The incident of the Golden Calf challenges us to consider how we respond to righteousness that comes from resources that were acquired unethically.
This passage is best recognized for containing one of the most infamous events of the people’s wanderings in Sinai: the construction of the Golden Calf. We might recall that even as Moses ascends Mount Sinai in anticipation of receiving the Ten Commandments from God, the people Israel, in a swirl of panic and fear over Moses’ absence, devote their energies to constructing an idol made out of gold.

Idols vs. God

The construction of an idol is, of course, diametrically opposed to faith and service to the God of Israel, who is One, who is non-physical, and who, while being very much a part of human existence, also transcends the material realm. Indeed, an ongoing theme of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt is that Israel’s departure from the land of bondage is an ethical as well as physical journey.

Egypt under the pharaohs was the very model of the profound immorality of placing the accumulation of wealth over and above the value of human life. In embracing the covenant of the God of Israel, the Israelites were leaving behind a world based upon the primacy of accumulating wealth, and setting forth on a journey towards a society based on justice, truth and peace, a society in which the value of all human life was an essential moral aim.

In the case of the Golden Calf, Israel’s sin of idolatry seems so glaring and obvious. But like ancient Egypt, we too live in a world in which the accumulation of wealth is often given primacy over the value of human life. At the same time, social action and charitable giving are ways in which communities attempt to deal with the ills and injustices of society.

Just as it is more ethical to serve God out of love than fear, so too righteous giving out of love and genuine concern for and service to others is a higher form of giving than charity given out of amoral interests.

What are we to do, then, when righteousness is given for immoral reasons, and how are we to respond when charitable resources are derived from unethical and criminal pursuits?

We can learn a great deal from how the Israelites acquire and spend their money in this Torah portion.
This week’s passage contains the well known episode of the Golden Calf. The Israelites eagerly gave their gold for its construction. That gold became an idol and the people made sacrifices before it. Their misuse of the gold was so grave that God sought to destroy the entire nation. Yet a few weeks from now we will read of our ancestors using their gold for good by eagerly offering it to create the Tabernacle. The Israelites brought many gifts, including gold, to build a Tabernacle so that God could dwell among the people. In this instance, the people gave freely of their possessions for a divine purpose.

The gold of the Israelites was used in two very different ways, prompting one scholar to declare: “You can’t understand the character of this people! When asked for the Golden Calf, they contribute. When asked for the Tabernacle, they contribute.” The gold was the same–it was what was done with it that gave it the quality of either idolatry or of holiness.

Asking vs. Plundering

Just as the Israelites used their gold in two distinct ways, they acquired it in two ways as well. It might seem implausible that newly freed slaves would possess such wealth. After all, the Israelites wandered the desert and were dependent on God for their sustenance. However, before leaving Egypt, the Israelites obtained the gold, silver and clothing from the Egyptians: because they asked.

The Egyptians went one step further and gave even things that the Israelites did not request. Some commentators understand this as compensation for the slave labor that the Israelites were forced into in Egypt. Yet we also read a very different account of this event: That which they plundered. In this telling, the Israelites devastated an impoverished people in an already ravaged land.

As we follow the gold through the Exodus narrative, we are introduced to two ways of obtaining it (asking versus plundering) and two ways of using it (holy versus idolatrous). Today, it is more difficult for us to trace the origins of the goods we use. When we enter a store, the conditions of production under which the items were created are often hidden. We might know that our shoes were made in China or that our citrus fruit came from Peru, but we don’t know who made them or under what conditions they were harvested. The goods we buy appear in our stores seemingly by magic, making it easy for us to forget that there are people who are responsible for them at the other end.

Spending Money to Promote Holiness

This week’s passage reminds us of our obligation to use our gold–our money–in ways that promote holiness. Often we plunder those who labor for our benefit, putting our money in the hands of the few and further damaging the developing countries that provide for us. We might want to find the best value for our money, but the Scripture cautions that finding bargains should not be our ultimate aim.

