"HaShem, HaShem, benevolent G-d"(Exodus 34:6) Adar 17, 5783/March 10, 2023 As we begin this week's Torah reading, Ki Tisa, atop Mount Sinai, HaShem is just wrapping up His instructions to Moshe concerning the Tabernacle, G-d's longed for dwelling place amongst His people. G-d shares with Moshe the need for an annual Half Shekel offering, the building of a copper washstand, the preparation of anointing oil and, last but certainly not least, the preparation of the spice compound for the ketoret incense offering. HaShem finishes His ‘wish-list’ with the naming of Betzalel ben Hur and Ohaliav ben Achisamach, two skilled craftsmen whom HaShem will fill with "wisdom, with insight, and with knowledge," (Exodus 31:3), and who will oversee the construction of the Tabernacle. Following all this HaShem reminds Moshe of the supreme importance of keeping Shabbat, and places in Moshe's hands the two stone tablets of the testimony, etched upon by G-d's own finger. We, ourselves, have become so absorbed in listening in on HaShem's words to Moshe that we may have forgotten that there is still a world down below, at the foot of Mount Sinai. But a world down below does exist, and all is not good within the Israelite encampment! The people, seeing that Moshe has still not stepped down from cloud enshrouded Sinai, draw the conclusion that Moshe is gone forever. A mob forms around Aharon, and they press him to "Come on! Make us gods that will go before us, because this man Moshe, who brought us up from the land of Egypt we don't know what has become of him." (ibid 32:1) We all know what follows, as the Torah spares us none of the unfortunate details. Upon seeing all this, HaShem interrupts His session with Moshe and tells him, "Go, descend, for your people that you have brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned away from the path that I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten calf! And they have prostrated themselves before it, slaughtered sacrifices to it, and said: 'These are your gods, O Israel, who have brought you up from the land of Egypt.'" (ibid 32:7-8) G-d certainly sounds angry, but we can only imagine that His anger rises up out of a great, even indescribable disappointment. All His dreams of dwelling amongst His people, keeping a close watch over His children, sharing their joys and sorrows, celebrating with them their holidays, their Sabbaths and their new moons, have been crushed. Just forty days after speaking directly to the entire nation, men, women and children, presenting them with the Ten Commandments, and hearing their commitment in return, "All the words that HaShem has spoken we will do," (ibid 24:3) HaShem has been betrayed. His children have proven unfaithful. Despondent, HaShem proposes to Moshe that He will utterly destroy His children and make a new nation from the seed of Moshe. Only Moshe's instant and adamant refusal to even hear of such a step causes G-d to back down from His plan. Bringing the temperature down a few significant degrees, Moshe not only describes to G-d how such a move will be perceived by the nations, and reminds Hashem of His promise to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yisrael, Moshe also unequivocally attaches his own fate to that of his people, and compels haShem to relent: “And now, if You forgive their sin, but if not, erase me now from Your book, which You have written." (ibid 32:32) Perhaps G-d should now direct His fury at Moshe for defying His will in so brazen a fashion! But no. Moshe, by siding with his errant people in the very face of G-d's anger, is the final proof, if needed, that he, Moshe, is the man for the job. Moshe, the "man of G-d," is every bit as much, the man of his people, risking all to insure their well-being, even when their behavior proves them undeserving. But why did this happen in the first place? Why did Israel think that Moshe was late in returning? We were told that Moshe would be forty days and forty nights atop Mount Sinai, but the children of Israel were not necessarily given this information. And if they did become aware that Moshe was to return after forty days, then why did their patience wear thin just one day before the fortieth? And certainly G-d, Who had His eye on Israel, and saw what was transpiring, could have called