"and they ate and drank"(Exodus 24:11) Shevat 26, 5782/January 28, 2022 This week's Torah reading, Mishpatim, (ordinances), deals, almost in its entirety, with civil law: rules for the conducting of man's relationships with his fellow man. Our sages stress that, while these rules and regulations involving matters of property and commerce and incidents of violence and damages, might seem like a step down from the far reaching and universally aspirational vision of the Ten Commandments, they are, nevertheless, the direct continuation of the Mount Sinai revelation. But still, we may ask, why does Torah so abruptly interrupt the description of the once in an eternity experience of Mount Sinai with an exceedingly technical and dry list of civil dos and don'ts? Why is their transmission so important right at this historical moment? The answer, counter-intuitively, can be found in G-d's message to Israel immediately following the Ten Commandments and immediately preceding this week's Mishpatim: "An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall slaughter beside it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Wherever I allow My name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you." (Exodus 20:21) G-d is promising to Israel an intimate relationship. "Don't let the thunder and lightning of Sinai fool you," G-d is saying, "I will be with you even in the greatly scaled down daily life of man's earthly existence. Even a simple altar of earth, when established with proper intent, will invoke My Presence." G-d, as been His consistent desire ever since forming Adam out of the very same earth of the altar, wants to rest His Presence on earth. G-d wants to be within us, among us, a real and present part of our day to day existence. It is within this context that we see the crucial importance of these dry and technical ordinances that make up parashat Mishpatim. Man, as a prerequisite for bringing G-d into his world, must first create a G-d friendly environment. Man must learn to live with his fellow man in peace and in harmony. And to do so, man needs to create a society based on justice and righteousness. And to that purpose man needs civil laws. Only after these rules and regulations have been adopted as the basis of Israelite society, will G-d reveal to Moshe, while in seclusion with him on Mount Sinai, His desire for Israel to "build for Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them." (ibid 25:8) But between the ordinances of Mishpatim and the world changing announcement of G-d's desire for a Sanctuary, there is yet another strange segue, which occurs at the closing of parashat Mishpatim. Immediately following the conclusion of the list of ordinances, which, in fact, ends with a listing of the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, Torah returns us to the events of Mount Sinai. Moshe builds an altar at the foot of Sinai, and twelve monuments, one for each tribe. Offerings are made, and the entire nation, as one, makes the solemn commitment, "All the words that HaShem has spoken we will do." (ibid 24:3) And then we read the following: "And Moshe and Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended, and they perceived the G-d of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived G-d, and they ate and drank." (ibid 24:9-11) Haven't we been working under the assumption that G-d was, as it were, "grounding" His awesome, earth shaking presence, in order to make His being a welcome presence in our daily lives? Wasn't Torah just now instructing us to prepare ourselves to become a welcoming environment for G-d's presence, by creating a society based on respect and brotherly love? Why now does G-d invite Israel's spiritual elite to join Him in a barely describable visionary event? The imagery described of a sapphire brick beneath G-d's "foot" is one that our sages have struggled with over the millennia, and still we are left scratching our heads. But let's attempt, nevertheless, to give it a meaning that may lead to a greater understanding of what is transpiring. Just as one sticks his toe in to check the waters, G-d, perhaps, is testing the waters, by placing His "foot," that is, the lowest aspect of His Being, and the closest aspect to man's reality, in the waters of our physical, finite world. He does so, and the reaction of Israel's spiritual elite, those who, by their elevated awareness, should be most capable of receiving this awesome vision, is to engage in eating and drinking. How base, how mundane this response! Should not they be bowing down and fasting and abasing themselves? G-d seems to think so, or so it is suggested, by the cryptic "And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand." It would seem that G-d's first impulse was to punish the Israelite notables for their seemingly inappropriate response to the great vision. But then, it seems, G-d considered otherwise. The response of the notables, especially in light of the rules and regulations of a civil society that the nation had just received, to eat and drink in G-d's presence, could not have been more appropriate. Ultimately, G-d wants to live with us, upon this earth, within man's realm of reality. Man is a physical being made of flesh and blood, with physical needs and desires, and, at the same time, a spiritual being, with aspirations and a need for closeness to G-d. The best way, the only way, in fact, for man to achieve an equilibrium between the physical and the spiritual is to integrate the spiritual into the minutiae of our daily lives. And this is, in fact, that way that we celebrate G-d's nearness in the food we eat and the beverage we drink, in the sacred meals that we partake of on Shabbat, and the unique meals and rituals that we partake of on each of the pilgrimage festivals. Bringing G-d into the mundane needs of our physical lives, if done with proper intent and awareness, doesn't drag G-d down, but lifts us up. The feast that the Israelite notables partook of in G-d's presence was the very finest way to welcome G-d to the table. When we eat we involve every one of our senses, taste, touch, smell, hearing and seeing. We are, or should always strive to be, fully present when we eat, because we are eating in G-d's presence. And that applies to all our actions. We are told that three times a year we are to "see and be seen" by G-d at His Holy Temple. But in truth, even outside of G-d's Holy Temple, we have the ability and the obligation to see and be seen by G-d. It is no coincidence that the Torah prescribes for Israel a multitude of rules and regulations as to how to conduct ourselves in every aspect of our lives. By adhering to these heaven-sent 'recommendations' we create for ourselves a shared space for us and for G-d, in all we do. It is the rules and regulations, the mishpatim, which make up the "sapphire brickwork," which enables G-d to place His presence within our world. |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Yitzchak Reuven discussed parashat Mishpatim and creating a society fit for HaShem, about the Torah imperative of choosing to be free, and about laying the groundwork for the Holy Temple! Parashat Mishpatim takes us straight from Mt. Sinai to the nitty-gritty of everyday living with one another. Why? Shouldn't G-d's house take priority? What the prophets had to say about unrighteous offerings, and next week: the first of two (months of) Adar! |
