Readings for Saturday, March 2, 2024
Ki Tissa (When you take)
30:11 - 34:35 Shemot
Ki Tissa is the
ninth sedrah in the book of Shemot. The
sedrah takes the name Ki Tissa from the second sentence of the sedrah: “When you take (Ki Tissa) a census of the
children of Israel…” (30:12). Ki Tissa
can be divided into three main parts - Additional commands pertaining to the
Sanctuary, the Golden Calf and Reconciliation and Reaffirmation. We have only two more sidrot before finishing
Shemot.
Additional Commands Pertaining to the
Sanctuary (30:11-31:18)
The first
portion of Ki Tissa picks up where last week’s reading left off; with more
rules relating to the Sanctuary. First is
the command tying the taking of a census with the giving of a half-shekel. All those counted are to give the same amount
and the money collected is to be used to support the Sanctuary. According to the commentators, the equal
contribution is a guarantee that all, rich and poor alike, will have the same
stake in the holy activities of the Priests.
No person can own the Tabernacle and no person can be dispossessed. This is one more way of reinforcing the
concept of the People of Israel or the Whole House of Israel. Moshe is told to make utensils, which the
Priests are to use for washing when entering the Tabernacle. This is one of the many sources for the
customs of ritual washing that we follow today, including washing with a
blessing before starting the Morning Prayers and washing with a blessing before
eating bread. Next is the instruction
concerning the Incense. The severe penalty
proscribed for misuse of the incense gives an idea of how important God (and
our ancestors) considered this. (See Themes for more.)
Moshe will not
have to build all that God has commanded by himself. Instead, God appoints two craftsmen, Bezalel
and Oholiab, to lead the project.
Bezalel means “in the shadow of God.”
There are numerous legends about him. The Torah does tell us that Bezalel is the
grandson of Hur, one of the two leaders Moshe named to serve in his stead while
he was on
The Golden Calf (32:1-35)
Since this is
only a summary, we can only hit the highlights of what is one of the most
confusing episodes in Shemot. There are
numerous explanations for the events described.
A common one is that the people panicked and reverted to idolatry. Others feel this is a misreading. Yes, the people panicked when Moshe did not
appear at the promised time, but this meant they had lost what they perceived
as their intermediary with God not their God.
So they had Aaron build them another intermediary, this time in the form
of a Golden Calf, which was a throwback to their Egyptian experience. Regardless, God and Moshe are both upset
about what they are hearing from the encampment at the foot of
The drinking of
the liquefied ash is reminiscent of the rules pertaining to the unfaithful
wife. The image of
There are those
who contend that the story of the Golden Calf was placed here by later
writers. It was part of a contest
between the
From the point
of view of narrative, the Golden Calf episode is out of place. It should have come after the end of
Mishpatim (24:12-18) where Moshe ascends the mountain. Then skip ahead to 31:18 where Moshe gets the
stone tablets. This is followed by the
events of the Golden Calf and the second set of stone tablets. With the Golden Calf, the Israelites had
shown that they were not ready to deal with a totally spiritual concept of God. They needed tangible signs of Him at all
times. It was this need that caused God
to command the building of the Tabernacle and establish the sacrificial
system. Hopefully this interpretation
will help make sense of the events covered over the last several weekly
readings. Please note; this is one
interpretation, it is not the only one.
Reconciliation and Reaffirmation
(33:1-34:35)
Like children
who have angered their parent, the Israelites are waiting for “the other shoe
to drop.” Will God abandon them or will
He accept their repentance and keep them as His people? God repeats His promise to take the
Israelites to the Promised Land. But,
like a very angry parent, God tells Moshe that it is better if He is not among
the Israelites lest He forget His promise to spare the people. Moshe communicates with God at the tent at
the edge of the encampment. (This is not
to be confused with the previously mentioned Tabernacle or Tent of
Meeting.) Just as Moshe had tried to
gain insight into God at the Burning Bush, so now once again he pleads to know
more of God. While God agrees to reveal
more of Himself, not even Moshe can see God face to face. While we all seek to draw near unto God and
God seeks to draw us near unto Him, there is a limit between the human and the
Divine, even when that human is Moshe.