His meeting short with Moshe one day earlier and avoided the whole messy affair. Why did G-d test His children so? Just thirty-nine days after receiving them, Israel transgressed the very first of the Ten Commandments, "You shall not have the gods of others in My presence. You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness which is in the heavens above, which is on the earth below, or which is in the water beneath the earth." (ibid 20:3-4) Their sin could not have been graver. On the other hand, the leaderless congregation, which transformed into a demanding mob, did not descend into acts of murder or theft, or adultery or of any of the other "do nots" that they received at Sinai. Their horrific crime against G-d was perhaps, after all, the least egregious of all possible transgressions. Perhaps this unparalleled crisis was a necessary prerequisite for the fulfillment of G-d's dream, after all. G-d desired to dwell amongst His people, in constant close proximity to all their doings from morning to night, day in and day out. But what has Israel witnessed of HaShem up to this point? They saw a powerful G-d violently bring mighty Egypt to its knees, turning it into a barren wasteland before killing each of its firstborns. They witnessed G-d drowning the entire Egyptian army beneath the returning water of the Sea of Reeds. It is true, HaShem provided a parched Israel with much needed water and sated Israel's hunger first with pheasants and then with a daily portion of manna. But at Sinai, in the presence of thunder and lightning, smoke and fire, thick clouds and a quaking mountain, the rising sound of a shofar and the presence of G-d's very own voice, the children of Israel were frightened nearly to death, and understandably so. They begged Moshe to intervene on their behalf. Such closeness to HaShem was terrifying. The idea of Hashem dwelling amongst His people would have been a non-starter. But following the debacle of the golden calf, Moshe and G-d work out a recipe for divine forgiveness. G-d instructs Moshe two hew two new tablets of stone to replace those he had shattered, and reveals to Moshe His thirteen attributes of mercy, "HaShem, HaShem, benevolent G-d, Who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness and truth, preserving loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin..." (ibid 34:6-7) This is a new side of G-d that Israel had not formerly been exposed to. G-d is a compassionate G-d, a loving G-d, a forgiving G-d. This is a G-d that Israel can live with! This is a G-d that, as we will see, Israel will rush to make for Him a sanctuary, so that He can dwell amongst them. This is a G-d we want in our midst! So perhaps, just perhaps, the devastating, cataclysmic sin of the golden calf, was a necessary prerequisite for the building of the Tabernacle. Divine forgiveness is the final 'detail' in G-d's blueprint for a dwelling place amongst His people. . |
"And The Incense That You Make... It Shall Be Holy To You For Hashem!" This Shabbat we read of G-d's instructions to Moshe to prepare choice spices for the Ketoret Incense Offering, considered to be the most beloved of all offerings to HaShem! Learn about the eleven ingredients essential to the Ketoret, how the offering is to be performed, and age-old traditions surrounding the special significance of the Ketoret Incense Offering, in our beautifully illustrated Temple Incense teaching! |
The Half-Shekel Offering: Partnership In The Holy Temple! This Shabbat is Shabbat Parashat Shekalim: "HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying: 'When you take the sum of the children of Israel according to their numbers, let each one give to HaShem an atonement for his soul when they are counted; then there will be no plague among them when they are counted. This they shall give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel according to the holy shekel. Twenty gerahs equal one shekel; half of such a shekel shall be an offering to HaShem. Everyone who goes through the counting, from the age of twenty and upward, shall give an offering to HaShem. The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel, with which to give the offering to HaShem, to atone for your souls. You shall take the silver of the atonements from the children of Israel and use it for the work of the Tent of Meeting; it shall be a remembrance for the children of Israel before HaShem, to atone for your souls.'" In these prophetic times when the building of the Holy Temple is nearer than ever, the Half Shekel offering is an unprecedented opportunity to be a partner in the building of the Temple, "a house of prayer for all nations!" (Isaiah 567:7). The current value of the biblical half shekel is $10.00. All half shekel donations made to the Temple Institute will go toward the physical, spiritual and educational preparations necessary for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple! |
