FR Weekly Torah: Parashat Ki Tisa - Golden Calf & Depression

YouTube ^ | Mar 13, 2017 | Rabbi Yitz Wyne

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Parashat Ki Tisa / פרשת כי תשא

Next read in the Diaspora on 18 March 2017. Parashat Ki Tisa is the 21st weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.
Torah Portion: Exodus 30:11 - 34:35

Next week: Parashat Vayakhel / פרשת ויקהל

Next read in the Diaspora on 25 March 2017. Parashat Vayakhel is the 22nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.
Torah Portion: Exodus 35:1 - 38:20

[Read Write Repeat]

How could the Jewish people worship a golden calf after G-d just split the sea for them?

AISH LV - Rabbi Yitz Wyne - Video Length: 5:22

[Read Write Repeat]

Understanding the Yud Gimel Midot Harachamim (13 Attributes of Mercy)
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3609722/jewish/What-Are-the-13-Attributes-of-Mercy.htm

Dvar Torah based on Growth Through Torah by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin
The Torah states:
“Six days you shall work and on the seventh day, it should be a complete rest sacred to the Almighty” (Exodus 31:15).

What does it mean “a complete rest”?

Rashi, the great commentator, tells us that rest on Shabbat should be a permanent rest and not merely a temporary rest. Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, the former Rosh Hayeshiva (Dean) of the Mir Yeshiva, clarifies that a temporary rest means that a person has not really changed his inner traits, but he merely controls them on Shabbat. He still has a bad temper and has a tendency to engage in quarrels, but because of the elevation of Shabbat, he has the self-discipline not to manifest these traits. The ultimate in Shabbat observance is that a person should uproot those negative traits which are contradictory to peace of mind on Shabbat. One needs to uproot such traits as anger and the tendency to quarrel with others. Only then is your rest on Shabbat a complete rest.

It is not sufficient for a person just to refrain from the formal categories of creative acts on Shabbat. Shabbat is the gift of peace of mind. This is not considered righteousness, but an essential aspect of Shabbat. Only by being a master over your negative emotions can you have true peace of mind — and elevate yourself spiritually!

http://www.aish.com/tp/ss/ssw/415423133.html

Creativity is fraught with the risk. All the more so is it with human history. The ‘law of unintended consequences’ tells us that revolutions rarely turn out as planned. Policies designed to help the poor may have the opposite effect. Hayek coined the phrase ‘the fatal conceit’ for what he saw as the almost inevitable failure of social engineering - the idea that you can plan human behavior in advance. You can’t.

One alternative is simply to let things happen as they will. This kind of resignation, however, is wholly out of keeping with the Judaic view of history. The sages said: ‘Wherever you find the word vayehi [’and it came to pass’] it is always a prelude to tragedy.’ When things merely come to pass, they rarely have a happy ending.

The other solution - unique, as far as I know, to Judaism - is to reveal the end at the beginning. That is the meaning of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not simply a day of rest. It is an anticipation of ‘the end of history’, the messianic age. On it, we recover the lost harmonies of the Garden of Eden. We do not strive to do; we are content to be. We are not permitted to manipulate the world; instead, we celebrate it as God’s supreme work of art. We are not allowed to exercise power or dominance over other human beings, nor even domestic animals. Rich and poor inhabit the Sabbath alike, with equal dignity and freedom.

http://www.aish.com/tp/i/sacks/415423523.html

—

Maftir: Numbers 19:1-22

[wally_bert]

Bookmarked for later.

Thank you.

[KC_Lion]

Thank You for posting Read Write Repeat.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Purim

This is a great chat also from Rivka Malka Perlman

Inspiring Stories from My Grandfather

[ml/nj]

The phrase asseret hadivarim appears only once in Exodus. It is in Ki Tisa, not Yitro, I believe that where it occurs it means ten words, not ten commandments. I also believe that there are not ten of anything in Yitro. Though we all use the same text, we Jews don't agree with Catholics or Protestants about what the ten commandments are. According to Wikipedia Alan Dershowitz stated, "Literally read, the Decalogue includes 19 different commands and prohibitions." In fact, the commandments continue essentially unabated if one ignores the separation between Yitro and Mishpatim.

When the phrase asseret hadivarim does appear it comes almost immediately after: Va'yomer Hashem el-Moshe k'tav-l'cha et-hadivarim ha'eleh

ki¹ al²-pi³ hadivarim⁴ ha'eleh5 karati⁶ itcha⁷ b'rit⁸ v'et⁹-yisrael¹⁰

(EX 34:27) TEN WORDS !! He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, TEN WORDS.

