means to teach us when he introduces Fikudei as “the parasha that lists each metal as a component, pieces it together into Keilim and then constructs an interwoven Avodas HaYom out of those Keilim.”
While the parasha may seem like a total repeat of everything we described in Terumah, Titzaveh, Ki Tisa, and VaYakheil, Fikudei does much more. It is the parasha that overviews the entire construction process, from the little half bits of silver until the setting of whole loaves of bread. It is the parasha that recognizes the incredible detail accounted for within every grand process, that even a process as grand as Binyan HaMishkan is made up of nothing more than the design of this physical realm.