Help To Build The Holy Temple In Our Time! Donate Generously To Help The Sacred Work Of The Temple Institute! Every contribution helps to rebuild the Holy Temple in our Time! |
"I'll believe it when I see it!" That's what we all tell ourselves. Yet there are so many things that we believe are real which we cannot see, such as numbers, subatomic particles, love, fear... yet we all believe they are very real. Can we ever visually experience the reality that is G-d? And is doing so a criteria for belief in His existence? What are we to make of the glimpse of G-d's Presence experienced by Moshe, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and the 70 elders? What was it they saw? Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1 - 24:18)
Parashat Yitro is read on Shabbat:
Shevat 27, 5782/January 29, 2022 |
Haftarah For Shabbat Parashat Mishpatim
Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26: "The word that came to Jeremiah from HaShem after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim freedom to them; That every man should let his manservant and every man his maidservant, a Jew and a Jewess go free, that none should hold his Jewish brother as a slave..." |
Jewish Worshipers On Temple Mount Come Under Snowball Attack Video clips taken this morning show a group of Jewish worshipers in prayer as they walk through the snow on the Temple Mount. (At seven seconds they can be heard saying "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, HaShem Tzeva'ot - Holy, Holy Holy, is HaShem of Hosts"). The video ends with two side-by-side clips: on the left are a group of Jews who have come under snow ball attack. On the right are the Arab offenders, gleefully throwing snowballs at the Jews. |
Bowing To Idols On The Temple Mount While bundled up Jewish pilgrims ascended the Temple Mount today for the sole purpose of praying and giving thanks to HaShem, Palestinians who went to the Mount had other things in mind. This lovely Palestinian youth is making a snow missile, wrapped in a Hamas flag. |
Winter Wonderland On The Temple Mount!
25 centimeter (10 inches) of snow fell last night in Jerusalem. And this morning Jews ascended the Temple Mount to thank G-d for the beautiful blessing! |
Talisman Inscribed With Ancient Hebrew Found At Joshua's Altar Artifact, which researchers have dated to 1,200 BCE, bears an early Hebrew form of the letter "a"aleph" and a symbols that resembles a lotus flower. An ancient lead talisman has been discovered in the rubble left over from an archaeological excavation conducted in the 1980s at Mount Ebal in Samaria, which researchers believe is the location of Joshua's Altar. |
Members Of Knesset On The Temple Mount Yesterday, Eli Cohen, a Knesset Member from the Likud party, led a large delegation of some 50 Jews to the Temple Mount. Among the group were fellow members of the Likud faction on the Knesset. Eli, along with veteran Temple Mount activist, Shimshon Elboim, led the group along the halachically permitted route used by all Jews who ascend the Mount in purity. |
Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai & The Sanhedrin In Kerem B’Yavneh Depicted in the picture is a stormy session of the Sanhedrin in Kerem B’Yavneh in which a famous question was debated: Is the Evening Prayer obligatory or merely optional? Rabban Gamliel, the President of the Court, is seen sitting on the left, instructing Rabbi Yehoshua to stand and state his dissenting opinion. Rabbi Chutzpit HaMeturgeman (the elucidator) is seen in the center. |
More Snow To Fall In Jerusalem? A snow storm is predicted to reach Jerusalem on Wednesday, leaving a few centimeters of snow. This photo, taken in 1904, looking east over the Temple Mount, with the Mount of Olives in the background, was shared by Lenny Ben-David @lennybendavid on Twitter. |
Shimon Hatzaddik And The Great Assembly Seen in the picture is Shimon HaTzaddik (Simon the Just), dressed in priestly garments, leading a delegation of kohanim to greet Alexander of Macedonia. As a result of the honor shown him, Alexander bolstered the status of the Temple and the Sanhedrin. |
Another Rainy Day On The Temple Mount!
Another winter storm is passing over Israel this week, bringing rain and possible snow as temperatures drop later in the week. Arnon Segal reports that the police would not allow Jewish worshipers on the Temple Mount today to take cover from the rain by walking along a covered arcade, despite the fact that the arcade paralleled their usual path. |
Tour Guide Takes Us Through 1st Temple Period Beit Hakerem & Beyond Today, we call it Ramat Rachel, but many archaeologists have concluded that this was the site of Biblical Beth-HaKerem. "Gather the sons of Benjamin from the midst of Jerusalem, and in Tekoa sound the shofar, and over Beth-hakerem raise a standard, for evil is visible from the north and a great calamity." (Jeremiah 6:1) |
Solomon Judges The Two Mothers The painting shows King Solomon shortly after he became king, at the age of 20, sitting in the Sanhedrin in the royal palace. One of the first cases that came before him was that of the two mothers; the baby of one of them had died, but both claimed to be the mother of the one who still lived. |
Shavua Tov From The Temple Mount!
"I will bring them to My sacred mount
And let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices Shall be welcome on My altar; For My House shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples.”
(Isaiah 56:7) Shavua tov - have a very good week! |
Red Heifer Update March 1 2021 Raising a perfect red heifer, fit and kosher to be used for the Torah required ashes of the red heifer necessary for achieving the highest level of ritual purity is a challenge! Even a few non-red hairs disqualifies a red heifer candidate. But the Temple Institute is determined to produce the first red heifer ashes in over 2000 years. This update of the status of our current red heifer candidates was timed to coincide with Shabbat Parashat Para - the next to last Shabbat of the month of Adar on which we read Numbers, chapter 19, which details the laws of the red heifer. |
Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
|
Posts