Ki Tisa
Moses
is known by many names. He is a leader. He is a lawgiver. He is the intercessor
for the Jewish people with G-d. But one title that we rarely offer to Moishe is
ADAM
hamitpalal, “a man of prayer.”
Moses prays more often than any other figure in the Torah. Pharaoh asks him to pray to remove the plagues. Moses prays to G-d in order for the sea to split. In this week’s portion we see the power of Moses’ prayer.
The Jewish people have sinned through the golden calf. They’ve built an idol at the very foot of Mt. Sinai. At the very time when G-d has descended and G-d is filling out the contract of marriage, if you will, to complete the covenant with the Jewish people. G-d is offering the torah and the people have turned to idol worship.
Moishe comes down from the mountain. He stops the apostasy, but when he goes back up the mountain, he learns that G-d desires to destroy the Jewish people and make a new nation from him.
Here again, we see Moishe as Adam hamitpalel: the man of prayer. He offers an exquisite prayer to G-d where he argues with G-d for the sake of the Jewish people. He argues that G-d will be breaking G-d’s own covenant with Abraham. He argues that G-d will be seen by the nations of the world as a G-d who doesn’t keep G-d’s promises.
But in the end, Moishe asks to see the kavode of G-d. G-d has forgiven the Jewish people through the prayer of Moses, but Moses wants the most intimate of prayers and there when he is mikrat ha’tsur: in the crag of the rock, Moishe sees the kavode of G-d and see’s the holiness of the Lord.
What can we learn from this? In an age when prayer has become much more of a communal experience with communal singing, with dancing, with drumming - all of which speak to a new avenue for Jewish prayer and new desires; all valuable in and of themselves.
We need to remind ourselves that true prayer can also be the prayer that we have in moments of solitude. In the quiet places, when we can look into the deepest regions of our heart and find the intimacy with G-d.
Moses prays more often than any other figure in the Torah. Pharaoh asks him to pray to remove the plagues. Moses prays to G-d in order for the sea to split. In this week’s portion we see the power of Moses’ prayer.
The Jewish people have sinned through the golden calf. They’ve built an idol at the very foot of Mt. Sinai. At the very time when G-d has descended and G-d is filling out the contract of marriage, if you will, to complete the covenant with the Jewish people. G-d is offering the torah and the people have turned to idol worship.
Moishe comes down from the mountain. He stops the apostasy, but when he goes back up the mountain, he learns that G-d desires to destroy the Jewish people and make a new nation from him.
Here again, we see Moishe as Adam hamitpalel: the man of prayer. He offers an exquisite prayer to G-d where he argues with G-d for the sake of the Jewish people. He argues that G-d will be breaking G-d’s own covenant with Abraham. He argues that G-d will be seen by the nations of the world as a G-d who doesn’t keep G-d’s promises.
But in the end, Moishe asks to see the kavode of G-d. G-d has forgiven the Jewish people through the prayer of Moses, but Moses wants the most intimate of prayers and there when he is mikrat ha’tsur: in the crag of the rock, Moishe sees the kavode of G-d and see’s the holiness of the Lord.
What can we learn from this? In an age when prayer has become much more of a communal experience with communal singing, with dancing, with drumming - all of which speak to a new avenue for Jewish prayer and new desires; all valuable in and of themselves.
We need to remind ourselves that true prayer can also be the prayer that we have in moments of solitude. In the quiet places, when we can look into the deepest regions of our heart and find the intimacy with G-d.
Perhaps
that’s why this entire story is told in a portion that begins with the mitzvah
of the half shekel, the amount of money that every Israelite was to give to the
building of the tabernacle, a place where G-d and Israel would meet. Our rabbis
ask why a half shekel and not a whole shekel? And there answer is that one
cannot be complete unless they are joined with another person. We’re only whole
when we’re in a relationship, so to with G-d.
While we can have
remarkably powerful spiritual experiences within a community; we also would do
well to each of us learn from the ultimate Adam Himitpalal: man of prayer, Moishe,
who taught us the value of praying in the crag of the rock; to become one with G-d
and to see the kavode, the great glory
of the holy one.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Michael Siegel
Rabbi Michael Siegel
