Weekly Torah Lesson
Parasha: Kitisa – When you lift up the head
Torah: Shemot 30:11 – 34:35
This phrase, from this week’s parsha, caught my attention because of the current medical situation that we find ourselves. I haven’t heard anyone from the Center for Disease Control talk about this particular “remedy” against the Corona virus. There is biblical evidence against taking a census without collecting the offering. Let’s start from the beginning:
11 And Avinu spoke to Moshe, saying, 12 When you take the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to Avinu, when you number them; that there be no plague among them, when you number them. 13 This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of Avinu. 14 Every one that passes among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to Avinu. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering to Avinu, to make an atonement for your souls. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial to the children of Israel before Avinu, to make an atonement for your souls. (Shemot 30:11-16)
Avinu didn’t want a census taken because he didn’t want the “king” to be “puffed up” over how many people he had under his authority. The king was to worry about himself and the relationship that he had with Avinu. The people were not counted in this offering. The offering was counted and a determination was made about the number of people that participated in that particular offering. Here is a sad story about what Avinu had King David do because He was upset with Israel’s disobedience:
1 Again the anger of Avinu was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may Avinu your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel. 5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon; 7 and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. 10 And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to Avinu, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of Avinu came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says Avinu: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.”’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” 14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of Avinu, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 15 So Avinu sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. (2 Samuel 24:1-15)
Approximately 5% of the number of men counted.
16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, Avinu relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of Avinu was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to Avinu when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.” 18 ¶ And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to Avinu on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as Avinu commanded. 20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my Master the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to Avinu, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” 22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. 23 “All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May Avinu your God accept you.” 24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to Avinu Elohi with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar to Avinu, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So Avinu heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.” (2Sam 24:16-25)
Approximately one thousand years later, Yeshua talked about how the tax collectors turned the offering into a tax:
24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Kifa and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Yeshua anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 Kifa said to Him, “From strangers.” Yeshua said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 “Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”” (Mt 17:24-27)
The Temple Tax Collectors worked for the High Priest. The original offering was given by the benay Israel to support the operation of the Temple.
A “tax or tribute” was taken from a foreign city state that had been conquered by Israel and agreed to pay an annual “tax” as part of a “Peace Agreement”. This is why Yeshua made the remark that “..strangers pay the tax but the sons are free..”.
Apparently the High Priest gave the “tribute” to the Roman authorities as part of his own “Peace Agreement” which is the price that he promised if they would appoint him as “High Priest”.
So it wasn’t an offering but a tax and the “sons” had just become “strangers”.
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