Teruma: question authority

Teruma: question authority

This week, daf yomi included a passage that dealt with the construction of the mishkan (Tabernacle): 

The translation of Brachoth 55a via Sefaria:

אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: בְּצַלְאֵל עַל שֵׁם חׇכְמָתוֹ נִקְרָא. בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמֹשֶׁה: לֵךְ אֱמוֹר לוֹ לִבְצַלְאֵל ״עֲשֵׂה לִי מִשְׁכָּן אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים״. הָלַךְ מֹשֶׁה וְהָפַךְ וְאָמַר לוֹ: ״עֲשֵׂה אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים וּמִשְׁכָּן״. אָמַר לוֹ: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, מִנְהָגוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אָדָם בּוֹנֶה בַּיִת וְאַחַר כָּךְ מַכְנִיס לְתוֹכוֹ כֵּלִים, וְאַתָּה אוֹמֵר ״עֲשֵׂה לִי אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים וּמִשְׁכָּן״, כֵּלִים שֶׁאֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה, לְהֵיכָן אַכְנִיסֵם? שֶׁמָּא כָּךְ אָמַר לְךָ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, ״עֲשֵׂה מִשְׁכָּן אָרוֹן וְכֵלִים״?! אָמַר לוֹ: שֶׁמָּא בְּצֵל אֵל הָיִיתָ וְיָדַעְתָּ?

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Bezalel was called by that name on account of his wisdom. When the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Go say to Bezalel, “Make a tabernacle, an ark, and vessels” (see Exodus 31:7–11), Moses went and reversed the order and told Bezalel: “Make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle” (see Exodus 25–26). He said to Moses: Moses, our teacher, the standard practice throughout the world is that a person builds a house and only afterward places the vessels in the house, and you say to me: Make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle. If I do so in the order you have commanded, the vessels that I make, where shall I put them? Perhaps God told you the following: “Make a tabernacle, ark, and vessels” (see Exodus 36). Moses said to Bezalel: Perhaps you were in God’s shadow [betzel El], and you knew precisely what He said. You intuited God’s commands just as He stated them, as if you were there.


Bezaleal modified Mosaic instructions based upon the observed way in which people usually do things. He heard the Divine instructions from the man who had heard it from Gd - face to face. It seems rather important to trust the accuracy of such a communication in every detail.

Bezalel was to actualize this vision,  he had to make it practical.  He saw the familiar pattern: make a place for the precious object before creating the object.  The common practice was not adequate justification to deviate from the instructions, but the logic behind such custom convinced Moshe to reconsider what he had been told  - and modify the order of operations

The Pnei Yehoshua (1680-1756)  on this Talmud passage struggles with the problem of Moshe modifying an instruction.  He reminds us that in  the initial description  of the work to be done on the mishkan, the details begin with the ark, but there is a preceding statement :

וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃

And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.

כְּכֹ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֲנִי֙ מַרְאֶ֣ה אוֹתְךָ֔ אֵ֚ת תַּבְנִ֣ית הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן וְאֵ֖ת תַּבְנִ֣ית כָּל־כֵּלָ֑יו וְכֵ֖ן תַּעֲשֽׂוּ׃ (ס)

Exactly as I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings—so shall you make it.

וְעָשׂ֥וּ אֲר֖וֹן עֲצֵ֣י שִׁטִּ֑ים אַמָּתַ֨יִם וָחֵ֜צִי אָרְכּ֗וֹ וְאַמָּ֤ה וָחֵ֙צִי֙ רָחְבּ֔וֹ וְאַמָּ֥ה וָחֵ֖צִי קֹמָתֽוֹ׃

They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

Moshe could now reinterpret the instructions in the light of Bezalel's comments.  The sanctuary precedes the ark.  This would justify Gd as having provided instructions that accord with (human) logic.  (see Pnei Yehoshua)

It seems that, ultimately,  a better solution came from challenging  authority. For me, the most important message of this incident was that the authority was open to challenge. That Moshe could be questioned is very encouraging.   Can confrontation go even higher?

