The Assembly of the Righteous

Transcription

1 Message to Beit Adonai Yisroel Shabbes Shekalim Torah Portion; VaYakhel Ex 35:1 38:20, (and he assembled) and Ex 30:11-16 Haftarah: 2 Kings 12: 1-17 (replaces standard reading on this day) Suggested Acheron K tuvim: Mat 5: The Assembly of the Righteous Central question of this message: Will you be that salt and light in this world? We are in the first of four special readings which precede Passover, with special Torah and Haftarah readings. This is called Shabbes Shekalim (the Sabbath of shekels), because of the additional readings of Exodus 30:11-16 that are read on this special Shabbes. Ex 30: The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 "When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the Lord. 14 Everyone who is numbered, from 1

2 twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the Lord. 15 The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel, and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves." This passage speaks of the ransom that each person must give for his soul during the annual census. This atonement money seems to be quite important to G-d, for the payment of that half-shekel prevents a plague upon the people. The main reading for today begins in Exodus 35. Ex 35: Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, "These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall 2

3 be put to death. 3 You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day." The title of this Torah portion is VaYakhel, which means and he assembled. It refers to Moses assembling the people to hear what commands the L-rd had given. Our sages have noticed a similarity between the opening line of this passage, and a line from another passage that lives as a testament to our unfaithfulness to G-d. That passage is the one where we built a golden calf in Exodus 32. Ex 32:1 3

4 32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." And as that similarity in language is important, the connection between these passages is likewise important, and there is a connection between them that focuses on atonement. The word used for assemble is kahal. It carries with it the concept of gathering together. 4

5 It is the same root that gives us the Hebrew words kahal, meaning community, and kehillah, meaning congregation. You recall that the assembling of the people around Aaron during the incident of the golden calf was a great national sin. Our sages have suggested that this event had profound, and long-lasting, consequences for our people s relationship with G-d. In today s parasha, there has been a national return to G-d, putting the folly of the golden calf behind us. In today s portion, the assembly is for good, and not evil. 5

6 And some have said that the similarities in the language of the two passages show us that Moses is at this time conducting a type of tikkun, a restoration of that which was lost, a healing of an old wound. The first vayakhel connection is closely associated with the Shabbes. The Shabbes, also called an island in time, was commanded to our people early in the exodus, just before the giving of the Decalogue. G-d brought mannah ( what s it ) from heaven every day for the six days of the week, On Friday, there would be double the amount, but on the Shabbes, there would be none and each person was to rest. Ex 16: "See, the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. On Shabbes, we set aside our activities of the six days of the week in favor of the sanctification of this day. What is the significance of the Shabbes? 6

7 Ex 31: 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.' 17 "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed." But it is not merely our witness to the world that we belong to G-d, it is more than that. It is a time every week for us to bask in G-d s love and for Him to bask in ours. The Shabbes is not a physical thing, for in your flesh you cannot touch it, see it, hear it, nor hear it. But with the eyes of the Spirit, it is possible. You can see the clouds of the six days of the week giving way to the clouds of Shabbes. You can taste the air of the six days of the week giving way to the air of Shabbes. Heaven draws nearer to the earth on Shabbes. And now, in today s portion, the second part of the vahakhel connection falls into place, this time in the physical realm. 7

8 The physical place was the mishkan, the Tabernacle. The Hebrew term mishkan (sheken) invokes the idea of dwelling, and even neighbor. It is the term from which we get shekinah, which is often translated as the dwelling presence of G-d. The mishkan was eventually replaced by the Beis HaMigdash (Temple), and upon its destruction, with the Shul, the local synagogue. It is the place where the people congregate as one. If our community has a home, it is at the Shul. It is at the Shul that we come together to connect with one another so that we can build one another up, and to be strengthened by fellowship, and the study of Scripture. This has been a part of Jewish life since the exodus, and it remains in the church today as one of the instructions given by the writer of Hebrews to the congregation in that time. Heb 10: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 8

9 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. Judaism expresses a strange dichotomy. It gives immense value to the individual. In Sanhedrin 37a, we find the value of the individual is immense. For this reason was man created alone, to teach you that whoever destroys a single soul of Israel, scripture imputes [guilt] to him as though he had destroyed a complete world; and whosoever preserves a single soul of Israel, scripture ascribes [merit] to him as though he had preserved a complete world. But there is also great emphasis in Scripture regarding community. The first appearance of the phrase not good appears during creation at Gen 2:8 when G-d says it is not good that man should be alone. The concept of community is so ingrained in the Jewish psyche, that we reserve our most holy prayers for the company of at least ten others. 9

10 G-d loves it when we gather together in a holy place, so as to be united in Him. He knows that when we gather together and act in unity, especially when we do so in repentance and supplication before Him, we can be restored. Joel 2: Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. Modern sociologists have finally discovered that a community of believers who associate regularly together provides important benefits to society at large. Robert Putnam and David E. Campbell published in their 2010 book, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, the results of some very interesting statistical studies. They found people who regularly attended, as a community, a place of worship stood apart in certain areas of social value. 10

