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Targum Pseudo Jonathan for:

Sh’mot (Exodus) 30:1-38

XXX. And you shall make an altar on which to burn incense of perfumes: of sitta wood shall you make it. A cubit its length, and a cubit its breadth; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits its height: and its upright horns shall be of it. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its wall round about, and its horns; and make for it a border of gold round about. And two golden rings make you for it beneath its border at the two corners, you shall make upon its two sides, to be the place for the staves by which it may be carried. And you shall make the staves of sitta wood, and cover them with gold. And you shall place it before the veil which is over the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, where I will appoint My Word to be with you. And Aharon shall burn sweet incense upon it from morning to morning: when he orders the lamps, he shall burn it. And when Aharon kindles the lamps between the evenings, he shall burn sweet incense perpetually before the Lord in your generations. You shall not offer thereon the sweet incense of strange peoples, nor offer upon it burnt offerings, or minchas, nor pour libations. And Aharon shall expiate upon its horns once in the year with the blood of the sin offering for an expiation: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it on the day of atonement in your generations: it shall be most holy before the Lord.

And the Lord spoke unto Mosheh, saying, When you take the sum of the sons of Israel according to their number, they shall give every man the ransom of their souls before the Lord when you number them; that there may not be among them the calamity of death when you do number them. [JERUSALEM. When you take the head of the number of the sums of the sons of Israel.] This valuation was shown to Mosheh in the mountain as with a denarius of fire, and thus spoke He to him: So shall every one who passes to the numbering give a half shekel of the coin of the sanctuary: (a half shekel is twenty manin:) the half shekel is to be the separation before the Lord. Every one who passes to the numbering, from a son of twenty years and upwards, shall give the separation before the Lord. He who is rich shall not add to, and he who is poor shall diminish from, the half shekel in giving the separation before the Lord, to atone for your souls. And you shall take the silver of the ransom from the sons of Israel, and apply it to the work of the tabernacle of ordinance; that it may be for the sons of Israel for a good memorial before the Lord, as a ransom for your souls.

And the Lord spoke to Mosheh, saying, And you shall make a laver of brass, and its foundation of brass, for purification; and shall set it between the tabernacle of ordinance and the altar, and put water therein. And they shall take from it for a cleansing ablution. And Aharon and his sons shall sanctify their hands and their feet with its water; at the time of their entering into the tabernacle of ordinance they shall sanctify with water, that they die not by the fiery flame: and it shall be to them an everlasting statute, to him and to his sons in their generations.

And the Lord spoke to Mosheh, saying, And you also take to yourself the first aromatics, choice myrrh, in weight five hundred minas, and sweet cinnamon of half the weight, two hundred and fifty minas, and sweet calamus in weight two hundred and fifty minas and cassia in weight five hundred minas of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary, and olive oil a vase full, in weight twelve logas, a loga for each tribe of the twelve tribes. [JERUSALEM. And you take to yourself the chief goodly spices, choice myrrh, in weight five hundred minas of shekels.] And you shall make of it a holy anointing oil, perfumed with perfume, the work of the perfumer, of compounded perfumes: a holy anointing oil shall it be. And with it anoint the tabernacle of ordinance, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the candelabrum and its vessels, and the altar of sweet incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its foundation, and consecrate them, and they shall be most holy. Every one of the priests who approaches to them shall be sanctified; but of the rest of the tribes, (whoever touches them) shall be consumed by the fiery flame from before the Lord. But Aharon and his sons anoint, and consecrate them to minister before Me. And speak to the sons of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil before Me unto your generations. Upon the flesh of man it may not be poured, and the like of it you shall not make to resemble it; unto you it shall be most sacred. The man who compounds the like of it, or putts it upon the unconsecrated who are not of the sons of Aharon, shall be destroyed from his people.

And the Lord said to Mosheh, Take to yourself spices, balsam, and onycha, and galbanum, choice spices, and pure frankincense, weight for weight shall it be. [JERUSALEM. Balsam, spikenard‑myrrh, and galbanum.] And confect therewith a fragrant incense, the work of the compounder, a pure and sacred mixture. [JERUSALEM. Commixed.] And beat, and make it small, and of it some shall you put before the testimony in the tabernacle of ordinance, where I will appoint My Word to be with you. Most sacred shall it be to you. And of the sweet incense you shall make, the like shall not be made among you; it shall be sacred to you before the Lord: the man who makes the like of it to smell thereto shall be destroyed from his people.

Targum Pseudo Jonathan for:

B’midbar (Num.) 28:9-15

And say to them: This is the order of the oblations you shall offer before the Lord; two lambs of the year, unblemished, daily, a perpetual burnt offering. The one lamb you shall perform in the morning to make atonement for the sins of the night; and the second lamb you shall perform between the suns to atone for the sins of the day; and the tenth of three seahs of wheaten flour as a mincha mingled with beaten olive oil, the fourth of a hin. It is a perpetual burnt offering, such as was (ordained to be) offered at Mount Sinai, to be received with favor as an oblation before the Lord. And its libation shall be the fourth of a hin for one lamb; from the vessels of the house of the sanctuary shall it be outpoured, a libation of old wine. [JERUSALEM. From the vessels of the house of holiness, it shall be poured out a libation of choice wine unto the Name of the Lord.] But if old wine may not be found, bring wine of forty days to pour out before the Lord. And the second lamb you shall perform between the suns, according to the presentation of the morning, and according to its oblation shall you make the offering, that it may be accepted with favor before the Lord but on the day of Shabbat two lambs of the year without blemish, and two‑tenths of flour mixed with olive oil for the mincha and its libation. On the Sabbath you shall make a Sabbath burnt sacrifice in addition to the perpetual burnt sacrifice and its libation.

