New opportunities…
“The LORD, the LORD, God, gracious and compassionate, long-suffering, slow to anger and abundant in mercy and truth; extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving premeditated sins, rebellious sins, and unintentional sins; He absolves sinners.” Exodus 34: 6 – 7
“Adonai Adonai El rachum vechanun erech apayim verav-chesed ve’emet notser chesed la’alafim noseh avon vafesha vechata’ah venakeh”
יְהֹוָ֣ה | יְהֹוָ֔ה אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶֽאֱמֶֽת:
נֹצֵ֥ר חֶ֨סֶד֙ לָֽאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֹ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה֙:
Ki Tissa (“When you take”) is not in chronological order but takes place after the golden calf. It begins by setting down certain characteristics that we as parents, siblings, children, friends and even people less close to us and who make mistakes, should emulate. When people make mistakes, especially ones that bring out the worst in us, we tend to feel bad about ourselves because we have lowered our standards and may never be able to undo them. In this parashah, Israel had committed idolatry, sexual debauchery, drunkenness, and lust; they had shamed their women, had committed sacrilege before their leaders by disrespecting them, they had been impatient, and above all, they had committed sin against themselves by lowering themselves to unthinkable levels.
Imagine you are at a party with your wife; your boss tells you he’ll be back, but then he’s gone for quite a while. You become impatient, hang out with the wrong people, you start flirting with other women, and as time passes and you drink too much, you end up not even remembering what you did. Your boss returns around 3 AM and no longer recognizes you because of your appearance. You have become a total embarrassment, and your usual good behaviour has been utterly destroyed. Worse than that, you are caught with women in an indecent act, bringing shame to yourself and your family. How do you feel the next day having to go to your office at 8 AM? I think most would go in with terrible shame, end up writing a letter of resignation for the horrible display on that one crazy night and maybe even face divorce. You would feel totally disappointed in yourself and plagued by your behavior, wanting the earth to swallow you up.
This is what Israel, a divided nation, had experienced. Some might still think they were better than others since they were not contaminated and that they could say, “We acted better than others, so we are worth more.” Thus, the link between Israel and God was apparently severed. The bond that united us had been betrayed, and we might think there was no longer a relationship between them.
When we make mistakes of this magnitude, the trust that we are kept by God disappears, that His protection, His shadow, has gone. In the same way, the family bond has been broken, as if we had no place in their house. As a result, intelligence, wisdom and creativity do not flow. It also seems that we have broken His Divine Words, almost like Moses breaking the Tablets of the Covenant, because what has really been destroyed is the covenant, its terms violated.
Despite everything, God not only takes action to help us understand His love for us, but He also gives us words of encouragement that resonate in our soul and help us reconnect with Him. This is how I understand the parashah of this week. Israel had broken all trust and bond; they had broken the covenant with the Eternal, had followed after idolatry, and had fallen into sexual sin. All seemed lost. But what antidote does the Eternal give us? How does the Eternal lift us up? How can we rebuild the life of someone whose guilt, shame and self-esteem have been shattered?
The first thing God does is put everyone in an equal position, giving us the same value, so that no one can boast that he is better than another, and that others do not feel less than their neighbor. Note that since it was the men who sinned, God did not command the women to donate the half shekel of silver, only the men. This was an act of love to allow everyone to feel included and to show that every contribution to the Sanctuary was important. In addition, giving is a way to cover faults, as it says in Exodus 30:15, “…to give the offering set apart for the Eternal toלְכַפֵּר l’kaper (cover) make atonement for your souls.” Tehillim 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it; the world, and those who dwell in it.” Therefore, the giving of the half shekel was not for the Eternal; He did not need “their money,” just as He does not need ours today, but it was a necessary contribution to repair the breach.
When we become angry with our partner and want to reconcile, do we approach them empty-handed? Some bring flowers, others a dessert, a dinner, clothes, and if there is no money, even a song or some well-thought-out words, but to repair the breach, it is necessary to give something. The most important thing was the message behind the counting: YOU ARE IMPORTANT, YOU COUNT TO GOD, YOU ARE NOT MORE OR LESS, GOD NEEDS YOUR SOUL TO FORM ISRAEL.
