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Bezalel Design Thinking

Published February 28, 2014 2.09 Ki Tisa , 2.1 VaYakel/Pikkudei Leave a Comment
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As of late there has been a lot of talk of using Design Thinking in reforming Jewish Education. What is design thinking? Design Thinking has come to be defined as combining empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality in analyzing and fitting various solutions to the problem context. The premise of teaching Design Thinking is that by knowing about how designers approach problems and the methods which they use to ideate, select and execute solutions, individuals and businesses will be better able to improve their own problem solving processes and take innovation to a higher level.

It seems that knowing your students and the context in which they exist is important to design optimal educational experiences for them. But is this a new idea?

Recently I was talking with Alon Meltzer who had some really interesting insights into the development of the character of Bezalel. In the Talmud we learn that Bezalel must have been sitting in the tzel- shadow, listening in on the divine plan, and that is where he got his name (Berachot 55a). In his nature he was an observer.

In Ki Sisa we were introduced to Bezalel. We read:

See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,and I have imbued him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with insight, with knowledge, and with [talent for] all manner of craftsmanship ( Exodus 31:2)

Bezalel was filled the ruach, Holy Spirit. Rashi quotes the Sifrei to explain:

With his intellect he understands other things based on what he learned. With his intellect he understands other things based on what he learned

According to Rashi, the Holy spirit was his intellectual capacity to take an idea and make it into reality.

In Vayakhel we repeat the building of the Mishkan. There we are reintroduced to Bezalel and his God-given talents.  There we read:

Bezalel and Oholiav and every wise hearted man into whom God had imbued wisdom and insight to know how to do, shall do all the work of the service of the Holy, according to all that the Lord has commanded. ’With his intellect he understands other things based on what he learned’( Exodus 36:1)

This  seems to echo what Rashi was explaining that he knew how to brainstorm real life solutions.

And then in Pekuday, this week’s Torah portion we read:

Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, had made all that the Lord had commanded Moses.  (Exodus 38:22)

Here Rashi explains Bezalel’s ingenuity. He was able to realize that while Moshe was shown the utensils of the Mishkan first, it would be impractical to build them first, so he reversed the order and first built the house, and then the utensils.

Bezalel has insight and wisdom bestowed upon him from God. Then Bezalel takes these designs and prototypes them, constructing things according to plan and everything is ‘as God commanded him’. And finally this week Bezalel goes beyond and reimagines the project, and introduces his own vision in the implementation of the design. Bezalel seems to move seamlessly from observing to brainstorming, to prototyping, and finally to implementing. Bezalel seems to manifest this Design Thinking process. Maybe he can inspire us to rethink Jewish Education. 

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Different Ways to Connect

Published February 21, 2014 2.1 VaYakel/Pikkudei 1 Comment
The Rabbis had a robust imagination as to the nature of different angels. One of these was the Chayot Hakodesh. This creature had six wings. Each day of the week the Chayot Hakodesh would use a different wing to sing praises to God. The first time the creature reached Shabbat it asked God for a seventh wing to use on that day to praise God. “You don’t need a wing today,” answered God. “There is a wing down on earth which sings for me today as it says:
M’knaf ha’aretz zemiros shamanu – from the edge of the earth we have heard songs.(Isaiah  24:16)
On Shabbat, God tells the angels that God does not need songs and praises, as God has our song and praises. To this end we add many more praises and songs on Shabbat, to fulfill our special job of being the 7th wing. What a beautiful imagination? But,where in the world did the Rabbis get this image?
I was thinking about this when I was reading VaYakel, this week’s Torah portion. There we read:
And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knobs, and its flowers, were of one piece with it. And there were six branches going out of the sides thereof: three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof; three cups made like almond-blossoms in one branch, a knob and a flower; and three cups made like almond-blossoms in the other branch, a knob and a flower. So for the six branches going out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick were four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knobs thereof, and the flowers thereof; and a knob under two branches of one piece with it, and a knob under two branches of one piece with it, and a knob under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of it. Their knobs and their branches were of one piece with it; the whole of it was one beaten work of pure gold. And he made the lamps thereof, seven, and the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, of pure gold. (Exodus 37: 17- 23)
We are so used to seeing the image of the Menorah that we stopped seeing it as unique. Yes it was a 7 branched candelabra then helped them count the days of the week, but it also was a flaming instrument that has 6 wings like our Chayot Hakodesh. Is it possible that the Menorah is the inspiration for this image?
Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah  Yesodei ha-Torah, counts ten ranks of angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy, beginning from the highest being our Chayot Hakodesh to one of the lowest levels being the Cheruvim which sit on top of the Ark of the Covenant which we also learn about in our portion. It is noteworthy that the Cheruvim is hard for us as moderns to connect with, but the Menorah is everywhere ( insert your pick of many Modern Israel and Jewish Organizations here).
In his Sacred Fragments Rabbi Neil Gillman points out that the broken first tablets and the second tablets are both in the Ark of the Covenant. This means we accept that the myths we held as truth in the first naïveté are in fact myths, but having passed through the critical distance, we begin to re-engage these concepts at a different level. We no longer accept them at face value, as presented by religious authorities, but rather interpret them for ourselves, in the light of having assumed personal responsibility for our beliefs.  Both are held sacred in the Ark. It is similarly interesting that in the center of the Mishkan we find both the Cheruvim ( the most accessible) and the Menorah (representing the Chayot Hakodesh the least accessible.) Might this express how we should think about building communities of faith. Different people connect differently.  We need to hold at our center different ways to connect in order to create a meaningful and enduring community.