11 These people were more likely to give money to charity, to volunteer to do good work, donate blood, help those who were depressed, offer a seat to a stranger on public transportation, help someone find a job, and the like. They concluded that regular attendance at a place of worship was the most accurate predictor of generosity and altruism, trumping all other factors, including gender, level of education, income, race, region of the country, marital status, political leaning, and age. It appears that mankind has finally established by statistical analysis that G-d was right all along. Yeshua spoke of this value to society as well. Matt 5: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light shine before men in 11

12 such a way that they may see your good works (masim tovim), and glorify your Father who is in heaven. What is our light that shines into the community? The Hebrew phrase masim tovim invokes not only an observance of the Torah, but also the sweet heart by which those commands are lived-out. If we have no masim tovim, then where is out light? Are we not then merely another shade of darkness in our society? Are we in any way different than those who are lost all around us? What does that light do for our community? The benefit of that light was noticed, and written about, in a study done by a Frenchman soon after the founding of our republic. His name was Alexis de Tocqueville, and he lived from 1805 to He came to America to study the American experiment in May of His book, Democracy in America, chronicled his observations and conclusions about what was right with our new republic. 12

13 Here some of the things that he found, which affirm what G-d had already ordained, and which our founding fathers had enthusiastically adopted for governance. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers and it was not there... in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there... in her rich mines and her vast world commerce and it was not there... in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. He concluded that the pervasive faith found in America was the antidote to the tyranny of an oppressive government. Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is much more necessary in the republic... than in the monarchy... it is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie is not strengthened in 13

14 proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people who are their own masters if they are not submissive to the Deity? He saw the evils of slavery, and compared that as a close parallel to the aristocracy and servitude found in Europe. And with clear eyes he spoke down through the years to us even in this generation, as our national discourse also includes a discussion of what we might wish to label as rights and entitlements. It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights the 'right' to education, the 'right' to healthcare, the 'right' to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, those are the rations of slavery hay and a barn for human cattle. Abraham Lincoln rightly observed, a house divided against itself cannot stand. DeTocqueville reached a similar conclusion. But this was not a new idea. It is the same conclusion G-d Himself gave us through Moses. 14

15 De Tocqueville drew upon the tragedy of a divided nation, and again concluded that a community of faith is essential to the continued existence of an ordered and thriving society. Without common ideas, there is no common action, and without common action men still exist, but a social body does not. Thus in order that there be society, and all the more, that this society prosper, it is necessary that all the minds of the citizens always be brought together and held together by some principle ideas. And he was very clear regarding the principle ideas which would by their application ensure the continued existence of a society of free people. The other kind of liberty I call civil or federal; it may also be termed moral, in reference to the covenant between God and man, in the moral law, and the politic covenants and constitutions, among men themselves. This liberty is the proper end and object of authority, and cannot subsist without it; and it is a liberty to that only which is good, just, and honest. This liberty you are to stand for, with the hazard not only of your goods, but of your lives, if need be. Whatsoever crosseth this, is not authority, but a distemper thereof. This 15

16 liberty is maintained and exercised in a way of subjection to authority; it is of the same kind of liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. The vayakhel of the golden calf was characterized by our people turning their backs on G-d s ways, and relying on their own sensibility as to what they should do. They were easily led into the slavery of sin and idolatry. In America we see this slavery even now spreading like a black sludge across our nation. The vayakhel of the building of the mishkan was a turning of our backs on the slavery of sin and idolatry, and the wholehearted pursuit of the Tabernacle, where we would live in community with G-d as neighbors. We would then be in kehillah a community of faith. We repented of that great evil, and were redeemed to a higher plane, where we could walk hand-in-hand with our Rock and our Redeemer. We began our study today with the half-shekel of atonement, and I want to end with that idea as well. You recall that no person was to pay more, no person was to pay less regardless of their ability to pay. 16

17 This shows us that every one of us has the same value to G-d as the other. The individual is worth the entire world to G-d. None of us should raise up our heads above the other. We should exceed in service to one another, not in dominion of one another. We are individually to be salt and light in this world. But we are also to do what Moses did in our portion for today. We are to work in concert with one another, and with G-d, to restore order to our society. And so this Jewish duality of the righteousness of the individual, and the power of a righteous community, will combine once again to be the cure to what ails America in this age. My holy brothers and sisters, join with me. Let us all toss our individual half-shekels together as a symbol of our unity in G-d. Then let us risk if we must our property as well as our very lives, if need be, to restore that beautiful dream that was the America which Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of in 1831, and which Abraham Lincoln fought to bring to full flower in

18 Much blood has been spilled at home and abroad since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to preserve this nation as a free nation. We shall ever owe those who gave the ultimate gift to us, a heavy debt. Let us here and now jointly resolve that those dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 18

19 Verses for parasha VaYakhel Ex 30:11-16 Ex 35:1-3 Ex 32:1 Ex 16:29-30 Ex 31:16-17 Heb 10:23-25 Joel 2:15-16 Matt 5: