The Tzitz, Clothing, and the People

Parshat Tetzaveh

by Rabbi Avi Billet

A simple question can be raised when we consider Parshat Tetzaveh. What are we to learn from the instructions for the vestments, clothing, garments of the Kohanim? If the Torah is meant to be timeless, and God knew that eventually there would not be Mishkan or Mikdash, then the attention to detail in the instructions for the Bigdei Kehunah could not be a one-time instruction. It must speak to us in our time as well. 

The Talmud tells us in a number of places (e.g. Zevachim 88b) that each item of clothing of the Kohen Gadol served a particular purpose in atoning for a sin or a state of impurity. 

The vestment that fascinates me is the headplate – the Tzitz (ציץ) upon which is written the words קודש לה', “Holy to Hashem.” What is holy to Hashem? The Tzitz? The Kohen Gadol? The person who sees the ציץ and has the opportunity to read its message? 

Going in a different direction than the passage in Zevachim noted above, Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch quotes other passages (Pesachim 80b and 77, Menachos 25, Zevachim 23) which teach how the ציץ is a channel through which certain elements of טומאה are removed from portions of sacrifices through declaring the words on the ציץ, “That this is sanctified to God.” It alleviates a. the טומאה of טומאת התהום (the kind of טומאה that was unknown to be present), and b. the טומאה of communal offerings which must be brought on a special occasion, where the importance of the occasion and the community overrides the טומאה. 

This is one element of the power of the ציץ. But perhaps the words on the ציץ served a different purpose as well, which is highlighted by the role clothing plays in our collective experience. 

Rav Hirsch notes that there are three terms בגד, לבש, and עטה which describe garb and dress – some are in the realm of the Almighty, and some are in the realm of people. ה' מלך גאות לבש, “He has clothed Himself with majesty; God has clothed Himself, He has girded Himself with strength.” הוד והדר לבשת, “You have clothed Yourself with majesty and glory.” עטה אור כשלמה, “You cover Yourself with light as with a garment.” וילבש צדקה כשריון, “He clothes Himself with righteousness like armor...” (Yeshayahu 59:17). 

To people, כי הלבישני בגדי ישע מעיל צדקה יעטני, “For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation and has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” צדק לבשתי וילבשני כמעיל וצניף משפטי, “I clothed myself in righteousness and it clothed me, my judgment was like a robe and turban.” עוז והדר לבושה, “Strength and dignity are her clothing.” 

“Clothing” is therefore not just a reference to physical clothing, but it is a metaphor for what we wear, what are our true colors, how we carry ourselves, and how we present ourselves to others. 

Certainly physical clothing is significant - consider the way Mordechai, of whom we just read in the Megillah, goes from wearing sackcloth in Chapter 4 to wearing לבוש מלכות תכלת וחור ועטרת זהב גדולה ותכריך בוץ וארגמן - this is a very impressive outfit, meant to impart the message to those who see him that this is an important man, and the law written by him in the name of the king is the law you'll want to follow when 13 Adar rolls around. 

But clothing has been emphasized since the very beginnings of our people. The Ksav Sofer reminds us that among the things which helped the Bnei Yisrael merit to leave Egypt was that לא שינו מלבושם, they didn’t change their clothing. What are Jewish clothing? In the history of the diaspora, the Jewish people often wore the clothing of those surrounding them. There was never an “official” distinct style of Jewish garb other than the בגדי כהונה; the only components of a Jewish uniform are a Tallis and Tefillin. These days we don’t wear those outside of the context of shul, which means that when we think of actual day-to-day clothing, our minds typically turn to the rules of tznius and modesty. Generally speaking we know the rules. We should always challenge ourselves to be more modest – both men and women – and to dress more conservatively. 

When I was in yeshiva, I heard of a line that was said by one of the rebbeim in a girls seminary, in telling them “Your skirt is your yarmulke!” 

The point – hopefully obvious – is that the boys have the kippah to remind them to live a Kiddush Hashem. We should always be inspired to bring that a step up – because we know people will be watching and judging. Women, who are perhaps not as identifiably Jewish, can take their own inspiration from their modest dress, as that rebbe said, to also be a bastion of Kiddush Hashem. 

And maybe that’s the message of the words on the ציץ, the phrase “קדש לה'” – we have a need to be a source of representing Hashem’s holiness on this earth. Certainly the Kohen Gadol, visavis his leadership role, was in a prime position to be that source of holiness. But the people who saw that message were defined earlier in the Torah as a ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש. They are ALL כהנים. They are ALL a holy nation. And thus their garb, both physical and metaphorical as demonstrated in the Pesukim quoted by Rav Hirsch, is meant to demonstrate their roles as being those who are מקדש שם שמים, who represent the sanctification of God’s name on this earth.

