B"H
Friday, Adar1 10, 5782 / February 11, 2022
This week's Parsha Tetzaveh begins, "And you shall command the Children of Israel, that they take to you pure olive oil, pressed for the light to cause the lamp to burn continually."
The Parsha speaks about the oil used to light the Menorah in the Holy Temple. The oil had to be pure olive oil, without the slightest of sediment. Our sages tell us that only the first drop of oil from each olive was used for lighting the Menorah.
The tribe of Asher was blessed with an abundance of oil. Much of the oil used in the Holy Temple came from the tribe of Asher.
With the words, "To burn continually," the Torah commands that the Menorah be lit every day. The Menorah had seven lights and was kindled each day.
The Menorah and its lights represent the Torah, as it is stated, "Torah is light". Torah illuminates the darkness of the world and guides a person in the right path, giving purpose and value to life.
Olive oil represents wisdom. The Talmud says that when one sees olive oil in a dream they should expect wisdom.
Just as the Menorah in the Holy Temple had to be lit each day, so must every Jew light up his/her day with the light and wisdom of Torah. "Alittle bit of light," say our sages, "drives away much darkness."
Studying Torah daily is also emphasized by the seven lights of the Menorah, which correspond to the seven days of the week.
Rabbi Meir of Premishlan would tell his disciples, "Never follow blindly in the path of others,even if the others are in the majority. You must always know where the path leads, before taking that path."
Rabbi Meir would illustrate this with the following story: "Once I stopped at an inn. The weather outside was miserable. The snow came down hard and fast, the wind blew fiercely and the roads were impassable. Many wagon drivers also stopped off at the inn, waiting for the weather to improve."
"Then one of the drivers, who obviously had a bit too much to drink, decided to hitch up his horse and drive on. After he drove off, a second driver decided to follow in the first drivers tracks. Then one by one they all followed each other. A while later, everyone found themselves with the first driver, stuck in a ditch off the road!" So remember," Rabbi Meir would say, "Before you decide to follow others, make sure that you know where they are heading!"
The Torah, like the Menorah, illuminates our path in life, protecting us from the pitfalls of life's treacherous roads. A daily dose of Torah is a life saver.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 4:57 / Shabbat ends: 6:03
B"H
Monday, Adar1 13, 5782 / February 14, 2022
In this week's Parsha, Ki Tisa, we read about one of the gravest sins committed by the Jewish people - the sin of the Golden Calf. This took place only forty days after the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. As a result of this grave sin, Moshe broke the original Two Tablets. Later, after Moshe’s prayers for forgiveness, G-d forgave the sin and gave Moshe a second set of Tablets.
Q.How did they come to make the Golden Calf only forty days after they received the Torah?
A.Before Moshe went up on Mount Sinai he told them that he will be there for forty days. However, in Judaism, the day begins with the night before (like Shabbat which begins Friday night). Thus, because he went up during the daytime, the day he went up was not a full day and was not to be counted. The people mistakenly began the count from the day Moshe went up instead of the day after. As a result, they figured that the forty days ended a day earlier and thought that Moshe was not returning.
The Torah tells us, "And the people saw that Moshe delayed coming down from the mountain, so the people gathered around Aaron and they said to him, ‘Rise up and make for us gods that shall go before us; for as for Moshe, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
Aaron knew that Moshe would descend from the mountain, so to delay them, he said, "Go and bring the golden rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters."
Aaron figured that the women would refuse to give their jewelry and this would delay them until Moshe came down from the mountain. However, when the women didn't let them have their jewelry, the men took their own golden jewelry and brought them to Aaron.
Q. How is it possible that Moshe’s brother,Aaron, the High Priest, would make the Golden Calf?
A. According to the Midrash, Aaron knew that if the people build an idol on their own, they will complete it quickly. Therefore, he took charge of the job and thus tried to postpone them until Moshe returned. Aaron took the gold and threw it into fire, but unfortunately, out came the Golden Calf!
Q. Why did the form of a calf emerge from the fire?
A. Before Joseph died, he commanded that he be taken out of Egypt and buried in Israel. After Joseph died, Pharaoh had Joseph's coffin placed in the Nile River so that no one could find him. Pharaoh thought that, without Joseph, the Jewish people would not be able to leave Egypt.
When the time for the Exodus came, Moshe went to the Nile and put in a plate which had the words, "Come up ox" written on it, for, in Jacob's blessings, Joseph is likened to an ox. Immediately, Joseph's casket rose to the surface and was taken out with them when they left Egypt. Someone amongst the people had this plate and threw it into the fire with the gold, and a Golden Calf emerged.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Thursday, Adar1 16, 5782 / February 17, 2022
In this week’s Parsha, Ki Tisa, we read how the Jewish people worshipped the Golden Calf. Moshe, who just received the two Tablets, upon seeing this, broke the Tablets. We also read in great detail how Moshe prayed for their forgiveness. Eventually G-d forgave their sin and gave Moshe a second set of Tablets.
