Ki Thisah: Taxes


The parsha starts with the poll tax, half a shekel per man ( over age 19) as a general atonement. Later, the people all contribute gold for the creation of the molten calf, the anti-atonement.

When Moshe descends from the mountain he sees the scene as :
וַיַּרְא מֹשֶׁה אֶת-הָעָם, כִּי פָרֻעַ הוּא: כִּי-פְרָעֹה אַהֲרֹן, לְשִׁמְצָה בְּקָמֵיהֶם. 25 And when Moses saw that the people were broken loose--for Aaron had let them loose for a derision among their enemies--


The translation misses the repeated use of the word Pharaoh. It is translated as “loose”
To justify the word with its use for the ruler of Egypt, perhaps the idea of “out of bounds” is the intention. But there is also the sense that Aaron has somehow become the Pharaoh. he is collecting tax. He is leading the people in the wrong direction.

The people remove their jewelry ( Edyo) and then Gd tells them to remove their jewelry. The great divorce. The parsha is full of symbols of courtship, marriage.... The jewelry, the veil, the cleft in the rock. The parsha leads to interpretations that are out of bounds.

Sometimes, the daf yomi quotes the parsha. This week daf yomi included an interpretation of the priestly vestments,one of the major subjects of the parsha:


R. ‘Inyani b. Sason also said: Why are the sections on sacrifices and the priestly vestments close
together?9 To teach you: as sacrifices make atonement, so do the priestly vestments make atonement.
The coat atones for bloodshed, for it is said, And they killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the
blood.10 The breeches atoned for lewdness, as it is said, And thou shalt make them linen breeches to
cover the flesh of their nakedness.11 The mitre made atonement for arrogance. How do we know it?
— Said R. Hanina: Let an article placed high up12 come and atone for an offence of hauteur. The
girdle atoned for [impure] meditations of the heart, i.e., where it was placed.13 The breastplate
atoned for [neglect of] civil laws, as it is said, And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment.14 The
ephod atoned for idolatry, as it is said, Without ephod there are teraphim.15 The robe atoned for
slander. How do we know it? — Said R. Hanina: Let an article of sound16 come and atone for an
offence of sound. The headplate atoned for brazenness: of the headplate it is written, And it shall be
upon Aaron's forehead,17 whilst of brazenness it is written, Yet thou hadst a harlot's forehead.18
9But that is not so, for surely R. Joshua b. Levi said: For two things we find no atonement through
sacrifices, but find atonement for them through something else,19 and they are bloodshed and
slander. Bloodshed [is atoned for] by the beheaded heifer,20 while slander [is atoned for] by incense.
For R. Hanania recited: How do we know that incense atones? Because it is said, And he put on the
incense, and made atonement for the people.21 And the school of R. Ishmael taught [likewise]: For
what does incense atone? For slander: let that which is done in secret22 come and atone for an
offence committed in secret.23 Thus slander contradicts slander, and bloodshed contradicts
bloodshed? — There is no difficulty: bloodshed does not contradict bloodshed: In the one case the
murderer is known,24 in the other the murderer is unknown.25 If the murderer is known, he is liable
to death?26 -It means [where he committed murder] deliberately, but was not warned.27 Slander too
does not contradict slander: Here it was done in secret;28 there it was done in public.29 [

The clothes cover the areas of sin . The high priest is just like anybody else, but better dressed.

The parsha begins and ends with the kindling of the menorah. In the end, the incense altar is lit when the menorah is lit. The smoke, the darkness, the cover cocxists with the light. Everything needs to be covered... even the light.