BS”D

Ki Sisa

Dr Bank

A Guten Erev Shabbos, this weeks parsha Ki Sisa is all about consensus and taking a census. It comes down to the ingredients of serving H’shem. One of the ironic things in this parsha is the episode of the Golden Calf. Despite this aberration or tragedy, in a sense looking for solutions to the Divine desire of Am Yisrael to follow H’shem’s choice and H’shem’s ways, we see the tragedy if we chose anything other than life.

So the parsha starts off, Ki tetse Rosh Bnei Yisrael, upikudeihim ventnu ish kofer nafsho leH’shem lifkod otam, ve lo yiyhe bahem negef, bifkod osam. So H’shem spoke to Moshe saying, when you take a census of the children of Israel according to their numbers, every man shall give an atonement for their soul, according to their numbers, so that there will not be a plague amongst them when counting them. There is such a incredible insight into this whole sentence. Basically, it has left its mark on eternity. The Torah teaches, it is forbidden to count Jews, so if we can remember ironically the 6 million being counted as thy fell under the sword of Amalek in the gas chambers of the Machane hamavet in the hospitality of Edom shel Esav, ze Germamia, as it says in the Gemora. So we see that the counting brings tragedy on the world if we are counted as if we are counting coins to do business. This nation is H’shem’s business. He knows us constantly he knows exactly how many of us there are constantly. What we have to do is pledge allegiance by giving a half shekel. Half a shekel? This is what H’shem wants from the richest Jew in the world to give to him to pledge allegiance. For that, for half a shekel, H’shem will save him from the sword of the surgeon, which is sharp and ready to cut his throat to investigate where the malignancy is. H’ yerachem. In all of these things, the tremendous irony that we see is, how many people go under the sword on the battle front, or under the knife of the surgeon. How many people don’t come home again. This is the tragedy of a half shekel not so well spent. It says, every man shall give an atonement for his soul when counting them, so that there won’t be a plague amongst them when counting them. Everyone who passes through the census of the half shekel, the holy half shekel. The Chazon Ish gae a measure for it, 20 geras. “Everyone who passes through the census of 20 years and upwards, shall give a portion to H’shem. The wealthy shall not increase, and the destitute shall not decrease from the half shekel. To give the portion to H’shem to atone for your soul. There is an incredible insight here. The census in the wilderness called upon the poor and the rich alike to contribute exactly half a shekel. One person could not contribute on behalf of all the nation – that was not the deal. Each person had to bother himself to give this half shekel as an atonement as if to say “please H’shem – this half shekel instead of my life”. A robber goes up to somebody and says, your money or your life and the guy gives him a half shekel. What is the likelihood that he will turn around and say, OK thank you, see you next year. He gives the robber half a shekel. Which robber would be satisfied with that? Can you imagine such a thing? It seems like the angel of death is satisfied – he doesn’t have shlita, he doesn’t have power over a person. In the times of the Temple, in the times of the Mishcan, gave a tenth of a Shekel as an atonement so that he wasn’t annihilated. It is an incredible insight. Yom Kippur comes to atone. Rosh Hashana comes to atone. Every day comes to atone and as it says in Pirkei Avos, do teshuva on the last day of your life. What does it mean on the last day of your life? You can never be sure what tomorrow brings. You don’t know if you will be around tomorrow. Do teshuva today as if it is your last day. If that was the case, people would cry out with all their heart and all their souls for H’shem’s mercy. So we see, that each person is called to contribute half a shekel to the Mishcan. The status of Israel is elevated by its contribution to charity. This is why they were counted by having the entire nation join, unified, in contributing to a sacred cause. The verse says, elevate the heads of the children of Israel. According to Baba Metzia 10b, the function of the contribution of the money was the census, to count, but the money was actually for the Mishcan, to raise the level – not of the Mishcan or the numbers, but to raise the individual to a new level of sensitivity, of achdus, as part of the nation. It is no give if just one person gives in this nation. It is no good if one person tries to outbid the next one. It is no good if the rich man feels that he is a better jew because he is richer, or a poor jew feels he has given much more because it is a higher proportion of his actual wealth, percentage wise. Everyone is commanded to feel