  Bezalel In Exodus 31:1-6, Bezalel (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל, also transcribed as Betzalel and most accurately as B'tzalel), is the chief architect of the Tabernacle. Elsewhere in the Bible the name occurs only in the genealogical lists of the Book of Chronicles, but according to cuneiform inscriptions a variant form of the same, "Ẓil-Bêl," was borne by a king of Gaza who was a contemporary of Hezekiah and Manasseh. Apparently it means "in the shadow [protection] of El." Bezalel is described in the genealogical lists as the son of Uri (Exodus 31:1), the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah (I Chronicles 2:18, 19, 20, 50). He was said to be highly gifted as a workman, showing great skill and originality in engraving precious metals and stones and in wood-carving. He was also a master-workman, having many apprentices under him whom he instructed in the arts (Exodus 35:30-35). According to the narrative in Exodus, he was definitely called and endowed to direct the construction of the tent of meeting and its sacred furniture, and also to prepare the priests' garments and the oil and incense required for the service. He was also in charge of the holy oils, incense and priestly vestments.
The rabbinical tradition relates that when God determined to appoint Bezalel architect of the desert Tabernacle, He asked Moses whether the choice were agreeable to him, and received the reply: "Lord, if he is acceptable to Thee, surely he must be so to me!" At God's command, however, the choice was referred to the people for approval and was endorsed by them. Moses thereupon commanded Bezalel to set about making the Tabernacle, the holy Ark, and the sacred utensils. It is to be noted, however, that Moses mentioned these in somewhat inverted order, putting the Tabernacle last (compare Exodus 25:10, 26:1 et seq., with Exodus 31:1-10). Bezalel sagely suggested to him that men usually build the house first and afterward provide the furnishings; but that, inasmuch as Moses had ordered the Tabernacle to be built last, there was probably some mistake and God's command must have run differently. Moses was so pleased with this acuteness that he complimented Bezalel by saying that, true to his name, he must have dwelt "in the very shadow of God" (Hebrew, "beẓel El"). Compare also Philo, "Leg. Alleg." Bezalel possessed such great wisdom that he could combine those letters of the alphabet with which heaven and earth were created; this being the meaning of the statement (Exodus 31:3): "I have filled him . . . with wisdom and knowledge," which were the implements by means of which God created the world, as stated in Proverbs 3:19, 20 (Berakhot 55a). By virtue of his profound wisdom, Bezalel succeeded in erecting a sanctuary which seemed a fit abiding-place for God, who is so exalted in time and space (Exodus R. 34:1; Numbers R. 12:3; Midrash Teh. 91). The candlestick of the sanctuary was of so complicated a nature that Moses could not comprehend it, although God twice showed him a heavenly model; but when he described it to Bezalel, the latter understood immediately, and made it at once; whereupon Moses expressed his admiration for the quick wisdom of Bezalel, saying again that he must have been "in the shadow of God" (Hebrew, "beẓel El") when the heavenly models were shown him (Numbers R. 15:10; compare Exodus R. 1. 2; Berakhot l.c.). Bezalel is said to have been only thirteen years of age when he accomplished his great work (Sanhedrin 69b); he owed his wisdom to the merits of pious parents; his grandfather being Hur and his grandmother Miriam, he was thus a grand-nephew of Moses (Exodus R. 48:3, 4).
Bezalel is Israel's national school of art. It is named after the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן־אוּרִי), who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:30). It is located on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem and has 1,500 students registered in programs such as: Fine Arts, Architecture, Ceramic Design, Industrial Design, Jewelry, Photography, Visual Communication, Animation, Film, and [[Art History]] & Theory. Bezalel offers Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.), Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) degrees, a Master of Fine Arts in conjunction with Hebrew University, and two different Master of design (M.des) degrees . The academy was founded in 1903 by Boris Schatz, and opened in 1906 with the association of E.M. Lilien, but was cut off from its supporters in Europe by World War I, and closed due to financial difficulties in 1929. The academy was named "Bezalel" (Hebrew: "in God's shadow") as an illustration of God's creativity being channeled to a man of flesh and blood, providing the source of inspiration to Bezalel ben Uri in the construction of the holy ark.
Many early Zionists, including Theodor Herzl, felt that Israel needed to have a national style of art combining Jewish, Middle Eastern, and European traditions. The teachers at the academy developed a distinctive school (or style) of art, known as the Bezalel school, in which artists portrayed both Biblical and Zionist subjects in a style influenced by the European jugendstil (art nouveau) and by traditional Persian and Syrian styles. Like the Wiener Werkstätte in Vienna, William Morris firm in England, and Tiffany Studios in New York, the Bezalel School produced decorative art objects in a wide range of media: silver, leather, wood, brass and fabric. While the artists and designers were European-trained, the craftsmen who executed the works were often members of the Yemenite community, which has a long tradition of craftsanship in precious metals, and whose members had been making aliyah in small groups at least form the beginning of the nineteenth century, forming a distinctive Yeminite community in Jerusalem. Silver and goldsmithing, occupations forbidden to pious Muslims, had been traditional Jewish occupations in Yemen. Yemenite immigrants with their colorful traditional costumes were also frequent subjects of Bezalel school artists. Leading artists of the school include E.M. Lilien, Meir Gur Aryeh, Zeev Raban, Boris Schatz, Jacob Eisenberg, Jacob Steinhardt, and Herman Struck. The School folded because of economic difficulties. It was reopened as the New Bezalel School for Arts and Crafts in 1935, attracting many of its teachers and students from Germany, many of them from the Bauhaus school which had been shut down by the Nazis. In 1969 it was converted into a state-supported institution and took its current name. It completed its relocation to the current campus in 1990.
In 2006, the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design celebrated its 100th anniversary. In the future, the academy is expected to change its locationback to Jerusalem's city center, to what is now known as The Russian Compound. |
Bezalel |
The Bezalel Academy of Art and Design 