 Encountering the Kohen Gadol, seeing him, the exemplary Kohen, wearing בגדי קדש (holy vestments) and seeing the words he proudly displays on his forehead could only serve as a reminder to people what to emulate, what motto to live by, and how to be a model of Kedusha in living out our creed to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 

AMALEK – The Ultimate Distraction, and the Ultimate Uniter

Parshat Zachor 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Parshat Zachor is a time for remembrance. Of course it is a time to remember what Amalek did to our ancestors coming out of Egypt, but the word Zachor also reminds us to remember other things, perhaps even in very recent history. 

Last year, Parshat Zachor (3/7/20) was the last Shabbos our shul was open in a time we would call normal. There was a nervousness in the air, people were not shaking hands, we were “being careful,” but a few days later we had a full Purim in the shul as well, albeit minus a few people who were taking precautions. By the end of the week, just a few hours before Shabbos, shul was closed for what turned out to be close to 3 months. That 3 month period included Pesach and Shavuos, and was a time filled with uncertainty, painful losses, and an unclear direction for the immediate future. 

Here we are, one lunar year later, and we are where we are. Of course we are not yet where we would like to be, with a full return to normal. But hopefully we will be getting there soon. Our shul has been open, for the most part, since June, thank God, and things have been going well under the circumstances. Even as we eventually have a full return to normalcy, it is understood that some people will need a little more time to feel completely comfortable. Hopefully that point will come for everyone in due time, without fear. 

Going back another year to Parshat Zachor, I have a personal memory of spending Shabbos in Yerushalayim, the evening after having achieved something that seemed a world away 3 months prior. Having been unable to run a mile without losing my breath, I took on a challenge, thanks to an organization called “Rabbis Can Run” to participate in the Jerusalem Marathon with a goal to run a half marathon – 13.1 miles. I was one of 13 rabbis – some of whom similarly ran a ½ marathon, while others opted for a 10K (6.2 miles). 

Friday morning was the race, and Friday evening I was asked to speak at our Shabbos dinner, and I shared the following dvar Torah (surrounded by five asterisks at the beginning and end). Why I share with you now will be explained afterwards. 

***** 

Who was Amalek? I heard in the name of the Baalei Tosafos, and I found it recorded by Rabbi Chaim Paltiel on Parshas Balak (explained/ quasi-translated below). 

ראשית גוים עמלק. עמלק ר"ת עמרם משה לוי קהת ולכך יצא ללחום עמו קודם לכל האומות ששמו הטעהו לומר אילו הצדיקים נכללים בשמי ודאי אנצח אבל לא שאחריתו עדי אובד, כלומר שס"ת של שמם מיתה, לרמוז שזכות מועיל לישראל שיהיה סופו למיתה. 

Why did Amalek take such a chance in attacking the Israelites? ק ל מ ע ה ו ש מ ר ת י ה מ 

Amalek contemplated its own name, עמלק, and discovered that the letters of this name are identical with the initial letters of four great Jews: Amram, Moshe, Levi, and Kehas. Amalek assumed, since its name formed the ראשי תיבות of these four Israelite spiritual giants, that it too would be endowed with supernatural triumph. But the mistake that Amalek made was that it failed to consider the סופי תיבות "concluding letters" of these four names. Rearranged, these letters spell the Hebrew word מיתה, "death!"  (Read the columns to find the names, the letters on top spell Amalek, and the letters on the bottom are the letters of מיתה)

ע מ ל ק

מ ש ו ה

         ר

ם ה י ת

 Bilaam said, "ראשית גוים עמלק ואחריתו עדי אבד” "The first of the nations is Amalek, and its end will be utter destruction." What Bilaam meant was that Amalek may boast of "the first," that the first letters of the four Jewish heroes spell its own name, but ultimately its end or conclusion will be destruction — because the last letters of those names spell מיתה death. 

I’d like to look at two questions when contemplating Parshas Zachor.

   1. Why do we need to remember Amalek? They are gone. We’ve never met one. We’ll never meet one. If not for the command to remember them, they’d be forgotten to history. Perhaps as it should be. 

   2. Why is the commandment to remember them written in the singular? זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק? By all rights it should be something like תזכרו מה שעשו לכם עמלק! 

The Slonimer Rebbe explained that the commandment for remembering Amalek is in the singular because it’s every person’s battle: every person has to face the reality of the battle with Amalek. It’s a spiritual battle against evil, that every time we give in to temptation, every time we lose a personal battle and sin, we’re giving a victory to Amalek. 

Bilaam and Balak also represented Amalek – בלעם בלק – Amalek is embedded in their names! They tried to be a distraction to the Jewish people, causing the Bnei Yisrael to fall to temptation and sin. 