Just as the value of the Israelites’ gold was determined by how it was used, the value of our money is determined by how we spend it. We must remember that we have the chance to use our money for holiness by shopping responsibly. We have the opportunity to elevate our money use to a level of the Tabernacle.

The task of buying responsibly can seem overwhelming. The production methods used to create the goods we buy are often hidden. And because we cannot ensure that we will always spend all of our money responsibly, we might be tempted to just give up. However, we can each take some steps to ensure that our money is used to promote holiness.
We can buy from farms that utilize sustainable practices, both locally and internationally. We can purchase goods from companies that promote fair wages and reasonable working conditions. We can choose to spend a little more for a greater purpose. Finally, we can educate ourselves about the lives of those in the developing world and learn more about those who produce the goods we consume.

Each brought a gift that contributed to the building of the Tabernacle. It was only through their combined contributions that a place of holiness could be established. When we individually take steps toward spending our money responsibly, our actions are joined with the actions of others to create a powerful force for good.

May we use our gold to create a Tabernacle in which all people can dwell with God in holiness.

Oil and incense gladden the heart, and so too the sweetness of a friend’s wise counsel (Proverbs 27:9).

The passage begins and ends with the two most important daily duties of the High Priest – the lighting of the Menorah (27:20-21) and the burning of the sweet incense on the adjacent Incense Altar (30:1-10).The two activities were always combined and performed every morning and evening, in order that they might be a perpetual light and fragrance “before the LORD” (30:8).The only oil used in the lighting of the Menorah was the first and purest oil drawn from crushed olives. The fine, individual elements of the incense were combined and crushed with a mortar and pestle to produce the God-ordained incense for the altar. We understand that Jesus perfectly fulfills the role of High Priest, representing God to man and man to God. In addition we can gratefully recognize that, as the purest oil, He was pressed and poured out to provide the clearest of light to the world. Also, as the incense, He was crushed to make available to us the constant fragrance of His Presence.

History tells us that the First Temple, built by King Solomon, stood for 410 years and the Second Temple for 420 years. This is a total of 830, which is the numerical value of the Hebrew word katit (kaf=20 + tav=400 + yod=10 + tav=400). Katit is the Hebrew word meaning crushed, pressed or pounded. Thus, the Sages say, the two temples were eventually crushed to the ground. However, the light that emanated from them – the ‘menorah’ of the Word and the Light of the World, Christ Jesus, continues to shine perpetually in the earth. The Third Temple, as described by Ezekiel, is considered to be the one from which Messiah will reign over all the earth as King of kings for one thousand years. God’s eternal Kingdom, as we are told in the book of Revelation, will not need a physical temple. The radiance of the fullness of His Presence will be the everlasting light.

Holy Garments

The priestly garments are designed to set the priests apart as they perform the holy tasks of service in the Tabernacle. The priests are those set apart as representatives of God to the people and the High Priest is the representative of God to the priests as well as the people. A commentary compares the High Priest to an angel, one who is a wholehearted servant and messenger of God (cf Revelation 8:3-4). Therefore, “Just as an angel is pure, so must the High Priest be pure as he accomplishes his tasks”.

As with every detail of the Tabernacle itself, the fine details of the High Priest’s holy garments are imbued with meaning and illustrate truths that their Designer, the Lord of Creation, wishes to convey. The six central garments reflect the High Priest’s service and intimate connection with God and the people. For example, the breastplate worn over the heart carries twelve precious stones engraved with the names of the tribes (28:29). This indicates that the people of God are His treasured possession and should be valued as precious stones and carried close to one’s heart. Two onyx stones set in gold are attached to the shoulder straps of the robe that serves as an undergarment. These are inscribed with the names of the tribes, six on each, and indicate that the High Priest bears responsibility for the tribes before God. He carries them on his shoulders, as a father can carry his children.

The two garments not mentioned are related to his personal service to God. The trousers, donned in private, remind him that he is accountable to God for the purity and righteousness of his own life. Others see the outward service but only God sees the inner service of the heart. The second is the golden platelet embossed with “Kadosh le’ Adonai”, Holy to the LORD (28:36-38), which is worn across his forehead. This is like a crown placed upon him, in effect, by God Himself as a mark of authority to act in His Name. It is a witness that he has indeed yielded his will and life to His Kingship and that he is, in truth, holy and set apart for God’s glory.

