Miller's Musings Parshas Vayakhel: Wisdom is Where the Heart is

 

בס''ד

Building a repository for the presence of G-d is no small feat and seemingly necessitated specific kinds of individuals to accomplish its requirements.  The Mishkan and the vessels contained within, had to not only be assembled to the most precise instructions, but also had to be constructed by those who understood the nature of what it was they were undertaking.  The Torah specifies that “Every wise-hearted (Chacham Lev) person amongst you” should take part in this magnificent endeavour.  Examining that particular turn of phrase more closely may lead us to wonder why the attribute of wisdom is connected to the heart, normally associated with emotions, rather than the brain, the more conventional source of intelligence?  

The truth lies in understanding what genuine wisdom is.  The common misconception is to think that as long as a person has acquired significant knowledge, that person should be deemed sagacious when, as the Chochams Hamatzpun asserts, this is not at all the case.  If a person knows a tremendous amount about a subject, but does not apply that knowledge through practical application of its useful elements, than that person is far from wise and in reality may be considered a fool.   That type of person demanded by this lofty task had to be one who not only knew of spiritual matters but lived them as well.  The wisdom had to not only be in the mind, but in the heart, the reservoir of all those feelings within us that contribute to how we actually behave.

If we pause for a moment and take an honest look at our own lives, it is likely that we would concede to not truly living up to the standards that we know we should be keeping to.  A declaration that we know what is right, can be used as something of a defence for our behaviour and a justification for our life choices.  I may not be living to the values I aspire to, but at least I am a person who is aware of the ideals and one day will reach those ambitions.  Although this knowledge may be the foundation for future growth, it must not be used as a crutch to support stagnated development, relying on aspirations of future exploitation of our awareness of righteous behaviour, at the expense of actual change.  If we are not applying what we know to our every day, then we are perhaps no better off for knowing it.  If we are not trying to live the life we know to be the genuinely virtuous one, then we are living a life of folly with the keys to true wisdom stowed away in our pockets.

May Shabbos touch our minds and hearts.

 

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