And at the beginning of your months you shall offer a burnt sacrifice before the Lord; two young bullocks, without mixture, one ram, lambs of the year seven, unblemished; and three tenths of flour mingled with oil for the mincha for one bullock; two tenths of flour with olive oil for the mincha of the one ram; and one tenth of flour with olive oil for the mincha for each lamb of the burnt offering, an oblation to be received with favor before the Lord. And for their libation to be offered with them, the half of a hin for a bullock, the third of a hin for the ram, and the fourth of a hin for a lamb, of the wine of grapes. This burnt sacrifice shall be offered at the beginning of every month in the time of the removal of the beginning of every month in the year; and one kid of the goats, for a sin offering before the Lord at the disappearing (failure) of the moon, with the perpetual burnt sacrifice shall you perform with its libation.

Midrash Tanhuma Yelammedenu

Sh’mot (Exodus) 30:1-38

1. When you take the sum of the children of Israel (Exodus 30:12). May our masters teach us: How many times each year did the Israelites bring their offerings to the Temple? Thus did our masters teach us: They brought them three times a year; on the first day of the months of Nisan, Iyar, and Elul. On the first day of the months of Nisan and Iyar the offerings for the Temple treasury would be collected and the priests would approach the altar to seek forgiveness for the sins of Israel with the shekels they had contributed. But why did they do so three times a year? In order that all the Israelites might be involved, throughout the year, in giving their contributions. Why did they begin to accumulate their contributions on the first day of Adar (actually the Sanhedrin would make the announcement on the first day of Adar), though they did not bring it in until the first day of Nisan? It was done that way so that the offering would not become an unbearable hardship for the Israelites. Hence they (the priests) would remind the Israelites on the first day of the month of Adar (to prepare their offerings).

Solomon exclaimed: The way of the sluggard is as though hedged by thorns; but the path of the upright is even (Proverbs 15:19). Scripture is referring in this verse to the wicked Esau. Just as the thorns from a bush that cling to a man’s garment will cling to another part of the garment when he tries to brush them off, so the government of Esau (Rome), while still collecting a crop tax from Israel, would impose a head tax. And even before the head tax was fully collected, it would impose a levy for the care of its soldiers. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not do that: For the path of the upright is even, made level before Israel.

They announced (the obligations) on the first day of Adar, and then it was collected (by the priests) on the first day of Nisan. How much did they collect? A half-shekel (the head-tax for the Temple). And how much was it? It was equal to half a sela. They were collected only to make it possible to atone for the sins of Israel. They would purchase the daily burnt offerings with the contribution. Because the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that in every census Israel would take in the future, some of them would be missing (as a punishment for the census – since there is a prohibition against taking a cencus of Jews; see Yoma 22b and II Samuel 24), He ordained the shekel offering as a remedy so that it might atone for them and no plague would befall them.

2. When you take the sum of the children of Israel (Exodus 30:12). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Your navel is like a round goblet, your belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies, wherein no mingled wine is wanting (Song 7:3). Your navel refers to the Sanhedrin. But why did they call the Sanhedrin a navel? Just as the navel is located in the center of a man’s body, so the Sanhedrin met in a chamber of hewn stone in the center of the Temple. Furthermore, just as the child, whose mouth is closed whilst within its mother’s womb, is sustained through the navel, so the Israelites were sustained only by virtue of the Sanhedrin. Hence they likened it to a navel. The word round indicates that just as the navel is round, so the Sanhedrin sat in a semicircular room.

The meeting place of a Sanhedrin was called a sahar (“goblet”) because it resembled a sohar (“store”). For just as you are able to find whatever you need in a store, so the Sanhedrin decided what was pure and impure, fit and unfit, permitted and forbidden.

Wherein no mingled wine was wanting. If one of the members of the Sanhedrin found it necessary to leave the meeting to satisfy his physical needs, he would first look about to see if twenty-three members were in attendance (the judicial court, also called a small court, consisted of twenty-three members; all had to be present at a trial). If there were, he would leave, but if not he would not depart. Your belly is like a heap of wheat alludes to the book of Leviticus, which contains the means for attaining atonement for guilt and sinful acts. It holds (a heap of) sin offerings and a heap of guilt offerings. He placed in the middle of the Torah, with all its offerings (two books of the Torah precede Leviticus and two follow it), with all its offerings. In that way it resembles a heap of wheat.

R. Simeon the son of Lakish said: Why is it (Israel) compared to wheat? Just as wheat piles up when poured into a measure, so the elders, the students, the wise, and the pious increase in number when a census is taken.

Your belly is like a heap of wheat. R. Idi said: Is not a heap of cedar cones more beautiful than a heap of wheat? Why does this verse says a heap of wheat? They replied: The world cannot exist on cedar cones if it lacks wheat. Hence it says: Your belly is like a heap of wheat.