Holy and Ordinary

A central purpose of the Tabernacle and its design is the need to distinguish between what is holy and what is not. God is making a clear distinction between the sacred and the profane, the Divine and the ordinary. This is not contrasting good and evil. Rather, it illustrates the difference between the common and “down-to-earth” and the heights of the holy. There is a “highway” to walk to reach the top of the Mount.

When He meets them in the wilderness, God presents His people with the challenge: “You are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine” (Leviticus 11:45; 20:26; 1 Peter 1:16). He is calling them to make the spiritual journey from the dry, desert sands, through the Outer Courts of the Temple, to enter the Holy Place of service and worship and, ultimately, to step beyond the veil and into the most intimate place of His Shekinah Presence, the Holy of Holies.

The progression of the journey is portrayed in the blueprint of God’s House and the means of accomplishing the journey are provided. All that is required from His children are willing and yielded hearts – hearts filled with gratitude, love and awe.

To enter the unbounded peace and joy of the Shekinah glory of God requires a daily commitment. It involves being clothed with the “robe of righteousness” and one’s wholehearted participation in the priestly service of the Holy Place. How do we do this in the mundane routine of our daily lives? The aim, as priests serving the One true God, is not to disregard the ‘ordinary’ in favor of the sacred, but rather to elevate the ‘common’ and imbue it with His holiness. This is the perspective of the ‘Holy of Holies’: All is “holy unto the LORD”. All of oneself, all of life – all for His eternal glory.

In the kitchen, the cook remarked to the butler: “At last, a man who appreciates fine cuisine! The master may be indifferent to the finer things in life, but his guest! What passion! How involved he is, how worshipful of quality. Now, here is a man with a sense of the sublime….”

“You are mistaken,” countered the butler. “The very opposite is true. The rich man’s tranquility indicates the depth of his involvement with his dinner, while the pauper’s noisy excitement only underscores how alien all this is to him. To the rich man, luxury is the very essence of life; so he no more exclaims over it than you jump for joy upon finding yourself alive in the morning. But for the poor man, life is a boiled potato, and this is an other-worldly experience. All that noise you hear is the friction between his habitual self and the luxuriating self he is attempting to assume.”

The Hem

Noise is the mark of resistance. Consider the sounds emitted by a log fire, a pile of burning straw, and an oil lamp. In each case, matter is succumbing to the energy locked within it. The log offers the most resistance, voicing its reluctance to part with its outer form with a noisy crackle and sudden explosions. The straw, not quite as physical as the log, protests with a whispering sizzle. And the oil in the lamp, the finest substance of the three, burns silently, freely yielding to the essence within.

Thus, Elijah the Prophet experienced God’s immanence as “a small still voice.” In his refined self, the material of the body did not resist the spirituality of the soul. Thus, he perceived the divine reality not in a norm-shattering storm, but in the same tranquil manner in which a person is aware of the life within him.

And yet, Aaron the High Priest, the epitome of refinement and spirituality, is commanded to wear a robe with bells sewn onto its hem, so that “its sound shall be heard when he enters into the Holy before God.” For the High Priest represents the entirety of Israel in his service of the Almighty, including those for whom connection to God is still a noisy struggle-the struggle to transcend their external, earth-bound selves and bring to light their true, inner identity.
A teacher was once asked: Why do some of your disciples make such a ruckus while praying? They shout they wave their arms; they virtually throw themselves about the room. Is this the appropriate way to commune with the Almighty?

The man replied: Have you ever seen a drowning man? He shouts he thrashes his arms; he struggles with the waves that threaten to claim him. Throughout the day, a person is swamped by the demands of his material existence; prayer is the attempt to break free of the engulfing waters that threaten to extinguish his spiritual life.