The idea of the Temple, especially the ark [and its (expiatory) cover] as a special place from which Divine communications are received conveys its  extraordinary nature. Were questions allowed?

Mishpatim: Lies

Mishpatim: Lies

Distance  yourself from lies.  That is more than advice, it is a commandment. 

מִדְּבַר־שֶׁ֖קֶר תִּרְחָ֑ק וְנָקִ֤י וְצַדִּיק֙ אַֽל־תַּהֲרֹ֔ג כִּ֥י לֹא־אַצְדִּ֖יק רָשָֽׁע׃

Keep far from a false matter; do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right, for I will not acquit the wrongdoer. (The verse)

Not telling lies is certainly included in this meaning. But it must mean more than that. Otherwise the text would have just said what it means. מדבר שקר תרחק. שינה הכתוב לומר האזהרה בלשון זה ולא אמר לא תדבר שקר, לפי שאין עברה יותר תדירה ומצויה כמו דבר שקר   (Haketav Vehakabala) .  No transgression is more common than lying ( translation). 

There are times when deception is needed for survival.  When my parents renamed themselves Joseph and Mary to pass as Christians in Nazi occupied Poland, revealing the truth of their Jewishnes would have been a fatal error,  That canard cannot be criticized. The commandment is  to keep the falsehood distant: use only for emergencies.

The end of the verse identifies the context as the legal system. In that sense it  means that the court should avoid any appearance of unfairness.
מדבר שקר תרחק, the Torah addresses the judge, telling him to stay clear of anything which could create the impression that [s]he has dealings with something corrupt. (Soforno). 

After all, the peoples' belief in the legal  system is based upon this perception of fairness.  But  fairness is sometimes redefined by those in power (which can undermine  the citizen's confidence to judge a situation) leading to confusion,  Such redefinition is not exactly a  falsehood, but it is an approach to it, the opposite of keeping one's distance - as commanded.

Distance yourself from a false matter - put distance between yourself and those who speak lies, and gossipers, since on this the text already warned: 'you must not carry false rumors' (Exodus 23:1) and then 'do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right' (Ex. 23:7) because liars cause the killing of the ones in the right and of the innocent. (Bechor Shor).  Lies, and their kin, conspiracy theories, are toxic, a lethal poison.  They generate unfounded hate and prejudice. We can all see these  fantasies  are increasing ... and destroying the world.

When Karen wrote My Soul is Filled with Joy, which is, in part,  the story of my parents living through the Holocaust, I very strongly encouraged her not to write anything that was not proven by incontrovertible evidence.  Those inaccuracies, no matter how trivial, make the story -and the holocaust- unbelievable.  The denier will use the most trivial deviation to nullify the story.  The distance from falsehood must be very far.

The commandment is not to pursue truth- that is an endless task-  it is to run away from falsehood.  That seems easier, but I am not sure.  There is an awful lot of falsehood to flee from, and fabrication lies in any direction you turn.  The only way out is up, to turn to the overriding  truths and values that offer perspective...

Yithro: The Law

Yithro: The Law

The Ten Commandments, the highlight of this week's parsha, are the archetype of (universal) law.  The story that surrounds them informs the nature of law, how and why it is accepted, and what is needed for its continuation. 

It takes an outsider, Jethro, to recognize  the problem of having the law invested in an individual,  even if it is Moses.  The law becomes a mystery, revealed only by and to the great prophet. It becomes inaccessible and unpredictable.  Who knows what to do or how to live? The law must be available to everyone.

There are complexities and esoteric elements in the law.  It must cover all contingencies, included the unanticipated and the those open to honest differences in  interpretation.   People must adjudicate  situations. Jethro instructs Moses  to  seek out the capable, trustworthy and those who spurn ill-gotten gains. Trust in the law, an important element in voluntary adherence requires the perception of fairness and wisdom in its execution. 

The experience at Sinai defined the nation.  Acceptance  of the law defined membership  in the nation.   Those who do not accept it have excluded themselves. This voluntary, non-hereditary naturalization defines an important seed of democracy.

Thus, for the Israelites, and their descendants the Jews, the law becomes their most sacred possession.  It becomes their gift to humanity.  It is an ongoing recognition that life can be governed by  an outside force that is stronger than any individual person or group of people.

