Ki Tisa - Day #6

Ki Tisa  כִּי תִשָּׂא - When You Elevate  

Torah Portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35

Exodus 34:10–26

34:10 He said, “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of Hashem; for it is an awesome thing that I do with you. 11 Observe that which I command you today. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you; 13 but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles; 14 for you shall worship no other god; for Hashem, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous G-d.

15 “Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice; 16 and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods.

17 “You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.

18 “You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.

19 “All that opens the womb is mine; and all your livestock that is male, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb. If you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before me empty.

21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

22 “You shall observe the feast of weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the feast of harvest at the year’s end. 23 Three times in the year, all your males shall appear before Hashem, the Elohim of Israel. 24 For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before Hashem, your Elohim, three times in the year.

25 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left to the morning.

26 “You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of Hashem your Elohim.

“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

Today’s Meditation:

It is very clear from today’s reading that Hashem does not want His people hanging out with others who are clearly not believers. He knows they will influence them in evil ways. So, therefore, He promises to wipe them out before their eyes. And tells them in verse 14 “Hashem, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous G-d”.

Do you ever picture Hashem that way—jealous? It’s hard for me to picture that, but Scripture says He is. But think about the people you love, such as a partner. Aren’t you a little jealous when they are with someone else? It must be in our nature. Anyways, the solution, of course, is to place our hearts and minds, centered on Hashem, at all times. To not allow ourselves to be influenced in negative ways by others in the world. Stay close to His Word, pray, and repent daily. Stay away from those who do not worship your Elohim, or you just may become influenced by them.

Today’s Challenge:

In 34:10, Hashem promises to do marvels. It may be His marvels were destroying the enemy, which, of course, would be huge. But He is also referring to the everyday miracles He will perform in their midst. And I believe those miracles have never stopped. I look at my life, and He is always working miracles and wonders in my life. I challenge you to take some time today to reflect on the miracles (marvels) Hashem has done in your life lately. Then acknowledge Him with praise and prayer. We are truly grateful for all He does for us and those we love.

Ki Tisa - Day #5

Ki Tisa  כִּי תִשָּׂא - When You Elevate  

Torah Portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35

Exodus 34:1–9

34 Hashem said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”

4 He chiseled two tablets of stone like the first; then Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as Hashem had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets. 5 Hashem descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Hashem’s name. 6 Hashem passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Hashem! Hashem, a merciful and gracious Elohim, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, 7 keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”

8 Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, Hashem, please let Hashem go among us, even though this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

Today’s Meditation:

We serve an Elohim of “second chances”. Moses, in anger, broke the first set of holy tablets. But, Hashem, in His kindness and mercy, gives him the chance to make a second set of tablets. Hashem invites Moses back up the mountain, and He descends in a cloud. Moses bows and worships Him. Isn’t it so kind that He is fair with Moses and His people? He is giving them the Ten Commandments, the substance of all Laws. Think about what would have happened if He decided not to reinstate the Commandments. Who knows what would have happened? Would there have been chaos? Would they ever have arrived in the Promised Land? It certainly would have been different. We know the Torah gives life. Hashem was giving life to Moses with the second set.

Today’s Challenge:

Who are the guilty in verse 7? Hashem has already said He will forgive iniquity. The guilty are those who do not repent, nor do they want to. They remain in sin and guilt. They choose themselves over Hashem. And even more sad, their sin is visited on generations to come. My challenge today is to take a look at your life. Is there a sin in your life that you will not repent of, or let go? Be honest. If there is, ask for repentance and turn your life around (teshuvah). We know sin separates us from Hashem, and repentance brings us closer.

Ki Tisa - Day #4

Ki Tisa  כִּי תִשָּׂא - When You Elevate  

Torah Portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35

Exodus 33:17–23

33:17 Hashem said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”

18 Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.”

19 He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Hashem’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” 20 He said, “You cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live.” 21 Hashem also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand until I have passed by; 23 then I will take away My hand, and you will see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

Today’s Meditation:

Hashem is so thoughtful. He knows Moses cannot see Him face-to-face, so He hides him in the cleft of a rock. Moses desires to see His glory. And Hashem agrees to this. Can you even imagine if you were Moses, hiding in a cleft, and there goes the glory of Hashem, right past you? Would you cry, bow down, pass out, praise Him, sing, and just be so happy? To see His glory would be incredible beyond words.

Today’s Challenge:

In verse 19, we hear Hashem say that He has mercy and is gracious to whom He wills. I see His mercy and grace in my life every day. Do you? Today’s challenge is for you to look for His mercy and grace throughout your day. Perhaps He will show you mercy through a coworker. Or grace in a special situation where you really need it. Try to be aware of it today. And when He blesses you with compassion and/or grace, be sure to thank Him. Today is going to be a good day.

Ki Tisa - Day #3

Ki Tisa  כִּי תִשָּׂא - When You Elevate  

Torah Portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35

Exodus 33:12–16

33:12 Moses said to Hashem, “Behold, You tell me, ‘Bring up this people,’ and You haven’t let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in Your sight, please show me Your way, now, that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight; and consider that this nation is Your people.”