In simple terms – AMALEK is the DISTRACTION which prevents you from getting to your goal. 

I was thinking that there is another way to look at the idea of Zachor being in the singular. 

Rashi tells us in Parshas Yisro, when the Torah says the people camped ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר 

that the Torah describes Israel in the singular because at Sinai they were כאיש אחד בלב אחד, like one man with one (united) heart, but everyone forgets the second half of that Rashi, that everywhere else their unity was tainted by מחלוקת ותרעומות. Complaints and arguments. 

The Torah tells us Yisro came to meet Moshe at Har HaElokim – which means at Sinai. As Yisro had recently heard about the battle with Amalek, the simple understanding of the Torah – whether Yisro came before or after Revelation – is that the battle with Amalek is what led them straight to Sinai. In other words, the unity at Sinai followed from what happened with Amalek. 

 Were they united at Sinai because of Sinai? Or were they united at Sinai because of what happened before Sinai? 

The Torah tells us that עמלק came and fought with ישראל. They didn’t look at Israel as a bunch of groups of people, with internal מחלוקת and different factions. זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק. In the singular. לך! It does not say לכם! And maybe עשה does not mean DID, but the other meaning of עשה, which is MADE. 

AMALEK MADE YOU – because they saw you AS ONE PEOPLE – INTO A TARGET. AMALEK MADE YOU INTO A NATION NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH. You were NOTHING. Haggard. Disheveled. A people who needed God to fight your battles for you. 

But AMALEK MADE YOU. They FORCED YOU TO UNITE. They PUSHED you to the battlefield. They turned you, from a bunch of helpless slaves, from a bunch of nebichs, into an army that struck FEAR into enemies. 

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE LESSON WE NEED TO TAKE FROM THAT WHICH אשר עשה לך עמלק. 

When we read Zachor, we recall that the Bnei Yisrael were עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים. Tired and exhausted and not fearing of God. 

What could this mean? 

During my training, too often I looked forward to what I’d be plugged into, and did not take advantage of the opportunity to disconnect. When I went on my longest training run, I found the real chizuk and the ability to go on really came when I unplugged, and disconnected. As we know, running is a mind game. The wall we sometimes hit is Amalek, Amalek telling me “You can’t do this. You’re too tired.” Too often I found Amalek telling me, “You’re alone in this. No one is with you.” 

But I needed to finish those eleven miles of the long training run. And though my knee hurt and my foot hurt, I turned to the Ribono Shel Olam and said, לא אירא רע כי אתה עמדי. (Don’t worry, I skipped the גם כי אלך part!) I found God on the run. And I realized what overcoming Amalek could do. 

Bnei Yisrael were עיף. They were exhausted. Spent. They had seen God at the sea, but how quickly did they forget! Amalek came, and how did they win the battle? They united as one – of course. But the Mishneh tells us in Rosh Hashana that the battle was won when the people looked at Moshe on the hilltop, with his hands stretched heavenwards, and they too found God. That’s what Amalek did for them. When they could look past the distraction of Amalek, they could be indestructible. Remember, all that Amalek is really good for - as it is the Bnei Yisrael who carry the merit of Amram, Moshe, Levi and Kehas - is reaching an end symbolized by the last letters of their names - מיתה - Amalek's demise. 

The Slonimer Rebbe said Zachor is in the singular because Amalek is a battle each individual faces. When you find God when Amalek is trying to veer you from your path to Sinai, you can defeat Amalek. 

And when you find God when Amalek is telling you “you can’t do this,” you find that indeed you can finish a half-marathon. 

 ***** 

This past year has seen ups and downs for all of us. Plans curtailed, cancelled, ruined. Simchas missed. Bikur Cholim visits and Shiva visits being taken out of our experience. The opportunity to be there for loved ones before, during and after medical procedures and hospital, rehab, or care facility stays also taken away. In many ways our lives have been turned upside down. 

It’s not our fault. In too many cases, sadly, it is out of our hands. We wish it were different, but for the time being, it is our present reality. I spoke to someone this week who was sitting shiva for his brother, and he told me “My brother was in a care facility – and they killed him. They didn’t tend to him, they didn’t care about him. They didn’t feed him. They let him wither away” – there are too many stories like this from this past year, of people who were not allowed to have family visit, to have family advocate, to have family look after them, whose lives were cut down by sub-par care. They didn’t die from COVID, but COVID killed them. 

This is Amalek. Amalek is a distraction aimed at taking us away from our goals. In cases like this, Amalek prevents us from loving properly, caring properly, reaching out properly, doing what we know is our responsibility. Amalek attacked the weak, the elderly, the vulnerable! In a way Amalek is too alive and well, because Amalek is capable of so much harm. That’s one reason I shared the dvar Torah – to remind us that Amalek needs to be overcome. 