This view of mine solves a number of problems including who wrote what on the second set of tablets. G-d clearly says He will write the same words on the second set of tablets that He wrote on the first set. And what does "covenant" mean. I'm barely Hebrew literate, so I cannot comment really on b'rit, but covenant in English clearly implies an agreement where there is a give and take. A list of commands is not a covenant. The ten words imply that Hashem will be Israel's G-d if the Israelites act according to the commands.

ML/NJ

[Yaelle]

I never hear the word covenant at all in Judaism - is it ever even used? In this house when we need a door or padlock combo (not the front gate so don’t try it lol) my kids know it’s gonna have 613 in there.

One thing I dislike about Judaism Lite (reform) which is all around me, is their misunderstanding ALSO of the mitzvot (yes, commandments!) - they all, even the rabbis, think mitzvah means an act of tzedakah.

[ml/nj]

I never hear the word covenant at all in Judaism

You never heard of a bris!!! What do you think the word means?

ML/NJ

[Yaelle]

Oh yeah, been to too many brises! You are right. The one covenant.

[Read Write Repeat]

I’m going with Moishe BEN AVINU writing the second set because that was Hashem’s test to demonstrate Moishe fulfilling the mitzvot of writing his own sefer torah — and to see if the commandments were indeed written in his heart and mind. It’s prophetic because Moishe writes as much as he can on the torah scrolls toward the end of Deuteronomy.

I reserve the right to change my mind about this next week! :)

[Ezekiel]

When the phrase asseret hadivarim does appear it comes almost immediately after: Va'yomer Hashem el-Moshe k'tav-l'cha et-hadivarim ha'eleh

ki¹ al²-pi³ hadivarim⁴ ha'eleh5 karati⁶ itcha⁷ b'rit⁸ v'et⁹-yisrael¹⁰

(EX 34:27) TEN WORDS !! He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, TEN WORDS.

This view of mine solves a number of problems...

Excellent, thanks! You are extremely observant.

Simple concepts sit in plain view.

It's like the number ten itself, eser (עשר), which has the numeric value of 570, the same as lishmor לשמר(to keep, observe, watch, guard, heed, pay attention to...), as in "to keep the commandments". And Jacob called Beit El (בית אל 443) the gate (570 sha'ar שער) of heaven. Sha'ar is a permutation of eser (עשר).

Gen 34.28. And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water; And he wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments (lit. ten words):

the tablets (haluchot) = Beit El = 443
ten = gate = 570

Eser is also the spelling of ashar (to be rich) and osher (wealth), eser showing up twice here re Beit El:

Gen 28.22. And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you:

The milui value of ten (gate/wealth) is 1000 (130 ayin + 360 sin/shin + 510 resh), its cube. The square of a number is its "ultimate expression", so what does that make a cube? Well it represents a 3-D image, the fullness of the physical world, x, y, and also z.

The milui of lishmor (לשמר) = 1024 = 32 squared, the "ultimate expression" of the heart (לב lev = 32)

To keep, watch, pay heed to... observe [the words, commands]:

The ten words imply that Hashem will be Israel's G-d if the Israelites act according to the commands (which should be the "ultimate expression" of the heart).

In the opening verses of Ki Tisa (pertaining to the half shekel), the definition of a whole shekel is included: twenty gerahs. Thus it is deduced that a half shekel is ten gerah, but it doesn't state that outright (there are always reasons of course). The letter yud, representing the value of ten, has a full numeric value of 20 (yud 10 + vav 6 + dalet 4). So a yud, meaning a "hand", equals 20 but also 10, and hands come in pairs, five fingers on each hand, like the luchot imagery of the "ten commandments". This is even alluded to in the sum of the numbers 1-10: 55 (5 and 5).

Ten, the basis of the numbering system itself. How physical objects are counted. Base = foundation (yesod, yud/10 + sod/70)

The י yud, the smallest letter, is suspended in the air, not attached to the earth. It's kind of the "Y" chromosome of the alef-beit, the "little one", yet the identifier of a male direct descendant: like father like son (דוד David = יד yad, hand = 14), acting with a perfect (whole) heart (32 x 32, the milui value of lishmor; and lishmor = 570, same as eser, 10) according to the "ten words":

27. And the Lord said to Moses, Write these [ten] words: for according to these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel:

Parallel:

Deu 6

4. Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
5. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might:
6. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart:
7. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up:
8. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes:
9. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates:

Shema, in full: shin (360) + mem (80) + ayin (130) = 570 = ten = gate = to keep, guard, observe, pay diligent attention to = wealth (in ruchnius).

