February 15, 2014
Ki Sisa 5774
A Taste of Torah
No Cause for Celebration
By Rabbi Akiva Stern
Seeing is believing, right? Well,
sometimes, but if G-d is speaking
to you, you don’t need to verify the
information with your own eyes in
order to believe it! In this week’s
parsha, G-d tells Moshe to descend
from Mt. Sinai because the people
were worshipping the Golden
Calf. When Moshe descended the
mountain and saw what was going
on, he threw down the Tablets,
shattering them.
The question is simple. Why
did Moshe bring down the Tablets
only to break them? Did he truly
not believe G-d that the Jewish
People were, in fact, worshipping
the Golden Calf?! Was this nothing
more than cheap dramatics to
illustrate just how upset he was?
Certainly not!! So the difficulty
remains; what caused Moshe to
smash the Tablets specifically now?
The Seforno (Rabbi Ovadia
Seforno; c. 1475-1550) points out
that a closer review of the verses
will provide us with the answer.
G-d had told Moshe that the Jews
were prostrating themselves to and
sacrificing to the Golden Calf, but
when Moshe arrived at the base of
Mt. Sinai, the Torah tells us he saw
one additional thing. He saw them
dancing. Dancing with joy around
the Golden Calf. This changed
everything! Initially, Moshe felt
that the situation was not beyond
repair. Hence, he descended,
Tablets in hand, to work things out.
Yet, when he saw that the people
had not only sinned grievously,
but were rejoicing in the very sin
they committed, he lost hope and
shattered the Tablets.
There is a most important
lesson here for every one of us.
Unfortunately, we don’t always do
what we should, nor do we always
refrain from doing the things we
shouldn’t. This marked contrast
between what we believe and our
actions causes internal stress and
feelings of guilt. Sometimes, to
avoid this, people will reverse
engineer their belief system to fit
and support their actions. They
convince themselves that they have
acted appropriately, and haven’t
sinned at all. At times, they go
so far as to proclaim the sin itself
to be a great mitzvah, providing
themselves a reason to rejoice and
granting a carte blanche to repeat
the sin again and again. It was
this misplaced joy that Moshe saw
that caused him to despair of fully
repairing the damage, leading him
to smash the Tablets.
It is important for us not to
slip into this tempting pitfall. If
we have made mistakes, we must
recognize it. We mustn’t avoid
the feelings of guilt and remorse.
Rather, we should treasure them as
the catalysts and conduits through
which we may regain our former
glory.
Stories For The Soul
Doing What’s Right, Not What
Feels Good
Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz (1918-2009) took
ill shortly before Rosh Hashana of 1951.
Unfortunately, the recovery process took
time, and, as Yom Kippur approached, the
question of whether he would be able to fast
loomed large on the horizon. He was greatly
disturbed when informed by the doctors that
he’d have to eat on Yom Kippur.
Rabbi Lorincz asked his wife to consult
with Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (18781953), known as the Chazon Ish, who was
one of the premier Torah greats and leaders
of the Jewish People at the time. The Chazon
Ish replied that he must heed the doctor’s
orders and not fast.
It was just a few hours before Yom Kippur,
and Rabbi Lorincz was resting in his hospital
bed. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door,
and in walked the Chazon Ish himself! Rabbi
Lorincz was taken aback; it was a few hours
before Kol Nidrei, and the Chazon Ish had
nothing better to do than visit him in the
hospital?!
“I wanted to tell you,” said the Chazon
Ish, “that just as there is a mitzvah to fast on
Yom Kippur, there is also a mitzvah to guard
your life. Just as you are happy to fulfill the
obligation of fasting, so, too, you must rejoice
at the opportunity to fulfill this mitzvah of
taking care of your health!”
The commentators point out that the
Jewish people did not create the Golden
Calf as an idol, but, rather, as a metaphysical
replacement for Moshe, through which
they could connect with G-d. Nonetheless,
they were severely castigated and punished
because, though they had good intentions,
G-d had commanded them not to make an
image under any circumstances. Serving G-d
isn’t about what makes us feel spiritual or
connected to Him; it’s about what He tells us
to do.
