Every time the Torah details Betzalel’s pedigree, it goes back two generations to his grandfather, Chur. Apparently, Chur played an important role in molding Betzalel’s perspective on life. Indeed, it was probably because he had descended from Chur that Betzalel was selected to build the Mishkan. Only a very special individual, one whose devotion to Hashem had been exemplary, would undertake this unprecedented endeavor. Chur was the individual who challenged the erev rav, mixed multitude, when they rebelled against Hashem to build the Golden Calf. He was killed for his devotion. His spirit of mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, remained alive in…
Why did Moshe Rabbeinu not simply say, “All of the wise- hearted among you shall come and construct the Mishkan? Would it not have been more correct to identify what they were doing, building the Mishkan, rather than just telling them to follow Hashem’s command? Horav Moshe Feinstein, z.l., makes a profound inference. Man only builds the structure, Hashem actually makes it into a Mishkan/Mikdash when His Shechinah reposes there. All we can do is follow Hashem’s dictate, adhering to His command and instruction. Only then can we aspire for the Shechinah to rest there, thereby transforming this edifice into…