Parshat Ki Tisa - 5773

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Parshat Ki Tisa 5773

Drasha

Rabbi Shaanan Gelman

One Last Haven

Opener

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-

perception.html?_r=0

The way we dress, the way we appear on the outside makes adifference not just in the rest of our endeavors, but it makes a

difference in our more exalted role as ' , servants to the

Almighty.

It has been noted by many that the last five parshiot on Sefer Shemot

are both repetitive and are laid out in a most peculiar fashion. We first

learn about the Mishkan and its vessels followed by a description of the

Bigdei kehuna (the garb of the Priesthood). Next we interrupt with the

description with Parshat Ki Tisa, which most notably contains the

the sin of the Golden Calf, followed by another two parshiot

reiterating the description of the Mishkan and the . I used to

look forward to the Shabbos of Vayakhel Pekudei because in reviewing

the weekly sidra, the topics were so familiar and so fresh in my mind

having studied them in two weeks earlier, it would not

present the same strain. Even Rashi seemingly takes a break on these

two Parshiot, having already explained most everything in Terumah-

Tetzaveh.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=0


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And so, it begs the question, why? Why do we need the repetition?

And moreover, why is the story of the so conspicuously

sandwiched in between.

A simple reading will tell us thatparshiot - serves as a

presentation of the laws and blueprints, whereas deal with

the execution of these laws.

But if that is the case, why split the two stages up? We know firsthand

that building projects can take a long time and that one doesnt move

immediately from conception stage to the Chanukat habayit, but the

Bnei Yisrael were not hampered by a down economy and securingpermits, instead their project seemed to have flowed relatively

smoothly from start to finish. If, so why the interruption?

To answer this question there is a more fundamental question which

needs to be addressed, namely, why was the Mishkan constructed?

Would we have built a Mishkan if it had not been for the sin of the

Golden Calf?

Ramban claims that the construction of the mishkan was the very first

mitzvah granted to the Bnei Yisrael upon Moshes ascension on Har

Sinai. And that the purpose of the Mishkan is to establish a resting

place for the ' , the Glory and Honor of God, to which we were

introduced on Har Sinai. The Mishkan is a constant re-enactment of

maamad Har Sinai. And only now that they went through the

revelation at Sinai have they become worthy of a house of this

nature:

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According to Ramban, the Mishkan was always in the works, it was

always part of the plan, it was something that we strived for and built

towards.

Rashi however, offers a much different description of the Mishkan and

its purpose:

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There is no necessary chronological order in the Torah, the sin of the

Golden Calf took place many days prior to the commandment of the

construction of the Tabernacle. After all, on the 17th

of Tamuz the

Tablets were shattered, and on Yom HaKipurim God forgave the Jewishpeople, and the very next day they began collecting the donations for

the Mishkan.

To support his approach1, Rashi goes on to demonstrate that each of

the elements within the physical structure of the Mishkan, mimic in

some way the Golden calf, seeking to atone for the hideous act:

* Bnei Yisrael must collectively donate their gold to build the mishkan.

The Midrashim compare the gathering of the nation unto Aharon for the

with the gathering for the purpose of collection:

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* Betzalel the architect of the Mishkan is identified peculiarly as Chur's

grandson. Rashi notes that a midrash which explains that Chur was

killed because of his defiance of the , indeed the Chizkuni spells

the connection out for us:

1The following comparisons were noted by Rabbi Menachem Liebtag in

http://www.tanach.org/shmot/truma1.htm
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()-,.

* "The opening pasuk concerning the mishkan - "and they shall make for

Me a mikdash and I will dwell in their midst" (25:8)

appears torectify Bnei Yisrael's situation in the aftermath of chet ha-egel, when

Moshe must move his tent (called the ohel mo'ed) far away - outside the

camp (33:7)":

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* Finally, Aharon is instructed to bring a (a bull) as a offering

during the mishkan's dedication ceremony. Which sin was committed?

The . After all, a calf is a baby bull.

Rashi ) : ( spells this connection out for us directly:

"-"

According to Ramban we can understand perfectly well why the story is

broken up in such a fashion? Because that is how it happened first

the commandment was given on Har Sinai, and then later theyconstructed the Mishkan, with one glitch in the program on account of

the . The Golden calf didnt result in the Tabernacle, it merely

delayed the building project by two and half months.


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But according to Rashi, who contends , and who

sees the entire project as the direct result of the sin of the Golden calf,

why then does the initial stage of the commandment appear before

Parshat Ki Tisa (the )? Why does the Torah wish to breakfrom the proper chronological order of events in this instance?A fundamental argument thus exists as to the initial design of the

Tabernacle: was it as the Ramban claims, a building which was always

intended to be constructed? Or, perhaps as Rashi contends, only a

reluctant response, a Plan-B, in the aftermath of the great tragedy of

the Golden Calf?

