ON THE PARSHA
          Parshas Ki Sisa

          by Dovid Lipman, Jerusalem


The World Of The Supernatural

     (32:4) "And he [Aharon] took them [the golden jewelry] from
their hands..." The Ohr HaChaim uses this simple phrase to shed
light on the actions of Aharon. Aharon, as Rashi explains at length,
used every effort to prevent the sin of the calf from succeeding.
Why, then, is he blamed, and why does he deny making the calf
itself, while our pasuk says he did? The Midrash says that two
magicians, who learned witchcraft in Egypt, actually made the calf,
and their powers gave it life. So Aharon actually did not make the
calf. He is blamed because he made the mistake of taking the gold
directly from the people's hands. The Midrash explains that he
could have nullified the magic by the gold being put on the ground
first. So the pasuk is clear - he is considered to have made it,
because he took the gold from the people's hands.

A Time To Laugh

     (31:13) "So you will know..." Why did Esther risk her life to
invite Achashveirosh to her party? (She surely could have invited
Haman separately.) She could have waited outside the room for him,
and, when he left, she could have simply asked him to join her
immediately for the party! The answer lies in the gemara (Shabbos
10b), which learns from the pasuk "so you will know", that just as
Hashem informed us about the beauty of Shabbos, so too, if one is
going to give a gift, one must inform the recipient beforehand. So
Esther had to tell Achashveirosh about the party in advance, even
at the risk of her life.

Worthy Of Note

     (33:11) "And Hashem would speak to Moshe..." The Lechem Abirim
explains that this pasuk alludes to the four uniquenesses of Moshe's
level of prophecy of which the Rambam speaks (Peirush HaMishnayos to
Sanhedrin, Chap. 10). "Face to face" means without intermediaries,
"as a man speaks to a friend" means without fear or unusual weakness,
and also refers to the ability to prophecy awake, and "he would go
back to the camp" shows that he didn't need seclusion for prophecy,
as compared with even Yehoshua, about whom the pasuk concludes "he
never left the tent", i.e. he could only prophecy in seclusion.
(Condensed from translation by Rabbi Dov Lipman)

From the Gemara

     (30:13) Yerushalmi Shekalim 4b - "They shall give THIS"
means that Hashem showed Moshe a half-shekel of fire. R' Meir
holds that this teaches us that one must add a bit to the
half-shekel to make sure it's the weight of that coin of fire,
since a physical coin always contains impurities.
     (30:13) Ibid. 3b - "All those who passed" relates to a
disagreement over whether Kohanim must give a half-shekel.
One interprets, "those who passed in the counting", excluding
Kohanim who weren't counted, and one says it means "those who
passed through the Red Sea", meaning, of course, everybody.
     (30:23) Chulin 139b - Where is Mordechai hinted to in
the Torah? The sweet smelling "Mar Deror", the Targum for
which (Aramaic) is "Mera Dachia".

Rare And Unusual Words

     (31:10) "HaS'rad". The literal meaning, "attendant clothes",
sheds little light on the function of these clothes. The Ramban
says they were the priestly clothing, to be worn in attendance,
based on a gemara in Yoma. But Rashi says they were "clothes" for
the Aron and other vessels, and they "attended" the vessels.

Mitzvah Digest

105) One must donate one half-shekel to the Beis HaMikdash
     yearly, so all will have an equal share in the sacrifices.
106) A Kohain who enters the Mikdash or comes to perform the
     service must wash his hands and feet, as a sign of honor.
107) The Jews are responsible to make the annointing oil which
     shows the importance of the service, acc. to the halacha.
108) One may not annoint a non-Kohain with the Oil.
109) One may not make the Oil without special permission.
110) One may not make a combination like the special Incense.
111) One may not eat or drink that which has been offered as
     a sacrifice to false gods.
112) One must stop working the land every seventh year.
113) One may not derive benefit from a mixture of milk and meat.

Overflow from Mishpatim (week 3 of 4)
80) One must remove a load from an animal tiring from it.
81) A judge may not distort his decision against a criminal.
82) A court may not kill a man without witnesses and warning.
83) A judge may not take a bribe, even to decide the truth.
84) One must leave the fruits of the seventh year for all to
    take, to remind us that Hashem created the world.
85) One must stop working on the Shabbos.