Shalom Friends;
This week, our Parshat HaShevua, Parsha Ki Tisa is being sponsored by Dov and Lauren Greenberg and family of Ramat Beit Shemesh dedicated for the safety of the Chayalim and the liberation of all remaining hostages and their return home whole physically, mentally and spiritually. To the Greenberg family, many thanks for your sponsorship and for your continued kindnesses.
You can celebrate a Simcha — a birth, a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, a Chassuna or other Simcha event in your life, or commemorate a Yahrtzeit of a loved one, or for whatever other reason by sponsoring a Parshat HaShevua.
Please forward to your relatives and friends and encourage them to subscribe, and hopefully to sponsor a Parshat HaShevua. And please be in contact with me with any questions, or for further details.
Best Regards,
Moshe Burt
olehchadash@yahoo.com
skype: mark.burt3
Subscribe to the Israel and the Sin of Expulsion blog, to ask questions or to sponsor a Parsha Vort at: olehchadash@yahoo.com
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Each year by our Parshat Ki Tisa, this author loves to replay this oft-repeated parody on NFL Football as it relates to Hashem, Moshe and the sin of the golden calf (the eigel zahav):
Imagine yourself as an American football quarterback. it’s the BIG game — the Superbowl, the fourth quarter of a nail-biter with both teams tied, two minutes left and the game threatening to go into overtime.
Your team emerges out of the huddle (huddle: the eleven players on offense in a circle as the quarterback pronounces the next play) and the quarterback stands over the center, or in “shotgun” formation a few yards behind center, and calls signals.
The quarterback studies the defensive formation and suddenly audibles (Noun. Also called automatic, checkoff. Football. A play called at the line of scrimmage to supersede the play originally agreed upon as the result of a change in strategy) or, as football fans and experts observe; during the play itself, dependent upon what the quarterback sees as the alignment of the defense at the line of scrimmage, or the tendencies of the defensive positions during the play. He changes up on the play called in the huddle. No, we’re not talkin’ about the “Philly Special.”
Suddenly, amidst Hashem’s teaching of Torah to Moshe, HaKadosh Borchu, in American football terms, calls an audible. Rabbi Shmuel Goldin summarizes Hashem’s reaction to B’nei Yisrael and the egel zahav (the golden calf) in his sefer, “Unlocking the Torah Text” (ibid, pages 257-258) :
Hashem informs Moshe, who is still on the summit of Har Sinai, of the sin… perpetrated at its base. Hashem threatens the nation with immediate extinction, relenting only in response to Moshe’s impassioned pleas.
Moshe descends the mountain with the Tablets of Testimony [the Asseret HaDivrot]. When he sees the revelry… in the camp of B’nei Yisrael, …he throws the tablets from his hands in anger, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. Moshe then burns the calf, grinds its remains into powder which he sprinkles into the water and forces the B’nei Yisrael to drink, takes Aaron to task for his involvement in the sin and directs the Levi’im (who rally to his side) to execute those most directly involved in the transgression.
There are two thoughts on our Parsha brought by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin in his sefer, “Growth Through Torah” which relate to the ongoing events of this past nearly eighteen months of the War of Simchat Torah.
Hashem instilled Bezalel ben Uri with a “Divine spirit [and] with wisdom, insight and knowledge, and with every craft… to perform every craft.” (This author citing Sefer Shemos, Perek 31, posukim 1 – 3). Rabbi Pliskin cites and discusses Sefer Shemos, Perek 31, posuk 6 (pages 217 – 218) and sub-titled his discussion: Love of wisdom increases your wisdom:
“…Behold, I have assigned with him [Bezalel], Oholiav ben Achisamach of Shevet Dan, and I have endowed the heart of every wise-hearted person with wisdom, and they shall make all that I have commanded you.” (Rabbi Pliskin citing Sefer Shemos, Perek 31, posuk 6 as rendered to English in the Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash)
Rabbi Chayim Shmuelevitz used to say that we see from here that a person needs wisdom to merit acquiring wisdom. What is this wisdom? It is the heartfelt desire for more wisdom…. A person who has deep love of wisdom feels a strong lack for any wisdom he is missing. When one has this love for wisdom, the Almighty will give him more wisdom.
“The Sapirstein Edition, The Torah: with Rashi’s Commentary” (page 440) provides a further commentary on Sefer Shemos, Perek 31, posuk 6:
Rashi comments: There are yet others who are wise of heart among you.
Rashi says that the phrase refers to those beside Bezalel and Oholiav who have been given the wisdom to participate in the construction of the Mishkan. (“The Sapirstein Edition, The Torah: with Rashi’s Commentary” citing Gur Aryeh)
Rashi comments: And each into whom “I have put wisdom shall do all that I have commanded you.”