If Rashi is correct, and the Mishkan is a response to a less than ideal

reality, then perhaps the Mishkan is divided into two parts to inform us

that there is a split between the ideal state and the real state of affairs,

or in halachic terminology and .

In a world there was no need to create a physical

manifestation of Gods presence, His Shechina was supposed to

permeate all things and all places in the Universe. Moreover, we were

supposed to be sensitive to that reality. But something went wrong,

and we were unable to detect God, and so He decided, after forgiving

us and granting us another chance, that at least there should be one

place in the world that still represents the embodiment of His Presence.

There ought to be, reasoned the Kadosh Baruch Hu, one place we can

go to in which ideals are not compromised and in which integrity of thespiritual world is maintained the Mishkan and its later incarnation,

the Beit Hamikdash.


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By design the world was supposed to be a perfect vessel, but human

beings are not so, they do from time to time compromise on their

values and exhibit virtues and conduct which is less than ideal.

In the absence of the Temple and the Mishkan, we have a Beit Knesset,

a Mikdash Meat. A sanctuary in which we can momentarily escape the

mad world of the and each adhere to the supreme model of

religious existence.

Indeed, the wisdom of Rashis commentary bears great significance to

modern times.

Our people have traveled long and far from the foot of Mt. Sinai. We

have strayed and our values and standards have become skewed.

But there must always be one place in which we can act as was

intended, one place in which we need not compromise, one place in

which we all rise to the occasion to the superlative and idyllic world of

pre-Chet Haegel.

That place is the Synagogue.

In the Synagogue even those who are not careful about Shabbat

observance and Kashrut in their homes suddenly become fully

observant. The guy who parks his Lexus 5 blocks from the shul, is

momentarily considered fully observant. Those who may have not have

fully adopted the standards of Tzniut (modesty), rise to a higher

standard; Men and women covering their hair, children walking gently

as opposed to bouncing off the walls, and people speaking in a softer

tone with tenderness and genuine concern for one another.


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We might speak lashon hara at home, but in a shul, it goes without

saying, there is simply no place for it, we may speak freely and openly

to our neighbor but during tefila, we refrain.

Many unfortunately are not as careful about brachot as they should

when snacking in their kitchen but in shul, everyone hears Kiddush

and hopefully recites a bracha achrona. Just think about the impact

that it can have on our children if they see us making brachos and

taking our time with food as opposed to diving in on impulse.

If someone were to walk into a restaurant and was asked to don a

jacket, he wouldnt get offended. If someone is playing golf he isexpected to replace the divot of grass, and rake the sand after entering

the sand trap. And when you are finished using a treadmill in a health

club, one is expected to wipe off the machine. In a library, we wouldnt

raise our voicesits just against the protocol. There is a proper

etiquette and mode of conduct in virtually everything we do.

All the more so when it comes to a shuls protocol and etiquette with

one difference: we dont have rules like some snooty health club or golf

course just to have a protocol, we have standards because the

synagogue is the reminder of what we should be ideally, and what we

should be striving towards.

Because when we dwell in a sanctuary we realize intuitively that we can

reach beyond adequacy. We are holier than mediocrity. We are better

than better-than-nothing. And even if we arent at the point in our lives

in which we are prepared to fully embrace the highest standards, we

need a shul because it reminds us that there still exists in our hearts a

desire for un-distilled and unadulterated .


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By design, God has crafted a safe haven for us, in which we are not

exposed to the same pressures, distractions and frustrations; instead

when we walk through these doors we revert back to who we were

prior to .Its the one place in our lives that we dont have to look ourselves in the

mirror and see contradiction. I had a chavrusa in yeshiva who was a

baal teshuva from early on. He told me that throughout high school it

was a miserable experience because his parents did not observe

kashrut and if he were to keep kosher the main staple of his diet had to

become pretzels and potato chips. To him, NCSY and summer camp

were the most exalted places in the world because he didnt ask him to

live a false existence.

That is what we had in the Mishkan according to Rashi, and that is what

we wish to re-create in our shul and .

I would like to temper my words with one important caveat while

striving for perfection and creating standards, we must never do sowith harshness or with a sense of arrogance.

My friend, a Rabbi on the East coast told me that once he happened to

daven shacharit by another synagogue, when a young woman who

recognized him as a local rabbi asked him if it would be problematic for

her to don tefillin and tallis? He replied that it was not his shul and that

she ought to ask the rabbi. Unfortunately the rabbi of that shul never

showed up, and he reluctantly said I cant speak for the Rabbi, but

knowing him, I cannot imagine he would raise an objection. She thus

put on her tefilin quietly in the corner and began davening.


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Parshat Ki Tisa - 5773