As a sign that
the Israelites are still the Chosen People, Moshe will again bring down two
tablets. But this time it will be
different. Moshe must carve the tablets
and bring them up the mountain. Here we
see a repetition of the Garden of Eden theme.
God gave Adam and Eve everything in the Garden. They rejected His gift by sinning. They got a second chance but this time around
they would have to work for what God had once given them freely. The first set of tablets were hewn by God and
waiting for Moshe. This time he would
have carry the stones up that mountain to receive the law. Considering Moshe’s age, this was quite a
task. For the purists among you, this
time the writings on the tablets are called the Ten Words (literally) or Ten
Commandments (New Jewish Publication Society Translation) (34:28). God repeats His covenant. He reminds the Israelites that He will drive
out the inhabitants of
Themes:
Commandments
105. The
requirement that every Israelite give a half-shekel annually to support the
sanctuary (30:13).
106. The
requirement that priests wash their hands and feet when ministering at the sanctuary
(30:19-21).
107. The
commandment to anoint the High Priest with specially prepared oil (30:25, 26,
30).
108. The
prohibition against using the special anointing oil on someone other than a
High Priest (30:32).
109. The
stricture against replicating the anointing oil described in the Torah (30:32).
110. The
prohibition against using for private purposes the formula described in the
Torah to make ritual incense (30:37).
111. The
stricture against eating or drinking food or liquor that had been offered
before an idol (34:15).
112. The
prohibition against laboring on Shabbat even during plowing and harvesting
times (34:21).
113. The
stricture against eating milk and meat together (34:26).
From Biblical
Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Using Telushkin
as the source, there is only one more commandment in the book of Shemot.
Prayers
This week’s
sedrah provides us with four readings for the Prayer Book:
30:17-21 The reading concerning washing with the
copper laver opens the section called Korbanot (Sacrificial Offerings) found at
the start of the Daily and Shabbat Morning services among traditional Jews.
30:34-36 The reading concerning the making of
the Incense opens the section called Ketoret (Incense Offering) that follows
the recitation of the Korbanot section.
31:16-17 These two verses are referred to as the
Veshamru. They are part of the Shemoneh
Esrei (Eighteen Benedictions or Silent Devotion) for Shabbat and also recited
as part of the Shabbat morning Kiddush. Just
as the Jewish people have kept Shabbat, so has Shabbat kept the Jewish people.
34:6-7 These verses are called the Thirteen Attributes of
God. They are chanted on Rosh Hashanah,
Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkoth after the Torah has been removed from
the ark. For those who have heard it,
you know that the chant is a haunting one that is repeated three times in an
increasingly beseeching tone. According
to Plaut, The Thirteen Attributes are as follow:
1 and 2. “Adonai,
Adonai” The Lord, The Lord - Mercy twice over (repeating the name gave rise to
the interpretation of it being “twice over” - God is merciful before man has
sinned and after man has sinned and repented.
3. “El” (God)
God is most high, the supreme ruler
4. “Rachum”
Compassionate
5. “Chanun”
Gracious
6. “Erech
apayim” Slow to anger
7. “Rav Chesed”
Abounding in kindness
8. “Emet” Truth
9. “Notzer
chesed la-alafim” Extending kindness to the thousandth generation
10,11,12.
“No-se avon vefesha ve-chata-ah” Forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin
13. “Ve-nakeh
lo yenakeh” Yet He does not remit all punishment.
Nobility of Labor
Judaism does
not take a dim view of the concept of those who work for a living. The commandment concerning Shabbat tells us
that we shall work for six days. Furthermore,
in naming the craftsmen who are to build the Tabernacle, the Torah is pointing
out the value of all work, including what some call derisively, manual labor.
Leadership
The Torah has
survived, in part, because it speaks to the human condition. This week’s reading offers a textbook case in
leadership. Notice how Moshe identifies
with the Israelites and how he takes responsibility for their behavior. If they are to be punished, then he is to be
punished in the same manner. Compare
this with the penchant for the double standard shown by our leaders (the Wall
Street Bankers and so-called “Captains of Industry” are two modern examples)
today and see if maybe the example of Moshe shouldn’t be the one taught at the
Harvard and Kellogg schools of business.
