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Ki Sisa 5781

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Charity assurances[1]

העשיר לא-ירבה והדל לא ימעיט ממחצית השקל לתת את-תרומת יקוק לכפר על-נפשתיכם
The wealthy shall not increase, nor shall the poor decrease, from the half-shekel donation. To give the donation of Hashem [is] to atone for their souls[2]

This week’s parsha begins with the mitzvah to give the half-shekel donation to the Temple, known as the machatzis hashekel. This donation was to help fund the offerings throughout the year. In this instance, it was also to help fund the construction of the Mishkan, the portable Temple while the Jews were in the wilderness. There’s an interesting message embedded into the mitzvah. The same amount is donated by every Jew. It doesn’t matter what the person’s standing is. If they’re exceedingly wealthy, or terribly poor, every Jew is to donate the same amount. The wealthy shouldn’t give more, and the poor shouldn’t give less[3]. It shows that in many ways, we’re all equal. We’re all children of Hashem.

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Bo 5779

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The conditional promise[1]

דבר נא באזני העם וישאלו וגו’ כלי כסף וכלי זהב
Please tell the people to borrow…silver and gold vessels [2]

Just before the Exodus was about to take place, Hashem made an unusual request of Moshe. He told him to please ask the Jewish people to borrow valuables from their Egyptian neighbors. The usage of the word “please” indicated to Chazal that there was some special purpose to this request. They explain[3] that Hashem was concerned (so to speak), that that righteous one, meaning Avraham, will have complaints against Him. Hashem gave[4] Avraham a prophecy that his children will be strangers in a strange land. They will be oppressed and enslaved. However, the consolation is they will leave Egypt supremely wealthy.
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Re’eh 5778

The fence for wealth[1]

עשר תעשר את כל-תבואת זרעך היוצא השדה שנה שנה
You shall surely tithe your produce, that which comes from the field every year[2]

Pirkei Avos is a collection of ethical statements and guidelines by our Sages. One of them is by Rabbi Akiva, who teaches[3] how a person can safeguard the Torah, their wealth, their asceticism, and their wisdom. He says our tradition[4] is “a fence”[5], i.e. the way to protect, the Torah. Giving tithes is a fence for one’s wealth. Making vows is a fence for one’s asceticism. The fence for wisdom is silence. How is giving tithes a way to protect one’s wealth? Rashi explains[6] because of a verse in this week’s parsha. The Torah commands: עשר תעשר, you shall surely give tithes[7]. Since the Hebrew word for tithe and the word for wealth are spelled the same, the way to read the verse homiletically is עשר בשביל שתתעשר, give tithes in order that you become rich[8]. Hashem promises us that if we are generous with our tzedakah, we will see our wealth increase. However, this verse doesn’t seem relevant to Rabbi Akiva’s lesson. His entire teaching is how a person can protect their attributes[9]. Yet, this verse teaches how a person can increase their wealth. Why didn’t Rashi instead pick a verse[10] which teaches how a person can avoid losing their wealth[11]?

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Vayakhel – Pekudei 5778

The power of scoffing[1]

אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדת אשר פקד על-פי משה וגו’‏
These are the accountings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of testimony, which was commanded by Moshe…[2]

The Midrash asks[3]: why was there a need for Moshe to make an accounting of the materials of the Mishkan? Moshe is described by Hashem[4] as “trustworthy in my entire house”. Surely there couldn’t be any suspicion that he had taken anything for himself. Unfortunately, there was. Moshe overheard some scoffers speaking badly about him[5]. One was saying: “look how fat his neck is”[6]. His friend responded: “what else do you expect from the one who was in charge of the Mishkan?” They were suspicious of Moshe’s wealth, and inferred he had stolen from the donations to the Mishkan. When Moshe heard this, he immediately made an accounting of the materials, to show that nothing was missing.

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