The commandments are the words of Gd.  They are given and demanded by a force too powerful to fight; an entity that is infinitely more intelligent than the humans the law is meant to control   Perhaps that is part of the meaning of the first commandment: I am the Lrd your Gd: I am the entity that liberated you from Egypt and (beyond) the most powerful thing you can imagine  The commandments are not negotiable.


The law has problems in its practical application.  It cannot consider the specific of a situation, the hunger of the thief, the entitlement of the abuser. Reasonable accommodations can be made by wise, disinterested parties.  The study of the law becomes the highest occupation of people.  The study of the commandments are universal

The people cling to the law because they believe in the law itself.  We believe that it is fair, it rules over everyone equally.  It allows freedom from the arbitrary and random.  I miss that feeling in America today.

Beshalach: three body problem

This parsha deals with the interactions involving Hebrews, insoluble  situations, and Gd.  Who does what? The daf yomi for Friday ( Berochoth 35) deals with this issue.  The Rabbis derive  the basis for saying a bracha (blessing)  before eating or drinking the idea that everything in the world actually belongs to Gd; and it is only appropriate to ask before taking ( even though we know that the answer is yes.)

The talmud then moves on to whether a person should labor to earn sustenance  ( R. Yishmael's position)  or engage in full time study, allowing Gd ( through the  agency of others) to provide sustenance (R. Shimon bar Yochai).  Does not everyone rely on miracles?  Science and Nature are mere tests of faith. Accepting an omnipotent deity poses the problem of the human role. In Beshalach,  with its many and great miracles, the difficult question is dealt with.

It starts with leaving Egypt.  The Pharaoh is credited with sending the Hebrews out of his realm. Gd, who perpetrated the miracles leads the liberated people in a circuitous route, understanding that a desire to return to Egypt remains strong . Up until now, the Pharaoh  had made the decisions.  Now, in the hardness of his heart, he send the Hebrews out of Egypt. They retain their loyalty to the human boss who taught them that their lives depend upon his generosity.  The people need to redirect their attention to the true source(s) of their welfare.

Gd leads the people.  They follow  a cloud. From the outside, it looks like they are lost. They are headed to the sea an they do not have boats. The Pharoah thinks they are trapped, easy prey.  His army gives chase. . It is all a setup for the great miracle: The splitting of the sea and the defeat of Egypt.

At the splitting of the sea, Gd tells Moshe: why do you cry out, just (do  the most irrational, suicidal appearing, thing in the world...) go forward, into the sea.  The midrash says that it was only after Nachshon advanced up to his neck, that the sea spit. A demonstration of courage was required. Moshe must  lift the staff over the waters... and they part.  Everyone has a role defined by the situation. 

After the  splitting of the sea, the people are confronted with thirst.  They complain. They find water but it is undrinkable.  Gd provides a solution.  A special kind of wood purifies and sweetens the  water; it can now be drunk. A solution by discovery. For this action, Gd is designated a healer. It looks like science. That is how healing is.  A problem ( disease), evokes a non-obvious solution (discovery).  Courage leads to action, and a Divine intervention brings healing. I have seen this many times.

Starvation is  the next  (predictable) problem.   The people complain, Gd responds with the Manna: the unique miracle food, the proof of the Divine origin of Providence. The people must gather this food from heaven: they have their role: they must gather their daily ration and no more ( although it all works out, regardless of what they actually do) . To each according to her need. 

There are rules.  None may be left to the next day  except for the Shabbath.  They gather a double portion on Friday and make Shabbath.  The sSabbath is a day off from gathering. Some try to gather on Shabbath, to no avail and they are sanctioned.

They are in the desert, there is no water.    Moshe is told to hit the rock and water gushes out. This time  it's a good thing, 40 years later, the same action is a fatal error.  Miracles often require punctilious performance.

Finally there is Amalek, the archetype of antisemitism.  Joshua marshals the troupes, but victory depends upon the  uplifted arms of Moshe. Wonders beat weapons.

Know your role and you may get to eat your roll.