Timing of the Tablets
Moshe went up
to get the second set of Tablets on the twenty-ninth day of Av. He actually received them on Yom Kippur. According to some, the second set of Tablets
is a sign of God’s forgiveness and His acceptance of our atonement for the Sin
of the Golden Calf.
Levi, Dinah and the Golden
Calf
In Bereshit,
Levi drew his sword and killed those who had defiled his sister Dinah. Levi had used a basic commandment from God,
circumcision, as part of a plot to take the lives of others. In other words, he had corrupted God’s word
for his own purposes no matter how noble he may have thought they were. As we can see from the blessing at the end of
Bereshit, Jacob never forgave Levi for this.
In Shemot, the tribe of Levi draws its sword just as their progenitor
had. However, this time Levi drew its
sword to defend the commandments of God.
According to some, it is because of this zeal for the Lord, that the
tribe of Levi is accorded its special role as described in the Torah. It is not always the deed that counts. Sometimes it is the motive for performing the
deed that counts the most.
The Sacred and the Profane
“You shall
sanctify them (i.e., the utensils to be used on the altar) and they shall
remain holy of holies; whatever touches them shall become holy.” (Shemot
30:29). This is a thought provoking
statement about the power of that which has been consecrated to the Lord. And the statement is counter-intuitive. Normally, one would assume that when something
that is not holy comes in contact with something that is holy, the holy object
becomes unholy. Yet, here it is the
other way around. The holy object does
not lose its holiness when it comes in contact with that which is not
holy. Could this be a ritualistic
formulation of the concept we see later in this Sedrah? The Children of Israel, the holy people, do
not lose their holiness even though they have strayed and built the Golden
Calf. Once chosen by God, the Jewish
People are always chosen. The Jew may
stray, but God is always there waiting for him or her to return to the path of
righteousness. It may not be Rashi, but
it is something to think about.
Kashrut
This week we
find a repetition of the injunction about milk and meat. Echoing the words of Exodus 23:19 we read,
“thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of its mother” (Exodus 34:26). There are several reasons given for this
injunction. Some contend that this was
part of the recipe for a drink used by some pagans in the idol worshipping
ceremonies. So this would be another
example of seeing to it that the Israelites did not engage in any activity that
even approximated the behavior of those who bowed to graven images. Another explanation is that this is part of
the conditions that God placed on the Israelites for letting them eat
meat. According to this explanation, God
had not intended people to be carnivores.
Once He realized that there was a propensity for eating meat, He allowed
the Jews to do it but with restrictions.
Since all life was sacred, including the lives of animals, certain rules
were imposed as part of the tradeoff for the pleasure of eating animal
flesh. One last explanation has to do
with the concepts of mercy and human decency.
If you must eat meat, do not be so barbaric as to figuratively consume
the child in a sauce made from the very liquid of the mother that gave that
child life. Like all dietary laws, in
the end, this one too falls under the category of Chukat - a commandment whose
real purpose we will only understand with the coming of the Moshiach or
Messiah. Regardless, for those who want
to try keeping kosher a little bit, this provides an easy entrée point. Order the hamburger instead of the
cheeseburger. Have chicken instead of chicken
parmesan. And if you are having ice
cream for dessert, eat a tuna or grilled cheese sandwich instead of a hot dog
or burger.
Yizkor
In speaking of
how we should observe the three pilgrimage festivals - Pesach, Shavuot, and
Sukkoth - the Torah says “None shall appear before me empty-handed” (Exodus
34:19). One of the reasons given for
reciting Yizkor, the Memorial Service, on these three holidays is to fulfill
this command. Each of the formularies
for remembering the departed contains a promise to give charity in the name of
the deceased. For example, “May God
remember the soul of ….who has gone to his world, because I pledge (without
vowing) to donate to charity for his sake.”
