Monday, February 25, 2013

Ki Tissa


Ki Tissa, Exodus 30:11-34:35
Shabbat Parah 

Tzedakah And Jewish Education

Our communal responsibility to ensure the immortality of the Jewish people depends on our commitment to supporting Jewish education.

Jewish education forms the backbone of our communities.

We assure the community of vitality and endurance through the Hebrew studies of our children, the outreach programs for those considering conversion, and the continuing education programs for other seeking adults. And those programs need our support.

Consider today's Torah portion. God instructs Moses to take a census of the Jewish People in order for each Jew to pay a half-shekel tax to maintain the central communal institution of Jewish learning--the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Mishkan, a Jewish school!?! Absolutely, since it was there that the entire Jewish community gathered to learn the word of God. And that first school was supported by all. The Torah records:

"Everyone who is entered in the records, from the age of twenty years up, shall give the Lord's offering: the rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than half a shekel when giving the Lord's offering..." (Exodus 30:14).

So vital was the necessity of everybody contributing to tzedakah (funds for public assistance, literally "justice") that, in the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra (12th-century Spain), the contribution "atones for a soul." According to the Talmud, "Tzedakah is as important as all the other commandments put together."

And precisely because of the centrality of giving--because it is only through supporting the community that we achieve a collective immortality--that this Torah verse imposes an unexpected obligation on the poor. For this verse insists that the poor cannot give less than a half-shekel. According to Maimonides, "even a poor person who lives entirely on tzedakah must also give tzedakah."

Monday, February 18, 2013

Tetzaveh-Shabbat Zachor


Tetzaveh, Exodus 27:20 – 30:10
Shabbat Zachor 

  

Clothes Make The Person

The emphasis on the priestly clothes teaches us the importance of bringing honor and splendor to God and the commandments.

 Overview

We continue with the theme that defines most of the rest of the Book of Exodus: the construction and institution of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary that was the place of worship for the Israelites and the House of God among the people during the years of wandering in the wilderness.

Parashat Tetzaveh specifically focuses on the Kohanim, the Priests who perform the rituals and sacrifices on behalf of the people.

Great detailed descriptions are given of the complex ritual garments of the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest--regally resplendent in gold and adornments of precious stones. Details are also given for the seven-day period of sacrifices and rituals required to consecrate the priests for service. The parashah ends with a short description of the golden altar upon which incense was offered and how it too is to be consecrated.
In Focus

Make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for dignity and splendor. (Exodus 28:2)

Continue reading.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Terumah

Exodus 25:1−27:19

The Menorah: Let Your Light Shine

The menorah teaches that each of us has a unique gift to contribute to the world.

Everyone knows that the principal symbol of Judaism is the six-pointed Star of David.

But did you know that the Magen David only became a Jewish symbol in the Middle Ages? Despite its prominence on the flag of Israel and kiddush cups, the Magen David is a rather late representative of Judaism and the Jewish People. For most of our history, and certainly in antiquity, the preeminent symbol of the Jewish religion was the Menorah, the seven-branched candlestick which was found first in the Tabernacle of Moses, and later in the Temple of King Solomon in Jerusalem.

First Mention of Menorah
That menorah is mentioned for the first time in today's Torah reading, when God tells Moses to "make a lampstand of pure gold...its base and its shaft, its cups, calyxes, and petals shall be of one piece. Six branches shall issue from its sides." In reading the description of the Menorah, the confusion is overwhelming--the details are so complex that it is easy to despair of ever visualizing it correctly.

That same confusion must have overwhelmed Moses as well. An ancient midrash, recorded in the Talmud as well, states that "three things presented difficulties to Moses, until the Holy Blessed One showed Moses with His finger:...[one was] the menorah, as it is written, 'and this was the work of the menorah.’" According to another ancient tradition, not God but the angel Gabriel drew a picture so that Moses could see the image that God was portraying in words.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Mishpatim

Here Comes The Judge

Parashat Mishpatim teaches us that our society cannot function without laws, judges, and courts of justice

Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1-24:18, Shabbat Sh’kalim 

At its deepest core, America prides itself on the rule of law--the insistence that no individual, however wealthy, influential, popular or powerful, is superior to the rules which govern human conduct. Above any individual--even the President of the United States--is a body of laws that translate general principles into legal guidelines for harmonious living.

The Case in America That priority was not always the case in America. The West, with its frontier ethic, the South with its racial hatred, and the Northeast with its violence against labor unions often acted against this general commitment to the rule of law. As great a president as Andrew Jackson was, when told of a decision of the Supreme Court that he opposed, responded, "They've made their decision, now let them get their own troops to enforce it!"

In our own age as well, we are accustomed to various presidents claiming immunity from various laws because of their high office. For all the times that Americans don't live up to the principle of law, that ideal still remains a potent force for justice and equality in our society.

That principle allowed the Reverend Martin Luther King to fight the powerful status quo of the South and of Chicago. It allowed student protesters to publicize unpopular views, and it allowed the women's movement and the environmentalists to be able to oppose injustice in our courts. The principle that the law is supreme is a direct inheritance from our biblical heritage.

The Torah is a Law Book The Torah itself is, in part, a book of law, presenting the Jewish conviction that the will of God is translated into action through law. By using the metaphor of law to frame Jewish religious obligations, our tradition lifts goodness beyond the flimsy level of preference or mood, establishing the hatred of evil and the pursuit of righteousness as a mandate at all times and places.

Continue reading.