For the Love of Meetings

Published March 8, 2013 2.1 VaYakel/Pikkudei Leave a Comment
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At the outset of Vayakel Pekudey, this week’s Torah portion, we read:

And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said to them: “These are the words which the Lord has commanded, that you should do them” (Exodus 35:1)

Why does Moses have to assemble the people to deliver God’s message? Moses learned from Yitro his father-in-law at that there is at least one other to communicate to the masses. There we read:

And Moses’ father-in-law said unto him: ‘The thing that you are doing is not good. You will surely wear away, both you, and this people who is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it yourself alone. Hearken now to my voice, I will give you counsel, and God be with you: you should be for the people before God, and you should bring the causes to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover you shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (Exodus 18:17- 21)

I am sure that I am not the only one who feels that we just spend too much of our time in meetings. Going from meeting to meeting can really wear you down. I  just wish that there were other more effective ways of getting groups of people to work together besides just having more meetings. So why did Moses need to assemble the people to deliver this message?

There is no doubt that there is a value to meetings. As Woody Allen said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” I feel invigorated and much more creative when in the presence of others. But I need to remember that just because we have a meeting it does not mean that people outside of that meeting will benefit. We always need to work on making meetings more efficient to maximize our impact on the world beyond the meeting. And yes that means we all need more action items and time to do those actions items.

 

Leading in Absence

Published March 16, 2012 2.1 VaYakel/Pikkudei Leave a Comment
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With the close of VaYakel Pikkudei, this week’s Torah Portion, we read about the completion and consecration of the Tabernacle and conclude reading the book of Exodus. We read,

So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of God filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:33-38)

Why does the book end with this image? What is the meaning behind Moses not being able to enter the sacred space when the cloud is present?

The protagonist of most of the book of Exodus is a Levite who was raised in the house of the Egyptians and then spends his formative years as a shepherd for a Midianite priest. While Moses is homeless and caught between cultures, his charge is to bring the Israelites back home to the land of Canaan. Here we see the paradigm of Jewish history oscillating between survival and sovereignty, struggling in the galut, exile. But, it is in the exile itself that Moses is at home as a leader.

Here, at the end of Exodus, God periodically settles in their midst giving the Israelites a sense of what it will be like when they have a homeland and permanent residence for God in the Temple. Moses’s exile from the Tabernacle when it is stationary foreshadows his not joining his people in the Promised Land. The leader will not be able to join them when he has accomplished his mission. This points to a valuable lesson on the nature of leadership. It is the temptation of leaders to create systems around themselves that are completely dependent on them. Here it seems that Moses needs to be taught that  just the opposite is true. A good leader knows when to back off and let others take the lead.

