What Faith Really Means
In telling Moses of His appointment of Bezalel to build the Tabernacle, G-d says, “Behold, I have called by name (b’shem) Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur…” (Exodus 31:2).
Why does the Almighty choose Bezalel for the great honor of building His holy sanctuary? Furthermore, what does the phrase “Behold, I have called by name (b’shem)” mean? Finally, why does the Torah bother to give the names of both Bezalel’s father and grandfather?
It appears to me that the answer to these questions holds deep truths. To begin with, let us see who Bezalel’s grandfather, Hur, was. We first encounter him in the chapter dealing with the famous battle of Amalek (Exodus 17). It is he and Aaron who hold Moses’ hands high – the hands that symbolize faith and trust in G-d. And so, Hur emerges as a man of faith.
But there is more. Hur proves his faith by reaching its zenith: Kiddush Hashem. When the Jews throw off the yoke of the Almighty and make for themselves a golden calf, one man stands up to protest. Aaron attempts to gain time by pretending to go along with the people in the hope that, as he delays, Moses will return. He is a man who has faith and will never, himself, worship anyone but the Almighty, but he does not stand up to protest. Only one man does that: Hur. Our Rabbis tell us that it is Hur who rises up to oppose the people, and he is killed by the Jews (Vayikra Rabba 10:3).
It is easy enough to say that one believes and has faith. The true test of faith, though, is willingness to endanger oneself for Torah, even to risk one’s life. That is the essence of faith. That is Hur, the grandfather of Bezalel.
And who, incidentally, was Hur’s father? The Rabbis tell us that it was Caleb, who, along with Joshua, was one of the two dissenting spies. While the other ten, in fear and lack of faith, spoke of the dangers in Canaan and the impossibility of defeating the nations there, Caleb and Joshua stood up and said: “No, we can defeat the enemy, no matter how strong. Let us have faith in the Almighty.”
Again, two men of faith – Joshua and Caleb – but one of them takes that faith to its ultimate test. The Torah singles out Caleb: “For My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit within him and has filled himself with faith after Me…” (Numbers 14:24). Why is Caleb singled out over Joshua? Because while both were men of faith, it was Caleb who rose to publicly protest the majority opinion: “And Caleb stilled the people…and said, ‘Let us go up’” (ibid. 13:30). It was Caleb who stood up before the raging mob and endangered himself; it was Caleb who was prepared to give up his life if necessary for faith in G-d. He reached the peak of that faith.
And that is why Bezalel, grandson and great-grandson of men who reached the peak of faith, is chosen to build the holy sanctuary. In return for Caleb’s being filled with another spirit, G-d says concerning Bezalel, “And I shall fill him with the spirit of G-d” (Exodus 31:3). In return for Bezalel’s ancestors sanctifying G-d’s Name, the Almighty says: “Behold, I have called Bezalel by name.” Indeed, in the manner that a man measures things, thus is he himself measured.
It is Kiddush Hashem, the willingness to give of oneself in order to sanctify and magnify the glory of the Almighty, that is the touchstone of Judaism. Our failure to understand that, our failure to take risks and to “endanger” ourselves, is the clearest proof of the shallowness of our so-called faith. We shall merit building the new sanctuary on that day when we become the descendants of a Bezalel, a Hur, and a Caleb.
The Jewish Press, 1978