The second thing that God does is to ask for the Ketoret, the incense. This is very profound because their relationship was not based on physical ties, but on ties that could only be perceived, not seen, but they knew existed. This link had a double purpose; as Rab Kook said, it is a link between the spiritual and material realms; Ketoret comes from the root Kesher, which means a tie or a knot. The Ketoret is formed of various materials from the earth, which were consumed and rose in the form of a column to the Heavens, but when they were blended, they rose as a single aroma, and above all, they eliminated the bad smell from the offerings, allowing the people to want to approach the Eternal through the korbanot. Again, we see the idea of unity when everyone contributes, when everyone blends, a pleasant aroma is made to the Eternal.
Third, Betzalel (meaning under the shadow or protection of God) appears, as well as Aholiab (in his father’s tent). This has a profound meaning because we see a clear example of the restoration of things, both materially and spiritually. Once again, we have the sense of being protected under the Shadow of the Eternal, when we feel part of it again, the bond (Ketoret) with God having been reestablished. And then, the family relationship with others is restored. When the relationship with God and with men is reestablished, we return to a state of peace, wisdom and creativity flourish, skills emerge along with the revelation of life’s purpose.
Fourth, the broken words must now be chiseled in stone, written by the hand of the Eternal, and we must work hard to write them, engrave them in our minds and our hearts. Of course, it was easy to say when I was a Christian, “I have reconciled with the Lord,” but this position was self-serving because the correct thing to say would have been, “We have reconciled with the Eternal.” There can be no reconciliation if there are no works (chiseling); there can be no one-way reconciliation, i.e., in only one direction, it must be in both directions. To think that God is always there for us is foolish. Although God doesn’t have feelings as we humans do, he sees the intentions of our hearts, and if he sees that we are acting selfishly just to get closer, believe me, He will show us His silence.
In the end, the Eternal shows us that our desire to reconcile bears fruit, and not only does He reconcile with us, but He also affirms us. Words of affirmation are as important as showing love in action. I commend those who, for example, bring provision to their home and faithfully work hard as an expression of love for their loved ones. But let us not limit that to men, to affirm with words and caresses that express your love, even if it does not spring forth naturally.
At the beginning, I read the beautiful verse from Exodus 34: 6. Here is this interpretation from the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 17b:
י-ה-ו-ה Adonai means I am He before a person sins; the One who shows His compassion even before we make mistakes.
י-ה-ו-ה Adonai means I am He after a person sins and repents, since God does not remind him of his first sins; He is always God “merciful and gracious” and shows His compassion after a person has made mistakes.
א-ל / God means initially, at the time of judgment, He is just, but in the end, at the time of punishment, He is merciful. The compassion of the Eternal is great, He is generous to everyone according to each particular need.
רַחוּם / rachum means merciful; knowing that we have a good and merciful God internalized within us, He returns peace and removes anguish.
וְחַנּוּן / ve’chanun means benevolent or gracious; He helps one who cannot help himself.
אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם / erech apayim means He is slow to anger, i.e., He is patient, giving time for the sinner to repent, to do teshuvah, before passing judgment.
וְרַב-חֶסֶד / ve’ rav chesed means abundant in kindness, i.e., God is good to the “good and the bad;” He is all goodness.
וֶאֱמֶת / ve’emet means the truth, i.e., He judges with light, without doubt in His Judgment. He is true and upright.
נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים / notzer chesed la’alafim means He maintains kindness toward thousands.
נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן / noseh avon means He forgives iniquity, that is, sins committed with premeditation.
וָפֶשַׁע / vafeshah means transgression, that is, sins and offenses committed in a spirit of rebellion.
וְחַטָּאָה / VeChata’ah means sin, that is, unintentional sin.
וְנַקֵּה / VeNakeh means He forgives. That is, He absolves one who has shown repentance or has done Teshuva.
How beautiful it is to see our God! Doesn’t it bring you joy? We have a God who is a source of goodness! Sometimes, man tries to dictate what kinds of mistakes God does not absolve. Honestly, I don’t think we have the ability to dictate whether or not we can measure the limit of His love. What I am sure of is that as David said in Tehillim 51:19, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; O God, a broken and contrite heart You will not despise.” So, if we do Teshuva, no matter the mistake or sin, there is nothing that God cannot absolve or atone for (cover). This does not mean that we do not have to suffer the consequences of our actions, but His love is greater.
I close with this prayer from Tehillim 145:9-10: “The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. All your works will give you thanks, O Lord, and your pious ones will bless you.” We are all the work of His hand, so what should we do? Let us give thanks and bless Him forever because God is a God of new beginnings, the God of new opportunities.
Shabbat Shalom Mauricio Quintero