Our Parsha this Shabbos is Parashas Ki Sissa and also this Shabbos is Parashas Parah so the Maftir is Bamidbar 19 : 1 - 22 and the Haftorah is for Parashas Parah Yechezkel Ezekiel 36 : 16 - 38 , seeing as this is the next specific Shabbos of the four special Shabbos before Pesach . We read in Parashas Parah about the Parah Aduma the Red Cow , which deals with purification at this time , for in times of old , people needed to purify themselves before coming to Yerushalayim for the coming Pilgrim Festival of Passover . In the previous Parsha , the Incense Altar was Spoken of , so we start this Parsha of Ki Sissa continuing with the Instructions of what is necessary for the Tent of Meeting . HaShem Instructs Moshe that when he takes a census of the Children of Israel , " Ki Sissa " each is to give a half shekel when counting them , so that there be no plague among them when counting them . We know from of old , that we are not to count Jews directly , but rather to use objects or verses from Psalms when numbering , for Satan accounts everyone's sins and when Jews count Jews directly , they are highlighted for the Aveirahs they do and Satan brings their Aveirahs before the Heavenly Court and calls upon HaShem's Attribute Of Justice to come to the fore And For HaShem's Attribute Of Mercy To Stand Back . So we make sure to never count Jews directly , but rather use objects or something else in the counting . We saw the effects of the plague in Dovid Ha Melech's time , when he counted the people for there was at the time a misunderstanding of the Torah Verse here when he had the people counted and by Torah Depth , instituted the pronouncing of a hundred Blessings every day , that we need to do , which stayed the Plague . In Dovid Ha Melech's time , 70 000 people died in that Plague . The Evil Eye , when we show how many we are , is watching and waiting to do negativity , thus counting of our people , must not ever be direct . Our Sages believe that when the nations saw us receiving the Torah , some cast an eye of jealousy and this brought negativity , which as we know resulted in the Tablets , that were first given amid open celebration , being shattered . So the Second Tablets were given more quietly ( Yalkut MeAm Loez ) . Thus HaShem Had us use half a Shekel in the counting . Wealthy and poor alike , were to give half a Shekel to atone for their souls and to be given for the work of the Tent Of Meeting and as a remembrance Before HaShem for the Children of Israel , to atone for our souls . How interesting to note that it was half a Shekel , for it would thus take two Jews to make a single full Shekel , which shows that no Jew is an Island , but must always be together with his or her fellow Jew religiously , to make the whole . We need our fellow Jews to help lift us up and better ourselves and all of us as a nation must be one as a nation with HaShem's Mitzvos . HaShem Then Instructed on the making of the copper " Kiyor " - " Laver " for Aharon and his sons to wash their hands and feet when they come to the Tent of Meeting or when approaching the Altar to serve , as an eternal decree for them and their offspring for the generations . The " Nechoshes " - " Copper " used in it would also spiritually work against Samael , who used the " Nachash " - " Snake " ( same root letters ) , to entice Chava - Eve . Even today , we Toivel Negel Vassar for various reasons and at certain times . HaShem Then Instructed on the Holy " Shemen Ha Mishchah " - " Anointment Oil " and its ingredients . It was to be made with " the handiwork of a perfumer " so its making would be exactly as a professional perfumer would make it in that day . With it , was the Tent of Meeting and the Ark of the Testimonial Tablets , the Table and all its utensils , the Menorah and all its utensils and the Incense Altar , the Elevation - offering Altar and all its utensils and the Laver and its base to be anointed with this Anointment Oil and thus sanctify them so they remain holy of holies . Aharon too and his sons , were to be anointed . This oil is to remain throughout the generations and it is never to be duplicated . HaShem Instructed Moshe on the Incense and its ingredients , also the handiwork of a perfumer and it's likeness was never to be made . HaShem Calls Betzalel son of Uri , son of Chur of the Tribe of Yehudah , who was thirteen years old at the time and the great grandson of Miryam ( Midrash Shemos Rabbi Weissman ) . Chur was the one slain when he tried to stop the revellers at the Chait Ha Eigel Golden Calf . Miryam's great grandson being endowed and chosen , was a reward for her actions in saving Moshe and many other Jewish babies , at the time of the decree of Pharaoh , to kill our male babies and she and her Mother Yocheved disobeyed . Betzalel was specially endowed , for all the work of