Attributes, Birthday, Characteristics, Creativity, Exodus, Golden Calf, Ki Tisa, Komps Kaos, Moses, Parsha, Radiance, Shemot, Sinai, Tabernacle, Tablets, Tent of Meeting
Charactering the Creator
Almost every week I say to someone, “This parsha is one of my favorites” – and this week, that’s definitely true! Full of stories and one of the most diverse parshiyot, Ki Tisa starts out with G!d’s final instructions for the Israelites and ends with Moses’ reaction to seeing (?) the Creator. In between are more instructions, introductions, Moses’ receiving of the tablets, the whole golden calf scene, Moses’ intercession with G!d in the Tabernacle, a reminder of the festivals, and Moses’ writing of the Ten Commandments.
So many things to talk about, but so little space and time – so let’s just talk about my favorite part of this parsha! After spending all this time with G!d on Mt. Sinai, Moses asks to see his Creator. The descriptions of G!d’s presence reflect the characteristics, the attributes, of the deity. While we are not divine, the value of knowing an entity, a person, by her or his personality, mishegases, marks of character, is limitless. Perhaps visual recognition is helpful, but multi-faceted personalities are marked by the way we hold ourselves in relation to G!d, others, and ourselves. We are unique and communal, dependent and independent, responsible for ourselves and others, learning and teaching – G!d teaches us how to interact by displaying good attributes, and created us to work together and care for each other.
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Maybe I’m reflecting on the splendor of our Creator and the beauty apparent in each of us – our actions, personality, intellect, and spirituality – because tomorrow is the best day of the year! Turning a year older is a celebration of life, of gifts, of relationships. I’m looking forward to a weekend of celebrations with friends and family, remembering what I learned last year and looking forward to all the adventures of my next year of life!
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My self-designed bibliography on messianism in the development of mysticism is almost done! I’m looking forward to designing the end product, the culminating project that will “examine” what I learn and how I process my thoughts.