Set about with lilies. Does a man ever fence in his fields with lilies? Does he not normally fence his fields with thorns and thistles, with pits and thorn-bushes? What then is the meaning of Set about with lilies? This refers to numerous commandments that are as sensitive as lilies. For example, a man is extremely anxious to enter his bridal chamber, for no day is dearer to him than that day. It is the day in which he rejoices with his bride. What does he do? He spends a considerable amount of money to set up the bridal chamber and he comes to have intercourse with her. But if she says to him: “I have seen something like a red lily (i.e. like the blood of her menstruation), he draws away from her. He turns his face to one side and she to the other. What compelled him to turn from her? Was it a snake biting him, a scorpion stinging him, or a thorn between them? No, only the words of the Torah, since it is said: And you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness (Leviticus 18:19). Hence it is written: Set about like lilies.

They shall give (Exodus 30:12). Observe that Israel was so beloved that even their sins brought them considerable benefit. If their sins could do that, how much more so would their meritorious deeds. You find that when Jacob sent Joseph to his brethren, they watched him approach and said to one another: Behold this dreamer comes. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him (Genesis 37:19-20). They hurled him into the pit and said: Let us eat and drink, and then we will kill him. After eating and drinking, they were about to say grace when Judah said to them: We are planning to take a life, yet now we would bless G-d. If we should do this, we would be blaspheming against G-d and not blessing Him. Because of this, Scripture says: And the covetous vaunts himself, though he condemn the Lord (Psalm 10:3). Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites amd let not our hand be upon him (Genesis 37:27). (And they all agreed.)

And they sat down to eat bread (ibid., v.25). R. Judah the son of Shalum said: This is a notable instance of many sitting down together in unity, with a single thought in mind; to sell Joseph. Yet he fed the world for seven years, through two famines. If despite their sin he could feed the world and cause it to endure, how much more beneficial would have been the result if they had acted meritoriously. Similarly, observe what happened to the tribes in the chapter Shekalim, when they were permitted to atone for the incident of the golden calf. If the heinous sin they committed could lead to the performance of a worthy act, how much more so if they had acted meritoriously.

3. When you take the sum of the children of Israel (Exodus 30:12). R. Tanhuma the son of Abba began the discussion with the verse Sweet is the sleep of a laboring man, whether he eat little or much; but the satiety of the rich will not suffer him to sleep (Ecclesiastes 5:11). They said to Solomon after he spoke these words: Surely you must be jesting, inasmuch as it is written concerning you: For he was wiser than all men (1 Kings 5:11). And now you say: Sweet is the sleep of a laboring man, whether he eat little or much. Is it not a fact that anyone who is hungry because he ate only a little cannot sleep, while one that eats much sleeps well? He replied: I am speaking here only of righteous men and those who labor in the study of the law. For example, a man who lives only thirty years may have devoted himself from his tenth year to the day of his death to the study of the law and the commandments, while another man who lives eighty years, may have devoted himself to the study of the law and the commandments from his tenth year to the day of his death. You might say: Woe to the first one, who labored only twenty years in the study of the law, whilst the other devoted himself to the study of the law for seventy years. Surely the Holy One, blessed be He, will give him a greater reward than He will give to him who labored in the law only twenty years. Hence I said: Whether he eat little or much. For the one who had devoted twenty years to the study of the Torah might well say to the Holy One, blessed be He: “If You had not removed me from this world in the prime of my life, I would have had additional years to devote to the study of the law and the commandments.” Therefore I repeat: Whether he eat little or much, the reward of one is equal to the reward of the other.

Then they said to him: You declared also that The satiety of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. What can this mean? Certainly it permits him to sleep. In fact, a man sated with food falls asleep more quickly than others. Solomon replied: I was speaking about those who possess the riches of the Torah and not material possessions. For example, a man who is distinguished and wealthy in the knowledge of the Torah will teach many students and disseminate his knowledge among the masses, and he is satisfied in his knowledge of Torah. And when he dies, the disciples he raised do not permit him to be forgotten. They sit and labor in the Torah, the Talmud, the law, and the Aggadah, quoting the law in his name and recalling him to mind constantly. They do not permit him to sleep undisturbed in his grave.

R. Simeon the son of Lakish, R. Akiba, and R. Simeon the son of Yohai said: His disciples do not permit him to sleep undisturbed in his grave, as it is said: Moving gently the lips of those that are asleep (Song 7:10). Hence, The satiety of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. Similarly, Moses taught the Torah to the Israelites, trained them in the observance of the law, arranged the order of the chapters of the Torah, and assigned the chapters to be read each Sabbath, on Rosh Chodesh, and on the holy days. And they call him to mind as they read each Torah portion.

With reference to the portion Shekalim, Moses had said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the universe, when I die I shall not be remembered. The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: Be sure that just as you stand here now, giving them the portion containing Shekalim, thereby lifting their heads upright (i.e., to be forgiven), every year when they read it before Me, it will be as though you were standing in that place and lifting their heads upright. How do we know this? From what they shall read concerning this matter in the verse And the Lord spoke to Moses saying: When you are lifting up the head of Israel (Exodus 30:11). “Lift up the head” is not said, but rather when you are lifting up (the future tense of the word “lifting” is used: “they will be forgiven.”)

