Ki Tissa

The Coin of Fire-Rectification of Material Wealth

By SHIMSHON STÜART SIEGEL (with research by Jonathan Neril)

The Jewish people were born out of the rejection of material worship, and charged with the mission of transforming the way societies view wealth. Were we to really embrace this spiritual work, we would undoubtedly be a light unto the nations, and offer a model for satisfaction in Divine service over gratification in material excess.

Torah through Acts of Justice and Compassion

By RABBI ELLIOT ROSE KUKLA

Do fixed ideas keep us from organizing for justice and advocating for change? When we say we don't have time to work for change, we are treating our schedules as an idol - fixed, immutable and all powerful. An idol is something that is worshiped as an end in and of itself.

Breaking “The Law”

By YOSEF I. ABRAMOWITZ

Moses takes The Law into his own hands and destroys it. What would it take for any of us to do something dramatic and Jewish? By what authority can we break a law?

Spoiled Rich: On Idolizing Wealth

By JOANNA SAMUELS

Did the gold that God allowed the Israelites to take from Egypt lead them to try to replace God with a golden calf? If so, is the account a powerful critique of wealth – and of God?

Life and Death Matters

By RABBI PHIL MILLER

A volunteer working with homeless street kids in Bogota, Columbia is stunned and revolted to see the corpse of a kid. But, he realizes, we can only save lives where death is present.

Our Golden Calf: When Tzedakah Is Not Righteous

By RABBI DAN BRONSTEIN

The Israelite community came together and donated gold for a common religious purpose. But it wasn’t for tzedakah; it was for idolatry. What happens when money is donated for immoral purposes – or by immoral people?