A Beautiful Mansion for God

Parashat Vayakhel, Exodus 35:1–38:20

Rabbi Isaac S. Roussel, Congregation Zera Avraham, Ann Arbor, MI

Moshe said to the children of Israel: “See, Adonai has called Betzalel, the son of Uri, the son of Chur, of the tribe of Judah. He has imbued him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with insight, and with knowledge.” (Shemot/Exodus 35:30–31)

The Hebrew for the three characteristics listed by Moshe is chochmah (wisdom), tevunah (insight), and da’at (knowledge). Betzalel creates the Mishkan, or Tabernacle, with these three. This is significant because Proverbs declares that God created the world with these same three attributes. Mishlei/Proverbs 3:19–20: “Hashem founded the earth with chochmah; He established the heavens with tevunah; through His da’at the depths were cleaved and the heavens dripped dew.”

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks said, “In creating the universe, God made a home for humanity. In building the Sanctuary, humanity made a home for God.” He asserts that these are the two creations described in the Torah; the universe and the Mishkan. And he points out that there are many literary parallels between them. They are too numerous to delve into in this article, but one of the main parallels is when Israel finishes the Tabernacle. Exodus 39:43 states, “Moshe saw all the work, and — there it was! — they had done it! Exactly as Adonai had ordered, they had done it. And Moshe blessed them.” This reflects God’s declaration at the end of the description of creation that everything He had made was “very good”.

We, too, make a place for Hashem in this world in our own lives. How do we do it? Using these same three characteristics. So let’s delve into their deeper meaning.

Pirke Avot 4:1 states that a chacham (a wise person) is one who learns from all people. Chochmah is related to the word for a fish net (chakah) and is thus viewed as the lowest form of wisdom. It is the collection of information, like casting a net wide and gathering everything in. 

The next higher level is tevunah. The root of this word is binah (understanding) but our Sages relate it to the word banah (bet-nun-hey / to build). Thus it is the ability to take what one has learned and derive new concepts and insights. It is the sorting out of all that was caught in the net, so to speak. 

But one can be an expert with a lot of knowledge, able to see connections with different concepts, and yet not imbibe the spiritual essence of Hashem’s Torah which only comes from deep intimacy with Him. In the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah, he declares that one is able to become a “scoundrel with the permission of the Torah.” (Sadly this has been all too often true throughout the history of all religions). 

This is where the last, and highest, characteristic comes to play. Da’at is not merely knowledge; it means something deeper. Rashi called it “reconciliation.” It is walking so closely to God and so thoroughly imbibing His teachings that we are granted divine inspiration from the Ruach. A modern-day commentator, Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Burnstein, actually takes it a step further and says that it is a knowing in the Biblical sense, deep intimacy and communion with God. This level of knowledge is understanding that God desires us to not just follow a set of laws, but to internalize and transform our hearts and minds, according to His Way of Holiness. When we reach this level, we have created a place for Him in this world. Our hearts have become a sanctuary, a Mishkan. And our actions flow from this place. 

This is what Messiah Yeshua meant when he said, “the Father is united with me, and I am united with the Father” (John 10:38). He is not describing an ontological reality, that he is divine (which is also true); rather, he is describing a mode of existence, of living in deep communion with Hashem. This is the foundation of the Kingdom of God. Yeshua made a home for his Father in this world, not by merely learning (chochmah), or extrapolating that learning into new ideas (tevunah), but by consistently and daily living at the level of da’at, deep communion with Hashem.

Earlier in John, Yeshua said, “Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!’ (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who trusted in him were to receive later)” (John 7:38–39).

This is a life of inspiration from the Ruach! This is a life of deep communion with God, imbibing His holiness and love. This is a life of da’at!

We can see the central importance of this deepest level of knowledge in the fourth blessing of the Amidah. We pray “Favor us with knowledge, understanding and discernment from You. Blessed are You, O Lord, Giver of knowledge.” This last word is actually da’at. Given our line of reasoning, then the sole reference to da’at in the final words of this blessing makes sense. 

Kabbalism has related these three forms of knowledge (chochmah, binah, and da’at) with the first three Sefirot (aspects of God): chesed/lovingkindness, gevurah/might, and tiferet/beauty. When we live a life of da’at, we become the source of living water Yeshua referred to, and we create something beautiful in the world. 

God created a home for us in His creation of the universe. God has created a home for us through the life, death, and resurrection of His Messiah. May we create a home for Him in this world, by not only learning His precepts and understanding their application, but by embracing the very essence of His Holy Torah.

In doing so, it will not only be a home, but a beautiful mansion, out of which will flow living waters of healing and blessing to all around us!