Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Parshat Mishpatim/Shabbat Shekalim 2015
February 14, 2015
Congregation Agudas Israel
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I ask you what today is?
Shabbat?
Valentine’s Day?
Simchat Shabbat?
Day of Rest?
I think this week’s parsha and haftorah may actually connect all of those days. I think it integrates the ideas of law, love, accountability and asks us all to stand up and be counted. If you were following along as I read the Torah, you may be wondering exactly how these disparate ideas come together?
When we celebrated Shabbat dinner last week, I mentioned the Midrash from Genesis Rabbah. Rabbi Noam Zion from the Hartman Institute helped me find the specific citation!
The Midrash Genesis Rabbah 11:8 attests to the love affair between Israel and the Sabbath by likening them to husband and wife. According to this Midrash, God paired all the days of the week: Sunday had Monday, Tuesday had Wednesday, Thursday had Friday. Only Shabbat was left alone. (p.102)
The Sabbath came before the Holy One and said: “Sovereign of the Universe. All the other days have a mate; am I to be without one?”
The Holy One said to it: “The Community of Israel shall be your mate.” As it is said, “Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it le-qaddesho [here read]: to betroth it [as in kiddushin].” (Ex. 20:8)
What a beautiful image of Shabbat marrying the people Israel. The metaphor is expanded by a medieval Kabbalistic rabbi:
Rabbi Yisrael Elnekaveh quotes a Midrash that develops an extended marital analogy:
Just as the Kallah arrives before the Hatan, dressed beautifully, with jewelry and perfume,
So Shabbat arrives before Israel dressed beautifully with jewelry….
Just as the Hatan is dressed in magnificent attire, so a person should dress magnificently for Shabbat.
Just as the Hatan enjoys pleasures all seven days of the wedding, so a person should indulge in pleasures on Shabbat.
Just as the Hatan takes off from work, so does person refrain for work for Shabbat….
One should not eat on Shabbat afternoon so as to enter Shabbat with an appetite,
just as the Hatan fasts from food and drink on the day of the wedding.
So a person should be very careful to sanctify Shabbat with wine,
Just as Hatan is careful to sanctify (kiddushin) his bride [with wine].
(Sefer HaPeliah I 36b)
http://hartman.org.il/Blogs_View.asp?Article_Id=1431&Cat_Id=275&Cat_Type=Blogs
In other texts, the image is expanded to say that it is not just Shabbat that the people Israel marry, but rather GD! Innumerable texts compare the Torah to the ketubah and in many Sephardic communities, on the holiday of Shavuot, there is a special ketubah read celebrating the marriage of Israel to Gd. This concept is reinforced on a daily basis through recitation of verses from Hosea 2:21-22 when we put on Tefillin. The entire book of Hosea emphasizes this relationship, reminding the people Israel that there was no Get, that Gd did not divorce or abandon Israel, even as our ancestors strayed and worshiped idols.
In an image I have mentioned before, marriage is a contract between two people and the Holy One. We promise to provide for the needs of one another, to treat each other with a certain level of care, and in a Jewish marriage, to acknowledge that these commitments are spoken before GD. Strangely, in secular culture, these obligations are not always the priority. Many in this country think that defending marriage is about preventing some loving couples from being married, rather than in recognizing the sacredness of their own relationships! Some even neglect their own spouses while denying the marriages of others?
Marriage is a covenant, with laws and obligations. Whether those are around food, clothing, intimacy or putting the dishes away, the rules of marriage are many. Yet these rules are an expression of love. In the same way, the Torah is a gift BECAUSE of the laws, NOT DESPITE THEM!
Some Shabbat mornings we sing from Psalm 19:
תּוֹרַת יְהוָה תְּמִימָה, מְשִׁיבַת נָפֶשׁ; עֵדוּת יְהוָה נֶאֱמָנָה, מַחְכִּימַת פֶּתִי.
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8 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
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ט פִּקּוּדֵי יְהוָה יְשָׁרִים, מְשַׂמְּחֵי-לֵב; מִצְוַת יְהוָה בָּרָה, מְאִירַת עֵינָיִם.
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9 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
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http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2619.htm
These laws keep us accountable. In our parsha this week, we follow the sacred moment of the Giving of the Torah, the Revelation, with all sorts of little details. Yet it is in these details, that the most holy moments are found. We are commanded to help the animals of our enemy. If we live in a time when slavery is allowed, slaves must be treated with respect and not overburdened--they must even be paid. Lex talionis--an eye for an eye is mentioned, yet the rabbis teach us that it was NEVER taken literally. Instead financial compensation for compensatory AND punitive damages were required. The laws teach us how to be holy people. It is not just the words here, but how they have been applied from generation to generation. The Torah is the start, but it is not the end.
The Torah is renewed in every generation. We all stood at Sinai and we remain there today. Just as we recently read about Gd freeing us from Egypt, on Pesach we will re enact it. We must act as if we were there ourselves--because we were. As such, this Shabbat is a special one. Shabbat Shekalim tells us that Adar is soon, that it is almost time to rejoice with Purim, but it also tells us to stand up and be counted. The special Maftir and the Haftorah tell of the half-shekel that served as the census of the Jewish people. Counting Jews was not something Gd approved of directly. Instead, we count through donations and math. In this census, each individual (male Jew of military age) donated an equal amount. Whether rich or poor, everyone contributed equally. Elsewhere free will donations were accepted to the best of one’s ability, but for this, every single person gave the same. Every single person’s contribution was as important as anyone else’s.
Today, as we stand on the threshold of our new addition, every person’s contributions are valued. We have not asked for a standard contribution, but we have asked everyone to contribute something. I would like to see a second thermometer outside, not with money, but with participation. When every single person has given something, then this community will be a successful one. This is a twofold statement. To support our community now means to support Kol Yisrael, to ensure this home is outfitted to our needs. Yet it also means to support CAI, to ensure that we have the programs and the religious leaders that we want. That is my soft sell campaign. Traditionally, Shabbat Shekalim was a time when Jewish communities asked their members for support. Last week I reminded you to stand up and participate, this week I ask you to stand up and contribute.
Without reading or seeing 50 Shades you should now understand, that love and law are the same and demand accountability--stand up and be counted.
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