But Amalek also inspires us to unite, and to help us overcome our own obstacles. And so I share a personal triumph. Many of us have dealt with or are still dealing with our own bouts of depression and hopelessness. We read, listen to or watch the news and wonder when it will end. We hear news of another death and wonder when the Angel of Death will point his finger at us. 

On the other hand, we know that our goals as Jews are to be always improving and growing in our Torah learning, in our Tefillah, and in our Middos (character improvement). This is a reflection of our connection to God, our relationships with others, and our personal mindfulness in our relationship with ourselves. Some of us have achieved incredible things, overcoming hurdles and obstacles to make davening meaningful daily, to increase our Torah study, with online or telephone Chavrusas, and to read books or participate in the many Internet offerings that are available, to help us refine ourselves. 

Personally, the ups and downs carried their own toll in some relationships with people, with food, with attentiveness to personal growth. And always, lurking in the background, was running. Will I keep it up? There were lulls, sometimes even two months without any exercise. But somewhere in mid November I started again, running for 2.5 miles. And by the end of December I pushed out a 10K (6.2 miles). The following weeks, each Saturday night after Shabbos, I challenged myself to run a little more than the previous week. And last Saturday night, 2/13/21, I ran my second half-marathon, just about two years after my first. 

I had to imagine the streets, which were empty, filled with onlookers yelling “Kol HaKavod.” I had to imagine the crowds of runners giving strength and encouragement by simply being there. 

I don’t listen to music or podcasts when I run anymore. It’s important to carve out time to just being able to be with one’s own thoughts. And during that run, I thought about the dvar Torah I had told over then, shared above, and felt that it applies very much to COVID, and decided that for the week of Remembering/Zachor, it was something that would do well to be shared with our community. 

There is too much Amalek in our lives. There is too much that we allow to hold us back from achieving our goals. Sometimes we need a trigger. And sometimes, as I experienced around the 10 mile mark a feeling that I may have taken on more than I can handle, we need that inner voice that tells us, “Enough. You’re going to finish this, and you’re not going to let anything get in the way of your getting to the finish line.” 

Our Running Rabbis have a Whatsapp group. We share with each other our successes and failures, give each other chizuk in our running challenges, and every now and then share the Torah we think of when we’re running. In general, we view the running as an “Avodah” – a way of maintaining health so we can better serve Hashem – and view the challenge of the run as a metaphor for every challenge life places in front of us. 

In just a few weeks we will once again say חזק חזק ונתחזק. While the custom is widespread today, its source and history is rather interesting (that will hopefully be the topic of this Dvar Torah for Shabbos Chazak). For now let us just draw strength, like the Israelites did when they fought Amalek, from the image of Moshe praying to the Almighty on a hilltop. If Moshe was the source of inspiration and strength in the original battle with Amalek, let his legacy of the Torah, the Mishkan, and leading the people to the Promised Land be what inspires us in our everlasting efforts at finding inspiration from the Torah, from our place of worship/service, and from the journey of life that brings us to our final destination of Olam Haba.

Purim Guidance for 5781

 Between this coming Shabbos and next, we will have obligations brought upon us by the calendar. These topics were addressed in the class on Tuesday, which is available on our Facebook page here: https://fb.watch/3KyGBGLtDn/

What follows is a summary. 

Parashat Zachor

The best way to fulfill the mitzvah to remember Amalek is through hearing it read from a Torah in the presence of a minyan. The portion will be read at the end of the Torah reading at the indoor and outdoor minyan (approximately 9:35am outdoor and 10:15am indoor), as well as immediately after the minyan (10:15am outdoor, 11:00am indoor), if there are people who come specifically for an additional reading. If one will not make it to shul, the following options are available (please note the note after the options)

1.       Read Zachor - Devarim 25:17-19 - on Shabbos from a Torah you own

2.       If that’s not possible, you can have in mind to fulfill the Mitzva when hearing the Torah reading Purim morning (before Megillah)

3.       Read the portion from a Chumash on Shabbos.

4.       Hear it on Zoom after Shacharis Sunday morning, approximately 8:40am on the daily minyan Zoom link. (see link below in Megillah Reading section)

Note: Even if one uses #2 through Zoom on Purim day, or #3 or #4 (all of which are not in-person readings), one should aim to come to shul when Parashat Ki-Tetzei is read (Shabbos August 21, 2021), and have in mind at that time that the Maftir reading (Devarim 25:17-19) is a fulfillment of remembering Amalek.

 Thursday, Taanis Esther:

The fast begins at 5:39am and ends at 6:50pm.  Those who are fasting, who plan to hear the Megillah at nightfall (6:55pm) should not break the fast until after hearing the Megillah reading. Those who will be hearing the Megillah at a later reading may have a light snack after 6:50pm, but halakha discourages a full meal until after Megillah reading, lest one fall or asleep or forget to hear the Megillah.

