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Torah Portion -
KiSisa
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Written by d fine
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Half perfect (/are Jews that stingy that they can’t afford a whole shekel?!)
As the start of our sedra tells us, the (male) members of Bnei Yisrael were to give a half-shekel donation to the Mishkan. Why a half-shekel? The Alshich explains that the half is to remind us that we are not complete - we are still working towards completing ourselves. Alternatively, the half-shekel was for the Mishkan, which, in turn, atoned for the chet ha’egel. And since the women did not sin in the chet ha’egel, the shekel-per-household was reduced to half a shekel - for only the men needed atonement for having sinned. In fact, the Ba’al HaTurim (30:13) writes that ‘shekel’ has the same gematria as ‘nefesh’ (soul), for the half-shekel donation ‘came to atone for the soul.
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Torah Portion -
KiSisa
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Written by d fine
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Half perfect (/are Jews that stingy that they can’t afford a whole shekel?!)
As the start of our sedra tells us, the (male) members of Bnei Yisrael were to give a half-shekel donation to the Mishkan. Why a half-shekel? The Alshich explains that the half is to remind us that we are not complete - we are still working towards completing ourselves. Alternatively, the half-shekel was for the Mishkan, which, in turn, atoned for the chet ha’egel. And since the women did not sin in the chet ha’egel, the shekel-per-household was reduced to half a shekel - for only the men needed atonement for having sinned. In fact, the Ba’al HaTurim (30:13) writes that ‘shekel’ has the
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Torah Portion -
KiSisa
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Written by d fine
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In the opening of perek 31, HaShem tells Moshe that He has called (up) Betzalel from the tribe of Yehudah and has filled Betzalel with a Divine spirit to be able to construct the Mishkan. Why do we need to know, before Betzalel got down to work, that HaShem had given Betzalel such wisdom? The Netziv answers that we are being taught an important lesson about the Mishkan here. The Mishkan was not like any other building project where one hires workers and the job is then done (late). For a normal building project all you need is a good (timely) builder or team of builders (who keeps his trousers at his waist) and a bit of patience. But the Mishkan was altogether different. The Mishkan was a project to build ‘HaShem’s home in this world,’ and as such HaShem was not looking for the best craftsmen around. Instead, HaShem was looking for worthy people of spiritual note to build the Mishkan - and HaShem would take care of making them able to do the work. This is why we were told from the outset that HaShem ‘filled Betzalel with Divine wisdom’ for the job. Indeed, the Netziv continues that this is why Moshe is told to ‘see, I have called Betzalel…’ What does it mean to ‘see’ in this context - how could Moshe ‘see’ that Betzalel had been called? Moshe was being told to recognise and take note of the holiness of the job of building the Mishkan and thus understand why it was not the best physical craftsmen who were given the job.
Additionally, it’s important to note that the two people who were ‘awarded the Mishkan contract’ were Betzalel and Achisamach - from the tribes of Yehudah and Dan respectively. Yehudah was the first of the tribes in the desert formation - and represented malchus (kingship), whilst Dan was the last tribe to travel and it was often the tribe of Dan who sunk to idolatrous practices in Jewish history. The combination of members of these two tribes represented the participation of the full spectrum of all the tribes in the construction of the Mishkan.
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Torah Portion -
KiSisa
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Written by Rafi Jager
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It is quite interesting to note that the mitzvah to construct the mishkan came after the revelation at Mt. Sinai. The focal point of the mishkan was the Holy Ark which held the two tablets. Wouldn't it have made more sense to first prepare the place to keep the tablets and then receive them? Why wasn't the mishkan built first?
From this seemingly simple question, a powerful life-lesson emerges. When we shuffle off to the nearest Judaic gift shop, we spend so much time examining the beautiful artwork on the mezuzah cases, but how often do we spend as much time inspecting the quality of the scroll that goes within the case?
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Read more...
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Torah Portion -
KiSisa
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Written by Rafi Jager
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When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai after forty days and forty nights of receiving the Torah, he was met with the horrible sight of the Children of Israel dancing around the Golden Calf. He then "became angry, and threw down the tablets" (Exodus 32:19). The Talmud (Tractate Yevamot 62a) tells us that when Moses broke the Ten Commandments, his reaction was not out of an emotional state of rage; rather it was based upon an intellectual decision.
The Torah relates that when Moshe was still up on Mt. Sinai, Hashem told him about the horrible things which the Jews were doing down below. If Moshes' response was an intellectual decision, the Maharsha asks, then he should have reacted as soon as Hashem informed him of the sin! Why did Moshe wait until he actually saw them dancing around the Golden Calf?
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Read more...
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