The Gifts Placed in Our Hearts

Talent, Humility, and Choice in the Story of #Betzalel

In memory of our holy soldiers who fell sanctifying God’s Name and the Land of Israel:

Ephraim son of Liat and Shmuel, Yosef Malachi son of Dina and David, Eliyahu Moshe Shlomo son of Sarah and Shimon, Yosef Chaim son of Rachel and Eliyahu, Netanel son of Revital and Elad, Yakir son of Chaya and Yehoshua.

Living Between Fear and Joy

These weeks are heavy.

The war #EpicFury or #LionsRoar continues around us. #Sirens cut through the night, sometimes again and again, pulling us out of sleep and into that familiar rush toward #shelter. By morning, we try to return to our ordinary lives—work, teaching, and preparing for Shabbat—but the exhaustion accumulates.

My son (Yonatan Tzvi Ben Avigail) is serving on the front lines, like so many young men in this country right now. Every #parent of a #soldier carries anxiety and prayer like background static all day.

At the same time, our family is preparing for something joyful. Our daughter is getting married in 16 days!

Under normal circumstances, this would be a season of excitement and activity. Things are different now. Every decision comes with uncertainty. We know the wedding will happen, God willing. We know who the groom is, and we love him. What we do not know is where we will celebrate the wedding, how many friends and family we will be able to gather with, or what the circumstances around us will look like.

So life right now holds many layers at once: gratitude, worry, hope, and fatigue.

When the heart carries that weight, certain lines in the Torah begin to stand out differently.

This week’s parsha, #Vayakel #Pekudai, introduces Betzalel and the artisans who will build the Mishkan. Something about the Torah’s language is striking.

Again and again, the Torah pauses to remind us where their talent came from.

Their wisdom was placed in them.

Their skill was given.

God filled them with understanding.

Why does the Torah insist on telling us this?

Why can we not simply admire their brilliance?

The repetition feels deliberate, as if the Torah is trying to redirect our attention to something deeper.

Wisdom Placed in the Heart

When Moshe introduces Betzalel to the people, he says:

“See, Hashem has called by name Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Chur, of the tribe of Judah. And He filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and every craft.” (Shemot 35:30–31)

Betzalel’s wisdom is not described as something he possesses. It is something placed within him.

A few verses later, the Torah adds another layer:

“He placed in his heart the ability to teach, he and Oholiav, son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan.” (Shemot 35:34)

Even the ability to teach others is described as a gift placed inside the heart.

And when the work of the Mishkan begins, the Torah expands the description to include the entire group of artisans:

“Every wise-hearted person in whom Hashem placed wisdom and understanding came to do the work.” (Shemot 36:1)

Once again, the Torah returns to the same language.

Wisdom is placed in the heart. Skill is given.

At the same time, the Torah describes another movement. The people who join the work are those whose hearts lifted them and whose spirit moved them to step forward and contribute.

God places wisdom in the heart.

The heart chooses whether to rise.

What Is Given and What Is Chosen

This distinction appears elsewhere in Torah thought as well.

The Gemara teaches:

המלאך הממונה על ההריון נוטל טיפה ומעמידה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא ואומר לפניו: ריבונו של עולם, טיפה זו מה תהא עליה — גיבור או חלש, חכם או טיפש, עשיר או אבל צדיק או רשע לא קאמר. (נדה ט״ז ע״ב)

The angel appointed over conception presents the drop before God and asks: Will this person be strong or weak? Wise or foolish? Rich or poor?

But whether the person will be righteous or wicked—that is not decreed. (Niddah 16b)

Abilities may be given.

Circumstances may be given.

Character is chosen.

Betzalel’s greatness, therefore, lies not only in the wisdom placed within him but in what he chose to build with it.

When Talent Becomes Identity

This insight protects us from a very human mistake.

When talent becomes identity, it creates two major challenges.

The first is pride.

If the gift belongs to me, success easily becomes a source of ego.

The second is fear.

When ability defines who I am, failure becomes threatening. If I am “the talented one,” every mistake chips away at that identity. Many people respond by avoiding risk altogether.

Instead of encouraging growth, talent becomes something fragile that must be protected.

Modern psychology has noticed this dynamic as well.

Research by #CarolDweck, presented in Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, shows that children praised primarily for being smart or talented often become more cautious learners. Protecting the label becomes more important than attempting difficult challenges. Children praised for effort and persistence, by contrast, become more resilient. Their identity grows from what they choose to do, not from the abilities they were given.

A similar observation appears in a widely viewed #TEDTalk by #ElizabethGilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. In her talk, Your Elusive Creative Genius, she reflects on the way earlier cultures understood creativity. Rather than believing that artists possessed genius, people believed inspiration visited them—that creativity was something that passed through a person rather than something they owned.

In different language, the Torah expresses a similar humility.

Betzalel is never introduced as a genius.

Instead, the Torah says that God filled him with wisdom.

The gift belongs to God.

The building belongs to Betzalel.

The Tool Kit

Seen this way, the Torah offers a powerful way of understanding human life.

Each of us receives a different tool kit from God.

Some are given intellectual gifts. Some artistic ability. Some emotional sensitivity. Some practical skills.

These tools open possibilities, but they are not the essence of who we are.

They are entrusted to us.

They are placed in our hands so that we can move through the world and build something meaningful with them.

God places wisdom in the heart.

The heart decides whether to use it.

Parents Learning From God

This perspective carries enormous implications for how we raise children.

In Vayakhel, God acknowledges the gifts placed within the artisans without making those gifts their identity. What ultimately defines them is that their hearts lifted them to contribute.

Parents have the opportunity to mirror that model.

A child’s abilities are part of the toolkit they were given. Those gifts may create opportunities, but they are not the child’s achievement.

What truly belongs to the child are their choices.

Their effort. Their persistence. Their courage to try again. Their willingness to use their abilities in meaningful ways.

When we celebrate those choices, we strengthen the part of the child that truly belongs to them.

The pressure lifts.

The child no longer needs to protect the fragile identity of “the talented one.” They are free to grow.

What We Choose to Do With the Moment

In this light, the Torah’s language in Vayakhel is not diminishing Betzalel at all. It is protecting him.

The gifts we carry were never meant to define our worth. They are tools placed in our hands.

God places wisdom in the heart.

The heart chooses what to do with it.

But that does not always mean building something visible.

There are moments in life when we are actively constructing—raising children, creating institutions, launching projects, building homes and communities.

And there are moments like the one we are living through now.

Moments when life slows down against our will. When uncertainty suspends our plans. When the future feels temporarily out of our hands.

In those moments, it is easy to feel stuck.

But the Torah reminds us that even a holding pattern comes with a toolkit.

The tools may look different.

Time with family.

Moments to strengthen faith.

The opportunity to support one another.

The courage to keep choosing hope when circumstances feel fragile.

These are tools too.

We do not control the circumstances we are handed.

We do not control the cards we are dealt.

But we still decide how we will play them.

God places gifts in the heart.

The question is what we will choose to create with them — even in moments when the world feels paused and uncertain.

Even now.

Especially now.