equal. That half shekel is the difference between life and death. The unified participation of all Am Yisrael signifies that they must have a shared achievement in the national goal that H’shem is giving us. Everyone should go through the census and fear for his life, giving up his selfishness and for the sake of the whole nation, surviving. One who does not gain this level of achdus, unity with the nation, destroys his own portion in the nation. One who does gain, gains infinite benefit in both worlds because the mission of Israel is dependant on the unity of the whole nation, according to Rav Hirsch. An atonement is achieved by the participation in this half shekel. Whoever joins the constructive cause, the spiritual momentum of all the individuals is merged. It is not just the person, bonding, it is each other, as it says in Pirkei Avos 2,2, a solitary human being can seldom survive divine judgement. Which person is free of sin or shortcomings and can stand before the King, and say “what did I do to take me out of this world. I have been a perfect person. I never had a bad thought. Everyhing I did was leshem shamayim. Can anybody stand before the Kisei Hakavod and make such a claim? [10.12] But by the grace of H’shem each individual can return to H’shem. It says in tehilim that as long as there is Heaven and Earth H’shem will not forget the Jewis people. The question is the numbers, who will remain part of the Jewish people. We have an rsvp ticket to heaven. That ticket s the Taryag 613 mitzvos and the desire to perform them as one united nation. Against all the nations that are sonei Yisrael. Those nations, later, will also be united in avodas H’shem and will come and ask to be taught the 7 mitvos Bnei Noach. Through the behaviour of Am Yisrael and through teaching the nations the 7 Mitzvot Bnei Noach, the world will turn to a time when it will be kmo shamayim al haaretz. When they will break down their weapons, as the prophets say, and turn them into plowshears. It will be a time of perfection, and there will be no more curses, plagues, diseases, poverty, greed, domination, the whole world will turn to avodas H’shem. When the nation becomes one it ascends to the highest plane. All individuals merge their virtues and as a result, the nation is collectively judged, which is infinitely greater. As a benevolence, each one inherits the zchut of the klal (Kuzari). This is why it is so essential that a person prays with a minyan, rather than beyehidut, by himself. This is why throughout history whenever a person drifts away, and is vulnerable to the forces of porid, the three forces of leharog, leabed ulehashmid. The force of assimilation, murder of the physical body is not that difficult as we saw tragically 67 years ago in the holocaust. The forces of assimilation swept into Europe, the tragic forces of assimilation. The amalek leabed is to put an end, has veshalom, to this nation. That is their obsession, world war against H’shem and His nation, le dor dor, from generation to generation. The generation when we rise up and keep the Torah, will be the generation when amalek is completely annihilated, may it be soon in our days. The word truma, or portion, is mentioned three times in psukim 13, 14 and 15 from which the sages derive that there were three separate gifts of silver (Maseches Shekalim 1, 1 , Megilla 29b), 2 of them were required gifts of a half shekel each, the third a voluntary contribution any amount of silver. The two compulsory gifts were an annual contribution to cover the costs of the communal offerings in the Mishcan. The one time contribution of silver was for the sockets upon which the walls of the Beis HaMikdash rested (Shemos 26, 19). The voluntary gift was part of the general contribution from the nation for the construction of the Mishcan and its vessels and utensils (Rashi). Compulsory gifts are further illustrated in that everyone, whatever his social or economic standing in the community is n equal partner in the Mishcan that was commanded to bring H’shem and his nation together. This is the ultimate goal of the Mishcan (Rav Hirsch). So the annual half shekel gift to pay for the communal offerings would be collected during the twelfth month, the month of Purim. This is when we have the Purim seuda (meal), give shlach manos (gifts of food), and matanos leevyonim, gifts to the poor, and the half shekel money would be ready just in time for the first month, the month of Pesach. Consequently it is read in shuls around the world before Rosh Chodesh. The practice is that one contributes something on Erev Purim. The custom is to give half of the country’s standard coin, the smallest denomination of a regular coin, to give to charity, as an expression of the fact that everyone is equal and has equal responsibility to meet the communities’ needs. We are tested here on or achdus on Purim.