The idea is that if the person were still alive he or she would be the
kind of righteous person who would be giving the charity. At any rate, just as we do not come
empty-handed to celebrate the three festivals, so do we not come empty-handed
when we remember those who have gone before us.
Enjoy what I have or Have
what I enjoy
Our tradition
offers numerous lessons on this topic or its variants. This week we read “And I will be gracious to
whomever I will be gracious” (Exodus 33:19).
In the Talmud, the sages extended this to read “And I will be gracious
to whomever I will be gracious: Even to
the undeserving” (Tractate Berachot). To
illuminate the point, the Chassidim tell the following tale. A wealthy merchant would visit Reb Zusya (one
of my favorite Chassidic characters) and
leave him gifts of food or wine or a bag of coins to help this wise but poor
Rebbe. One day he visited Zusya but
Zusya was not at home. When the merchant
asked where Zusya was, he was told that Zusya was visiting his Rebbe. The wealthy merchant pondered this
matter. If he had been blessed in his
business dealings because he had been making donations to Zusya, just think how
much more he would be blessed if he started making those donations to Zusya’s
Rebbe (climbing the corporate ladder so to speak). So the merchant stopped giving to Zusya and
started giving to Zusya’s Rebbe, a man he assumed to be of greater merit than
Zusya. But lo and behold, instead of his
business improving his business took a turn for the worse. Realizing that he must have done something
wrong by ignoring Zusya, the merchant went to visit the Rebbe. “Why,” he asked,” is it when I used to visit
you my business throve, but when I started visiting your Rebbe - who is
presumably a greater Rebbe - success deserted me?” Reb Zusya replied, “It is all very
simple. I am not a tzaddik at all and
that is why when you used to give me money, even though I was unworthy of
receiving it, the Heavenly Court was not particular with you, either, and you
were granted prosperity even though you did not really deserve it. But the moment you started being particular
about evaluating people precisely, and decided to visited my Rebbe - who really
is a Tzaddik - the Heavenly court decided to start being particular about
evaluating you; and when they found that you weren’t in fact deserving of that
prosperity, they withheld it.”
The Role of Aaron
If you are
puzzled by the role of Aaron in the story of the Golden Calf, do not think you
are the only one. Abarbanel, the
Sephardic sage, raises a number of questions on this matter. “Why did Moses ask Aaron what the people had
done to him to force him to make the calf?”
“In a case of idolatry,” isn’t one “supposed to die rather than let
oneself be forced to sin?” “Why are the
people punished, and many of them killed, for making the calf that was actually
made by Aaron?” Why is it that Aaron,
“is never punished for” making the calf “and is even made the High Priest, who
will atone for the Israelites?”
Who Made the Calf?
God tells
Moses, “Hurry down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
have acted basely. They have been quick
to turn aside from the way that I enjoined upon them. They have made themselves a molten calf and
bowed low to it.” The Torah is quite
explicit about God being the one who brought the Israelites out Egypt. So who are these people who Moses brought out
of Egypt? According to the commentators,
they were “the mixed multitude,” non-Israelites whom Moses allowed to join the
Jews on their way out of Egypt. But if
this were true, then why punish the Israelites for building the calf when it
was non-Israelites who did the deed?
Could it be that God was so angry with the Israelites that he
disassociated Himself from them and referred to them as the people of
Moses? Since we already know that God
was angry enough with the Israelites to destroy them, it takes no great leap of
logic to believe that He was angry enough to disown them and palm them off on
Moses. If we accept this explanation
then punishing the Israelites makes sense since they were the ones who indeed
built the calf. (You see, there are a
lot more than Four Questions when it comes to the whole Passover Story.)
Tablet Tantrum
“…and Moses’
anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them
beneath the mount.” (Exodus 32:19). Moses
came running down the mountain, saw the Israelites dancing around the Golden
Calf and he smashed the tablets. The
tablets contained the words of God – words that God had intended for the
children to hear and to obey. God did
not tell Moses to deny His words to the people.