The Temple Institute: Bringing The Holy Temple To Life! "Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering..." (Ex. 25:2) Thus begins Terumah, last week's Torah reading, in which HaShem reveals His desire that Israel "make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst." (Ex. 25:8) The Temple Institute is dedicated to making the Holy Temple a reality in our day, and toward this end, the Temple Institute has, for 36 years, been building and planning and researching and teaching and sharing with you our reconstructed sacred vessels and priestly garments, our books and paintings, our red heifer candidates, our teachings and insights and our love for HaShem and the Holy Temple! It is only through the generosity of your hearts that we are able to continue our important work. Only together can we build for HaShem a sanctuary and "a house of prayer for all nations!" |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk as Yitzchak Reuven talks about the Tabernacle and the finishing touches of creation, about smashing the tablets of the law, (was it Moshe's finest hour?), and about Betzalel & Ohaliav, craftsmen imbued with the spirit of prophecy! As G-d wraps up His forty day private conversation with Moshe atop Mount Sinai, trouble brews below, in the form of a golden calf, threatening everything that G-d and Israel have accomplished together. Meanwhile, the Tabernacle, the final detail of creation, remains hanging in the balance. |
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! |
Weekly Torah Study: Ki Tisa Spiritual visions. Religious experiences. What are they? How do we perceive them? How do we hold on to them? Ki Tisa, which tells the turbulent story of the golden calf, which follows Moshe's 40 days atop Mount Sinai with G-d, and is followed by Moshe's vision of HaShem's 13 attributes of mercy, is a primer in different ways of perceiving the same reality. Ki Tisa (Exodus 30:11 - 34:35)
Para (Numbers 19:1-22)
Parashat Ki Tisa is read on Shabbat:
Adar 18, 5783/March 114, 2023 |
Haftara For Shabbat Parashat Ki Tisa/Para Ezekiel 36:16-36: "And the word of HaShem came to me, saying: "Son of man! The house of Israel, as long as they lived on their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their misdeeds, like the uncleanness of a woman in the period of her separation was their way before Me. Wherefore I poured My wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, because they had defiled it with their idols.And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and their misdeeds did I judge them...." |
A Temple Mount Moment: Purim and the Holy Temple! The story of Purim takes place in faraway Persia. What in the world does it have to do with the Holy Temple? Absolutely everything! A Temple Mount Moment is the joint project of the Temple Institute and High on the Har. Temple Mount experts and co founders of High on the Har, Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld and Rabbi Yehuda Levi present each week fascinating facts and insights about the Temple Mount and the Holy Temple, its past, present and future! |
The Red Heifer & The Golden Calf This Shabbat we are reading in synagogue parashat Ki Tisa, (Exodus 30:11 - 34:35), in which the story of the sin of the golden calf is told. This Shabbat is also habbat Para, in which we also read from Numbers, chapter 19, verses 1-22, which discusses the red heifer (para aduma). It is only appropriate that these two Torah sections are being read on the same Shabbat. What does the red heifer have to do with the golden calf? |
Purim On The Temple Mount: Record Number Of Jewish Visitors This Year Calm prevailed despite Arab threats of violence.
