SOMETHING OF VALUE

Adar 18, 5786 / March 6-7, 2026

Parashat Ki Tisa (Shabbat Parah)
Torah: Exodus 30:11 - 34:35
Maftir: Numbers 19:1-22
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38 (Ashkenazim; Sephardim read 36:16-36)

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, March 9, we'll continue our learning in BT Pesachim in preparation for Passover, commencing on Wednesday, April 1. 

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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:

https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com 

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SOMETHING OF VALUE

“And the people broke off the golden earrings that were in their ears - and brought them to Aaron.” Exodus 32:3

“And the Lord repented of the evil that He had thought to do to His people.” 32:14

Rabbi Eizel of Slonim on verse 3: “Truly this was a great sin committed by Israel in making the golden calf. For all that, we must admit that that generation was better than our own. The members of that generation were willing to cast away their silver and gold in order to make gods for themselves; but today, in our great iniquity, we think it permissible to cast away God solely for wealth and happiness.”

The Adoration of the Golden Calf - Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1633-34

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk on verse 14: “Why did He forgive the sin of the golden calf even though the people did not repent, while He did not forgive the sin of the spies even though the people did repent? The sin of the calf had at least a spark of holiness, a thirst for the Divine. But the sin of the spies was all about a better material life.”

These are fascinating comments. Our teachers boldly imply that even mistaken worship of false gods is better than denying divinity and holiness altogether. It is not that money and happiness are innately sinful. Certainly not true happiness! Greed and narcissism are the true enemies of the Good Life - i.e., a life of goodness. The evil arises from giving up on any sense of holiness in order to pursue only worldliness.

Shabbat Shalom U’Mevorakh - A Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus - Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent."
BT Yevamot 87b

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