Exodus 35:1-40:38 | Exodus 12:1-20 | Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 | Matthew 13:1-23
This week's edition of The Set Table contains:
Questions and Commentary on Shabbat Vayyaqhel-Pequdei
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
Looking Ahead
Questions & Commentary on Parashat Vayyaqhel-Pequdei
1. In the special maftir reading (Exodus
12:1-20) for this Shabbat, Shabbat HaChodesh, we read that God
spoke to Moses and Aaron "in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:1). Why
does scripture tell us this seemingly superfluous piece of information?
What can we learn from it?
Rabbi
Jonathan Kaplan
Shabbat HaChodesh
is the last of four special Shabbats that fall in or immediately before
the month of Adar. This last of these Shabbats derives its name
from the second verse of the maftir reading for the day (Exodus 20:2),
"This month (HaChodesh) shall be for you for the beginning
of months." The reading of this text is supposed to help us begin
our preparation, both spiritual and material, for the coming Passover
celebration.
Our reading begins,
"And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt" (Exodus
12:1). Those familiar with the Torah will recognize that the opening
part of this verse appears throughout the Torah and is quite common.
What is striking however is the inclusion of the phrase "in the land
of Egypt." Why is this seemingly superfluous piece of information
included in the Torah? What can we learn from it?
Mekhilta deRabbi
Ishmael Masekhta Pischa 1
derives a number of spiritual lessons from the inclusion of this phrase.
First, it tells us that the inclusion of the phrase "in the land of
Egypt" is meant to assure us that God's revelation would not take
place in the city, a place of idolatry, but in the country, away from
temples and other places of devotion to foreign gods.
In
the land of Egypt. This means outside of the city. You may say it
means outside of the city, but perhaps it means within the city? Since,
however, it says, "And Moses said unto him, ‘As soon as I am gone
from the city, I will spread out my hand to the LORD'" (Exodus 9:29),
should we not apply an a fortiori
argument? If regarding prayer, the less important, Moses would utter
it only outside of the city. It is a logical inference that with regard
to the divine word, the more important, God would speak it to him only
outside of the city. And why did God not speak with him inside the city?
Because it was full of abominations and idols.
This, however, raises
another question. If God ultimately would choose Israel and, in particular,
the site of the Temple in Jerusalem as the place of divine revelation
(cf. Deuteronomy 12:13-14), how could God disclose divine revelation
in any other location (i.e. Egypt)? Mekhilta answers this question,
Before
the land of Israel had been chosen, all lands were suitable for divine
revelation. After the land of Israel had been chosen, all other lands
were eliminated. Before Jerusalem had been chosen, the entire land of
Israel was suitable for altars. After Jerusalem had been chosen, all
the rest of the land of Israel was eliminated . . . Before the Temple
had been especially selected, the whole of Jerusalem was appropriate
for the manifestation of the divine presence. After the Temple had been
chosen, the rest of Jerusalem was eliminated. For thus it is said, "For
the LORD chose Zion . . . this is my resting place forever" (Psalm
132:13-14).
The Mekhilta
continues and sees a similar principle at work in the selection of Aaron
as high priest and David as king. Thus, for Mekhilta, though
this superfluous phrase may strike us as odd, it serves the purpose
of letting us know that it is ok for Moses and Aaron to have received
divine revelation outside of Israel and the Temple in particular. God
brought them to an acceptable place outside the city, free of idols,
in order to disclose to them the commandments regarding Passover. As
we listen to these instructions, let us prepare ourselves in the coming
weeks for Passover with a similarly pure heart, ready to keep the feast.
2. Exodus 40:1-2
states, "God spoke to Moses, ‘On the first day of the first month,
you are to set up the Tabernacle, the tent of meeting.'" What spiritual
lesson can we learn from Moses' role in erecting the Tabernacle?
Joshua
Brumbach
Judaism teaches that
God has a unique purpose for each one of us, and that God partners with
us in bringing redemption into the world. We have a specific role to
play in the cosmos. It is not enough simply to tell of God's message,
but we must be doers of God's message as well. As James writes, we
must not be merely hearers of what Torah says, but doers of what Torah
teaches (James 1:22). And this is not just the position for leaders;
it is what each and every one of us is required to do.