Megillah Readings

The best way to hear the Megillah is in person, from someone reading from a Megillah scroll – ideally with a minyan, but acceptable without a minyan.

Any reading heard through electronic implements, whether a microphone, telephone, or Internet, should follow the following criteria: it should be live (not a recording), the listener should have a text in hand (a Megillah scroll is ideal!), the listener should do whatever possible to say the words along with the reader. If any of these are not possible, one may simply listen. (This allowance and option will only be available while we do not have normal operations – in future years we hope to not have Zoom options for Megillah)

Those who are homebound or who need special arrangements beyond the indoor and outdoor options the shul is providing should please be in touch. There are possibilities for a personal earlier reading on Thursday evening or a personal mid-morning reading on Friday.

Note: When the Megillah is read without a Minyan, only the opening blessings are recited, but not the closing blessing of “Harav Es Reveynu.”

Purim Meal/Seudah

With Purim falling on Friday, the idea of having a late afternoon Seudah comes in conflict with our usual Shabbos preparations. As such, it is recommended to have the meal as a brunch or lunch (some will aim to start before Chatzos – 12:33pm), while aiming to be done, no matter the start time, by the beginning of the tenth Halakhic hour of the day, approximately 3:27pm. (Candlelighting is 6:02pm, Mincha at shul will be 6:05pm, and sunset is at 6:20pm) There will be an earlier Mincha at 1:02pm, for those who want to daven Mincha before having their Purim meal plus the final live Megillah reading of the day.

A “Seudas Mitzvah” typically includes bread, so birkat HaMazon can be recited. There are differences of opinion as to whether the meal must include meat, should include either meat or chicken or fish, or could be whatever you wish. In honor of Purim, it should include at least a little wine and bread as noted. Make it as festive as can be!

 Mishloach Manot and Matanot L’Evyonim: 

 The mitzvah of Mishloach Manot and the mitzvah of Matanot L’Evyonim are meant to serve as expressions of kindness and friendship towards our fellow Jews – in the latter case, especially towards those who can use a boost to help their Purim celebrations be appropriate for the day.

 Mishloach Manot only requires that you send two food items to one person – ideally in the form of a meal. Those who have created a bubble who plan to eat the Seudah together can fulfill Mishloach Manot through preparing the food others at the meal will eat.

 *Participation in the Sisterhood Mishloach Manot project does not fulfill this Mitzvah*

 Rabbi Hershel Schachter has written this year. “Due to Coronavirus concerns there are those who may be uneasy with receiving food prepared in other people’s homes. Consequently, this year in particular, it is worthwhile to heed the Rambam’s exhortation to spend more on Matanos L’evyonim than on Mishloach Manos.”

Matanot L ’evyonim requires that we give money to at least two people to enhance their Purim. Monies collected will be distributed on your behalf both in advance of Purim Day for use for Purim and on Purim Day here or in Israel. You can consider that part of your contributions will be delivered on your behalf on Purim Day – though in either case your mitzvah is fulfilled through enhancing someone else’s Purim.

Those coming to shul, can place cash or a check (made out to “Anshei Chesed” and earmarked “RDF-Matanos L’Evyonim”) in the marked bowls or give them directly me. For those who would like to take care of this online, donations can be made through the online donation portal - https://www.accbb.org/payment.php, similarly assigned under “Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund” with “Matanos L’Evyonim” in the notes.

 Final Note

Purim is usually an incredible time of communal gathering and celebration. Due to concerns and precautions being exercised by a significant portion of our congregation, any efforts to reach out to neighbors we haven’t seen in a while, to simply share some Purim cheer, will be one of the best forms of enhancement of the holiday we can provide under our current situation. May it be as joyous a Purim as possible. And may we see next Purim to be a return to fellowship and gathering that is most joyous for us all.

The Liturgy of Parshas Shekalim

 Parshat Shekalim (with a nod to Mishpatim)

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Parshas Shekalim is the first of the 4 special Parshas read through the month of Adar (Shekalim is read before Rosh Chodesh, unless, as this year, Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbos). 

The section of the Torah is the first few verses of Parshat Ki Sisa (Shemos 30:11-16) which speaks of the census and collection of ½ Shekel per male-over-20. Initially, in the wilderness, the silver was used for the construction of the Mishkan itself, while subsequently the money collected was primarily utilized to fund the daily offerings and the repair-the-Mikdash fund. 

