Midreshet Amit

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This week’s Parasha, Parshat Pikudei, begins with a listing of all  the amounts of gold, silver and copper that were used in the making of the mishkan. The Mishkan was a portable sanctuary, a spiritual center in the midst of the desert. It was the place where the People of Israel would bring sacrifices to atone for sins or express gratitude.
 
Bazalel was in charge of building the mishkan. Bezalel was the son of Chor who died in honor of Hashem when Bnei Yisrael sinned with the Chet Haegel. According to the midrash, Chor tried to stop them, and because of this, all of his descendants were regarded favorably in the eyes of Hashem.  .Betzalel was “under rated” as some would say today. He was humble, quiet and not well known by most people. He had Chochma (common sense), Bina (being able to apply the common sense), and Daat (the ability to use the special talent Hashem has given you). Hashem gave Betzalel special blueprints to build the mishkan which is where Daat comes into play.
 
What can we learn from Betzalel and his father, Chor? Chor was what we call an honorable Jew, or a tzaddik. When he saw that something was wrong with the people around him, he stood up for what he believed was right, regardless of the consequences, which ultimately cost him his life. His son, Bezalel, inherited such amazing traits from him - his humbleness, Chochma, and daat. Through his father and his merit, Betzalel was awarded the building of the mishkan, and in a sense Chor was able to live vicariously through his son in this way. We are able to merit from our parents, and vice versa.
 
Our parents teach us right from wrong, and good from bad. We inherit the majority of our traits from them, seeing how they treat others, how they handle themselves in difficult situations, etc. We have the opportunity every day to merit our parents by acting to the best of our ability, to benefit from their merit so that one day our kids will be able to benefit from ours in the generations to come.