MONEY AND MORALITY

Parashat Vayak'hel (Shabbat Shekalim)

Adar Harishon 29, 5784 / March 8-9, 2024

Torah: Exodus 35:1 - 38:20

Maftir: Exodus 30:11-16

Haftarah (Shekalim): 2 Kings 12:1-17 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 11:17 - 12:17 (Sephardim)

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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah and a speedy and safe return of all the hostages being held by Hamas.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been wounded in the Hamas terrorist attacks and in fighting against the terrorists, as well as innocent non-combatants caught in the crossfire.
 
This d'var torah is offered in memory of all the victims of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Y’hi zikhronam liv’rakhah – May their memories be a blessing. And may the memory of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah and all their supporters be forever erased.
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, March 11, we'll be at BT Shabbat 145b, page 205 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 –  "... הבאים ישרה יעקב יציץ"  - "In the future shall Jacob yet take root ....”

 
Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630   
 
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents  
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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at: 
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/ 
 
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at: 
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com 
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!משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה - With the beginning of Adar, we increase joy! (BT Ta'anit 29a) 

HERE'S A LITTLE PURIM TORAH CONTEST 

As this is a Jewish Leap Year, it raises a question, and the person who gives me whatever I believe to be the best answer will be awarded one slightly used bottle of slivovitz (the decision of the judge and the amount of slivovitz he drinks from the bottle first are in his sole discretion and are final): Since we are instructed by our rabbis to be joyful in Adar, and Adar is twice as long this year, does that mean that we have twice as much joy this year than in non-leap years, or, does it mean that on any given day in the months of Adar, we are only half as joyful as we would have been in a non-leap year because our joy must be spread over twice as many days? There is no right or wrong answer! Be (very) creative with proof texts!
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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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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

Bezalel - by James Tissot, ca. 1896-1902

 

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” – from the root "to go up". So he regards a monetary donation as an “olah” - "the gold is elevated". 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!
 
HaRav HaGa’on Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Flom, Sh’lita
Av Beis Din – Chelm
Slivovitz Taste Tester
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.
BT Ta’anit 29a
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