Milui of shema "hear" (570) + milui of yad "hand" (454) = milui of lishmor "to keep" (1024) = heart x heart = milui of "And God said" (Gen 1)

I have a theory that the enlarged ayin (eye) and dalet (door) in the Shema is an acronym for "David's eyes" (einei David) - David's perspective, how he viewed things, because the Shema reads like a description of David's heart, as *witnessed* in great part through his Psalms. Besides, his name is in the first line of the Shema three times.

Ex 30.13 This they shall give, all... (zeh yitnu, kol...)

13. This they shall give, all who pass among those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a shekel is twenty gerahs; a half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord:

"zeh yitnu, kol" = 528 = mafteach מפתח (key) = the sum of the numbers 1-32 (לב lev, heart).

528 = his name is Jacob (shmo Yaakov, Gen 25.26)

528 = what Jacob said: "it shall be God's house" (Gen 28.22)

22. And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you:

528 + 13 (echad, one; ahavah, love; avi, my father) = 541 = Israel

Perhaps these concepts explain why rasha (רשע) is the reverse/"mirror" of eser.

25. And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau:
26. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them:

Hairy (שער) appearance, as "if" a full man, same letters and order as gate (שער).

Two persons described as ruddy, red (admoni). David twice (when he was anointed, and when he ran right up to Goliath), and Esav once (as a newborn).

Note how much eser/ashar/osher looks like the name Esav, only that the resh has a fuller head than the vav:

עשר
עשו

 

Visual puns on the words:

In order for Esav the "man of the field" (physicality - gashmius) to become like Jacob the plain man dwelling in tents (spirituality - ruchnius), he needs a proper (full) head on his shoulders - a rectified mindset - a ר resh instead of a ו vav. Then he would literally become a man of true wealth (עשר). He'd be like the Grinch who stole Christmas, rectifying everything he had done in hatred and spite, joyfully returning and restoring all with a whole heart. The Grinch - gone.

Then none would remain of the evil Grinch, the "house of Esav". How a physical coin [of fire] atones for a soul (or not).. how a person obtains it, then what he does with it. His soul is his livelihood, so not good to drop ill-gotten gain into the Temple treasury in order to maintain God's House. The census (head, r'osh) was routed through the coin. Clever.

http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com/2010/10/empty-heads-held-high.html

"Ki tisa et r'osh bnei Yisrael..." When you lift the head of the children of Israel...

Gen 28.29. And he [the sar of Esav] said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and have prevailed:

Deu 5.19 These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice which was not heard again; And he wrote them in two tablets of stone (541), and delivered them to me:
Deu 6.8. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand (541), and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes:
Ex 13.9. And it shall be for a sign to you upon your hand (541), and for a memorial between your eyes (541), that the Lord's Torah may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand has the Lord brought you out of Egypt:

hamitzvot (541)

katan (5 + 4 + 1) = 10

Well that was fun. :)

[Jeremiah Jr]

On it, we recover the lost harmonies of the Garden of Eden.

Resonance and Dissonance

As in...

Devarim 22:9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled...

22:11 “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.

This is because everything has its own vibrational frequency, harmony! No distortion when you're in sync Ahhhhhh!

Please put my name on your ping list, and may I request, Post on Sunday as I read the Torah every day.

And Lera, read and bring your friends, Read The Prodigal Son Luke 15, return to The Father, via Torah! (count the number of times the word 'Father' is in that section)

‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”

The older brother is Judaism, the younger Christianity... Teshuva...

[Read Write Repeat]

It’s the “oh noes, I bought hamburger buns” time of the year.

[Yaelle]

Yep. My kitchen is mostly gluten free, which makes cleaning for pesach a lot easier. But not totally gluten or chametz free.

[Read Write Repeat]

I operate on Jewish Standard Time, as do the rabbis I’m linking videos for. ;)

[Read Write Repeat]

There’s always some bag of fish sticks or similar that makes its way all the way down to the back bottom of the freezer that I don’t find until I do my final check a day or two before Pesach.