4. When you take the sum of the children of Israel (Exodus 30:12). Scripture states elsewhere: Many there are that say of my soul: “There is no salvation for him in God,” Selah. But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3-4). R. Samuel the son of Ammi and the rabbis discussed this verse. R. Samuel the son of Ammi contended that this verse refers to Doeg and Ahithophel, who were masters of the Torah. That say of my soul suggests that they would say to David: Can a man who captures a lamb and then kills the shepherd causing Israel to fall before the sword gain salvation, since it is written: There is no salvation for him in God, Selah?

Then David cried out: But You, O Lord, as if to say, O You who are Master of the world, Your law agrees with them, for You said: The adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). But are a shield to me refers to the merits of my ancestors. My glory indicates that You have restored me to kingship; and Lifter of my head implies that though I was guilty of murder, You permitted me to lift up the head, that is, to be forgiven through Nathan the Prophet, for he said: The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die (II Samuel 12:13).

However, the Rabbis held that this verse refers to the nations of the world. The idolaters are many (rabim), as it is written: The uproar of many peoples (Isaiah 17:12). They said to Israel: You are a nation that heard at Sinai: I am the Lord Your God, you shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3), yet at the end of forty days you said of a calf: This is your god O Israel (ibid., 32:4). How can they enjoy salvation, since it says: There is no salvation for him in God (Psalm 3:3)? But You, O Lord, are a shield about me suggests that Israel cried out: Master of the universe, do You agree with them, since You have said: He that sacrifices unto the gods shall be utterly destroyed (Exodus 22:19)? A shield about me alludes to the merits of the fathers; my glory implies that You will cause Your Shekhinah to dwell in our midst when You said: Build Me a sanctuary that I may tabernacle among them (ibid., 25:8), and lifter of the head indicates that instead of sentencing us to destruction, You permitted us to lift up the head, that is, to be forgiven because of Moses, as it is said: You lift up the head.

R. Jacob the son of Yohai, in the name of R. Jonathan, explained the text: And man bows down, and man lowers himself (Isaiah 2:9). And man bows down alludes to the Israelites, as it is said: And you My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are men (Exodus 34:31), while man lowers himself refers to Moses, as it is said: Now the man Moses was very meek (Numbers 12:3). Moses cried out: Master of the universe, I know that Israel lowered itself before a calf, but I too lowered myself; will You not forgive them? He replied: You will forgive them. Hence: When you take the sum (forgive them) [“take the sum” (lit. “lift up the head”) is a Hebrew idiom meaning “forgive.”]

5. When you take the sum of the children of Israel (Exodus 30:12). R. Jonah began to discuss the verse For God is judge; He puts down one, and lifts up another (Psalm 75:8). A Roman matron asked R. Yose the son of Halfta: “In how many days did the Holy One, blessed be He, create the world?” “In six days,” he replied, “as it is said: For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth (Exodus 20:11).” “What has He been doing since that time?” she queried. “He has been uniting couples and making one man wealthy and another poor,” he responded. Whereupon she retorted: “I too am able to do this. I have many slaves and maid servants, and I can couple them all this very night. What He has been doing since the time of creation, I can do easily in one hour.” “It may appear a simple matter to you,” he replied, “but to Him it is as difficult as splitting the Red Sea, for it is written: God makes the solitary to dwell in a house (Psalm 68:7).

He left her and went on his way. What did she do? She took a thousand male slaves and a thousand female slaves and had them stand face to face in two rows. This male slave, she commanded, shall take this one as his wife, and this shall take the other, and she continued to do this until she had coupled them all on that one night. When they returned in the morning, one had lost an eye, another had suffered a head wound, and a third one’s leg was broken. One shouted: “I do not want him as my husband,” while another exclaimed: “I do not want her as my wife.” Thereupon she summoned R. Yose. When he came to her she said: “I agree that your God is a God of truth, and that His law is the truth, and that everything you have said is indeed so.” He said to her: “The Holy One, blessed be He, sits and joins them together even against their will. He binds a chain about the neck of one and brings him from one end of the earth to the other to couple him with his mate, as it is said: God makes the solitary to dwell in a house; He brings out the prisoners into prosperity (Psalm 68:7).”

What does bakosharot (“prosperity”) imply? The one who is not pleased (with his mate) weeps, the one who is pleased sings. Hence the word bakosharot (from beki, “weeping,” and shirot, “songs”) is used in the text. He causes one to ascend the ladder and another to descend. Thus it is said: For God is judge; He puts down this one, and lifts up this one (Psalm 76:8).

R. Jonah of Bozrah and the rabbis disagreed concerning the meaning of this verse. The rabbis maintain that it refers to Aaron. Because of the word this (in the preceding verse) he was humbled, as it is said: And I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf (Exodus 32:24), and because of the word this he was exalted, as it is said: This is the offering of Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 6:13). R. Jonah, however, was of the opinion that this verse refers to Israel: With the word this they debased themselves, and with the word this they exalted themselves. With the word this they debased themselves in saying: As for this man Moses (Exodus 32:1), and with the word this they exalted themselves, as it is said: This they shall give (ibid., 30:13). Scripture states elsewhere: Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34). R. Joshua said: Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people is indicated by the fact that when Israel sinned, the nations of the world turned against them and enslaved them.