True, a noisy service of God is an indication that the person has not yet fully “arrived.” Had he succeeded in transcending the mundane, his endeavor to draw close to the Almighty would be a tranquil one-his soul would strive upwards with a silent, frictionless flame. His tumultuous struggle reflects the fact that his spiritual self has not yet become the seat of his identity-that his “natural” self still lies with the material externalities of life. Nevertheless, this is a healthy sign: he has not succumbed. He is straining to free himself of the confining envelope of his material being, straining to rise above his presently defined self.

So the bells on the hem of the High Priest’s robe are an indispensable part of his divine service. “Its sound shall be heard when he enters into the holy before God,” commands the Scripture, “lest he die.” Were he to disclaim the lowly “hem” of the nation he represents, he would be violating the very essence of his mission. Were his service of the Almighty not to embody the struggles of his imperfect brethren, it would have no place in God’s inner sanctum.

So Why Pomegranates

The pomegranate refers to the “hollow” or “empty ones amongst you.” As interpreted by some, the verse “your temple is like a piece of pomegranate” comes to say that “even the empty ones amongst you are full of good deeds as a pomegranate [is full of seeds].” (Raka, the Hebrew word used by the verse for “temple” is related to the word reik, “empty.” Thus “your temple” is homiletically rendered “the empty ones amongst you.”)

The pomegranate is more than a model of something that contains many particulars. On a deeper level, this metaphor also addresses the paradox of how an individual may be “empty” and, at the same time, be “full of good deeds as a pomegranate.”

The pomegranate is a highly “compartmentalized” fruit. Each of its hundreds of seeds is wrapped in its own sack of flesh and is separated from its fellows by a tough membrane. In the same way, it is possible for a person to do good deeds-many good deeds-and yet, they remain isolated acts, with little or no effect on his nature and character. So unlike the “apple,” whose deliciousness is from core to skin, the “pomegranate” contains many virtues, but they do not become him. He may be full of good deeds, yet he remains morally and spiritually hollow.

This explains the connection between the pomegranates and the bells on the hem of the priestly robe. As explained above, the noisy bells represent the imperfect individual who is striving to transcend his deficient state. Although he is still a spiritual pauper, he refuses to act like one-hence the noisy friction that characterizes his life.

Beautiful Noise

To become an apple one must first be a pomegranate. One must act unlike himself, like a poor man feasting at a rich man’s table; a clumsy spectacle, perhaps, but an inevitable one if a person is to transcend the animalistic, egocentric self into which every man is born. The first step to becoming perfect is to behave as if perfect. Indeed, before Elijah experienced God in a “small, still voice,” he first beheld the wind, the storm and the fire.

But the flame is more than a symbol of spirituality. The flame is our own mirror, in which are reflected the strivings of our deepest self. In the words of the author of Proverbs, “The soul of man is a lamp of God.”
The flame is our own mirror, in which are reflected the strivings of our deepest self

The flame surges upwards, as if to tear free from the wick and lose itself in the great expanses of the heavens. But even as it strains heavenward, the flame is already pulling back, tightening its grip on the wick and drinking thirstily of the oil in the lamp–oil that sustains its continued existence as an individual flame. And it is this tension of conflicting energies, this fluctuation from being to dissolution and back again, produces light.

We, too, yearn for transcendence, yearn to tear free of the entanglements of material life and achieve a self-nullifying reunion with our Creator and Source. At the same time, however, we are also driven by a will to be — a will to live a physical life and make our mark upon a physical world. In the lamp of God that is man, these polar drives converge in a flame that illuminates its surroundings with a Godly light.

The Ingredients

A lamp consists of oil, a wick, and a vessel containing them so that the oil is fed through the wick to a burning flame.

Oil and wick are both combustible substances, but neither could produce light on its own with the efficiency and stability of the lamp. The wick, if ignited, would flare briefly and die, utterly consumed. As for the oil, one would find it extremely difficult to ignite at all. But when wick and oil are brought together in the lamp, they produce a controlled and steady light.
The soul of man is a lamp of God whose purpose in life is to illuminate the world with divine light. Christ provided us with the “fuel” that generates His light: the Scripture, which embody His wisdom and will and convey His luminous truth.

