Empowerment

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March 11 2006
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Parshat Ki Tisa may be the most dramatic parsha in the Torah. Firstly, we build a Golden Calf. Then, Moshe asks to understand G-d’s ways, only to be told that no human can fully grasp Hashem’s grandeur. Soon thereafter, Moshe davens to Hashem and eventually we return to Divine grace and receive the second set of Luchot. If we read the parsha carefully, perhaps we can discern a central theme, which links many of the parsha’s central episodes.
Parshat Ki Tisa is all about empowerment. The Torah is telling us that we must not be passive and wait for Revelation; we are responsible to partner with Hashem and perfect the world.
Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his recently published book, To Heal a Fractured World (page 148-161) notes how central the theme of empowerment is in the Torah. There is a general progression in Torah from a vision of Hashem who is all-controlling to a vision of Hashem who empowers us to partner with Him and complete His creation. When we are preparing to cross the Yam Suf, we are initially told to stand still and that Hashem would fight for us. Immediately after crossing the Yam Suf, however, we once again face a battle, this time against Amalek. Unlike the impending battle against the Mitzrim at the shore of the Yam Suf, in this battle, we immediately take initiative. Although Moshe holds his arms up to focus our thoughts toward Hashem, we are the ones who fight the battle. In a similar vein, the Kedusha which descended upon Mount Sinai came entirely from Hashem. After Mount Sinai, however, we are told to build our own place of Kedusha, to take ordinary wood and gold and fashion it into a Mishkan. Interestingly, the Kedusha of the Mishkan, which we built ourselves, endured. In contrast, after the giving of the Torah, Mount Sinai lost all of its sanctity.
This same theme of empowerment can be seen by contrasting the two sets of Luchot mentioned in our parsha. The first set of Luchot were fashioned completely by Hashem, as it is stated, “Stone tablets fashioned, written and hewn completely by Hashem.” These Luchot were broken, and do not contribute to the Torah which we study today. The second Luchot, in contrast, were fashioned by Moshe Rabbeinu, as it says, “P’sol Lecha Shemei Lucot Avanim KaRishonim.” Hashem instructs Moshe to hew the stone for the Luchot himself. Surprisingly, these second Luchot, which represent human involvement, were more permanent. As the Beis HaLevi notes, the way we must study Torah—through labor and exertion—is a direct outgrowth of the second set of Luchot.
There is yet another advantage of human initiative which is highlighted by the second Luchot. The Torah tells us how Moshe’s face radiated with a special glow after he brought these Luchot down from Mount Sinai (Shemos 34:29). This glow was not present after Moshe delivered the first Luchot. Human involvement not only produces a more permanent Kedushah, but it changes us as well. As Rabbi Sacks notes, “We are changed, not by what we receive, but by what we do.”
Perhaps this is part of the lesson of Moshe’s perplexing conversation with Hashem (Shemot 33:18-23). After Moshe asks Hashem to reveal His splendor, he is told, that as a human, he is incapable of perceiving Hashem’s glory. However, the story does not end there. Hashem tells Moshe to come and join Him on the rock. Perhaps the message is that as humans our job is not to see Hashem, but to see as Hashem sees. Our challenge is not to perceive the Divine in this world, but to make our vision more like the Divine vision. Or as my daughter Kira aptly puts it, “Our responsibility is not to move to another world, but to move this world.” Good Shabbos.

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Einayim L'Torah Parshas Ki Tisa 5766. President Richard M. Joel

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    Learning on the Marcos and Adina Katz YUTorah site is sponsored today by Judy & Mark Frankel & family l'ilui nishmos מרדכי בן הרב משה יהודה ע"ה and משה יהודה ז"ל בן מאיר אליהו ויהודית and by the Polinsky Family to commemorate the 5th Yahrzeit of Gil Polinsky, Gedalyahu Gootmun Chaim ben Yaakov Dov