WISDOM OF THE HEART

    "Rabbi are you going to purchase the new wrist watch by apple?" I was asked.  I wasn't even sure what this new apple phenomenon was all about. I did, however, begin to realize that the advancement of our technological world has no limits.  I can only imagine what this world will look like in ten years or so, as we become more and more tech savvy. 

     I am reminded of the story of the man who found frost on his window and tried to scrape it off. His neighbor, observing what he was doing asked him, "What are you trying to accomplish?" He replied, "I can't see out of the window and I am trying  to get rid of the frost.  But as fast as I scrape off the frost from one pane, frost appears on another." The neighbor answered, "Let the windows alone and light a fire inside. You will, then, see that the frost will disappear of itself."

  These are times that we are feeling the chill of the world against our Jewish faces and we need to kindle the fire of enthusiasm , the fire of love, the fire of spirituality, the fire  of Betachon , inside our very beings to thaw ourselves out.

   It is with this understanding that our Torah this Shabbat records the selection of Betzalel  to build the Miskan. Why was he chosen.  The Torah relates; 

ויקרא משה אל בצלא-ל ואל אהליאב ואל כל איש חכם לב אשר נתן הי חכמה בלבו

  "And Moshe called Bezalel and every wise hearted man in whose heart G-D had put wisdom."

    This is a very interesting expression; "Wisdom of the heart." What exactly does this mean?

      I sense there are two types of wisdom. There is wisdom of the mind, relating to 'things.' It is of a 'quantitative' nature. 

    Then there is the wisdom of the heart,  'reflecting the values of life' in a 'qualitative' way.

  Wisdom of the Heart projects oneself in ideals, in ethics , in love, in loyalty, and in friendship.  

  Understandably, the mind without the heart produces a robotic existence. The heart without the mind produces misery and poverty.

   Bezalel had all the qualities.  He was an outstanding architect and engineer, but more so, to build this edifice to Hashem, he needed to be a חכמת לב, a man who possessed a heart in all of his dealings .

    As I began my blog I emphasized that we are involved, greatly, in technology and I do realize it's importance. However, to do so for the better of humanity, a we must infuse our achievements with "The Wisdom of the Heart."

  This is our modern day challenge as we make great strides in the arena of technology.

   I remember reading of a western scientist who was boasting to an Indian intellectual. 

" In the west we are so advanced technologically, we can fly like a bird, we can run like a deer, and we can swim like a fish". 

 The Indian pondered for a moment and responded,"Yes, you can fly like a bird , you can run like a deer, you can swim like a fish, but can you walk like a man?"        

      Like Bezalel, let us meet the challenges that face us today with  "Wisdom of the Heart".