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Weekly Davar - Money maketh not the man - Ki Sissa

(Exodus 30:11 – 34:35)

17th February 2011
13 Adar I 5771
 
Good Afternoon!! David Cameron has been talking about his ‘Big Society’ – something I think we’d all like to see. Legislation and financial incentives seem to be the mainstay of the process. However, I believe it’s important to note that ethics cannot be legislated, values cannot be financially incentivised. The key is going to be education – and that will require very big changes. Our system is designed to create ‘educated’ people, not necessarily ‘good’ people. There will need to be a massive paradigm shift if Mr Cameron’s Big Society is to be anything more than skin deep.
Just a reminder that you can now watch and listen to the davar above or on iTunes and watch it below.

Tikun has a new Rabbi arriving next week and we are asking if anyone has furniture in good condition that they do not need – in particular couches. If you do have and would like to donate it, please email me back. Thank you.

Torah Portion

This week, we begin with a census of the Jewish nation. Each person, rich or poor, had to give a half shekel for upkeep of the Tabernacle.

The portion includes the building of the washstand in the Tabernacle, the making of the incense and anointing oil and the appointment of craftsmen and architects. But all this is only a prelude to the feature presentation: the story of the golden calf. The Jewish people, having heard God speak to them at Mt. Sinai only 40 days previously, decide to build an idol. How this could be possible is a difficult question that I have dealt with in previous years.

The portion concludes with Moses' return from Sinai, with 'horns'. When put in context, though, the word keren clearly means, 'ray of light' and not 'horn'. Unfortunately, some Christian scholars of the Middle Ages misread the Hebrew and one can still find statues, one in the Library of Congress for example, of Moses with large bull’s horns. Hence the concept of Jews having horns. My wife tells me that her aunt was certain Jews had horns until her brother converted to be a Jew and didn’t grow any!
 
Davar Torah

This portion starts with the yearly census. Each person would give half a shekel for use in the Tabernacle. The money would be counted, multiplied by two and that’s how many people there were. The Torah makes it very clear when giving the commandment to do this, ‘the poor man shall not give less and the rich man shall not give more’.

But surely this is obvious. If everyone gave according to their means, and hence differing amounts, it would be impossible to count the people! The Torah must be teaching us something deeper than simple census advice. And indeed, it is.
How often is a person judged by how much money he has? How big is his house, how small and fast is his car - and how much does he give to charity? It’s nothing new for the Jewish People. We Jews have almost always judged ourselves, and each other, by our bank balances. The concept’s caught on well in the rest of the world also. In this country today, the ‘leaders’ of our Jewish community are not necessarily those who are most able to lead, but those who are most able to give – even if they don’t! A miserly billionaire will sit at the top table of every charity dinner. A pauper who gives beyond his means will languish in Jewish obscurity.
The Torah tells us that this is wrong, ‘the poor shall not give less, the rich shall not give more’. When counting people, a rich man is not worth 10 poor men. All are equal. Each has his role to play.
We are all guilty of it. I don’t believe there is anyone reading this email who doesn’t, in some way, take a wealthy man more seriously than a poor man. We will admire even an unpleasant billionaire. Yet someone who can’t get a job can be the nicest guy in the world, but he will struggle to earn our respect.
When we respect money and we respect success, we can end up not respecting human beings. People are worthy of respect not because of superficial characteristics, but because each and every one of us is created in the image of God.
The money that was given for the census was used for the Temple. The message was clear. In the service of God, all are equal. Money may buy respect from others, but before God, the wealthy man has the same to offer as everyone else.
Having a lot of money does not make a person into a good human being. The sooner we can stop honouring money and start honouring character and decency instead, the better off our society will be.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt

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