R. Nahuniah the son of Hakanah maintained that Righteousness exalts a nation alludes to Israel, while sin is a reproach to any people is applicable to the idolatrous nations that sinned against Israel. From whom do you learn this? You learn it from Mesha, king of Moab, for it is said: Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master (II Kings 3:4). What is meant by a noked (“sheep-master”)? He was a shepherd, for it is said: And he rendered unto the king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams (ibid.). What is meant by the wool of rams? R. Abba the son of Kahana said: Sheep. What did he do? He assembled all his astrologers and said to them: “I have a problem, tell me what to do. Should I wage war together with all the nations against Israel and exile them, or should I wage war alone against Israel so that the victory may be mine alone?” They replied: “Israel had a patriarch called Abraham who was given a child when he was one hundred years old, and he offered him as a sacrifice.” He asked them: “Was the sacrifice completed?” “No,” they answered. He replied: “He offered a sacrifice that was not completed and yet He performed miracles for them, how many more miracles would He have performed if the sacrifice had been completed. Now, since I have a firstborn son who will rule in my stead, I shall offer him as a sacrifice, and perhaps a miracle will be performed in my behalf.” Hence it is written: Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall, and there came a great wrath upon Israel (II Kings 3:27-28).

Homah (“wall”) is written here, since he prostrated himself towards the hamah (“sun”) (in performing the sacrifice). Forthwith there came a great wrath upon Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: The idolaters do not acknowledge My glory, and so they rebel against Me, but you, who acknowledge My glory, rebel against Me as well.

R. Mani stated: Were it not for the merit of Obadiah’s wife, Israel would have been exterminated at that time: Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha (II Kings 4:1).

R. Huna said: Whatever justice and kindness the idolaters perform is as dangerous to Israel as the poison of a serpent. From whom does one learn this? From Berodach, who would eat every day at the third hour of the day and would sleep until the ninth hour. Once, during the time of Hezekiah, he was allowed to sleep through the sun’s return on its track (According to II Kings 20 the sun was made to go backwards for Hezekiah). When he awakened and discovered that it was morning, he wanted to slay all his servants. He asked them: “Why did you permit me to sleep through a whole day and night?” They replied: “The God of Hezekiah is the greatest of all the gods in the world.” Then Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, King of Babylon, sent a letter and a present to Hezekiah (II Kings 20:12). He wrote: “Peace to Hezekiah the king, peace to Jerusalem, and peace to the great God.” As the scribes were about to depart, he became uneasy. He said to himself: “Did I not do wrong in mentioning the peace of Hezekiah and of the city before addressing the great God?” He arose from his throne, took three steps to recall the scribes, and wrote another letter to replace it. This time he said: “Peace to the great God, peace to Jerusalem, and peace to Hezekiah.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, then said to him: Because you arose and took three steps for the sake of My honor, I will cause three kings to descend from you who will rule from one end of the earth to the other. They were Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, and Belshazzar. However, when these came to power they blasphemed, and so the Holy One, blessed be He, destroyed them and caused others to arise in their place. The rabbis said: Righteousness exalts a nation refers to the free-will gifts that Israel brought to the Temple. Therefore He granted them forgiveness through Moses. And He said: When you take the sum.

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7. When you take the sum of the children of Israel (Exodus 30:12). R. Yose the son of Hanina said: This verse indicated to him that in the future he would bring the first of the tribes to the Shekhinah. But which one was the first tribe? It is Reuben, as it is said: Let Reuben live and not die (Deuteronomy 33:6). This is what is meant by You lift up the head (rosh) of the children of Israel; i.e. he lifted up the first (rishon) of the tribes.

… …

9. When you take the sum of the children of Israel (Exodus 30:12). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Take the sum of the children of Israel. He replied: My master, it is written: And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth (Genesis 28:14), and it is written elsewhere: And make your seed as the sand of the sea (ibid., 32:13), yet you tell me now to do this. He answered: If you want to know their number, you need only add together the first letter of the names of each of the tribes and this will give you their number. The resh in the word Reuben stands for two hundred thousand; the shin in Simeon stands for three hundred thousand, the yods in the names Judah, Issachar, and Joseph total thirty thousand, the nun in Naphtali accounts for fifty thousand, the zayin in Zebulun’s name is seven thousand, the dalet in Dan is four thousand, the gimel in Gad is three thousand, and the alef in Asheris one thousand – totaling five hundred and ninety-seven thousand in all. The three thousand not accounted for were slain at the time of the episode of the golden calf, as it is said: And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses; and there fell of the people on that day about three thousand men (Exodus 33:28). Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: You are taking the count to learn how many are missing. R. Menahem said in the name of R. Bebai: This may be compared to a king who had many sheep. When wolves attacked and destroyed some of them, the king told his shepherd: “Count the sheep and find out how many are missing.” Likewise, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Go, count the Israelites, and find out how many are missing.

A census of Israel was taken on ten different occasions. The first occurred when they descended to Egypt, as it is said: Your fathers went down into Egypt with three score and ten persons (Deuteronomy 10:29). Again, when they came out of Egypt, as is said: And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men (Exodus 12:37). Once in the Book of Numbers (it was taken) with reference to the standards (Numbers 2:21); once with regard to the spies (Numbers 13); in the days of Joshua when the land was divided (Joshua 18:10); twice in the time of Saul, as it is said: And he numbered them with lambs in Telaim (I Samuel 14:4) and He numbered them with pebbles in Bezek (ibid., 11:8). What is indicated by the word Telaim? When they were prosperous, he counted them by means of their lambs (telayim), but when they were poor in deeds, he counted them with stones. What is bezek? It is a stone. He took a stone for each one of them and then totaled the stones. A census was taken in the days of David, as is said: Joab gave up the sum, the number of the people to the king (II Samuel 24:9); and again at the time of Ezra: The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand, three hundred and three score (Ezra 2:14). In the time-to-come (a census will be taken), as is said: The flock shall again pass into the hands of Him that counts them (Jeremiah 33:13), and in this instance: When you take the sum.

