2022/5782
The phrase "כל צוה ה׳ את משה," "Just as Hashem commanded Moshe" appears many times throughout this week's Parashah, Parashat Pekudei. This emphasizes that Betzalel built the Mishkan exactly as Hashem instructed him, without any differences.
The Ba'al HaTurim comments that the phrases "כל צוה ה׳ את משה" and "כאשר צוה ה׳ את משה" both refer to the fulfilling of Hashem's instructions exactly as He instructed. These phrases are mentioned a total of 18 times throughout the Parashah, representing the 18 Brachot of שמונה עשרה.
What do these two concepts have to do with each other? The connection between the שמונה עשרה and building the Mishkan precisely as Hashem commanded is based on the man who built the Mishkan, Betzalel.
The Torah says that Hashem filled Betzalel with the spirit of Hashem, wisdom, knowledge, and every form of craftsmanship. Furthermore, the Gemara says that he knew how to combine letters of heaven and earth. Betzalel created beautiful and incredible masterpieces; he could create genius and elegant art independently. But he disregarded his talent and remained focused on fulfilling the will of Hashem to the last detail. Betzalel possessed incredible abilities and innovations, but he did not stray away from what he was supposed to do.
At the same time, many of us daven שמונה עשרה, and it feels like it's a little outdated. Perhaps we could make it better by adding creative words to our davening to apply them in a relevant way. When faced with the option of adding in his own innovative supplement to the Mishkan, Betzalel held back and did precisely what Hashem commanded. We, too, should realize, just like Betzalel did, that we shouldn't stray from Hashem's words. We should try not to add to our siddur, change it, or stray from saying the words we are supposed to say, as we are not more creative than Betzalel and certainly not more creative than Hashem. By davening with proper Kavanah and using the right words, may Hashem answer all our Tefillot for good.