Kollel Happenings
KOLLEL’S ANNUAL CELEBRATION
ON MARCH 11TH
The Denver Community Kollel
will hold its 16th Anniversary
Celebration on Tuesday, March
11th at 6:30 pm at Aish Denver,
9550 E. Belleview Ave. The
Kollel is honoring Michael and
Randy Weiss, Bob and Allison
Weiss, and Jeremy and Sora
Simblist for their commitment
to, and excellence in, shteiging,
Torah growth. Noted speaker,
educator and Rosh Yeshiva
Rabbi Yochanan Zweig will
be the guest speaker for the
evening. To RSVP or place
an ad in the journal, visit
www.denverkollel.org,
email
[email protected],
or
call 303-820-2855.
THE
RESPONSIBILITY
OF
PROVIDING FOOD TO OTHERS
AT MARCH 5TH T4T
Join Aaron Ney, Executive
Director of Ekar Farm, and
Rabbi
Mordechai
Fleisher,
Senior Educator for the Denver
Community Kollel, as they bite
into the subject of properly
utilizing food in times of plenty
when others have less.
March 5th at the East Side
Kosher Deli from 1-2 pm. Cost:
$20. RSVP: info@denverkollel.
org
A DEEPER LOOK AT THE PARSHA
WITH
RABBI
MORDECHAI
FLEISHER
Join Rabbi Fleisher as he traces
the halachic sources and
follows through to the practical
application of a fascinating
sugya based on the weekly
Torah portion. Class takes place
at EDOS on Sunday, shacharis at
7:30 AM followed by breakfast
and shiur at 8:15.
Interpersonal Issues
The Laws of Lashon Hara (Slander)
If one is considering forming a
relationship with another, be it for
business, marriage, etc., and requires
information, he may ask others who
know the individual in question for
information. However, the questioner
must inform the person he is speaking
with that he is seeking this information
for a valid purpose. If this is not done, the
person being interviewed will be guilty of
speaking slander, as he is unaware that
he is halachically permitted to share the
information.
Ask the Rabbi
Sum-buddies
Avi Ziskind from South Africa wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
When the Torah records the counting
of the Jewish People, it rounds off the
numbers to the nearest 50. I find this hard
to understand. If one of the purposes of
the counting is for Hashem to show His
love for each individual Jew, like a king who
counts and recounts his precious jewels,
how can the Torah round off the numbers
just for “neatness” as it seems to be doing,
seemingly disregarding the exact number of
people, and rather giving us a general idea?
Mel Friedman from San Antonio, Texas
wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
There is a census taken at the beginning
and end of Bamidbar. The confusing part
for me is why are all the numbers apparently
rounded to the nearest hundred?
Dear Avi Ziskind and Mel Friedman,
When the Torah lists the number of people
in each of the 12 tribes in Parshat Bamidbar,
each number is a multiple of either 50 or
100. There are differing views regarding
whether or not these numbers are exact.
One view is that the Torah rounded off the
numbers. This isn’t surprising considering
that the Torah does this in other places as
well. For example, the Torah says to “Count
50 days” between Pesach and Shavuot, when
in reality there are only 49.
Counting the nation benefited the
community and the individual. When
the individual passed before Moshe and
Aharon, Moshe and Aharon would bless
the person and pray for him. This itself
was a tremendous benefit for the person.
Furthermore, each person was counted via
his own half-shekel donation, and this served
as an atonement for him. These individual
benefits were in no way diminished by
the fact that the Torah reports rounded
numbers.
The communal benefit of the counting
was similar to the benefit of any census,
which helps the leaders decide how to best
serve the needs of the community and tells
how many people are available for military
service. This was important for the Jewish
People who were preparing to war against
the Canaanites, and therefore needed to
know their own military might. In this
sense, round numbers suffice.
Sources:
Sefer HaParshiot, Eliyahu KiTov Bamidbar p. 33
Ramban 1:45
Reprinted with permission from Ohr Somayach,
Jerusalem, www.ohr.edu
The Torah Weekly is made possible through a generous grant from the
Harry H. Beren Foundation of Lakewood, NJ, in memory of Harry H. Beren, z”l.
Denver Community Kollel: 1516 Xavier Street, Denver, CO 80204 Tel: 303-820-2855 Fax: 303-820-2806
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