making all That HaShem Wanted Made , By HaShem Giving him an understanding of the depth of each article that was to be made , a depth that showed it's spiritual meaning and representation of its counterpart in Shamayim Heaven . Also , Betzalel , say our Rabbis , was shown the beauty of the mechanics Of How HaShem Created Creation With The Hebrew Letters . Betzalel's name within it is " Betzail El " - which means " in the Shadow of the Almighty , " ( Midrash Shemos - Rabbi Weissman ) For HaShem Let Him See the inner workings of Creation . HaShem Also Called to help him , Oholiav son of Achisamach of the Tribe of Dan . HaShem Then Instructed on the Shabbos , as a sign Between HaShem and us , for keeping the Shabbos shows a full faith belief in the Truth , That HaShem Made the other Six Days of Creation . The Shabbos is put here , with the making of the Tabernacle , for those labors needed for its construction , are the same 39 Melachos - Forbidden Labours that are forbidden to be done on the Shabbos , for even for Shabbos , must the Construction take a halt , for Shabbos is to be kept . When HaShem Finished Talking To Moshe , HaShem Gave Moshe the two Tablets of Testimony , stone tablets Inscribed By The Finger of G-D . Moshe had gone up the Moutain on the 7th of Sivan and said he would return forty days and forty nights later . The people mistook the time , for they counted as part of the forty days , the day he left them and this was not the case . They therefore expected him back on the 16th of Tammuz , but he was due back on the 17th of Tammuz ( now a Fast Day ) . When midday came and went on the 16th , the people started to agitate . Satan took advantage of the situation and even showed them in the air , a part of the physicality of Moshe , which he had shed when he went up on the Mountain , making them think he had died , Chas Ve Shalom . The people started to agitate and they crowded around Aharon . It was the Eirev Rav , the 3000 mixed multitude that had come with the Children of Israel , that incited them to worry . It was this Eirev Rav that were outside the Clouds of Glory , not traveling within the Camp of Israel , that took this worry to their advantage , by saying to Aharon that they wanted a leader themselves as a representation of Moshe ( Yalkut MeAm Loez ) . The Vision of HaShem's Throne of Glory , the Merkava , Had ( as Yechezkiel mentions ) four images on it , an ox , a man , a lion and an eagle and so , they thought a representation of an ox would hold a place for the holiness Of HaShem . How wrong they were . Chur had tried to stop them , but they had slain him with stones . In crowding around Aharon , they threatened him too . Aharon knew that Moshe would be back , but they refused to believe him and told Aharon to make " gods " plural to go before them , for they thought their leader Moshe was not returning . Yanus and Yambrus , Bilaam's sons had come with them and when Aharon asked the people for their gold rings , he thought that the women would protest that this should not be done to HaShem , which is exactly what the women did ( and thus they were rewarded for all time , with not having to work on Rosh Chodesh ) , for Aharon hoped that this would delay the people long enough so that Moshe would by then return . Also , who came along was a man by the name of Micha , whom Moshe had saved as a baby , That HaShem Had Advised not to save , who was going to be put into the building for the Egyptians , as a brick , as many of our babies were put into their walls . Moshe had saved him , and subsequently , when Moshe was raising the coffin of Yosef from the Nile and using a scroll that Moshe had written on it , the words " Alei Shor Alei Shor " - " Arise Ox Arise Ox , " which was Yaakov's representation of Yosef , as a strong boned ox that keeps to our Holy Beliefs without wavering . Micha , that day , after Yosef had been raised , took the scroll and kept it . So when Aharon threw the gold into the furnace , Yanus and Yambrus came along and with their powers of Tum'a , said incantations and at that moment , Micha threw into the furnace , the scroll that said " Alei Shor Alei Shor " and so , out of the Furnace emerged a living bleating golden ox . In fact , twelve other golden oxen came out too , one for each Tribe and it was the Eirev Rav , the mixed multitude , that said to us , " These be your gods oh Israel " ( plural ) ( talking to us Jews as " your " ) . The people wanted an altar as well . Aharon knew full well that Moshe would return and so said the words " A Festival for HaShem Tomorrow . " HaShem's Disappointment Understandably Came To The Fore , For While HaShem Was In The Process Of Writing the Tablets , that were miraculous themselves , for they read the same way , on both sides and letters like the Mem and Samech that are circular , actually floated in the air within them , While HaShem Was Giving Them To Moshe , the people were breaking their covenant like a marriage to HaShem , with their actions . HaShem Told Moshe to go down , for " your people ( the Eirev Rav That HaShem Had advised That Moshe should not bring along and Moshe felt sorry for them ) " had corrupted themselves . Moshe could not believe that the people would have done this and kept trying to defend them , But HaShem Kept Corroborating More And More , that yes , they did make the golden calf and when Moshe said surely they would not pray to it , HaShem Again Corroborated That yes they did . Moshe said surely they would not Sacrifice to it , still trying to get mercy for the people and again HaShem Said they did . It Was Then That HaShem Allowed Moshe to fulfil one of his spiritual reasons for being there at that time , For HaShem Said To Moshe , " Desist from Me , Let my anger flare up against them and I Shall Annihilate them and I Shall Make you into a great nation . " This was a cue to Moshe that if Moshe does not leave HaShem and if Moshe remains and defends them , Then HaShem Would not Destroy them . Moshe cared nothing for himself or for HaShem's Testing Offer To Make From him a great nation . Our Rabbis believe Moshe may have been the original Noach , who went into the Ark and did not ask for the people to be saved and so , when Moshe said the words to HaShem , " Why HaShem , should Your Anger flare up against Your people " ( and when Moshe continued through the years to defend us ) , at that moment , Moshe rectified the time when as Noach it was needed to have done this very action of asking for the people of Noach's day to be saved . Moshe Pleaded and Prayed for us and only when bringing up the Fore-Fathers , did he attain for us a relent . For Moshe said there must be at least ten holy people then And So HaShem Counted Moshe and his brother Aharon and five others - Elazar , Isamar , Pinchas , Yehoshua and Kaleiv ( trying the same track that Avraham tried for ten people necessary to save the people and Moshe told HaShem , that at least with the seven , HaShem Can add Himself and if not , to add to the seven , HaShem Could " then add Avraham , Yitzchak and Yaakov . " HaShem Accepted this ( Midrash Shemos - Rabbi Weissman ) . Moshe descended and met Yehoshuah at the bottom , who thought the revelry was the sound of war , but Moshe spoke of a sound of " Anot " - " distress " but also a sound of " anah " " answering HaShem's Goodness , " with unfaithfulness . When Moshe saw what was happening , he himself became angry and he saw the letters on the Luchos leaving the Tablets and rising up to Heaven . Moshe reasoned that if the people would get the Tablets , they would be more bound by them as an unfaithful wife would be if she was under the marriage contract Kesubah and so , even though all 70 elders rushed to Moshe to try wrestle the Tablets from his hands , he overpowered them all and smashed the Tablets at the foot of the Mountain , so that we should not be punished more stringently by being more bound by a physical contract that we had as yet not yet physically received . The Calf , he burnt in fire and ground it to a fine powder and sprinkled it over the water and just as a Sotah - the testing of the unfaithful wife , takes the test of unfaithfulness , so did Moshe make the Children of Israel drink and their punishment was according to if they worshiped the calf or not . Moshe questioned Aharon , who answered that the gold was thrown into the furnace and the calf just emerged . Aharon had exposed the bad ones who did harbour a want to idol worship , to disgrace . Moshe had them choose on which side they were , if they were on the Eternal's Side . The Levites who , like the women had not taken part , gathered around Moshe and Moshe instructed that the Eirev Rav , be slain. All 3000 Eirev Rav were killed . HaShem Sent a Plague That Dealt With those involved in the worshiping of the Golden Calf . All 3000 Eirev Rav died that day and those who internally worshiped the Calf . Once the item of the sin had been destroyed , Moshe could return to HaShem , to again beg for his people . Moshe again was up on the Mountain for another forty days , till the 29th of Av begging for the people's forgiveness , When HaShem Had Forgiven the people and Agreed To Give them the Second Tablets . It was on Rosh Chodesh Elul , that Moshe went up a Third Time for forty days , neither eating nor drinking and retuned on the Tenth of Tishrei , Yom Kippur , When HaShem Had Forgiven the people In Closeness again . Thus is the day of Yom Kippur , one of Atonement and Forgiveness . Thank you Moshe for speaking up for us all . Thank You HaShem For Forgiving us To The Point That You Did . Moshe felt That HaShem Had Been Angry At the people And