The divine oil requires a “wick” to channel its substance and convert it into an illuminating flame. The Scripture is the divine wisdom; but for divine wisdom to be manifest in our world, there must be physical minds that study it and comprehend it, physical mouths that debate it and teach it, and physical media that publish it and disseminate it. The good deeds are the divine will; but for the divine will to be manifest in our world, there must be a physical body that actualizes it and physical materials with which it is actualized.

The soul of man is a lamp of God whose purpose in life is to illuminate the world with divine light
And just as the divine oil cannot produce light without a material wick, neither can a wick without oil. A Christ centered life without Scripture, however aflame with the desire to come close to God, is incapable of sustaining its flame. It might generate flashes of ecstatic spiritual experience, but lacking oil of genuine divine substance; these quickly die out and fail to introduce any enduring light into the world.

To realize its role as a “lamp of God,” a human life must be a lamp that combines a physical existence (the “wick”) with the divine ideas and deeds of Scripture (the “oil”). When the wick is saturated with oil and feeds its spiritual yearnings with a steady supply of the same, the resultant flame is both luminous and sustainable, preserving the existence and productivity of the wick and illuminating the corner of the world in which has been placed.

1. What does the “ketoret” symbolize?

2. Why is it connected to preparing the lamps on the menorah?

There were two altars in the sanctuary, one of gold, which symbolized the human life force, and one of copper, which symbolized the body. Just as gold is more precious than copper, so too, the life force is more precious than the body. Yet, each day it was decreed that both always be rendered before the Holy One.

So too, one must always come before the Lord–always with the life force and the body. The copper altar is for sacrifices that are to be eaten–eating is a bodily function. Only incense, something that was made to be smelled, was allowed on the golden altar–and only the soul gets pleasure from fragrance.

An ancient commentator noted that the Hebrew word for incense KeToReTH is an acronym: The letter kuf (K) alludes to kedusha–HOLINESS. The letter tet (T) alludes to tahara–PURITY. The letter resh (R) alludes to rachamim–MERVY, and the letter tahf (TH) alludes to tikvah—HOPE.

A verse in Proverbs teaches, “A good deed is the lamp and the Scripture is the light…” (Proverbs 6:23). The most heavenly sense is the sense of smell and the thought of the soul getting pleasure from fragrance connects this feeling with four heavenly qualities, holiness, purity, mercy and hope. Each of these qualities brings transcendence and meaning to the ordinariness of everyday life.

Each day Aaron’s morning began with the reminder that existing is not enough, but each day must include kedusha, a commitment to our sacred mission; tahara, a commitment to the cleansing of the spirit; rachamim, a tendency to be generous of spirit; and tikva, a renunciation of despair replaced by a vision of hope. The incense reminds us that this heavenly smoke is meant to light up our souls.

Since the destruction of the glorious Second Temple in 70 AD and the consequent absence of a physical Temple, the Sages of Israel have emphasized the profound spiritual truths incorporated in its construction:

“Learning about Tabernacle is as great as building it”
“Whenever man achieves insight into God’s Word, it is as if the Temple was rebuilt in his day”

This emphasis reinforces Ezekiel’s prophetic word:
And you, son of man, describe (Hebrew: haged) to the house of Israel the temple and its appearance and plan, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities.
And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, portray (Hebrew: hoda) the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form; and make known to them all its ordinances and all its laws… (43:10-11).

“Everything recorded in the Scripture is designed to provide us with a permanent source of inspiration and Divine wisdom, to perfect our souls therewith.”
And, with reference to the passage in Ezekiel:
Were they to understand the significance of the Temple properly, they would be ashamed of their iniquities… The very details of its construction contain the cure for their spiritual ills, if they would only look carefully. That is why the text uses the expressions haged (tell) and hoda (make known) rather than hareh (show), indicating that it is not the surface sense of the description that counts, but the inner, deeper meaning which must be told, elucidated, made known.

Three-part Tabernacle – One Outer, Two Inner

1) The Holy of Holies.
This was the Inner Sanctuary of God’s Holy Presence, where the Ark was housed. No person could enter apart from the High Priest on the Day of Atonement after he had performed a ritual of extensive preparation.