Moses made that decision. While
Moses’ angry response is understandable, it might be seen as yet another
example of his hot temper. And while
Moses gets high marks for interceding on behalf of the Israelites when He
threatens to destroy, it would seem that his smashing of the tablets was an
ultimate act of Chutzpah. After all, who
was he to deny the word of God to the Children of Israel?
Haftarah
I Kings 18:1-39 Ashekanzim
(This is one of the longest of the year)
I Kings
The Book: Originally
Kings was one book. The authors
of the Septuagint divided it into First and Second Kings. Kings covers the period of history from the
death of King David through the destruction of the
The Man: This
week’s haftarah features three interesting figures. First is the prophet Elijah. Elijah appears earlier in the text without
warning or fanfare “And Elijah the Tishbite who was of the settlers of
Ahab was King
of Israel (The Northern Kingdom) from 871 through 852 B.C.E. He was a prosperous Near Eastern potentate
married to the foreign-born Jezebel. While
Ahab may have been a strong King, he was a weak man and a weak husband. He allowed Jezebel to elevate the idolatrous
worship of Baal and Asherah. Among her
crimes was the murder of the untold numbers of prophets who were faithful to
Adonai. In other words, she led a
forcible campaign to replace the worship of God with the worship of idols in direct
violation of the commandments.
The Message: The
most famous part of the haftarah describes a contest between the four hundred
fifty prophets of Baal versus Elijah.
The confrontation takes place on
Theme-link:
Both readings describe lone prophets of the Lord on mountaintops
surrounded by those using bovines in their religious rituals. In the case of the sedrah, it is Moshe
dealing with the apostasy of the Golden Calf.
In the haftarah, it is the Israelites who have turned to Baal, offering
bulls up to him on their altars. In the
haftarah, it is the lone figure of Elijah arrayed against the prophets of Baal
and the power of the Queen who sets up the mountaintop confrontation that will
bring the people back to the spiritual roots.
In both the sedrah and the haftarah, the people repent. In the sedrah and the haftarah, the people
are ultimately stricken with the realization of their sin and re-new their
pledge of loyalty to Adonai. In the
sedrah and the haftarah one lone person makes the difference. One person standing with God is stronger than
the multitude clinging to their idol.
Elijah, From Man to Myth: The figure of Elijah that has entered into
Jewish tradition stands in stark contrast to the depiction found in Kings. In Kings he is a tough, uncompromising zealot
who is willing to kill multitudes and stand up against the monarchy in the name
of God. But for us he is this benign
figure who will announce the coming of the Moshiach (Messiah). He is the guest we invite into our homes each
year at Pesach. We have a special place
for him at each brit. And we sing his
song every week at the conclusion of the Havdalah ceremony. Why and how did this transformation take
place? We know that some time during the
days of the
Jezebel:
Jezebel has come down to us as the embodiment of evil. But from Jezebel’s point of view she is
merely behaving in accord with the value system of her pagan society whose
values were different from the values of the Israelites. In the pagan world of Jezebel, kings were
like gods. They were above the law. Hence, she could not understand why her
husband the king should not have Navot’s vineyard. She could not understand why it was wrong to
take the land from its rightful owner since the king wanted it. Her quarrel with Elijah was not over his
belief in Adonai. As a pagan she could
allow for a multitude of gods. Her
quarrel with Elijah came from his insistence that the monarchy was subservient
to the commandments of God. Jezebel
stands as a rebuke to the concept of moral relativism that is so popular today;
that all cultures and beliefs have value and that we have no right to hold one
to have more merit than the other.
Jezebel was true to her pagan concepts.
But it is obvious she was faithful to a system that was morally
deficient when compared to the law Moshe brought down from Sinai. In marrying Jezebel, Ahab committed a
grievous sin. This marriage gave her an
opening to replace the teachings of Adonai with the practices of Baal. By allowing her teachings “in,” Ahab violated
the concept of holiness i.e., being separate. (For more on this see “Jezebel, The Great
Queen”, pg. 203-212, Biblical Images by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.) Lest you have any doubts about the evil of
Jezebel, remember she was the mother of Athaliah, one of the bloodiest women in
Jewish history.
Copyright; March
2024; Mitchell A. Levin
2/25/16
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