Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Ki Tisa
But could there be another reason for the census appearing in this Parsha?
4 times within 5 P’sukim the word "Kofer," or "Kapara" is used. The usual translation of this word is "atonement," suggesting that by joining in a community-wide effort to maintain the Mishkan, we would be forgiven for our sins. Fair enough.
But I want to suggest that these donations are also directly linked to the sin of the Egel Zahav. The root KFR can also mean rejection, or denial of Hashem, as in "Kefira," When we chose to worship a calf – a symbol of idolatry that we knew from our days in Egypt – we were insolently insulting G-d, & so we were in dire need of saving our souls.
But why did we do it?! Why, so soon after the Exodus & Ma’amad Har Sinai, just when Moshe was bringing down the Luchot, did we have the Chutzpah to proclaim that an inanimate object was a replacement for the living G-d?
The incident of the Calf begins, "And it was when Moshe delayed his descent from the mountain…" The unusual word used here for "delayed" (the only time it appears in the Torah!) is "Boshesh." It clearly connects to "busha," or shame. The nation was so ashamed of itself & unsure of its own merit, so sure that they needed an intermediary to reach Hashem, that they freaked out when Moshe seemed to be late, & frantically created a demi-god to take Moshe’s place.
The way to restore the people’s confidence in themselves was to count them, to indicate that each & every person is valuable & counts in G-d’s eyes. The strange term the Torah uses here for counting, "Ki Tisa" - to "lift up" (the heads of the people) sends the image that we can all hold our heads up high, knowing that Hashem loves & wants us. And the fact that money is involved pits our silver against the calf’s gold & thus we are "makdim refua l’maka," we administer the antidote prior to the ailment - just as we are doing regarding Haman's payment.
So, people of Israel, hold your heads up high, don’t lose faith in yourself & don’t be "cowed" by others. Remember: YOU are golden - Hashem loves you – and you count!
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