14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15 Moses said to Him, “If Your presence doesn’t go with me, don’t carry us up from here. 16 For how would people know that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Isn’t it that You go with us, so that we are separated, I and Your people, from all the people who are on the surface of the earth?”

Today’s Meditation:

Moses is leading thousands of His people into the Holy Land. What is he concerned about? He is interested in Hashem going with him. In fact, he says, “Don’t carry us up from here, if Your presence doesn’t go with me” (verse 15). That is really his only concern, that Hashem leads the way. It is the most significant task in the world, and he knows that he can’t do it without Him. Isn’t that how our lives should be? That we don’t go forward with any big decisions (and some small) without Hashem going before us? Think about it. If you are making critical changes in your life, be sure to invite Hashem to be with you and help you every step of the way.

Today’s Challenge:

In verse 13 of today’s reading, Moses says, “Please show me Your way, now, that I may know You.” It is essential to understand Hashem’s way. Sometimes it is very different from what we think we should do. Today, I challenge you to search out Hashem’s way in your life. Make sure you are on His path. If you don’t have peace in your heart, you aren’t in His will. When you include Hashem in the middle of your decision-making and when seeking your purpose, you will have total shalom peace.

Ki Tisa - Day #2

Ki Tisa  כִּי תִשָּׂא - When You Elevate  

Torah Portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35

Exodus 31:18–33:11

31:18 When he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant, stone tablets, written with Elohim’s finger.

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”

2 Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”

3 All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Hashem.”

6 They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7 Hashem spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves! 8 They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

9 Hashem said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

11 Moses begged Hashem his Elohim, and said, “Hashem, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘He brought them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth?’ Turn from your fierce wrath, and turn away from this evil against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

14 So Hashem turned away from the evil which He said He would do to His people.

15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides. They were written on one side and on the other. 16 The tablets were the work of Elohim, and the writing was the writing of Elohim, engraved on the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”

18 He said, “It isn’t the voice of those who shout for victory. It is not the voice of those who cry for being overcome, but the noise of those who sing that I hear.” 19 As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them beneath the mountain. 20 He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.

21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”

22 Aaron said, “Don’t let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods, which shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24 I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had let them lose control, causing derision among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on Hashem's side, come to me!”

All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 He said to them, “Hashem, the Elohim of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” 28 The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. About three thousand men fell of the people that day. 29 Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to Hashem, for every man was against his son and against his brother, that He may give you a blessing today.”

30 On the next day, Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to Hashem. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.”

31 Moses returned to Hashem, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold. 32 Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”

33 Hashem said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35 Hashem struck the people because of what they did with the calf, which Aaron made.

33 Hashem spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ 2 I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 3 Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.”

4 When the people heard this evil news, they mourned; and no one put on his jewelry.

5 Hashem had said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up among you for one moment, I would consume you. Therefore, now take off your jewelry from you, that I may know what to do to you.’”

6 The children of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it “The Tent of Meeting.” Everyone who sought Hashem went out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 When Moses went out to the Tent, all the people rose up, and stood, everyone at their tent door, and watched Moses, until he had gone into the Tent. 9 When Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, stood at the door of the Tent, and Hashem spoke with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent, and all the people rose up and worshiped, everyone at their tent door. 11 Hashem spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, didn’t depart from the Tent.

Today’s Meditation:

We read about the “Tent of Meeting” today in Exodus 33. What an incredible place that would have been. The people would watch as Moses went into the Tent, and then the Pillar of Cloud descended. This is where Moses would actually meet with Hashem. We don’t exactly know the details of this, but we do know He received instructions from Hashem here. And that Joshua, the faithful servant, did not want to leave the door. 

I can only imagine the dedication and love that Joshua had for Hashem. He could not leave the door. When you meet with Hashem in prayer, are you anxious to finish, or do you love being with Him and don’t want to leave?

Today’s Challenge:

In Chapter 32, we read about the famous golden calf story. The Israelites grew impatient. They couldn’t wait for Moses to come down from the hill. Even after all the miracles they had just witnessed, their faith was wavering. But today I see how wrong I am. The Israelites were not only on a journey to the Promised Land but also on a huge spiritual journey. They had just come out of paganism and slavery. They were beginning to know Hashem. They got scared and got confused. There is no excuse for building a golden calf and partying around it like it was a “god”, but it does help to understand why it may have happened.

After all, don’t we build golden calves in our lives? Don’t we get impatient for Hashem to answer a prayer and instead figure out our own way to make it happen? Don’t we substitute something else for Hashem’s power and presence? I do it a lot, and I am humbly sorry. I want to serve the one and only true God, Hashem. I don’t want to substitute anything else for Him. And I pray He helps me not to do so. I pray the same for those of you who are impatient about waiting on Elohim. I pray you have the courage and strength to wait on Him and not make any human decisions. Wait for the best. I am trying to do the same.