The parsha continues with the laver – a wash stand with many taps. It then talks about the anointment oil. H’shem says to Moshe Rabbeinu, ;take for yourself choice spices, 500 shekel weight of pure myre, fragrant cinnamon half of which shall be 250, 250 of fragrant cane, 500 cassia, a hin of oil, from it you shall make oil of sacred anointment, a blended compound, the handiwork of the perfumer. It shall remain oil of sacred anointment. With it you shall anoint the Tent of Meeting and the Ark of the Testimony containing the tablets, the Alter and its utensils, the Menora and its utensils, the Elevation offering alter, all its utensils, the laver and its base you shall sanctify them and they shall remain holy of holies, whatever touches the, shall become holy. You shall anoint Aron and his son and sanctify them to serve. You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, it shall remain for me oil of sacred anointment for your generations. It shall not be smeared on human flesh. You shall not duplicate it in its formula. It is holy and it shall remain holy. Any who shall compound anything like it, who shall take it upon another person, shall be cut off from his people.

This is an incredible insight. Moshe was commanded to compound a mixture of oil and spices which would be used to consecrate all the vessels of the Beis Hamikdash. Aron and his sons would in future use the same oil to anoint the Kings of the Davinic dynasty. When a person is anointed they become kodesh kedoshim. This is a curious thing. The anointing oil was so unique for the needs of the Mishcan, it had to be made by Moshe Rabbeinu himself, according to the Or HaChayim. Its function was to achieve a high degree of dedication to H’shem’s word. Moshe was an instrument of H’shem’s ratzon, a pure servant. He could make the pure oil, a perfect avodas H’shem. The first oil made by moshe Rabbeinu was the only anointment oil ever used. It is currently hidden and will be revealed again with the coming of Moshiach. It is forbidden to make anything like this oil, an exact duplicate, or to use it. This would be a desecration of H’shem’s will and the person would be cut off. It had a tremendous power of so to speak, tagging the royal property of H’shem.

We see the tremendous irony that both Belshazar and Ahashverosh, after what they thought was 70 years of conquering Jerusalem, had a seuda in his palace and invited all the Jews. He put on the bigdei kehuna, the clothing of the cohen gadol, anointed with this anointing oil. The great irony here is that certain things are by anointment, while certain things are by appointment. Tragically, we see how history repeated itself with the rise of Hitler who was democratically elected and the danger of people putting their ratzon before the ratzon of H’shem. We see so many civilizations of the past that had the free choice and descended like Sedom and Amora to the fiftieth level from where there was almost no alternative but that they be destroyed. We can only contemplate how many cities experienced nidachas, destruction. Be it Berlin or any other city completely plowed under, or Dresden where balls of fire from the Allied bombing were drawing the oxygen out of people’s lungs, asfixiation. We can only contemplate the tremendous irony of man’s choice versus ratzon H’shem. When man choses the will of H’shem, he achieves shlemut, completion or perfection and then there will be a united Jerusalem, Yeru Shalem, not just for the Jews but for the whole world. Ki Mitzion Tetze Torah u’Dvar H’ MiYerushalayim. Torah and blessing are brought to the world from Jerusalem. Moses himself was to contribute the mixtures needed for the annnointment oil. Where did the anointment oil come from originally? The commentaries say that way back, when Yaakov was coming to Israel, he crossed the Yabok topick up pachim ketanim. These contained the anointment oil that he saved for the Mishcan so that Moshe Rabbeinu could mix it with the spices and use it for the anointment of the Cohen Gadol. The traged of the second Beis Hamikdash where the Cohen Gadol was by appointment not by anointment, on a yearly basis, the Cohen Gadol went into the Kodesh Kedoshim on Ym Kippur after having paid to be Cohen Gadol and they would pull him out by a rope, dead. So we have to choose life, as H’shem commands us and pleads with us.

Oil of sacred anointment – Shemen Mishchat Kodesh. The word kadosh denotes 2 concepts. What is the essence of the word holy? Something separate. H’shem is so above ad beyond all else that He is totally separate from anything physical, yet H’shem is in total control from every blade of grass to every drop of rain. Everything is under the shlita, control, of the all encompassing and all powerful. The is symbolized by the oil which does not mix with other liquids. This is symbolic of the Cohanim, the holy within the holy and the Cohen Gadol, the holy amongst the holy in the holy of holies – kadosh, kadosh, kadosh. At the other end of the spectrum, a person that has tzoraas is isolated from the community. It says even a prostitute is called kadosh – because she is removed from the concept of human decency. Kadosh also iplies a positive idea, the mission or purpose of existence. The Cohen and Mishcan were withdrawn from everyday service and everyday secular interaction and their existence was now on an infinitely higher level, dedicated purely to the service of H’shem. If you think of something as simple as the chanuka candles – it is forbidden to use them for any other purpose, even to read by their light. The Shabbos candles, 1 minute before shaboos remain regular candles even thoh they are pledged for Shabbos. As soon as Shabbos comes in he cannot touch them except to save life. When he sees them he performs a mitzvah and that light lasts not only through Shabbos but through the whole week. On the day of kedusha and separateness, a person who guards the Shabbat is guaranteed life in this world and the eternal life, whereas a person who desecrates forfeits both.

