Rabbi's Corner

In this week’s parashah, Parashat Ki Tissa, we read the following: “And Moshe stood at the gate of the camp, and he said: ‘Whoever is for HaShem [shall come] to me!’  And all the Children of Levi gathered to him.” (Shemot 32:26) The great Bible commentator Rashi indicates that not one single Levi participated in the sin of the “Eygel HaZahav” (“the Golden
Calf”).  The Midrash which cites Rashi’s commentary tells us that Satan (not “the Devil” of Christianity) created an atmosphere of darkness, chaos, and confusion causing fear and anxiety among the B’nei Yisrael due to Moshe’s tarrying at the top of Har Sinai.  The B’nei Yisrael lost all their patience in waiting for Moshe to return, thought that he had perished on top of Har Sinai, and thus fell into the sin of idolatry.  Nu?  Why were the Levi’im able to maintain their patience while the rest of the B’nei Yisrael could not?  Perhaps the following Chasidic parable will provide us with an answer:

Two of the King’s guardsmen, both being engaged to be married, were called away to war.  Before they joined their comrades on the battlefield, each was allowed to bid farewell to his respective fiancé.  The first guardsman, a young officer of noble heritage, gave his intended, the refined daughter of one of the King’s most rusted ministers, a very rare gift.  “My darling,” he said, “this ring has been in my family for generations.  I now give it to you as a token of my becoming forever bound to you.  Hopefully, we will be able to pass on this heirloom to further generations of our family.  So, I ask that no matter what happens, you will pray for me, you will be strong for me, and you will believe in your heart that sooner or later I will come home to you and you alone!”  He then made his tearful exit.  The second guardsman, a brave young officer of “common-folk” lineage, presented his fiancé, the daughter of a fishmonger, flowers and sweets.  Within a week, the flowers had wilted and all the chocolates had been eaten.  Shortly thereafter, the fishmonger’s daughter forgot about the gifts and the gift-giver as well.

Only a fortnight later, having received no news from the front, the fishmonger’s daughter began entertaining the overtures of a smooth-talking merchant in the marketplace.  He displayed gold and silver before her eyes while he promised her the sun and the moon if only she would consent to marry him.  Her wide-eyed stare gave indication that his offer was very enticing to her.  “Should I decay in maidenhood forever?” she lamented, all the while completely forgetting about the vows she had made to the second guardsman.  She was easily tempted by the merchant’s slick style and suave debonair.  So, she married him discarding honor and loyalty for a life filled with food, drink, and revelry.  Meanwhile, the King’s minister’s daughter spent every evening staring out her bedroom window waiting for the return of her intended.  She ended each night in the same way: having failed to see the return of her fiancé, a single tear would trickle down her cheek.  But then she would look at the ring on her finger, and a confident smile would appear on her face.  It was as if the springtime sun had emerged to drive away the dark, gray clouds of winter.  Then she would exclaim how she would wait forever for her beloved before she drifted off into the tranquil sleep of a newborn child.

 One year passed.  The King’s legions finally defeated the enemy army, and both guardsmen returned home.  The second guardsman, discovering that his fiancé had left him for another man, let his sword seek justice, and he executed both her and her smooth-talking husband.  The first guardsman’s heart rejoiced when he saw his beloved fiancé’s silhouette framed in the upstairs window as she was patiently waiting for him.  No words could possibly describe the joy of their reunion, the happiness of their subsequent marriage, and the bliss of their lives together for many years.  To this day, the ring --- the most precious of all the family heirlooms --- is still being passed from one generation of their offspring to another.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov states that by having “emunah” (true and complete faith in Hashem), we can acquire the attribute of being patient.  Patient people do what they have to do without allowing anyone or anything to sway, to tempt, or to confuse them in any other direction than that to which they have committed themselves.  Understanding this, the parable teaches us the following: (1) the guardsman leaving to go to war symbolize Moshe going up to the top of Har Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights.  (2) The first fiancé symbolizes the Levites who did not waver in their loyalty to Hashem.  (3) The noble guardsman’s ring symbolized the “emuna” and patience of the Levi’im.  The Levi’im, like the King’s minister’s daughter, were able to wait patiently with no weakening of their resolve.  Like the fishmonger’s daughter who had no ring, the “erev-rav” (the non-Jews who left Mitzrayim [Egypt} with the B’nei Yisrael) had neither “emunah” nor patience thus resulting in their succumbing to idolatry.

We, today’s B’nei Yisrael, need neither flowers nor chocolates to sustain the “emunah” and patience we need to keep us spiritually and emotionally attached to our people, to our religion, and, most important of all, to HaShem.  After all, we already have the “ring”: Shabbat and the Torah.  “I will betroth you to Me forever; and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness, justice, kindness, and mercy; and I will betroth you to Me with faithfulness, and you will know Hashem!”

Shabbat Shalom ve-Shavua Tov!