Ki Tisa, כִּי תִשָּׂא. "When You Count" Exodus 30:11-34:35

The Coin  ✨

Poetic notes on parashat Ki Tisa* 

The Holy Coin 

Half of me is the other

Build the Future Tabernacle

with the Wise-hearted

who understand when today is tomorrow

who know eternal life at its conception,

as well as at its birth

Build the Tabernacle 

with those who understand that

HaShem’s victory is today

for us to enslave the evil inclination 

for the eternal tomorrow

There was a time when

we were deceived by Fool’s Gold,

the sinner’s gold,

The only hope

was the Ten Words of forgiveness,

upon which the world was founded,

Ten words were spoken to us,

to obey for today

and learn for tomorrow

This is our only way

Let us honor the mercy upon which our creation rests

It is when we obey to hear ten words today 

that they become thirteen Words of mercy

that we remember tomorrow

These are ten words for time

and three for the eternity to come

All words of light shining through

the radiant veil of Moshe,

the Companion

to David’s anointing

Elijah drew near and spoke

and the people did not answer him a word

Elijah drew near

calling for the testimony

of two faithful witnesses,

two bulls to answer Elijah,

one to recognize the sentence of justice

and the other to pray for the grace of repentance

The truth on the altar,

like a slowly climbing fire,

will consume the very imagination of sin

Foxes of the heap

will become foxes of the forest

on the day they count the holy coin of Israel

that makes half of me the other

Read the story,  The Coin