Transitional Leadership

Published March 4, 2011 2.1 VaYakel/Pikkudei Leave a Comment
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With the close of this week’s Torah portion we read about the completion and consecration of the Tabernacle and conclude reading the book of Exodus. We read,

So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of God filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud was present, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:33-38)

Why does the book end with this image? What is the meaning behind Moses not being able to enter the sacred space when the cloud is present?

To understand these questions we need to look at the whole book of Exodus. The protagonist of most of the book of Exodus is a Levite who is raised in the house of the Egyptians. Moses spent his formative years as a shepherd for a Midianite priest. While Moses is homeless and caught between many cultures, his charge is to bring the Israelites back home to the land of Canaan. Here we see a paradigm of Jewish history oscillating between survival and sovereignty. We struggle in the galut, exile,without a home. But, it is in the exile itself that Moses is at home as a leader.

In our portion, at the end of Exodus, God periodically settles in their midst giving the Israelites a sense of what it will be like when they have a homeland and permanent residence for God in the Temple. Moses’s exile from the tent of meeting when it is stationary foreshadows his not joining his people in the Promised Land. Ironically, Moses, the leader, will not be able to join them when he has accomplished his/their mission. The text challenges our understanding of leadership. Leadership does not always mean being out in front. Good leaders know when to back off and let others take center stage. Moses is a leader in transition.

Housing our IP

Published February 25, 2011 2.1 VaYakel/Pikkudei Leave a Comment
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In VaYakel, this week’s Torah portion, we learn of Bezalel the master artist behind the creation of the Tabernacle and all of the accouterments. There we read ,” And God has put in his heart that he may teach..” ( Exodus 35:14). On this Ibn Ezra comments that some scholars have a great deal of wisdom but do not always want to or have the ability to share what they know with others. It is noteworthy that the Torah tells us that Bezalel was given a knowing heart coupled with the ability and desire to teach. This project of the community would not have come together without a leader like Bezalel.

I am struck but how much brilliance of our community is locked up in  intellectual property issues. While people should be rewarded for their efforts, it seems strange that we limit ourselves to antiquated rules of who owns Torah. We need to find ways to get our teachers to realize their God given gifts to teach and to incentivize them to share it on any and every platform.

I encourage you to watch this TED talk.

Larry Lessig’s points seem to ask the right questions.  How do we reward the innovators while not hampering innovation itself? How do we build for the future?

When discussing children in his Prophet, Kahlil Gibran wrote:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

I have to ask, do we own our ideas any more or less then we own our children? Bezalel asks us to reconsider the house that me might build. This could be a house for God, our children, or for ideas themselves. What are we doing to insure that we creating an environment in which we are all driven to share the overflow of these wonderful ideas? They are clearly the key to our sustained happiness if not our collective survival.

I encourage you to read up on Aharon Varady’s  Open Siddur Project. This represents an interesting venture that is asking us all to teach from an open heart.

Shabbat or Death

Published March 10, 2010 1.01 Bereishit , 2.1 VaYakel/Pikkudei Leave a Comment
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At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Vayakel Pekudey we read,” And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them: ‘These are the words which the Lord has commanded, that you should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of solemn rest to the Lord; whosoever does any work therein shall be put to death.” (Exodus 35:1-2) While the idea of the Sabbath is critical to the Jewish world-view, the Torah’s prescription of death for violating the Sabbath seems a bit harsh. Why is breaking Shabbat a capital offense?

It is interesting to note the context in which we read about this law. It is sandwiched in between to two descriptions of the construction of the tabernacle. In the context of our building a home for God we are told that if we act in certain way we will die. There is an interesting parallel here to the story about God’s building us a home, the Garden of Eden. In Genesis we read, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.'(Genesis 2:16-17) Similarly, in Genesis if Adam did something the consequence was death. While they are connected by their punishments, what is the meaning of the connection between eating of the tree of Knowledge and working on Shabbat?

In both cases, God is charging humankind to be more then just creatures of habit. We are not just animals that eat and build. Our true humanity is in our capacity to reflect. We cannot let ourselves be just a derivative of our work lives. We have to seek meaning in our lives both through and beyond the physical. So too in our lives, we cannot be satisfied without taking a break from the everyday experience. We need to strive to be more then what we do for a living. If we do not remember that fact, we are already dead.

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