MONEY AND MORALITY

Adar 29, 5781 / March 12-13, 2021
Parashat Vayak’hel/Pekudei - Shabbat HaChodesh
Torah: Exodus 35:1 – 40:38
Maftir (HaChodesh): Exodus 12:1-20
Haftarah (HaChodesh): Ezekiel 45:16 – 46:18 (Ashkenazim); Ezekiel 45:18 – 46:15 (Sephardim)
 
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my father-in-law, Abraham Kronzek, z’l, whose yahrzeit falls on Sunday, Nisan 1. Y’hi Zikhro liv’rakhah – his memory is a blessing.
 
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MONEY AND MORALITY
 
‘(Moses said,) ... “(God) has endowed (Bezalel) with the spirit of God, with wisdom, ability and knowledge, … and inspired him to make artistic works in gold, silver and copper.”’ Exodus 35:31-32
 
Rabbi Yehuda Avida (Yehuda-Leyb Zlotnik, aka Yehuda Elzet) teaches: “People commonly say that the biggest problem is how to attain money. Once a person has it, he will know what to do with it. But that is an error. Money can elevate people or bring them down to the lowest depths. With it, one can build a Tabernacle for God or construct an idol. The reason God endowed and inspired Bezalel is because one needs great wisdom to know how to use gold and silver properly.
 
“All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.” Exodus 38:24
 
In Shirei Zimra, Rabbi Yosef Selama comments: “Gold brings about the ruination of the world. It has left many people dead. But it is also a tool for many good things. If one uses it for tzedakah and good deeds, the gold is elevated. Its moral value increases. That is “the gold of the offering” – the gold which was elevated into an offering because it had been donated to the Sanctuary.”
 
For Rabbi Avida, how one uses their gold and silver is a reflection of the person’s morality. The purpose for which it is spent either elevates the person (and his/her soul), or debases them. The wisdom to which he refers is not philosophical or intellectual, but spiritual. Bezalel had this because he was filled with “the spirit of God”.
 
At first glance, it seems that for Rabbi Selama, the use of gold for a holy purpose elevates the gold, increasing its moral value. One might wonder how gold or any other currency can in and of itself have any moral value. He is actually making a pun. One of the Hebrew names for a sacrificial offering is “olah” – elevation. So he regards a monetary donation as an “olah”. Another word for sacrifice is “korban” – which means to draw closer to God
 
For both our teachers, then, the manner in which we use our money can elevate our souls – or ultimately deflate our spirits. It’s up to us to make the moral decision.
 
Shabbat Shalom! Chodesh Nisan Tov!
 
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
TBH/CBM
הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO!
 
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