When we reflect on the half coin and the kedusha of the half coin, this alludes to the concept that no jew is complete if he isolates himself from the community. Hiding away on a deset island is not a kedusha that H’shem wants from us. To run away from evil like Eliyahu HaNavi is OK. Before a person is married, even thenhe has the ability to unite his half shekel with that of his fellow Jews. The best kind of learning in Yeshiva is with a chevrusa. A person who sits and reads by himself may likely be led astray, if he goes after his own heart. How often do we think we understand a sugya and realise when we go back to it that we did not understand. The Gemora says, give me a good chevrusa or give me death. Not to have somebody to grow with, to be in splendid isolation, is not what H’shem brought us to the world for. Rather we are to be a light unto the nations. Through living by example. It says in the Torah, it is not good that man should be alone. His wife is his ultimate chevrusa because she is an ezer kenegdo. She is not scared to tell him what he is doing wrong. She wants the best for him and also depends for him. The ultimate bond is with H’shem.

When we are belev ehad and beguf ehad as a nation, when we are united, we bring a certain perfection to the world.

Posuk 34, H’shem says to Moshe, take yourself spice, Myr, Stacte, Gelbanum, spices of pure frankincense, of equal weights you shall make it, into a spicy compound, the handiwork of a perfumer, thoroughly mixed pure and holy. You shall grind some of it fine and put it in the place of meeting wn I shal designate a time to meet you. It shall remain holy of holies to you, and incese that you shall make. In its proportion you shall not make for yourself. It shall remain holy to you whoever makes it to smell it shall be cut off from his people.

The risk of kares is a terrifying thing – a person risks losing his share in the world to come. There were eleven spices in the incense, offered every day on the inner alter iside the Mishcan. The fragrance represented Israel’s willingness to serve H’shem in a way pleasing to him. Mitzvos have a sweet aroma, while aveiras carry a bad smell. The Sages learn from the ketores that a rasha should be included in the communal prayers (Kreisas 6b). One of the spices Galbanum, had a bad aroma, but when it was mixed with all the other spices, it had an amazing aroma of infinite proportions that brought about a tikun with the klal. We see that when a person is united with the community, it raises the whole community. If something was left out it was problematic and carried the death sentence. This was a heavenly penalty not an earthly penalty. Where did the spices come from? When Yosef came to Egypt, the caravan was not a regular caravan. But was filled with spices that the sages say would later be used for the Mishcan. So we see again, Maase Avos Siman Lebanim, the good deeds of the forefathers are a portent for theavoads H’shem of their children. If a person added something to the formula, the penalty was that the incense was invalid. If a person left out an ingredient, he was punished with death. The commentaries explain that a person who accidentally does an aveira is usually not punished with death. But if a person thinks he will save some money and after all, who will know? Or if he rebels and leaves out a spice. He must be put to death. On the other hand a person who, out of love, wants to give more to H’shem and hears that if he adds honey nobody could resist the ketores, even though their ratzon is good, the failed to listen to the formula. The formula is not for man, it is for H’shem. Man gets inspired. There is a minhag at the end of shabbos to smell the wick of the havdallah candle when it is extinguished, as a segula for good memory. Why is this minhag recorded in the writings of the meforshim? The smell is reminiscent of the barbecue in the Mishcan and awakens something deep in our subconscious from 3,000 years ago – the meat and wine offerings – the rememberance of giving something to H’shem. What can we give to H’shem? Nothing.When H’shem asks for something and gives us a specific formula, that is what makes H’shem intrinsically, spiritually happy, to see His children listening to Him. The minhag reminds us, Mah Tova Ohaleha Mishkenotecha Yisrael – bringing the offerings in the right way brings tremendous happiness. Smelling the chavdala candle brings a yearning t return to a time when we were connected to H’shem’s blessings, united as one nation with the potential for infinite good in both worlds wide open. The Shaare Rachamim were showering the nation with everything good. That was a time of bliss. Not only that, but the other nations of the world propped up this nation. There was no need for war. Despite the smell of the offerings and libations, it was assured that there were no miscarriages and no flies. The smell could be smelt as far away as Yericho. The incense formed a magen, shiel, against the magefa, plague. This is the cure for death. May we all know bimheira veyamienu, the return of Am Yisrael to its Torah, to its land and to Olam Haba Be’Olam Hazeh, that we experience the Mishcan and Aron and Moshe Rabbeinu in the Mishcan, Tehiyas Hameisim, Olam Haba and Shabbat Shalom to Kol Am Yisrael and the whole world.