This Shabbos David led the learning, and we began our discussion with this week’s parsha Vayakhel. In the parsha, we receive atonement for the sin of the golden calf, and Moses brings down new tablets. The next day, he gathers everyone together and goes over detailed instructions we are to follow in building the Tabernacle. We discussed how we were able to recover to a high enough state to be ready to receive these instructions, very soon after having reached the low of our golden calf sin. We discussed how this recovery was possible because we unified with a strong sense of purpose. Our motivation was so strong, that Moses had to stop us from donating too much material for the construction of the tabernacle.
Although we were unified and seemed to have returned to our previous high spiritual state, the sin of the Golden Calf has remained a scar to us through-out history. It is believed that the accountability for this sin has stretched on through-out generations. It is thought that every time we experience repercussions for something, some of this is partly due to the sin of the Golden Calf.
This may not seem to be fair, that we have to live the consequences of our ancestors. We discussed this Shabbos how the world is not necessarily fair, and is what it is. We have evil and suffering in the world which may not be fair, but some of this may be a blessing in disguise. David relayed what his father, Rav Dr. George Schlesinger would say about this, that Hashem created the most perfect world possible. This most perfect world is not one in which there is the least amount of evil and suffering, but one in which the opportunity to do moral acts and mitzvah is maximized. This world is also perfected by the fact there is accountability for our decisions and actions both as individuals and as groups. Accountability keeps us motivated to do the acts that the creator wants to maximize.
We discussed this Shabbos what leadership traits Moses had, and what makes a good leader in general. How was it Moses was able to get us to unify and become spiritually ready to receive the instructions to build the tabernacle? We discussed the leadership traits of charisma, and being able to find common ground amongst people who may have a lot of differences. Some-times people follow a leader because they have no choice, which is known as authority power; other leaders derive their power by having great ability to motivate people. We have discussed some of the teaching from business school, with respect to how leaders get their power.
We discussed the upcoming holiday of Purim. Although we put on masks, which would seem to be hiding ourselves, the goal of Purim is to reveal our true selves. It is said that 4 ways in which we can tell who someone really is, is to observe how they are with money, anger, when drinking, and when at play. On Purim we create all 4 of these situations.
We discussed how Purim can actually be a more difficult holiday to observe than Yom Kippur. With Yom Kippur, if we fast and spend the day in prayer, it can be concluded we are successfully observing the holiday. With Purim, simply drinking and teasing each other does not in and of itself show we are successfully observing the holiday, since these are activities that we are often inclined to do without much effort anyways. With Purim, it is a lot easier to lose touch with the meaning and spirituality of the day.
Finally, we discussed when it would be better to hear the Megillah if we could only hear it one time. Dave W. suggested that this would be best during the day, and we discussed how this was correct because that is the time when we are primarily engaged in the mitzvahs of the day.
This is a summary of what we discussed this past Shabbos. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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