R. Menahem said in the name of R. Bebai, in the name of R. Hiyya the son of Abba in the name of R. Eliezer the son of Johanan: It is stated: And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea (Hosea 2:1). Why were the children of Israel compared to the sand of the sea? To inform us that just as a hole dug in the sand of the sea at evening time fills up again by morning, so the thousands lacking at the time of David would be replaced by the time of his son Solomon, as it is said: Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude (I Kings 4:20).

R. Eliezer in the name of R. Yose the son of Zimra: Whenever the Israelites were counted because it was essential to do so, none were lacking, but whenever they were counted when there was no need to do so, some were missing. When were they counted to meet a need? When Moses took the census. When were they counted unnecessarily? At the time of David. Then they shall give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord (Exodus 30:12). This occurred at the time of Moses: That there be no plague among them (ibid), but there was no plague at the time of David.

This they shall give. R. Menahem said: The Holy One, blessed be He, removed from beneath His throne of glory a coin of fire (the size of a half-shekel coin) and showed it to Moses. Then He said to him: This they shall give. That is to say, everyone who passes by as the census is taken shall give something similar to them.

10. This they shall give, everyone that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel (Exodus 30:15). Because they had sinned at the sixth hour [word-play reading the word boshet (“shame, disgrace”) as bo shish (“the sixth hour”); thus, “The sixth hour came, they erected the golden calf.”], which is the middle of the day, they shall give half a shekel, which is six grammmata. R. Johanan declared: Because they had violated the Ten Commandments each one had to give ten gerah, which totals half a shekel. R. Simeon the son of Levi said: Because they sold Rachel’s first born for twenty pieces of silver and each one took a coin for himself, each one had to give one coin.

R. Judah the son of Simon stated: Moses heard three things from the lips of the Mighty One that confused and startled him. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8), he replied: Master of the universe, the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain You. He responded: Moses, it is not as you think. Erect twenty boards on the northern side and twenty boards on the southern side and eight on the eastern side and eight on the western side, and I will compress My Shekhinah and dwell within them; as it is written: And there I will meet with You, and I will speak with you (ibid., v.22).

Similarly when He said: Command the children of Israel, and say unto them: My food which is presented unto Me for offerings (Numbers 28:2), Moses called out: Master of the universe, if I should assemble all the animals and all the beasts in the world, they would not be sufficient for one offering, and all the trees of the world would be insufficient for a single fire, for it is said: And Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for bunt offerings (Isaiah 40:16). He replied: Moses, it is not as you think. You need offer unto Me but one lamb in the morning and not two, for they are not meant to be food and drink for Me. If I had food and drink when you were with Me on the mountain for forty days, would I not have eaten, and if I had food would you not have eaten? Only for a sweet savor, shall you observe to offer unto Me (Numbers 28:2).

And when He said: When shall they give every man a ransom for his soul (Exodus 30:12), he wondered and said: Who is able to give a ransom for his soul, since it is said: No man can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, for too costly is the redemption of their soul (Psalm 48:8-9)? He replied: Moses it is not as you imagine. This they shall give indicates that they shall give something like this. R. Huna said in the name of Rab: The Almighty, whom we cannot find out, is excellent in power (Job 37:23) implies that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not impose impossible burdens upon Israel. When Moses realized that, he declared: Happy is the people that is in such a case (Psalm 144:15) and Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob (ibid. 146:5).

Ashlamatah: II Kings 12:1-17

1 Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign. {P}

2 In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.

3 And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

4 Howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and offered in the high places.

5 And Jehoash said to the priests: 'All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of the LORD, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD,

6 let the priests take it to them, every man from him that bestows it upon him; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.' {P}

7 But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.

8 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said unto them: 'Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore take no longer money from them that bestow it upon you, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.'

9 And the priests consented that they should take no longer money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house.

10 And Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD; and the priests that kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.

11 And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD.

12 And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD,

13 and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

14 But there were not made for the house of the LORD cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD;

15 for they gave that to them that did the work, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. 16 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully.

17 The forfeit money, and the sin money, was not brought into the house of the LORD; it was the priests. {P}

Ketubim Mishle (Proverbs) 7:1-27

7:1 My son, keep my words, store up my commands with you.

7:2 Obey my commands, and live; guard my teaching like the pupil of your eye.

7:3 Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

7:4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister"; call understanding your kinswoman;

7:5 so that they can keep you from unknown women, from loose women with their seductive talk.

7:6 For I was at the window of my house, glancing out through the lattice,

7:7 when I saw among the young men there, among those who don't think for themselves, a young fellow devoid of all sense.

7:8 He crosses the street near her corner and continues on toward her house.

7:9 Dusk turns into evening, and finally night, dark and black.

7:10 Then a woman approaches him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.

7:11 She's the coarse, impulsive type, whose feet don't stay at home;

7:12 rather, she stalks the streets and squares, lurking at every streetcorner.

7:13 She grabs him, gives him a kiss, and, brazen-faced, she says to him,

7:14 "I had to offer peace sacrifices, and I fulfilled my vows today.

