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The parasha for this Shabbat is entitled Ki Tissa, meaning “When you take or carry out (having to do with the taking of a census)” and covers Exodus 30-34. Included in this section of the Torah is the command to anoint with sacred oil the tent of meeting, the altar and its tools, and Aaron and his sons the priests. Holiness is the theme woven througout. God is holy, and He wants Israel to be holy.

In chapter 31 we meet some very creative people – Betzalel and Oholiav, who, together with a group of God-gifted artisans, were commissioned to produce all the ornate furnishings for the Tent of Meeting. Do you have artistic or musical skills? If you do, it is because you were given them by God. Don’t neglect those gifts or hide them, like the lazy and wicked servant who was rebuked. At the same time, don’t take credit for them, but give God the glory.

At the end of chapter 31 God reminds Moses of the seriousness of the Sabbath. It was to be a sign between the Adonai and Israel throughout our generations. Next, we read that God gave Moses the tablets which He Himself had inscribed, and we’re suddenly reminded that everything we’ve read between chapters 19 and 31 took place between Adonai and Moshe atop Mt. Sinai.

Meanwhile trouble has been brewing down in the camp. When Moses appeared to have delayed too long, Israel panicked and gave up on him. The people urged Aaron to construct an idol. This, in spite of the fact that just a few weeks earlier God met us at Sinai, clearly warning us against making idols for ourselves. Nevertheless, Aaron caved in to their demands. He told the people to bring him their fine jewelry and he took their golden earrings and performed a little ‘artistry’ of his own. He produced an abomination: a golden calf. Israel declared, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” Our people offered sacrifices to the idol and sat down to eat; and then – the Scripture says euphemistically “rose up to play” – referring to illicit sexual activity.

God told Moses to go down quickly, saying, “Your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves…” Moses pleaded on their behalf, but said to the Lord that they were, “Your people, whom You brought out from the land of Egypt…”. Moses entreated God to be merciful for the sake of the Patriarchs, reminding Him of His covenant promises to Israel. On account of Moses’ intercession, God relented and Israel was spared, but there were consequences.

After smashing the tablets containing the 10 Commandments, Moses drew the proverbial line in the sand and said, “Whoever is for Adonai, come to me!” Out of the entire nation, all twelve tribes, only the tribe of Levi was willing to stand up for what was right. Three thousand leaders of that rebellion were put to death that day. It is a tragic chapter in our history, and its central placement in this part of the Torah (it actually interrupts the narrative otherwise dealing with the Tabernacle) – is quite intentional.

God described our people as stubborn and obstinate. The nation went into mourning, and for the duration of the wilderness wandering we no longer wore jewelry or any ornamentation. Now it was time to move on. Adonai instructed Moses to cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and to climb Mt. Sinai again, and God would inscribe the second set. When Moses returned from the mountain after 40 days (during which he fasted) his face shone from being in God’s presence.

Chapter 34 contains a reminder not to make any treaties with the inhabitants of Canaan, nor to intermarry with them, which would invariably lead to idolatry. We were also mandated to celebrate Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, the three annual pilgrimage festivals, and instructed to honor the Sabbath. It is important to note that the prohibition against intermarriage had nothing to do with ethnicity, but rather idolatry. Moses himself later married an Ethiopian woman. Aaron and Miriam grumbled about it, and God rebuked the two of them!

Three final thoughts:

1. Only one out of twelve tribes (Levi) was faithful to Adonai that day. What does that tell us? That a majority never, ever, defines what is right. Don’t just go along with the crowd.
2. This reveals the folly of the claim that Jewish people do not need a middleman, but can go directly to God. If Moses hadn’t placed himself squarely between the wrath of God and our people, we would have been obliterated – and rightly so. Nor would this be the last time that Moses had to interpose himself between Adonai and a rebellious Israel. If Jewish people don’t need a ‘middleman’ then why did God institute an entire priestly class – middlemen called kohaneem, to mediate between Himself and the nation. In fact, if we properly understand the Levitical system, it become apparent why Messiah Yeshua had to offer up His life in place of ours; the innocent for the guilty; the just for the unjust. As the prophet Yeshayahu declared “… by His wounds we are healed”.
3. A veneer of religious activity does not transform something evil into something good. Aaron attempted to sanitize the making of the golden calf by saying, “Tomorrow will be a feast to Adonai”. Don’t confuse ‘spirituality’ with righteousness. God is infinitely holy, and we dare not ignore or re-interpret His instructions. Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect. We may never attain perfection in this lifetime, but don’t think for one minute that the New Covenant standard is somehow lower! If anything, we need to do things better, because we now have the full revelation of God. May the Holy One of Israel empower us to obey Him, even if it means going “outside the camp” – defying the majority, in order to do what is right.