453 Jews visited the Temple Mount over Purim, according to the Temple Mount Administration, 55 percent more than did so last year on Purim, and many more than the previous record number who visited on Purim - 315 Jews who did so in 2020. |
High Priest Spotted On The Temple Mount! 100's of Jews celebrated Shushan Purim today on the Temple Mount, but none were as impressive as this little Kohen Gadol (High Priest)! One of the lessons of Purim is that when the Jews band together nothing can stop them! Imagine, if we all worked together toward building the Holy Temple, we could be seeing a real Kohen Gadol before this cute lad is even an adult! |
The Laws Of Shabbat, The Tabernacle & The Completion Of Creation! "HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying: 'And you, speak to the children of Israel and say: 'Only keep My Sabbaths! For it is a sign between Me and you for your generations, to know that I, HaShem, make you holy..." Why does HaShem reiterate to Moshe the supreme importance of keeping Shabbat immediately after He concludes describing to Moshe all the details of the Tabernacle and its vessels and their implements, and after naming Betzalel ben Hur and Ohaliav ben Achisamach as the chief artisans and overseers of the nationwide Tabernacle initiative? |
Shabbat Parashat Para – The Red Heifer! This coming Shabbat we read in synagogues around the world, the third of the four special (additional) Torah readings that are read during the month of Adar, in anticipation of the upcoming holiday of Passover. Parashat Para, (Numbers 19:1-22) presents the chok (statute) of the Red Heifer (Para Aduma). This serves as a reminder that the ashes of the red heifer are necessary for the purification of Passover pilgrims heading to the Holy Temple with their Passover offerings. Tum'at met - the impurity contracted by contact with a corpse - must be remedied by the sprinkling of the ashes of the red heifer before the Passover pilgrim can ascend the Temple Mount with his offering. Plus - red heifer update! |
This Week, Parashat Ki Tisa: The Copper Laver "HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying: 'You shall make a washstand of copper and its base of copper for washing, and you shall place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water therein. Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands and feet from it. When they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to serve, to make a fire offering rise up in smoke to HaShem, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die; this shall be for them a perpetual statute, for him and for his descendants, for their generations.'" (Exodus 30:17-21) |
Purim: The Three Days Of Fasting In chapter 4 of the book of Esther, when Mordechai implores Esther to confront King Ahasuerus concerning Haman's plot to eliminate the Jews, she agreed with great foreboding, fearful for her life, and instructed Mordechai to "Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and do not eat or drink three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16) |
Purim Sameach! The Al HaNissim prayer said on Purim: "And we thank you, HaShem, for the miracles and for the redemption and for the mighty acts and for the salvation and for the wars that You have done for our forefathers in those days in this season..." |
Purim Sameach - Happy Purim! Wishing everyone a very happy Purim! There are four mitzvot that we are obligated to fulfill on Purim, and they each start with the Hebrew letter Mem מ (M): MEGILLAH Listening to Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) twice! Once in the evening and once again in the morning! MISHLOACH MANOT Making gifts of food to bring to friends, family and even complete strangers! MATANOT L'EVYONIM Giving charity to the poor and needy! MISHTEH Enjoying a celebratory feast (mishteh), known as Seudat Purim! |
This Week: Parashat Ki Tisa: The Half Shekel Offering! This week's Torah reading, Ki Tisa, (Exodus 30:11 - 34:35), is jam packed, containing both the good, the bad (the golden calf), and the ugly (again, the golden calf). It opens as Moshe continues to receive instruction from HaShem atop Mount Sinai. As we have witnessed, HaShem's session with Moshe has centered around HaShem's desire for Israel to build for Him a sanctuary, so that He may dwell amongst His people. |
Mikdash Monday - Pesach (Part 2) “Take heed of the month of spring, when you will celebrate Pesach for Hashem, your G-d; for in the month of spring, Hashem, your G-d, took you out from Egypt at night.” (Deuteronomy 16:1) |
Monday: Ta'anit Esther - The Fast Of Esther The day before the holiday of Purim, which begins on Monday evening, is a dawn to dark fast, known as Ta'anit Esther - the fast of Esther. The fast commemorates two distinct fasts that took place during the events described in the book of Esther. Esther herself instructed the Jews of Shushan, the capital of Persia, to fast on her behalf when she was compelled to confront King Ahasuerus and beseech him to annul the decree inspired by Haman to annihilate all the Jews of the Persian empire, which stretched from India in the east all the way to Ethiopia in the west. |
Shavua Tov From The Temple Mount! urim is just two days away, spring has arrived early in Israel, and Jewish worshipers are ascending the Temple Mount in ever increasing numbers. Wishing everyone a very good week - shavua tov - and a very happy Purim! |
Red Heifers Arrive In Israel! On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality. |
5 Red Heifers Enjoying Life in Israel The 5 red heifers that were flown to Israel last summer from Texas, via Kennedy Airport, are currently enjoying their lives in Israel. After spending 10 days in quarantine they are now living peacefully on a farm in Israel's Galilee region. |
Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
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