7:15 This is why I came out to meet you, to look for you; now I've found you.

7:16 I've spread quilts on my couch made of colored Egyptian linen.

7:17 I've perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

7:18 Come on, let's make love till morning; we'll enjoy making love.

7:19 My husband isn't at home, he's gone on a long trip;

7:20 he took a bag of money with him and won't be back till the new moon."

7:21 With all her sweet talk she convinces him, enticing him with her seductive words.

7:22 At once he follows her like an ox on its way to be slaughtered; like a fool to be punished in the stocks;

7:23 or like a bird rushing into a trap, not knowing its life is at stake till an arrow pierces its liver.

7:24 So now, children, listen to me; pay attention to what I am saying.

7:25 Don't let your heart turn to her ways; don't stray onto her paths.

7:26 For many are those she has struck down dead, numerous those she has killed.

7:27 Her house is the way to Sh'ol; it leads down to the halls of death.

Ketubim Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 104:1-35

1. Bless, O my soul, the name of the Lord. O Lord my God, you are greatly exalted; you have put on praise and splendor.

2. Who wraps himself in light like a sheet, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain.

3. Who covers his chambers with water like a building with beams; who placed his chariot, as it were, upon swift clouds; who goes on the wings of an eagle.

4. Who made his messengers as swift as wind; his servants, as strong as burning fire.

5. Who lays the foundation of the earth upon its base, so that it will not shake for ages upon ages.

6. You have covered over the abyss as with a garment; and the waters split on the mountains, and endure.

7. At your rebuke, they will flee, flowing down; at the sound of your shout, they will be frightened, pouring themselves out.

8. They will go up from the abyss to the mountains, and descend to the valleys, to this place that you founded for them.

9. You have placed a boundary for the waves of the sea that they will not cross, lest they return to cover the earth.

10. Who releases springs into rivers; they flow between the mountains.

11. They water all the wild animals; the asses will break their thirst.

12. The birds of heaven will settle on them; they will give out a sound of singing from among the branches.

13. Who waters the mountains from his upper treasury; the earth will be satisfied with the fruit of your deeds.

14. Who makes grass grow for beasts, and herbs for the cultivation of the son of man, that bread may come forth from the earth;

15. And wine that gladdens the heart of the son of man, to make the face shine by oil; and bread will support the heart of the son of man.

16. The trees that the Lord created are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted:

17. Where the birds make nests; the stork’s dwelling is in the cypresses.

18. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are security for the conies.

19. He made the moon to calculate times by; the sun knows the time of his setting.

20. You will make darkness and it will be night; in it all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21. The offspring of lions roar to find food, and to seek their sustenance from God.

22. The sun will shine, they gather together; and they lay down in their dwelling place.

23. A son of man will go forth to his work and to his cultivation, until the sunset of evening.

24. How many are your works, O Lord! You have made all of them in wisdom; the earth is full of your possessions.

25. This sea is great and broad in extent; creeping things are there without number, both tiny creatures and large.

26. There the ships go about, [and] this Leviathan you created for the sport of the righteous at the supper of his dwelling place.

27. All of them rely on you to give their food in its time.

28. You will give it to them, and they gather it; you will open your hand, and they are satisfied with goodness.

29. You will remove your presence, they are dazed; you will gather their spirit and they expire, and return to their dust.

30. You will send out your holy spirit and they are created; and you will make new the surface of the earth.

31. May the glory of the Lord be eternal; the Lord will rejoice in his works.

32. Who looks at the earth, and it shakes; he draws near to the mountains, and they emit smoke.

33. I will sing praise in the presence of the Lord during my life; I will make music to my God while I exist.

34. May my talk be pleasing in his presence; I will rejoice in the word of the Lord.

35. The sinners will be destroyed from the earth, and wicked exist no longer. Bless, O my soul, the name of the Lord. Hallelujah!

Midrash of Matityahu

(Matthew)

24. When they arrived into K’far Nakhum, the collectors of the half shekel [the temple tax] went up to Shimon HaTsefet bar Yonah and said, Does not your Rabbi pay the half shekel?

25. HaTsefet answered, Yes. And coming into the house, Yeshuah anticipated him, saying, What do you suppose, Shimon? From whom do the kings of a land collect duties or tribute--from their own sons or from the outsiders?

26. And when HaTsefet said, From the outsiders, Yeshuah said to him, Then the sons are indeed freemen.

27. However, in order that we may not ensnare them, go down to the waters and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it and give it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.

Commentary

For further study on the New Moon see: http://www.betemunah.org/chodesh.html

What a most wonderful and elegant piece of Midrash we have in the reading of Matityahu for this week, as a commentary for the Torah Seder for this Shabbat Shekalim!

Many take the Shekel as being simply the Temple Tax, but the half shekel was for the maintenance of the daily sacrifices at the Temple and therefore we read: Then they shall give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord (Exodus 30:12). What does this mean? It means that the salvation of Israel is communal and it is connected with the worship and service of G-d.

But some will say in ignorance, how can the money given to cover the expenses of worship and Bible study be a ransom (to the giver) for his soul unto the Lord? Well, put it simply, without a Torah teacher, people would not come to the knowledge of G-d, as Hakham Shaul instructs:

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:13-14)

And if people are saved and their sins forgiven because of the teaching of Torah, then the Torah and the Torah Teacher is indeed an instrument of salvation and forgiveness! And if a person helps to support the needs of a Torah Teacher, then that person with his giving also is a participant in the salvation and forgiveness of many.

