written on hearts of stone

In Exodus 20 the Israelites hear God speak the 10 commandments. And then after the 10th commandment is spoken:

Exodus 20:18 "When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'"

20 Moses said to the people, "'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.'"

And so Moses goes off to talk with God alone. Imagine what that would be like! And the first thing God says:
Exodus 20: 22 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "'Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.'"

Moses returns to the people after talking with God:
Exodus 24:3 "When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "'Everything the LORD has said we will do.'" 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said."

And then the LORD said to Moses: Exodus 24:12 "'Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.'"

Moses receives more details about the commandments, which simply put is a Godly way of life, as well as specifics as to how to build the tabernacle. And then...

Exodus 31:18 "When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God."

But...
Exodus 32:1 "When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "'Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'"

2 Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

How quickly they forgot their agreement in Exodus 24:3 and Exodus 24:7. (How quickly do I forget my holy proclamations? "Yes of course I will do that or won't do that, God.")

Exodus 32:7 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "'Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ''These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.''

9 "'I have seen these people,'" the LORD said to Moses, "'and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.'"

And then
Exodus32:19 "When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it."

And after Moses' continued repenting for the people and offering his own life for the Israelites' salvation, God told Moses to return to the mountain to receive the commandments again.

Exodus 34:4 "So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands."

And there Moses received the second set of commandments, written on stone, front and back. Interesting that while Moses is with God receiving the first tablets, the people, having hearts of stone, or as God refers to them: a stiff-necked people, beg Aaron to make for them a god that they might worship. And still God gave His people a second chance. and more than that, He promises to write His Word on our hearts, our very own hearts of stone that are only truly softened and made whole by His love and mercy and grace.

Jeremiah 31:33 "'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'"

Hebrews 10:16 "'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.'17Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.'"

Much of these details are found in last week's torah portion: Ki Tisa
Exodus 30:11-34:35. Read the story of Moses receiving the Commandments: Exodus chapters 20-35

Parashat Ki Tisa: Shabbat Shalom

In this week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, the Lord reaffirms the gift of the Sabbath: and clarifies that it is a covenant that God's people will keep...forever.

Exodus 31:12 "And the LORD said to Moses, 13'You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, "Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. 14You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed."'" (ESV)

Put to death? Confusing to some degree. But when you think about it spiritually, keeping the Sabbath is the only ritual that God included in the 10 Commandments. Not keeping the Sabbath to the Lord could be considered a type of idolatry--putting other things above the One, True God--another commandment. And so not guarding and keeping the Sabbath would be breaking two commandments: the one that says "you shall have no other gods but Me." But above all, the Lord is merciful and just and works with each individual in His way and timing. And when He calls, celebrating the Sabbath is an amazing blessing.

from aish.com
"When you observe Shabbat," continues the Chofetz Chaim, "you testify that the Almighty created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. By keeping Shabbat you proclaim that you have this awareness. A person who fails to keep Shabbat removes this sign. This is the reason for the importance of Shabbat."

Shabbat Shalom! / Sabbath Peace!

Ki Tisa: Shekels

In this week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, God commands the Israelites to give 1/2 shekel for the service of the tabernacle. Incidentally, this is the first mention of a 1/2 shekel in the Bible.

Exodus 30 - 13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary--the shekel is twenty gerahs--half a shekel for an offering to the LORD. 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering of the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of the LORD, to make atonement for your souls. 16 And thou shalt take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for your souls'" (JPS).

Today(2/21/2008) 1 Israeli shekel = 0.27777 U.S. dollars : Exchange rate for the Israeli shekel

The shekel was the predominant silver coin, weighing about 1/5 of an ounce of silver. But there were also gold, brass, and iron shekels. A shekel was the standard form of currency, like the American dollar or the Japanese yen.

The first mention of shekels in the Bible is in Genesis 20 where Sarah earned Abraham quite a take:

Genesis 20:16
To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."
Genesis 20:15-17 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)

But in this Torah portion, God asked for 1/2 shekel--no more, no less. So today, Americans would give 50 cents. Or I guess 13.9 cents if we base it on the current shekel value.

Timeline of the shekel

Half-Shekel introduced by Moses		1289 B.C.E.
Reintroduced by King Yoash		800 B.C.E.
Halted by Nebuchanezer		586 B.C.E.
Reintroduced by Nehemiah		445 B.C.E.
Halted by Titus		70 C.E.
Banned by Hadrian		135 C.E.
Reintroduced after 1,863 years		1998 C.E.

Israeli Shekel to Become Globally Convertible, February 14, 2008

shekel background--above taken from Begedivri.com

shekels in wikipedia

Parashat Ki Tisa - "when you take"

This week's Torah portion is Parashat Ki Tisa. Summary of this portion.

Blessing before Torah study: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah.

Torah portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35 - which begins:

11"The LORD said to Moses, 12 'When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.'" (ESV)

Messianic reading of Ki Tisa.

Haftarah and Haftarah blessings
Haftarah: 1Kings 18:1-39

Brit Chadashah: 2Cor 3:1-18

Blessing after Torah study: Blessed art thou, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who
gave us the Torah of truth and set everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, Giver of the Torah.

Why bother?