“And Moses said to the sons of Israel, ‘Behold, the Lord has called the name Bezalel.’”
We should understand what it means that Moses tells the people of Israel, “Behold, the Lord has called the name Bezalel.”
It is written in the Midrash, in the portion Truma, “Since the Creator said to Moses, ‘Make Me a tabernacle,’ He began to ask and said, ‘The glory of the Creator is filled with upper ones and lower ones, yet He says, ‘Make Me a tabernacle.’’”
Moses said about this, “He dwells in the shelter of the Most High.” What is, “Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty”? It does not say here, “in the shadow of God,” “in the shadow of the Merciful one,” “in the shadow of the Gracious one,” but rather “in the shadow of the Almighty,” the shadow that Bezalel had made. This treatise is seemingly perplexing. How can it be said that Moses thought corporeal thoughts, since “The whole earth is full of His glory,” so how will He enter the tabernacle that he has built?
Also, our sages said, “He constrained His Shechina [Divinity] between the curtains of the ark.” Who can attribute a corporeal place?
We should ask similar to what perplexed Moses: Since “The whole earth is full of His glory,” yet the creatures do not feel His glory, for if they felt His glory, there would not be wicked in the world, so how can it be that through the tabernacle they will feel His glory?
The Midrash replies to this, “Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty,” meaning that the tabernacle that was made so they would feel that the Shechina is present in Israel was by the “the shadow of the Almighty.”
As Baal HaSulam said, “Shadow” means that precisely where there is sun, we can speak of a shadow, which we create against the sun. “Sun” means knowing. That is, if the matter is as clear to you as the sun.” “Shadow” means faith above reason, which is against knowing. So why must there be specifically faith? Why is it forbidden to serve the Creator with knowledge? It is that He said to His world, “Enough! Spread no farther.”
It is explained in the words of the ARI that the name Shadai [Almighty] is that when the worlds expanded, He said to his world “ Dai [enough], spread no farther.” At that time, he interprets the Yod-Dalet [fourteen] discernments called “from Chazeh of Yetzira and below, and the world of Assiya, where there are fourteen Sefirot, where it is the section of the Klipot [shells/peels].
Klipa [sing. of Klipot] is the quality of receiving in order to receive. Until that place, we can feel Kedusha [holiness], but in the place of the fourteen, it is impossible to feel Kedusha. Yod-Dalet [fourteen/ Yad (hand)] means vessels of reception, from the words, “for a hand attains.” Reception applies in both mind and heart, since where there is knowledge, we receive in vessels of reception.
For this reason, we must use Kelim [vessels] of faith where there is no grip to the vessels of reception, but only vessels of bestowal. Otherwise, the light of faith cannot be present. This is why it is called “by the shadow of the Almighty,” meaning because Shadai [the Almighty] the shadow was made. By this, it becomes possible to feel His glory.
It therefore follows that the merit of the tabernacle is that we are able to feel that the Shechina is present in Israel specifically on vessels of bestowal. This is called “Constrained His Shechina between the curtains of the ark.” “Constraining” means that specifically through vessels of bestowal and vessels of faith there is the ability to feel Him. But without these Kelim, although “The whole earth is full of His glory,” we do not feel Him.
Moses said about this, “He dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Moses said about this to the people of Israel, that precisely by the name Bezalel was the tabernacle made, meaning that precisely through the shadow, we will come to feel His glory.