Turned Aside , so Moshe too , put his tent 2000 amos away from the Camp which is the T'Chum Shabbos , the limit one may walk outside on Shabbos from the city limit . Whenever Moshe would come out of his tent , the people would rise and remain standing until he went back into his tent . The people really showed their feelings of needing forgiveness . Moshe then pleaded For HaShem's Nearness And HaShem Shielded Moshe Within a Rock Within a Cave and that was still not strong enough to Shield The Back Of HaShem , As HaShem Showed Moshe the Back Of His Essence . It was from Sapphire , that miraculously appeared under Moshe's Tent , thus making Moshe quite wealthy , as a reward for his faithfulness and also for his actions of caring only to find Yosef's coffin , while the rest of the people were removing the things from Egypt , that Moshe carved the Second Luchos The Second Tablets . It was on Moshe's Visit to the Top of the Mountain , That HaShem Taught Moshe the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy , to say in order to get HaShem's Forgiveness . And so did Moshe Pray these Thirteen Attributes to gain forgiveness for us From HaShem . HaShem Did Not Want To Go Ahead Of the people And Wanted To Send His Angel instead , but Moshe persuaded HaShem To Go Himself In Leading the people . And it was only in the time of Yehoshuah , That HaShem Sent His Angel before us . HaShem Then Instructed On not to let the other nations in Israel be a snare for us and not to allow any form of idol worship in Israel . Not to let their daughters be with our sons , so our sons will not stray from Holy Judaism . HaShem Instructed us Not to make idols . HaShem Then Instructs On the Festival of Matzos , On the first borns , On the Shabbos , On the Festival of Weeks And On the Festival of the Harvest ( Pesach , Shavuos and Succos ) And On Kashrus , " not to cook a kid in its mother's milk " ( mentioned three times in Torah , for the three injunctions of Kashrus of milk and meat - not to cook it together , not to eat it together and not to benefit from mixing it together ) . The Second Tablets , Moshe Inscribed and when Moshe came down the Mountain , his face had become radiant When HaShem Had Spoken To him , and so Moshe had to wear a mask on his face to the Children of Israel . So ends the Parsha . The words " Ki Sissa " literally means , " To Lift the head . " This is true holiness , for in being counted , it really means , being a Part Of HaShem and thus lifting oneself up to holiness . That is why we are here . When we act as the people did , with the Chait Ha Eigel - The Golden Calf , we lower ourselves From HaShem . But when we lift ourselves up to holiness and to each Commandment That HaShem Gives us , we lift ourselves up in holiness and closeness With HaShem , to be counted as one With HaShem . We are not here to have physical meaningless lives . We are all here for a greater purpose and future of total meaning . We are here to return to HaShem , not just when it is our time to leave this Earth , but while we are on this Earth . When we become this holy light , we will not have to die . We will be eternal as was the Plan from the Beginning . Being Counted , means counting oneself as one of the Obedient and Holy Of HaShem . That is the True Meaning of Life . That is what brings radiance to us . That is what makes The Light Of HaShem Within our souls Radiate Outwards . That is what we are here for . Just as Moshe was up on the mountain three times for 40 days , which makes a total of 120 , which is the same number of years given to a person and it was the exact years of Moshe when he lived then , so will we extend these years to eternal living , if we only obey HaShem and be within the counted ones Close To HaShem in Obedience and Love . This set of 120 years , is the limit our own actions put on us . This will go away , when we " Ki Sissa " allow ourselves to be totally at one With HaShem , one of His Holy Ones , changing the whole of the present existence , to the one intended , at the Beginning of Creation , the one that is True Eternal Life , Within HaShem . The word " Sissa " is also the same spelling as the number ' Teisha " - " Nine " so " Ki " when we go beyond that " Nine , " to the final Ten , we can complete Creation and return to Gan Eiden . HaShem Awaits us . HaShem Has Waited for us for so very long . It is time for us to return in true and total holiness and be once and for all " Ki Sissa " be counted as what we were Created To Be , Radiant Lights Of HaShem . I wish Ever Most Eternally Beloved HaShem With Total and Ever Abiding Forever Love , A Very Special and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh With Much Love and to all my fellow Jews and to all of Creation , a Very Special and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love .