Parshat Ki Tissa; Exodus 30:11 – 34:35 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger
This week’s parasha opens with a discussion of the half-shekel offering required by the people Israel. These opening verses are the maftir portion for the special Shabbat known as Shabbat Shekalim which occurred earlier in the year. In these passages in parasha Ki Tissa, God commands that in order for there to be an accounting of the people, a census, that they give a half-shekel coin. This offering served several purposes.
First, it was fundraising to pay for the work on the Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting. The last two weeks detailed instructions for building and crafting the Tabernacle have been given and now it is time to construct it and all of its utensils, accessories as well as the garments of the priesthood. Secondly, the half-shekel offering was called “atonement for the soul” (Ex. 30: 12). This offering helped to purify and offer expiation for the souls of the Israelites. One can only imagine the mindset of what it would be like for a group of former slaves to give away their money! We can understand the way it would be felt as a true sacrifice. But this offering of atonement will be important later in the parasha because this week is also describes the great sin of the Children of Israel in the desert.
For while they waited for Moses to return from the top of Mt. Sinai the people in their fear and anxiousness about Moses, reverted to the idolatry of Egypt. They made a Golden Calf and worshipped it exposing their lack of faith in God and their fear that Moses would not return. Thus the description of the half-shekel as “kofer nefesh- atonement for the soul” is one the antidotes to the sin that will soon plague the people. This half-shekel deposit will be “a remembrance before God from the children of Israel, to atone for your souls. (Ex. 30:16)”. It is a deposit against sin!
But the half-shekel coin also serves as a way to take a census of the Israelites-all those from age 20 years and up. Thus the coins would be counted not the people. Why not count the people directly? Tradition teaches that since God’s promise to Abraham was that his descendants, the Jewish people will be more numerous than the sand of the sea we cannot count the people.
The Talmud, Yoma 22b teaches: R. Eleazar said: Whosoever counts Israel, transgresses a [biblical] prohibition, as it is said: Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured. (Hosea 2:1)
R. Nahman b. Isaac said: He would transgress two prohibitions, for it is written: ‘Which cannot be measured nor numbered’. R. Samuel b. Nahmani said: R. Jonathan raised an objection: It is written: ‘Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea,’ and it is also written: ‘Which cannot be numbered?’ This is no contradiction: Here it speaks of the time when Israel fulfills the will of Adonai, there of the time when they do not fulfill God’s will. Rabbi, on behalf of Abba Jose son of Dosthai, said: This is no contradiction: Here it speaks of [counting done] by human beings, there of counting by Heaven.
Thus our teaching is that we do not count the people because they can not be measured or numbered and so they count the coins instead! The Talmud passage from Yoma also teaches us something else that is important to consider –the Hosea verse 2:1 fully reads: “Yet the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea which cannot be measured nor numbered.” Rabbi Samuel quoting R. Jonathan compares the verse and explains it that when we Jews fulfill God’s intentions that it will be a time when we will triumph as a people. We will flourish. But when we do not fulfill God’s mitzvot there is a defined number and we limit ourselves.
So let us on this Shabbat open our selves up to the possibility that our actions and mitzvot will add in strength to the spiritual life of our people and ourselves and increase our devotion and our people by clinging to our heritage.
Posted by Lee at March 5, 2007 09:14 AM