The ½ Shekel is a custom still practiced today in the month of Adar, and has variant opinions of who should participate. As a custom, it is optional, as even the amount donated is not equivalent to ½ Shekel, but is 3 times the ½-coin of the local main currency. The Rama (OC 694:1) and Biur Halakha (s”v ויש ליתן) give examples of coins utilized for this purpose in different lands. In the USA, the custom is to use 3 half-dollars. 

Aside from reading the Maftir and the special Haftorah for Shekalim, there are two customs that are less practiced today that relate to Parshas Shekalim and liturgy. One is the recitation of a special “Shir Shel Yom” for the day, which is chapter 49 of Tehillim. (There are special Shir Shel Yoms for special days on the calendar, though the most widely practiced are Tehillim 30 on Chanukah, Tehillim 27 from Elul through Shmini Atzeres, and Borchi Nafshi (Tehillim 104) on Rosh Chodesh.) 

Reading through the middle verses of Tehillim chapter 49 (verses 6-19), one can see very clearly why this was selected: 

Why should I fear in days of misfortune? The iniquity of my heels surrounds me. Those who rely on their possessions and boast of their great wealth, a brother cannot redeem a man, he cannot give his ransom to God. The redemption of their soul will be too dear, and unattainable forever. Will he live yet forever and not see the Pit? For he sees that wise men die, together a fool and a boorish man perish, and leave over their possessions to others. In their heart, their houses are forever, their dwellings are for every generation; they call by their names on plots of land. But man does not repose in his glory; he is compared to the silenced animals. This is their way; folly is theirs, and after them they will tell with their mouth forever. Like sheep, they are destined to the grave; death will devour them, and the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form will outlast the grave as his dwelling place. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall take me forever. Fear not when a man becomes rich, when the honor of his house increases, For he will not take anything in his death; his glory will not descend after him. Because in his lifetime he blesses himself, but [all] will praise you, for you will benefit yourself. (Translation from Chabad.org/library) 

One may ask, in what way is this clear? I understand that “you can’t take it with you.” What does that have to do with this kind of donation? We’re talking about a ½ Shekel! The Machatzis HaShekel, of all kinds of donations, is the greatest equalizer! The verse in the Torah says that the “wealthy may not give more, and the poor may not give less,” indicating that the donation is small enough that even the poor can afford it, and limited in that the rich may not simply write a blank check just because they can. They too are limited in their ½ Shekel donations. 

The answer to the question comes from the other custom that has largely fallen out of practice, so much so that two of the most recent siddurim that have been printed, by Koren and the RCA, don’t even include the liturgical passage related to this weekend, known as Yotzros. For Parsha Shekalim, the Yotzros do appear in the Artscroll Siddur starting on page 870. Even if a shul does not have the custom to say it, it doesn’t hurt to go through the prayer to see what our liturgy has to say about the subject of our Maftir and Haftorah. Similar to Tefillos Geshem and Tal, each Yotzer is recited at the beginning of the Chazzan’s Repetition of Mussaf, embedded within the opening blessings of the Shmoneh Esrei, and presented in a fashion similar to the opening of Chazaras HaShatz of the High Holidays! 

The Yotzer suggests that those who participated in the Golden Calf needed to “raise their level… As a redemption… Israel would be uplifted through giving Shekalim.” Then, in the context of the second blessing – gevurot – which includes references to resurrection of the dead, it says, “You (God) saw that [Haman] would be a snare and thorn; You advised Jews to announce to one another publicly that they should give shekels from Rosh Chodesh… [In this way] our contribution comes before that of our dreaded foe.” In a sense, the half-shekel is meant to serve as a kapparah (atonement) in advance of a decree for our destruction. It is, in a way, an investment in our salvation from an enemy. 

The contribution is “from [age] twenty and up, the age when they are eligible for Hevenly punishment and warning , and to join the ranks of war, by means of the half-shekel contribution, [they] annul their evil and sins… The silver shekels of atonement caused the nations to submit to Israel and were kept by God as a remembrance for each Jew.” 

כסף תת כופר הם מפקדים – They are commanded to gain atonement through contributing silver (shekels) 

The last paragraph of the yotzer is more of a lament and a dirge of what has been lost and what we hope to return to, but the second to last portion that is recited by the congregation includes this passage: “Moshe exclaimed… ‘What can a man give to redeem himself and attain the grace of Him Who gave him his soul?’ The Holy One, wanting to justify this people, showed Moshe a fiery coin in a vision; He taught him that they should give that coin without delay and tell them all what they should give. God, you did not burden us so heavily…” because the ½ shekel is so affordable. 

This is not an appeal as much as it is a reminder that we, the Jewish people, have always made generosity and Tzedakah a priority. If we are blessed to be able to give, we do so. We include the phrase בעבור שאנו נודרים לצדקה (“on account that we are pledging to tzedakah”) in our Mi Sheberachs and Kel Maleis throughout the year and when we recite Yizkor, as we are praying for the healing of our loved ones and friends, or for the atonement of the souls of the departed. 

The Ezras Torah luach, of which we all benefit from directly or indirectly, includes this paragraph in its reminders for Parshas Shekalim: "The foremost Rabbis of past generations instituted a wonderful practice whereby, on Shabbos Shekolim Shuls all over America conducted appeals for Ezras Torah, which was a holy bastion of relief and succor for thousands of families of Torah scholars, including Gedolim, Tzaddikim, widows, and children, whose poverty was relieved, to some degree, by the work of Ezras Torah. This practice must be maintained through the present, because these appeals have become a major source of income for Ezras Torah. Heaven forbid that this practice be changed or replaced."

One angle of Parshat Mishpatim aims resolving disputes over financial matters. We know that “money is the root of all evil.” At the same time, proper use of money, especially when given to support the needy or Torah institutions, and especially when we are blessed to have more than we need, has forever been tied with blessing and atonement. 

May we continue to be blessed to take the message of Parshas Shekalim to heart, and be granted blessing and goodness in our lives as a result.

Politics of Freedom and the Covenant at Sinai

After publishing this, I randomly received this video via whatsapp. Really impeccable timing, considering the specific way I chose to write about the law given to us through Moshe's hands. (Apologies that it is in Hebrew with Hebrew subtitles (!))

Parshat Yitro

by Rabbi Avi Billet

In the aftermath of the recent inauguration of a female Vice President, a discussion came up in one of the rabbinic listserves I read as to the propriety of the language of the prayer for the government of the US which is written, in Hebrew, in the masculine (ie. gender specific) when referencing the President and Vice President. My contribution to the conversation was to read the prayer in English, as we do in our shul, as “President” and “Vice President” are presented by title – no emendation needed. 

Following that discussion, I learned from this article by Michael Feldstein (a friend) that such a conversation raised in shul could be explosive. https://jewishlink.news/features/41981-prayer-politics-and-the-pulpit 

While I don’t agree with everything Michael wrote, I believe he deals with the issues sensibly, noting that some changes might perhaps be better than others. I certainly agree that changing the prayer based on who is in the White House is not a good idea. 

There was a time, particularly after World War II, when many immigrants filled pews, when the ways of the USA were new to them, when English was not their language of birth, when the rabbi’s role in explaining politics to his congregants had its place. Nowadays people are very connected, very astute, and while a rabbi is entitled to his opinion – one he may share in a private conversation with a congregant – the role of the rabbi with respect to politics should be limited to addressing moral issues, and, when calling out bad political behavior, noting that it happens on both sides of the aisle. 

Based on the question of the place of politics in the pulpit, I was rather surprised to find that Rabbi Sacks, Z”L had written about this very topic in an essay on Parshas Yisro! In Covenant and Conversation: Exodus, in an essay entitled “Mount Sinai and the Birth of Freedom,” he wrote the following: 

“… at Mount Sinai the concept of a free society was born. 

“… long before Israel entered the land and acquired their own system of government, they had entered into an overarching covenant with God. That covenant set moral limits to the exercise of power. The code we call Torah established for the first time the primacy of right over might. Any king who behaved contrarily to Torah was acting ultra vires (beyond legitimate authority), and could be challenged. This is the single most important fact about biblical politics. 

“Democracy on the Greek model had one fatal weakness. Alexis de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill called it “the tyranny of the majority.” J.L. Talmon called it “totalitarian democracy.” The rule of the majority contains no guarantee of the rights of minorities. As Lord Acton rightly noted, it was this that led to the downfall of Athens: “There was no law superior to that of the state. The lawgiver was above the law.” In Judaism, by contrast, prophets were mandated to challenge the authority of the king if he acted against the terms of the Torah… 

“Individuals were empowered to disobey illegal or immoral orders. The first example… was the Hebrew midwives who ‘feared God and did not do what the Egyptian king had commanded….’ It was on this tradition that Calvin – inspiration of the seventeenth-century Puritan radicals in England and America – drew, when he said, “prophets and teachers may take courage and boldly set themselves against kings and nations.” It was on the same tradition that Thomas Paine based his pamphlet Common Sense (1776), widely credited at the time as the inspiration that led to the American Revolution. Historically, it was the covenant at Sinai and all that flowed from it, not the Greek political tradition, that inspired the birth of freedom in Britain and America, the first people to take that road in the modern age.” 

Rabbi Sacks goes on to describe two more crucial elements of Sinai: 

Through saying “We will do what Hashem has said” the people gave what was later called “the consent of the governed.” And finally, that the essential constitution of liberty includes everyone – women, men, children (see Shmot 19:3 where “Beit Yaakov” is mentioned first, and is traditionally understood to Moshe being instructed to speak to the women first, then to the men). Hakhel, in Devarim 31, mentions including men, women, and children in the one-in-seven-years gathering aimed at enhancing our communal, national, and personal relationships with God. 

