From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 2:26
AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Ki Sisa,
5764
More
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By
Rabbi Joshua (approximately known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
This week's
parsha begins with the command to collect a half shekel from each Jew when there
is a need to count the people. The Torah says that the people being counted
would give this coin as a ransom for their souls, to avoid a 'negef,' or plague,
when they are counted. A number of commentators ask, why this mitzvoh, recorded
here after the command to build the inner altar, is mentioned at the end of
parshas Tetzaveh, and immediately before the command to construct the kiyor -
the copper washstand - and its base? Rabbi Ya'akov ben Chananel Sokoly,
who was a student of the great Talmudic scholar, Rashba, explains, in his Toras
HaMincha, that Moshe, as recorded in the midrash, was troubled after hearing the
laws concerning the inner altar. Once a year, the Torah says, Aharon would bring
an offering that would effect atonement for the people. That one day is Yom
Kippur, when each person is counted and judged by God. When Moshe heard that the
people are open to harm when they are counted individually, he wanted to know
how they could protect themselves the rest of the year, at times when they would
be counted. God settled his mind by telling him that the half shekel, given by
each person, would protect them from any harm. This explanation, which is based
on the Midrash Tanchuma, is given, in essence, by the Ba'al HaTurim, as well,
albeit in a much briefer form. However, it does not explain the connection
between the mitzvoh of giving a half shekel, and the mitzvoh which follows it,
the construction of the kiyor and its base. I would like to offer a suggestion
that will explain the connection of the giving of a half shekel to the command
to build the inner altar that precedes it, as well as the command to construct
the kiyor, that follows it.
In last week's Netvort, we mentioned
the explanation of Rav Aharon Soloveichik, zt"l, that the mishkan, in general,
represents the form that a proper Jewish home should take. Just as the mishkan
functioned as a dwelling place for God's divine presence among the people, so,
too, every Jewish home should be ordered in such a way that God's presence is
felt within it. The inner altar, which was overlaid with gold, symbolized,
according to Rav Aharon, the need to make, at times, sacrifices with one's
wealth in order to assure that one follows the path of the Torah. The challenges
of wealth, we noted, can be harder than the challenges of poverty, and perhaps
it was for this reason that the golden altar was mentioned at the very end of
the construction process. Perhaps, then, the placement of the mitzvoh of giving
a half shekel, following immediately after the section of the golden altar,
carries a message in regard to how one should view his financial place in life.
The requirement to give a half shekel for the daily sacrifices brought in the
mishkan applies equally to rich and poor, as we read in this week's
parsha, " the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less"
(Shemos 30:15). Perhaps part of the message here is that everyone needs to
realize that whatever level of wealth he has reached is decided upon by God,
and, therefore, he should have an attitude of equanimity to his level of wealth,
or lack thereof. This attitude will make it easier to meet the challenges of
wealth or poverty, as the case may be.
The need for equanimity in
regard to one's financial position is, according to Rav Moshe Feinstein zt"l,
the purpose behind a mitzvoh recorded in parshas Tetzaveh. There is an
interesting requirement regarding two of the garments specific to the kohein
gadol - the Ephod, an apron-like garment, and the Choshen Mishpot, the
breastplate of judgment, worn over the Ephod. The Torah says, "And they shall
bind the Choshen from its rings to the rings of the Ephod and the Choshen shall
not be detached from upon the Ephod" (Shemos 28:28). The Ephod, says the Talmud,
atones for the sin of idolatry, and the breastplate atones for the sin of
corruption of justice. Rav Moshe explained that the Ephod and Choshen had to be
bound together to demonstrate that one who has proper faith in God would never
pervert justice and take something that does not belong to him. One who believes
in God and His workings in the world understands that he receives exactly what
is coming to him and what is necessary for him to accomplish his purpose in life
(see Netvort, parshas Tetzaveh, 5761- available at Torahheights.com - for
another explanation of this mitzvoh). Misappropriating someone else's property
betrays a lack of faith and trust in God. Treating the rich and the poor on an
equal basis with regard to the mitzvoh of giving a half shekel, following on the
mitzvoh to build the golden altar, can be seen, then, as conveying the message
that one needs to view the sacrifices of wealth that he makes in maintaining a
Torah-true life with a degree of equanimity, as well.
Following our
explanation of the placement of the mitzvoh of the half shekel after the mitzvoh
of the golden altar, we can understand, on a symbolic level, why the next
mitzvoh mentioned is that of constructing the washstand. The Torah says that the
laver was placed in the mishkan so that the kohein could wash his hands and feet
before entering the area in which he was to perform divine service. Connecting
this mitzvoh to that of the half shekel, perhaps we can say that whatever wealth
a person sacrifices in order to perform his holy work must be attained through
halachically acceptable means - with clean hands and feet. Rabbi Chaim Kohn, one
of the dayanim, or rabbinic judges, of the Breuer's community in Washington
Heights, New York, explained, in a similar way, the connection between two
enactments of King Shlomo, that of eiruv chatzeriros - a device that allows us
to interconnect houses and courtyards so that carrying between them is
permissible on Shabbos - and washing one's hands before eating. These two
enactments, the rabbis tell us, were made at the same time. What is the
connection between them? Rabbi Kohn explained that making an eiruv chatzeiros
facilitates interaction between people. As long as a person is isolated and
sticks to his own household, it is relatively easy to maintain clean hands. Once
he begins to interact with society in general, however, it is much harder. In a
similar way, the mitzvoh of constructing the kiyor, and the need to wash one's
hands and feet before entering holy ground to serve God, are mentioned after the
mitzvoh of giving a half-shekel to symbolize that the money we sacrifice in
order to serve God must be attained with clean hands. Belief in God's providence
as determining the degree of one's wealth, symbolized by the requirement
of everyone to give exactly a half-shekel towards the purchase of the daily
Temple sacrifice, will assure that a person will maintain clean hands and feet
as he approaches the holy.
Please address all correspondence to the
author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.
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