Portion of the Week; Ki Tissa-1, Rabbi Schonfeld

paul f ms bee the la chaise lot all the millennium days harshaw i am they use all this we the bible as men in the synagogue with running commentary this evening we're rabbi fabian schoenfeld spiritual leader of the orthodox congregation of young israel can garden hills new york fb good evening b tonight i'm going to comment upon certain passages from the weekly reading all he sees so which is going to be read the same roof in all our summer jobs this particular portion contains some very interesting stories it speaks of certain

legislation is i mean it's an incident that perhaps more than any other has become known throughout the world under the name of the golden cup i would like to read to you want to fix the deal with the story and then raising questions so i try and see the answer which will contain a great and important lesson for orders and shot the twenty two are accidents and when the people saw that moses be married to come down from the mountains the people together themselves together under an incidental him up make us a god hoosier ago before

this forest grove as moses the man that brought us out of the land the region we know about what has become apparent many of us often wonder as to what moved the people of israel to visit the teachings of moses to betray garden and if a sink the face which they had placed in him up to this event after all had seen the great miracles they had witnessed the great wonderful things that got a lot for the destruction of the egyptian economy the splitting of the red sea the revelation among sondheim and here such a brief period of to the great event we find the people of israel by down to an image of go i think my friends of the answer may be sought

in the crucial words pease air in motion a glitch forest for this moses the man that people have come to know moses that people have come to appreciate him as a general as a fighter as a diplomat a man who mixed with the people moses the man moshe which they cannot understand what had become of moses the man yes he had gone up to heaven to see the ten commandments to see the teachings from god but to them it was incomprehensible that this moses women should not have disappeared from among the mitts and perhaps because of this realization falls as it was we may be the answer to our question today we have comes

across many instances where people do speak of their rabbi or the minister and say oh he is a fine man he is what is known popularly a regular fellow he mixes with the people he goes with them through all of the troubles him as its rhythm the theater that accommodation of the other parties he is a man of the people and as long as people think but he is one of ours they will think very highly of him and they didn't realize that a function of a spiritual leader is not just to be a quote regular fellow unquote the function of the minister oh the rabbi is to elevate the spiritual standards of this for as long as he is

moshe polish moses the man or regular fellow the people like him the people accept his leadership a lot and try to elevate himself and thereby his own congregation to highest spiritual standards to a great understanding of the most votes but this other great mo task that has been imposed upon them this will be indeed a different story on the other hand there are many rabbis is many spiritual leaders many ministers who failed to understand that their functions not merely one of spiritual leadership but that is one love giving guidance and counsel upon taking all activities are sharing with the people all the problems all the rings it is provided we possibly can the solution to the things that bother them while it may be wrong

for people to regard them and so the rabbi as a regular fellow it is just as long for the minister and a rabbi to remain aloof from the people there is a story told to me by a friend of mine concerning an elderly rabbi the presence of an invasive in the farmers who are making this incident to him some forty years ago when he first came to the united states from russia the president was accommodation visit with him and found him studying the books of the town this president of the congregation so the rabbi rabbi niederman to understand if you have been ordained you've studied all the books of the talmud and the bible and the why is studying now on the other hand if you still feel remains a study of dollars in means that you are not an of a

rabbi is this added to the people towards a rabbi the minister that has caused a great deal of consternation to the layman the function of a rabbi or of the minister mr kaplan even the congregation physical material and spiritual perfect the rabbis meet the person most of the proposals sort of soul but he wants to continually improve his own intellectual standard is something very few people have in the past three hours on the other hand there are many neither is who feel that their judaism but to study and to read books and not a big concern and the problems of the people it was because of this about people in the desert could not understand what had happened to moses the man they were used to moses the man the man who makes rhythm the idea

that moses us senator having that he sought for great the spiritual achievement was completely strange and farm tool and was this announcement of his greatness is there is another aspect of this story when moses finally descendants for months on the ice and saw the great disaster that had met him his reaction was one of a truly that he did not try to argue with the people he did not try to convince them of the rights to those of his cause you realize the new start was made him realize that a new endeavor must be made and the harshness that was true it is true from that has to be dealt with the people and why it may have appeared

to be harsh and to be stunned to be firm it was the only way to bring people back to the census numbers look at the man when the record was responsible for the spinach and witnessed the air and the high priest the brother of moses aaron was a person who by tradition was regarded as a man of peace and lee dumas aaron who tried to apologize for the people he was arrogant tried to rationalize the version of her parents' attitude was not the right one perez attitude of being kind and the people of the time when it calls for firmness brought about this great disaster so that the moses percent of vermont's army i think came upon seeing it revealed his brother because you realize and understand that there's a time with a rabbi must be for him when rabbi must understand the compromise is

impossible and that eventually this would lead to a better understanding of the sacred obligations that have been imposed upon him and upon his flock moses in ehrenberg prisons two approaches to the problems of the people there were prisons the approach kind with us a piece of giving him moses represents the approach of a firm stand of inflexible resolution and throughout history we've had these two kinds of leaders about people's but his trio was justified the stand of moses have taken the stand to form this year's kindness is important to understand the biggest problem is vital but there is a difference between understanding and you really you know this is wrong you ring when you know the people want the view is not what is the right thing

it was moses who led the people it was moses who was appointed by got to be really they're not adam we need men like aaron yes we need people who pursue peace people who treat the flock with kindness but when the time comes when a rabbi a minister of sport surely that must stand firm in the eu then we need a moses another man parents approach must needs lead to the golden era of moses approach leads to a realization of one's duties a pleasant as it may be difficult as it may be but it was moses who eventually save the people it was moses who prayed for the people it was moses glitchy and that which it is not given to many to achieve a combination of firmness and a lot of flexibility and yet understanding it was moses

was moved by the terrorism imposed upon his people in egypt to become a great leader a great visit moses was the fact that he understood that really there must be moshe jewish moses the man who took care of the problems of his people but at the same time who was the advent of motion the servant of the lord my friends if we are to learn anything from this event from this great tragedy in the spiritual realm of the jewish people in the desert and is this rabbi must understand that he must care for the needs of those people must understand the problems he cannot remain in close within the four walls of the study on the other hand has flunked his people must understand their rabbis duty is to spirit should elevate himself and submerge it elevate his flock you have been listening to portion of the week

the bible has read in the synagogue with rabbinic commentary this evening you heard rabbi fabian schoenfeld spiritual leader of the orthodox congregation of young israel argue garden hills new york the cantor for a portion of the week is eliza combine are the congregation the law among kings bay brooklyn new eyes the essays on the it's the wrong why is also allow movie murtaugh jeff olde then a zone one murder those are al ali in the new iraq