25 Mar PEKUDEI: OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY THE DAY MOSHE BECAME A BOOKKEEPER

The Long Journey
The drama was almost
complete. The people
exiled in a foreign
country for more than
two centuries, and for
much of that time in
unbearable conditions, experienced a
miraculous liberation through direct and
manifested intervention by the Creator. At
Har Sinai, G-d and Bnei Yisrael enter into a
mutual covenant to become partners in
“tikkun olam:” repairing a world estranged
from its essence. Never again in history
would G-d completely part the veils that
conceal Him, communicating His presence
to an entire nation. Forty days later, in a
moment of collective insanity, the people
deny G-d. They substitute the moral
sovereign of the universe with a golden calf.
G-d now views His attempt to mold a people
into a “kingdom of princes and a sacred
nation” as a colossal failure. He sees no value
anymore in the Jewish experience. Moshe
stands up to G-d, eliciting from Him a deeper
chord in His relationship with Bnei Yisrael.
G-d re-embraces the people and instructs
them to build a home in their midst for His

elusive presence. In this sanctuary, the all-
pervading truth of G-d would be more

manifest and accessible. The Jewish people
en mass present to Moshe large amounts of
gold, silver, copper and many other materials
required for the construction of an exquisite
Mishkan. Moshe appoints brilliant architects,
sculptors, and designers to build the home,
design the vessels, carve out the furniture and
craft the items that would make up the new
Divine home. At the opening of Parshas
Pekudei, the work is complete. Soon, the
sanctuary would be built and the Divine
presence would reside therein. This is a
charged moment, a dramatic peak in a long
and turbulent journey of a people. After all of
the ups and downs, G-d is about to “move in”
with the Jewish people. The hero of the story
is, no doubt, Moshe. With courageous
selflessness, he triumphed, over G-d, as it
were. He is the man responsible for bringing
the people—and G-d—t this extraordinary
moment, when humanity would reintroduce
G-d to a world that banished Him.
Time for Bookkeeping
But wait. Right at this moment, the Torah
interrupts the narrative, shifting the story
from creating a space for G-d in this world, to
the realm of bookkeeping. Moshe, at this
point, presents a detailed account of all the
wealth contributed to him for the construction

of the Mishkan. He reports to the people how
many pounds of gold, silver, and copper he
received, and how exactly it was used in the
structure. He gives an account for every last
piece of jewelry and metal that came into his
hands. Why? The Midrash relates that some
Jews murmured about Moshe stealing some
of the money, using charity funds for his own
purposes. Thus, Moshe gave a detailed
account of the destination of every “dollar”
collected in the grandiose “building
campaign.” This is a simple but very telling
scene. Moshe, let us recall, is the spiritual
giant of history, whom the Rambam defined
as the greatest human being to ever walk the
earth. “G-d would speak to Moshe face to
face, as a man would speak with his friend,”
the Torah says. “Not so my servant Moshe,”
G-d thunders on Aaron and Miriam after they
had gossiped about him. “In My entire house
he is the trusted one. Mouth to mouth do I
speak to him, in a clear vision and not in
riddles; he gazes at the image of G-d. Why do
you not fear to speak against My servant,
Moshe?” Does a man who speaks to G-d face
to face really need to prove that he is not
using money for a cruise in the Caribbean,
for a new BMW or to build his portfolio? The
Jews, observing Moshe’s unparalleled
devotion and love to them in the most trying
of circumstances, knew full well that
Moshe was no charlatan. If G-d trusts him,
they could trust him too. Even if some
Jewish rabble-rousers murmured about
Moshe stealing some of the money, we
would expect Moshe to ignore them. “Who
do they think they are to question my
integrity,” we would expect Moshe to
think to himself. “I gave my life for these
rebels, when G-d wanted to destroy them.
After all, it was G-d Himself who
appointed me to my present position,
against my will. How dare they challenge
my honesty?” These feelings would be
understandable. Yet, astonishingly, without
even being asked or instructed to do so,
Moshe, in total humility, stands up and
gives an accounting for every last penny
that came into his hands. One of the great
Halachik authorities, Rabbi Joel Sirkish
(1561-1640), known as the “Bach,”
derives a law from this episode: Even the
most beloved and believable collectors of
charity are obliged to give a detailed
account to the community of the
destination of every cent they collected for
charity. Nobody, writes the Bach, could be
trusted more than Moshe, the man whom
G-d Himself trusted. Yet even he felt
compelled to give an accounting of all the
contributions. An interesting historical
note: The Bach was extremely wealthy. He
was the Rabbi of Cracow and he lent the
community enormous sums of money. He
fed and supported many of his students,
distributing enormous sums for charity.
This is one of the great moral messages of
Judaism: When it comes to somebody

else’s money, be accountable for every dollar.
Don’t cover up, don’t lie, and don’t deceive.
You can’t lie to people and then be honest
with G-d, with your wife, with your children,
with your friends. We all need and thus
appreciate money. Some of us love money.
Even spiritual leaders need money and often
cherish it deeply. Rabbis are also only human
beings. That is not evil. The story turns ugly
when we become dishonest with our money.
We must learn from Moshe: to always be
able to give an account for every dollar that
came into our hand.
Respecting Another Person
There is yet something deeper. Moshe truly
believes in the dignity of the people and in
their right to know what has transpired with
their contributions. Moshe does not allow his
spiritual greatness and extraordinary
authority to implant in his psyche a sense of
superiority over the masses, in which it is
beyond his ego to give them a detailed
account of his spending. On the contrary, he
views his G-d-given power as a means to
confer dignity and greatness upon all of the
people. Mosheset an example for all the
generations to come. The great Jewish
leaders always understood that what qualified
them as leaders and teachers and what
bestowed upon them the rights to power was
not their charisma, brilliance, skills, or even
the fact that the Almighty Himself appointed
them to their position. It was, rather, the fact
that deep down in their hearts they really
viewed their “subjects” as equals. They
possessed a sincere belief that dignity was
the property of all. Insecure leaders must
resort to fear and tyranny in order to ensure
loyalty and secure their position. They must
speak in the name of authority rather than in
the name of integrity. They must remain
aloof and superior and never allow the simple
folk too much access to the truth.
Vulnerability is too dangerous. At best, they
create followers. Genuine leaders, on the
other hand, gain the trust, appreciation, and
affection of their people, because of their
trust in the people and their unyielding faith
in the majesty of every individual human
being molded in the image of the Divine.
They create leaders. This is true about all of
our relationships in life. If you wish to inspire
genuine loyalty, in a marriage, in the
workplace, in friendships, you must learn to
genuinely accept the other person as an
equal, conferring upon him or her the dignity
you hold dear for yourself.