This class was presented at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY, on Sunday Parshas Vayakhel Pekudei, 21 Adar, 5777, March 19, 2017.

It is a strange story. Moses seemingly distorted what G-d told him, telling the craftsman of the Sanctuary to first build the furniture and only afterward the outer structure. It was Betzalel who reminded him of the simple truth that you first build a house before you furnish it. Upon deeper reflection, this incident captures the story of our lives.

Many great thinkers, writers, and artist, produced extraordinary works. Their content was great, their message potent, and their talent exceptional. What they lacked was the exterior structure for their souls lavish output. Sadly, in our world “art” needs a proper “frame.” Lacking the frame, the art may remain in its corner and melt into oblivion.

The great argument between Moses and Betzalel was which came first—the energy or the container, the vision or the structure? Moses was a visionary; Betzalel was a man of action. In conclusion, we discover, they were both right: In the world of thought and strategy, art precedes the frame; in the world of action and implementation, the frame precedes the art. In the world of light, vision takes precedence. In the world of shadows, your dreams must follow your actions, not the other way around.

The class continues to explore another perspective by Reb Tzadok of Lublin. Judaism consists of two components—what G-d gives us and what we give G-d. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah. One is Divine; the other is filtered through human creativity. But are they really different? Depends from whose perspective.