Q. What was G-d’s initial reaction to the people making the Golden Calf?
A. G-d said to Moshe, “Now leave me alone that my wrath will be against them and I will destroy them and I will make of you into a great nation.” Moshe refused and told G-d that if He didn’t forgive the people, then G-d should erase Moshe’s name from the Torah. In the end G-d did forgive the people.
Q. What happened to the broken Tablets?
A. They were kept together with the Second Tablets in the Holy Ark in the Tabernacle and later in the Beth Hamikdash (Holy Temple).
Q. Why were the broken Tablets so special that they were kept, even after getting the second Tablets?
A. The first Tablets were completely the work of G-d. They were Divinely made and the letters on them were divinely engraved. The second Tablets were made by Moshe, who brought them up the mountain. Only the writing on them was engraved by G-d.
Q. How long, after he broke the first Tablets, did Moshe receive the second Tablets?
A. Eighty days later. On the seventeenth day of Tammuz he received the first Tablets. Eighty days later, on Yom Kippur, he came down Mount Sinai with the second Tablets.
Q. What happened to the Golden Calf?
A. The Parsha tells us that Moshe burnt the Golden Calf, then ground it to a fine powder and scattered it upon the surface of the water. Then he gave it to the people of Israel to drink. Those who sinned perished after drinking the water.
Q. Where did Michelangelo get the idea to put horns on Moshe, as seen on his statue of Moses?
A. In the Parsha it says that when Moshe came down the mountain with the Tablets his face “shone.” The Torah used the word “Koran” which means shine. “Horn” in Hebrew is “Keren.” The two words, shine and horn are similar in Hebrew and spelled the same. He mistranslated the word Koran, to “horn” instead of “shine.” Our greatest leader, Moshe, definitely didn’t have any horns..
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Friday, Adar1 17, 5782 / February 18, 2022
In the beginning of this week's Parsha, Ki Tisa, G-d tells Moshe that when counting the Jewish people to know their amount, instead of counting them directly, each one should contribute a "half Shekel." By counting the contributions, Moshe knew their count. The shekels were then used for the Mishkan (Tabernacle).
According to Jewish tradition it is forbidden to count people directly. King David once counted his soldiers directly and a plague broke out and many died. Jews are careful to be counted in a non-direct way. For example, in synagogue, when we want to count if there are ten Jews in attendance for a Minyan (quorum), we count them by using a verse which has ten words in it.
Rabbi Yitschak Elchanan Spector, Rabbi of Kovno, was once collecting charity for the poor to provide food and wood for heating. He came to the home of one of the wealthy people in his community, who was also a Torah scholar. Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan told him the reason for his coming and asked for his contribution. The wealthy man gave a small donation. When the rabbi remarked how small the sum was compared to what he could afford to give, the wealthy man replied, "As you know I spent much of my time studying Torah. This is my contribution to our community. Let other wealthy people, who don't study Torah, help fulfill this community mitzvah."
The rabbi replied, "Your answer reminds me of the following story; During the Russian-Japanese war, every Russian citizen was called to contribute a minimum of ten rubles to the war chest.
Officers of the Czar came to collect money from the citizens of one of the villages. Everyone gathered in the town hall and the officers told them how important it was to contribute. One after the other the peasants announced their contributions of ten rubles. One poor peasant got up and announced that he is giving 100 rubles! Everyone was shocked. "How can you afford such a large sum?" they asked.
The peasant explained, "A while ago I was brought before a judge and fined ten rubles. When I told the judge that I didn't have the money, he sentenced me to a month in jail. Now, I figured if a month in jail is worth 10 rubles, then 10 months in jail should be worth 100 rubles! I'm ready to sit 10 months in jail which should count as my contribution of 100 rubles to the Russian army!" Upon hearing this everyone in the room burst out laughing.
"The same is with you", concluded Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan. "Your studying Torah will help the poor of our city like that peasant's sitting in jail will help the Russian army! True, studying Torah is very important, but it will not make one needy person less hungry or warmer during the winter. One cannot excuse himself from giving charity by opening a Talmud, one must open his pockets and give!"
"This is also the lesson from our Parsha," continued the rabbi. "When it came to count the Jewish people G-d told them to give a half-Shekel coin. In order to be counted one must contribute!"
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 5:07 / Shabbat ends: 6:12
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