Please click on image below to download & print 

* * * * *

THE WEEKLY SIDRA- KI SISA
Rabbi Moshe Greebel

Of course, one of the great advantages of being engrossed in Sifrei Kodesh (holy texts), is that inevitably at some point or another, one is offered a rare glimpse into the very witty reactions of a particular Gadol (major Torah scholar) of yesteryear, via an incident in which he was involved. The opening subject of this week’s Sidra, the Mitzvah of giving a Machatzis HaShekel (half Shekel), played an integral part in such an incident:

“When you take the census of the B’nai Yisroel according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to HaShem, when you count them; that there should be no plague among them, when you count them. This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a Shekel according to the Shekel of the Sanctuary; a Shekel is twenty Gerahs; a half Shekel shall be the offering of HaShem.” (Sh’mos 30:12-13)

Rav Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor (1817-1896), the Rav of Kovno, Russia of blessed memory, author of Be’er Yitzchak, Ain Yitzchak, and Nachal Yitzchak, once arrived at the home of a wealthy Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar), in order to elicit a contribution for some very pressing matter of human life. The Talmid Chacham nonetheless, was a miser and cheapskate, who explained that he gave his portion to Shamayim (heaven) through his daily and continuous Torah study, and argued that Tz’daka was only an obligation for sinners, from the following Passuk (verse):

“…..And break off your sins by practicing Tz’daka…..” (Daniel 4:24)

Sitting all day and night in the Bais HaMidrash (study hall) he argued, certainly excluded him from the category of sinners. Additionally, the Talmid Chacham challenged in a very cunning manner, that even from this week’s Sidra, there was a proof of his being exempt from Tz’dakah. Concerning the Machatzis HaShekel, the second of the above P’sukim (verses) reads, “This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted…..”

Now, by this time, we are well aware that words in LaShon HaKodesh have multiple meanings. The expression ‘Everyone who passes’ would read ‘Kol Ha’Over.’ But, another translation of ‘Kol Ha’Over’ could very possibly read ‘Everyone who sins’ (language of Avaira). Putting it all together, we get ‘This they shall give, every one who sins among those who are counted.’ Or simply, only the sinners have the obligation of giving. And, this was the manner in which the wealthy Talmid Chacham attempted to exempt himself from giving Tz’daka.

Rav Yitzchak Elchanan responded with an occurrence that took place several years after an 1886 war, which caused Russia to be left virtually bankrupt, wherein Tsarist propagandist ministers journeyed through the vast country, to inform Russians that for the homeland to survive, everyone had to donate money. Now, a certain such minister once found himself pleading with an impoverished group of farmers, for as much as they could give.

“I shall give one hundred rubles!” suddenly called out a beggar who was among them.

The others, astonished by this statement, turned to him, and asked, “But, how can a man such as yourself, come up with a hundred rubles?”

“Oh, that is no problem,” responded the beggar. “Once, a town magistrate fined me one ruble, which I didn’t have. Instead of paying, I was locked up in prison for one day. If it is necessary, I will spend a hundred days in prison for Mother Russia!”

“In similar fashion,” continued Rav Yitzchak Elchanan to the Talmid Chacham, “you wish to put off your obligation to others in great need with your Torah study, which does those poor Jews about as much good, as the aforementioned beggar sitting in prison!”

“And, one other thing,” concluded Rav Yitzchak to the Talmid Chacham, “when Moshe Rabbeinu counted the B’nai Yisroel in this week’s Sidra, he did not count them based on how many pages of ‘Gemarah’ (as if formal Gemarah existed in the time of Moshe Rabbeinu) each one had mastered, but rather, on the coin that they were all obligated to give!”

Whether the miserly Talmid Chacham wound up giving anything to Rav Yitzchak has unfortunately, not been passed down through the ages with the rest of this story. But, let it suffice to say that our venerable and respected Rabbanim of blessed memory, were not only outstandingly ethical and scholarly men, they were also men who possessed great wit. May they always be a B’racha (blessing) for us.

May we soon see the G’ulah Sh’laimah in its complete resplendency- and in our times. Good Shabbos.