Barmitzvah of Paul Solis-Cohen
I wonder if you know who Bezalel was? There are two reasons why you should know something about him. First, he is mentioned in this week's portion of the Pentateuch which includes your bar mitzvah portion. Exodus 31 Second, he should be a man after your own heart, because he was the great artist and craftsman, who made the things for the sanctuary in the time of Moses, and I know that you have an interest in creating beautiful things with your hands. The Torah tells us of Bezalel that he knew how to work in gold, silver and copper, in cutting and setting stones and carving wood. He was quite versatile, wasn't he? The Torah tells us further that he was imbued with the qualities of wisdom, of understanding and of knowledge. Now clearly, the qualities of wisdom, of understanding and of knowledge are very desirable for an artist. But are they not the same thing? The great biblical commentator Rashi describes for us the exact meaning of these words, and I would like you to follow carefully what he says, because you can learn something from his comments.
Bezalel had wisdom. Rashi says this is what a man hears from others and learns it. It is plain, factual, knowledge, the sort of stuff that encyclopedias are full of. Bezalel also had understanding. This, says Rashi, means figuring out something for yourself on the basis of what you have learned from others. It means original thinking based on what others have done before you. Finally Bezalel had knowledge. This, says Rashi, means the holy spirit, or, as we would say, inspiration. It is quite different from the others, for it comes upon a man from he knows not where. Let me give you a practical example. When a man knows how houses are built, he has wisdom. When he knows how to design and build a house for himself, he has understanding. When he builds a house which the beholder looks upon with amazement and says: "This house is like no other!" he has inspiration.
According to this, the Torah describes three stages in the artist's development, which follow logically from one another. First and foremost, he has to learn the techniques of his art. If he is to be a sculptor, he must study the works of earlier sculptors. He must learn how to use tools, and what kinds of materials he can work with. If he is to be a musician he must learn about crotchets and quavers and perfect fifths. This is the dry, raw material of art. Once he has mastered this, he can move on to his own creative work, making models, or writing a minuet. And only after this can he hope to achieve the final stage of inspiration, when something greater than himself comes upon him, and he carves a sculpture that people will marvel at for all time, or he writes a quartet which people feel to express something which language cannot utter.
I have spoken of this threefold progression in the case of an artist, but actually it applies in many other fields. Before Jonas Salk could make an inspired discovery, he had to pass through the stages of learning and practice. And how many men had to pass through this process before a man could be sent miraculously hurtling through space!
Even religion is not exempt. We like to think of religion as being essentially a spiritual thing, but it, too, has a basis of plain knowledge. For our faith, it requires a knowledge of the history of our people, and what Judaism has stood for through the ages. It requires too the living practice of our faith in our own lives. Only then can we hope to achieve the goal of the holy spirit, when religion really fills us with its true spirit.
I tell you all this, because you are at the first and most crucial stage. The question for you is not Will my rocket get into orbit, but Will it ever leave the ground? You are at this moment laying the groundwork for all your future achievements both of the body and of the spirit, and how well you prepare yourself will determine whether or not you will reach the second and third stage. The stage you are at involves hard work. It involves amassing knowledge, learning sufficient to enable you to do something worthwhile in the future. This is not an easy task. Often you must feel that you are learning stuff which is no use to anyone. Don't look at learning in that way. You should try to grasp whatever opportunities for knowledge come your way. Later you can decide what you need, and what you can discard.
It is for your school teachers to help you achieve this in your day-to-day life. I should like to see you achieve it also in your spiritual and religious life. You must use these precious early years to put down the whole foundation for your future spiritual health. You come from a singularly happy and loving family. In return for the care and devotion which your parents and grandparents have showered upon you, you owe it to them, and to yourself, to build for yourself a life not of wealth, and what the world calls success, but a life of true virtue, in which you proceed patiently and steadily from knowledge to understanding, and from understanding to the holy spirit.