That is why the Master of Nazareth said to Hakham Tsefet (Peter): Go down to the waters and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Now in Midrash, the waters are a euphemism for all the Gentiles, and a fish is an euphemism for a Gentile that becomes a G-d fearer and is being instructed by a Torah Teacher. From this Midrash we derive a most interesting principle: that a G-d fearer must find for himself a Torah Teacher to receive instruction from the Scriptures, and that a disciple is therefore responsible for the maintenance and expenses incurred by his Torah Teacher. If he does so, then we surely have a sign that such a person has been saved and that the love of G-d dwells fully in his/her heart.

The Talmud tells us that in Temple times the collection of the half-shekel "tax" for the support of the Temple services began with the entrance of the month of Adar. Therefore, this coming Shabat is called Shabat Shekalim in remembrance of that fact of ancient Jewish history. The half-shekel was to be assessed "b'shekel hakodesh," (by the standard of the holy shekel). The Talmud describes to us in great detail the actual amount of silver required in coin to meet the standard value of the holy shekel. But the Talmud indirectly reminds us that part of the task of Judaism and therefore of necessity of its adherents, the Jews, is to somehow invest a sense of holiness into the shekel - into otherwise grubby money. According to the Midrash, Moses was shown a holy shekel of fire on Sinai. The Jewish understanding of the symbolism of fire has always been that fire is ambivalent - it can burn and destroy, and at the same time it can light and warm. So too with money. Money can accomplish great good and it also is able to bring about great evil. It can build hospitals and schools and help the needy or it can wreck personal character and corrupt society, government and industry. It finances war and causes violence and cultivates crime and yet it can just as well succor the widow and the orphan and save the helpless from disaster. Thus the idea of "shekel hakodesh" exists in our world as strongly as it did in the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. To take the ordinary shekel and transform it into the "shekel hakodesh" is the mission of Torah and Israel.

There is an entire section in the Shulchan Aruch (the Code of Jewish Law) devoted to money and the task of transforming it into the "shekel hakodesh." There are many volumes of Talmud devoted to this issue as well. Judaism sets a minimum standard of human behavior regarding monetary matters that is recorded in these legal tomes. But it also sets a standard of moral behavior that though legally unenforceable is nevertheless necessary in order to attempt to create a more just society - in short, in order to raise money to the level of "shekel hakodesh." This moral standard regarding money is called "lifnim meshurat hadin" - above the minimum face (requirement) of the law itself. The Talmud saw that one of the spiritual causes of the destruction of both Temples was the lack of willingness to behave "lifnim meshurat hadin" (i.e. above the minimum requirement of the law). People insisted on their legal rights and were not willing to accommodate others even when morally obligated to do so. A society that does not allow for a moral code of law to accompany the strictly legal code of law eventually turns corrupt and rotten and dooms itself to destruction. The Talmud is replete with examples of "lifnim meshurat hadin" in monetary matters. Money is a great test in life. The rabbis of the Talmud held monetary probity in such high and necessary esteem that groups of people (such as shepherds, for example, who usually grazed their herds on other people's property) who had bad reputations as far as money was concerned were held to be unacceptable as witnesses in Jewish courts of law. A great rabbi once taught me that it is far easier to have glatt (strict) kosher meat on one's plate than to have glatt (strict) kosher money in one's pocket. Sadly, he was right in that assessment. Shabat Shekalim comes to remind us about glatt (strict) kosher money.

Judaism has always stressed the importance of imparting knowledge to its children. But it has stressed even more the teaching of values. In current world society, we speak of the value of money in purely economic and social terms. But there is a value of money in spiritual and holy terms as well. And it is that value of money - the "shekel hakodesh" value - that needs to be addressed in the education of our children and in our own personal and national life. Throughout Jewish history, movements arose to help cleanse the money of the House of Israel from immorality and cupidity. How did they achieve this? Simply put they invested great amounts of money in Torah education, and Torah teaching institutions. The popular aphorism: “plant in the spring and see what harvest the summer will bring is most appropriate here. One can elevate one’s money to the value of the “shekel hakodesh” if one invests in Torah learning and Torah teaching.

Shabat Shalom!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Shabbat:	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:

“Shekalim”	Reader 1 – Sh’mot 30:1-5	Reader 1 – Sh’mot 3:1-3
“The (half) shekels”	Reader 2 – Sh’mot 30:6-10	Reader 2 – Sh’mot 3:4-6
“Los (medio) shekels”	Reader 3 – Sh’mot 30:11-16	Reader 3 – Sh’mot 3:7-10
Sh’mot (Exodus) 30:1-38 B’midbar (Num.) 28:9-15	Reader 4 – Sh’mot 30:17-21
II Kings 12:1-17	Reader 5 – Sh’mot 30:22-25
	Reader 6 – Sh’mot 30:26-33	Reader 1 – Sh’mot 3:11-14
Proverbs 7:1-27	Reader 7 – Sh’mot 30:34-38	Reader 2 – Sh’mot 3:15-18
Tehillim (Psalms) 104:1-35	Maftir – B’midbar 28:9-15	Reader 3 – Sh’mot 3:19-22
N.C.: Matityahu 17:24-27	II Kings 12:1-17