How is this contention
supported in this week's parasha - in this week's Torah
portion? The answer is that God calls on Moses to be involved personally
in the building and erecting of the Tabernacle. In Exodus 40:2, God
tells Moses, "YOU are to set up the Tabernacle . . ." It was not
enough for Moses to merely hear the instructions from God; he was required
to do it as well. Moshe himself was not only to be a leader, but
also a servant.
Speaking on this verse
(Exodus 40:2), the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, states:
This
teaches that a person cannot only busy himself with his own spiritual
development and Torah study. He needs to also be involved in helping
others, just like God who wanted Moshe to be involved with the Tabernacle,
not just as a spiritual leader and mentor, but also, "with his hands"
Gutnick
Edition Chumash, 609
This follows the leadership
model described by Yeshua that the greatest shall be least, and the
least shall be the greatest (Matthew 20:16), and that the greatest leader
is to be the servant of all (Mark 9:35). Each of us has an opportunity
to partner with God in bringing redemption into the world. God has a
role for each of us to play. The question is: are we willing to do it?
For it is not enough to be only hearers of what Torah says, but we must
be doers as well!
Matthew 13:1-23 - "Seeds
of Redemption"
Seth Wexler
"And great multitudes
were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and
the whole multitude stood on the shore" (Matthew 13:2).
Imagine
if the president elect came to the podium to deliver his inaugural address
and took a seat? Yeshua does just that. Yeshua begins the third
sermon in the book of Matthew in a familiar posture-seated.
It was a posture common in classical Judaism, and it bespoke authority.
Specifically, the Tanakh speaks of the seated position as intended for
Mashiach ("Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool"
Psalm 110:1). Yeshua's discourse to follow includes eight meshalim (parables) delivered to a "multitude" on the shore of the Kinneret.
After he delivers the first parable of the sower, Yeshua's disciples
question his method, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Yeshua
answers, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." Yeshua's
response has often been misinterpreted to mean that He spoke in parables
in order to confuse and withhold truth from the masses while He delivered
the truth about the Kingdom only to His privileged disciples. Rather,
the use of parables were meant to teach the masses Kingdom basics in
simple and easily understandable language and extend truth to all "who
have ears to hear" (Matthew 13:9).
Being seated reminds
me of one of the most powerful dramas of the year- the upcoming holiday
of Passover. In a few weeks, we will be seated (reclining) in
dining rooms across the world taking part in Passover seders as we together
reenact our deliverance and redemption from bondage. What can this passage
teach us on this immortal night?
In the parable of
the sower, Yeshua speaks of four types of soil symbolizing four types
of potential disciples. There is the Wayside disciple, who because
he refuses to receive or understand the message, the Adversary comes
to snatch away that which was sown. There is the Rocky disciple,
who begins to do teshuva (repentance) but because he has no roots,
gives up under pressure. There is the Weedy disciple, who also
begins to do teshuva but whose growth is hindered by distractions
of life. Then there is the Good disciple, who does teshuva and
submits himself to the Kingdom of Heaven and thus bears much fruit,
"some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty" (Matthew 18:23).
Similar to the four
potential disciples, the Haggada will inform us of Four Children. This
Passover midrash can represent four ways of responding to the seeds
of redemption. There is one rebellious (rasha), who chooses to
distance himself from understanding the good news. There is one
simple (tam), in whom growth begins, but has no root to sustain
himself. There is one assimilated (lit. ‘one who does not know
how to ask'), who fails to bear fruit due to the temptations and pressures
of this world. Finally, there is one wise (chacham), who
hears, understands, and cleaves to the redemptive message of our Messiah,
thus contributing bountifully to the Kingdom of Heaven. Give us "ears
to hear", that we would consider Yeshua's parable of the sower as
we both receive and sow the seeds of his redemption this Passover season.
NEXT WEEK'S READINGS
- PARASHAT VAYYIQRA
Leviticus 1:1-5:26
Isaiah 42:21-44:23
Matthew 14:12-33
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