A Tale of Two Values

“He filled him [Betzalel] with the spirit of Hashem, with chochmah, tevunah, and daas….” (Shemos 35:31)

Rashi says daas is the greatest of these three forms of wisdom. Rav Shlomo Wolbe explains that daas is the ability to blend two opposites: Heaven, the spiritual realm, and earth, the physical realm. The Mishkan was the dwelling place for the Shechinah — the fusion of Heaven and earth (Rabbi Shlomo Caplan, Mishulchan Shlomo).

Welcome to Ben Gurion. A trip to Eretz Yisrael in those days was rare, and as the plane taxied, my parents were glued to the window, drinking in the views.

Then the plane came to a halt, and they were caught up in the explosion of noise and activity as everyone prepared to deplane. Suddenly, my father stopped and began frantically searching his seat, bending over to look underneath as well. My mother couldn’t imagine what was missing.

“My chiddushim. My papers!” he said, rising urgency in his voice. “I can’t find what I worked on the whole flight!” My father z”l wrote a weekly kuntress on machshavah based on the parshah (seems it’s hereditary). He spent every possible minute refining, researching, and writing these thoughts, and the plane ride was no exception. However, somehow in the confusion of landing, the papers were nowhere to be found. My mother joined him, expanding their search as the plane emptied.  Soon they were the last passengers left, and security officers boarded to investigate the delay.

Rav Wolbe adds that within every person there’s the soul — which is spiritual — and the body — which is physical. Every person should attempt to make his heart a Mishkan for Hashem, thereby integrating the spiritual and physical realms — a Betzalel-type feat.

“Selichah.” The burly Israeli security officer approached. “You need to get off the plane right now.” His voice and stance broached no argument.