12 Mar PEKUDEI: OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY THE DAY MOSHEBECAME 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.