Maybe one day we will all look back at the last 11 months and have a more clear picture of what happened. Maybe we’ll see that some governors and politicians were wrong, some were right, and some were simply hypocritical and/or tyrannical in their abuses of power. Maybe we’ll be given the truth, maybe the data won’t be manipulated, maybe people will take responsibility for their actions, maybe people will see that lockdowns hurt as much as they helped, maybe the idea of personal responsibility will have a resurgence. Maybe healthcare will be removed from politics, and doctors will once again be allowed to care for their patients without having bureaucrats tell them what they could or could not do. And then, maybe not. 

If Rabbi Sacks is right that Revelation set in motion what it means to be free – and that is essentially “to choose the rules I wish to follow” as evidenced by “All that God said I will do” – then it behooves us to 1. Trust and believe in God, 2. Not to worship any idol, or even to turn any human being into an idol we follow blindly, 3. Not to take God’s name in vain, 4. To remember the importance of Shabbos, because GOD created the WORLD and everything in it, resting from creating on the seventh day – it is His world which was given to us, not any person’s world to dictate how we are to live, 5. Honor our parents if they are alive, and carrying their legacy if they are deceased – if they valued Tefillah, Torah, Mitzvos, we must find a way to reconnect to what has been lost in the last year, most notably Hachnasas Orchim, Bikur Cholim, and Nichum Aveilim, 6. Not to deliberately murder – which includes not to character assassinate without evidence, 7. Not to commit adultery – not to betray most sacred relationships, 8. Not to steal – including stealing someone’s reputation for simply having a different point of view, 9. Not to bear false witness – not to misrepresent facts, data, or someone else’s opinion, 10. Not to covet, which Rabbi Yosef Albo explained as our obligation to be concerned for others through our thoughts. 

Rabbi Michael Rosenzweig focuses on the symmetry between the beginning and the end of the Decalogue, as he notes: 

The Torah insists that man's perspective can and must be shaped by the spiritual-halachic values that give life its purpose. This is true not only with respect to belief in Hashem, without which life would cease to have meaning, but is also true with regard to the equally indispensable value of a proper approach to material goods.” 

Quoting Rav Hirsch, he categorized the last of the Dibrot this way: 

“… while the first group of the Asseret ha-Dibrot begins with theological commitment and then shifts to obligations of actions, the second half of the Dibrot commence with a focus on actions but conclude with values that are critical to an ideological commitment. Values and a commitment to principle is the foundation of the Torah, but the Torah's special approach to life demands that these be concretized in activities and norms. At the same time, the focus on actions and norms would be insufficient if it did not, in turn, produce and generate a more intricate halachic value system to govern the spiritual life of the committed Torah Jew. The process that begins with a commitment to faith- "Anochi Hashem Elokechah"- culminates with the profound impact of halachic reality manifested in Lo Tachmod, as the reciprocal interaction of thought and deed shape and define the halachic personality.“ 

Perhaps, then, the last of the Dibrot is a roundabout way of saying “Do unto others what you’d like done to you” (aka “Love Thy Neighbor,” as taught by Rabbi Akiva) and “What is hateful to you do not do to others” (as taught by Hillel) That is a perfect summary of what freedom is – Following God’s commandments because they are Divine and therefore good, and giving the other person the space to use the same instructions and commitment to come to similar conclusions, all while we each find our own personal way to serve the Almighty. 

In our tradition, we have conflicting values which inform our behavior. אנכי עפר ואפר – I am dust and ashes - the ultimate expression of humility. בשבילי נברא העולם – the world was created for my sake – the ultimate expression of personal pride. כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה – all of Israel bear responsibility for one another. אין הדבר תלוי אלא בי – I bear a personal responsibility for the outcomes in my life. 

Each of these expressions, especially כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה, can be interpreted in different ways. Does responsibility for one another mean: we all represent God and our people and must behave a certain way? We can’t leave a wounded or dead soldier on the battlefield? We have to trade 1,000 terrorists for one kidnapped soldier? There can’t be poor people? We should protest when there’s injustice against Jews in the world? We have to make sure every Jewish child can have a Jewish education? We must make sacrifices for the “Greater Good”? This latter thought is always a relative (and perhaps dark) discussion, heavily dependent on who decides what that Greater Good is. 

We have our answers – they are in the Decalogue, and in the statements of Rabbi Akiva and Hillel quoted above. We should be blessed to rise above politics and remember how necessary human relationships are, and what should be the guiding principles in how we go about the choices we make, the conversations we have, and the things we do.