Rashi explains that the clause does not refer to this last group exclusively, but includes them with Bezalel and Oholiav in the construction of the Mishkan. (“The Sapirstein Edition, The Torah: with Rashi’s Commentary” again citing Gur Aryeh)
Rabbi Pliskin now cites and discusses Sefer Shemos, Perek 32, posuk 9 (ibid, page 322) :
“Hashem said to Moshe, ‘I have seen this people, and behold! It is a stiff-necked people.'” (Rabbi Pliskin citing Sefer Shemos, Perek 32, posuk 9 as rendered to English in the Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash)
Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm commented: … We read how they made a golden calf. bowed down to it and even brought it offerings. But in this concluding posuk, we see that the main fault of the people was that they were stiff-necked. That is that they lacked the flexibility to admit that they made a mistake. When someone is flexible, even if he makes many mistakes, he will regret them and will change. But if a person is inflexible, when he makes a mistake, he will not repent and improve. (Rabbi Pliskin citing Chochmah Umussar, Vol. 1, page 258)
“The Sapirstein Edition, The Torah: with Rashi’s Commentary” (page 451) provides a further commentary on Sefer Shemos, Perek 32, posuk 9:
Rashi notes on “stiff-necked”: They turn the hardness of the back of their necks toward those who admonish them, and refuse to listen.
The nation of Israel seems plagued, and often hamstrung (adjective: having been made powerless or useless; thwarted) by segments of political leadership and a NO WIN “stiff-necked” military high command whose first allegiance (noun: loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause) seems to be to an an agenda and mindset (noun: a fixed attitude, disposition or mood) counterproductive to Israel’s security and military morale, an unrepresentative Judicial system dominated by agendized lawyer societies, agendized media and academia, as well as segments of the people — the governed — with similar allegiance, agenda and mindset as above.
They put themselves and their own before the security, welfare and survival of their brethren, of Am Yisrael. They lack the wisdom to review history and they lack the flexibility to be open to ideas and concepts which would add to the good, the welfare and security of the nation of Israel.
B’Ezrat Hashem that these segments finally see the light and gain wisdom, insight and knowledge as was given to Bezalel, Oholiav and, as Rashi says; “others who are wise of heart among you.”
Not withstanding the current horrendous “ceasefire” and drips and drabs of hostages in exchange for thousands of bloody-handed terrorists, may it be that our Chayalim, regardless of the machinations of their high command, emerge totally victorious — eradicating from the face of the earth Hamas, their terrorist buddies and the so-called “innocent civilians” of Gaza who joined with Hamas in their murderous deeds, that the Chayalim return home whole — physically, mentally and spiritually and that the Chayalim Liberate and bring home all remaining hostages. May we see a Final and Decisive victory by our Chayalim, mandated by a government secure in it’s foremost service of and emunah in HaKadosh Borchu, B’Ezrat Hashem! And may we see the restoration of true unity within Am Yisrael.
May we, the B’nei Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif be permanently re-settled in Gush Katif, once the IDF, by the Yad Hashem, destructs and eradicates the wild beasts of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, all other terror entities, and if necessary Iran, and that our brethren be made totally whole — be totally restituted for all that was stolen from them, that the thrice expelled families of Amona be restored to their rebuilt homes and the oft-destroyed Yeshiva buildings in Homesh be rebuilt, as well as the buildings of Yishuv Elchanan, all at total government expense. May our Chayalim return from battle unharmed — physically, mentally and spiritually and may all of the remaining hostages brutally taken by the wild beasts of Hamas be liberated and brought home to their families. Baruch Hashem that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard is now in his fifth year at home in Eretz Yisrael and continues in a new chapter in his life. May Esther Yocheved bat Yechiel Avraham have an aliyah in Shemayim and may her spirit and memory continue to lift Jonathan to at least 120 years. May the MIAs be liberated alive and returned to us in ways befitting Al Kiddush Hashem — as with the return in April, 2019, via Russia, of the remains of Zachariah Baumel, as should the remains of the two chayalim from the Gaza War of ten years ago. May we have the courage and strength to stand up and physically prevent the possibility of Chas V’Challila any future eviction of Jews from their homes and prevent Chas V’Challila the handing of Jewish land over to anyone, let alone to enemies sworn to Israel’s and Judaism’s destruction and eradication. May we see, in 5785, the REAL Jews from the Ukraine and Russia as well as the US and Canada, the real Jews via matrilineal descent, make Aliyah enmass — via thorough review by Misrad HaPanim. And may we soon and finally see the total end to the Communist Chinese Wuhan Lab corona virus pandemic and all like viruses and variants. May we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nei Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha to see the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Ki Karov Yom Hashem Al’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bimhayrah b’yamainu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.
Moshe is available for editing of English language documents, articles, manuscripts and more. Please be in contact with him at olehchadash@yahoo.com for your English language needs.
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