The Holy of Holies can be compared to the head of a body, which contains the brain – the center of knowledge and the intellect. It also carries the organs for seeing and hearing, the means of obtaining knowledge, and the mouth, the organ of speech through which the fruits of wisdom are imparted.
We can draw a parallel here with Jesus Christ, who is described as the Head of his body of disciples:

“…Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, …when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and builds up itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

“…holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” (Colossians 2:19).

As the Word made flesh, Jesus embodied the wisdom of Scripture and He spoke forth the truth thereof according to the will of God our Father …“who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

With reference to the Ark containing the tablets of the Scripture, the focal point of the Holy of Holies, it is written: “They shall make an Ark of shittim (acacia) wood” (25:10). The third person plural pronoun “they” is used while in connection with the construction of the other pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle the second person “you” is applied. A possible explanation for this distinction is that every person should be involved with the Scripture, for the Word of God is intended for all. Following the “Head”, one should study and apply the Word as much as one is able, and also support and encourage the teaching and sharing of the Word with others, for therein lies the path of spiritual growth.

2) The Holy Place.
The head commands the body to function, but it cannot operate without the heart. We can compare the Holy Place to the heart – the place of life and giving. This is where the communion and intimacy between God and His people takes place. The furniture represents aspects of a life devoted to service and interaction.

In sequence mentioned:

(i) Table and Loaves (25:23,30).
The Hebrew word for table is shulchan, which means “sender”, from the root letters shin-lamed-chet, “to send”. God specified that, as the Ark, the table must be made of shittim wood. A classic commentary points out that the Hebrew letters of shittim, shin-tet-mem, form an acronym for shalom (peace), tohar (purity/purification), and machilah (forgiveness).
God sends these blessings by means of the Table and the Bread of Presence upon it. The bread is later eaten by the priests. Here we see a powerful image of the Bread of Life, the Christ, who embodies forgiveness, purity, and peace; who imparts God’s blessing as we partake of his life.

(ii) The Golden Menorah (25:31).

The Menorah represents the Light of the Word. One scholar notes that the letter samech does not appear in the passage describing the Menorah, to show that Satan (written samech-tet-nun sofit) does not appear where the light of the Word shines. God is the source of light and there is no need for light in the Holy of Holies. The Menorah stands for the sake of the people. “Man’s soul is a candle of God” (Proverbs 20:27). When the soul sees the illumination of the menorah it is filled with delight for it is a means of reconnecting with its source.

(iii) The Altar of Incense (30:1).

The altar stands beside the Menorah and the warmth of the light increases the fragrance of the incense. The priest offers the incense to God in response to the blessings of the loaves and the light. Fragrance is not seen with the eye. What can we offer to delight our Almighty God and Father besides the intangibles of our devotion, prayer and worship offered from a heart of love and gratitude?

1) The Outer Court.

The Outer Court also was divided into three sections: the Court of the Gentiles, the Court of the Women and the Court of Israel.

i) The large courtyards surrounding the Temple area were accessible to gentiles in the understanding that God’s House was intended to be “a House of Prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7; Mark 11:17). Gentiles could also arrange for sacrifices or offerings to be made by the priests. From this area it was possible to see through the gates to the Sanctuary and the altar of sacrifice.

ii) The Court of the Women was the large general place of meeting and prayer for all Israelites who were not in a state of ritually impurity.

iii) The Court of Israel was the smaller court where sacrifices were offered on the Altar on behalf of all Israel. It was accessed from the Court of the Women by a wide staircase of fifteen steps that led up to the large bronze Nicanor gates. The steps were generally traversed by the priests and Levitical musicians and by men who led or carried in the sacrifices.

The whole of this ‘Outer’ area can represent the body, which grows and strengthens as it looks to the ‘head’ for direction. If the directions are God inspired and thoughts are “taken captive to Christ”, then the worship of the heart will be pure and healthy and pleasing to the Father of all. Then the glory of His Holy Presence will fill the House.