Vayakheil- Pikudei: public art

Vayakheil- Pikudei: public art

The book of Exodus ends with two chapters about the construction of the Tabernacle.  This exciting book that starts with the enslavement of the Hebrews, contains the emergence of Gd as a public entity.  Gd appears to  the fugitive Moses,   brings the miraculous signs and plagues, splits the red sea, provides food and water to the Israelites in the wilderness, appears on Mt Sinai, transmits the law ( twice), forgives the sin of the Golden calf.  Then... 41/2 chapters are dedicated to the Temple and Priestly Vestments.  

This week we read the last 2 chapters of the book of Exodus.  These chapters chapters repeat elements of the construction of the Tabernacle, which had previously been described ( in slightly greater detail)  in Teruma and Titzave 2 and 3 weeks earlier.  Separating the descriptions is the episode of the Golden Calf, the archetype of idolatry.  The juxtaposition forces the exploration  of  the relationship between art and idolatry.   

The Tabernacle was a complex artistic product. It was commissioned by Gd, but it served a purpose for the community.  It was built around the ark which contained the tablets of the convental law and was covered by a pure gold kaporeth which had images of cherubs hammered out of it. The ark was covered by images and contained tablets with a commandment against creating such images.  The golden cherub covered ark was separated from the remainder of the Holy of Holies by a tapestry with the images of cherubim.  Art often deals with contradiction, it is part of the pleasure of surprise. 

The (apparent) inconsistency of the ark raises the question of where the rules apply. I have always thought that the innermost sancta have an exemption from that the laws that emanate from them. That seems to be the nature of physical reality.  The intimate details of the nature of matter are governed by  quantum principles that seem quite strange when imagined on the level of ordinary human experience.  The personal lives of many political figures shows that  many think themselves  not bound by the norms of society.  Thus, art can be truth  - or at least remind us that the inner truth may be inconsistent with the usual, public truth. 

This Tabernacle is what Gd wants. It contrasts with the Golden Calf that Gd hates. The Calf was made from pure gold, the most valuable material anyone had.  The ark cover was also made of pure gold, but the contents of the ark were stone, the most abundant of materials. The ark had a gold veneer, but it was made of wood.  The contributions to the tabernacle  ranged from gems to goat hair, they came from every stratum of society and it was the product of all who were moved and had the skills to participate. The Golden calf looked like a populist project, but it was elitist. It was  a vehicle for the advancement of the loudest voices. The Tabernacle  followed a blueprint from Heaven and was administered by the Divinely selected elite, but it was made by all the people and it was the conduit for communication from Gd. 

The Oxford English Dictionary lists 19 definitions for "art". The first:  Skill; its display or application.  Medicine ( ever less a vehicle for creativity)  is called an art, a healing art.  Patents protect arts like the making of widgets or computer programs.  The construction of the Tabernacle involved the arts of metallurgy ,  jewelry, tapestry, carpentry, etc. 

It also involved the art of instructing and organizing people.  Bezalel was made the manager of the building enterprise.  He was imbued with the talent :   

וּלְהוֹרֹ֖ת נָתַ֣ן בְּלִבּ֑וֹ  to give directions Onkelos translates this וּלְאַלָּפָא יְהַב בְּלִבֵּיהּ.  He uses a word that means "teach" but also carries the connatation of "lead," 

Bezalel had the art of the project manager. The art of Edison, Jobs and Elon Musk

The second of the two parshioth for today begins with an accounting of the precious metals used in the construction of the Tabernacle.  This serves to flaunt the generosity of the contributing populace, to reinforce the significance of the Tabernacle  and to demonstrate the responsibility  of the builders to provide an audit. 

The Tabernacle was art in the sense of  the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects. It was an aesthetic object, something to be appreciated for the pleasure and  insight it provides.  That  is a quality shared with the Golden Calf,  It is not a surprise that same concepts and skill sets can be used for good and evil. 

I am confused about how to distinguish idolatry from art. Perhaps  that is a key part of the human endeavor.