Torah Teaser for Vayakhel/Pekudei - Linking Texts Together

Better a little with fear of the LORD Than great wealth with confusion. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love Than a fattened ox where there is hate.

These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, which were drawn up at Moses’ bidding—the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

טוב מעט ביראת ה' מאוצר רב ומהומה בו. טוב ארוחת ירק ואהבה שם משור אבוס ושנאה בו, “Better a little with fear of the Lord, than a great treasure with trouble. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love, than a fattened ox where there is hate.” (Proverbs 15, 16-17). In these last two verses Solomon deals with the subject of man’s greed, i.e. he advises him that the quantity of one’s possessions is far less important than the ability to enjoy what one does have without worry. These two verse may be approached from three different aspects, the plain meaning, the allegorical meaning and the rational dimension contained in these statements.

According to the plain meaning of the text the words “better a little with the fear of the Lord than a great treasure with trouble,” warns man not to become guilty of robbery. The commandment not to rob belongs to the category which every human being understands even if the Torah had not commanded it. One does not need to be endowed with superior intelligence to realise that if one amasses treasure by illegal means, by robbing someone (and one is allowed to get away with it), other people will be encouraged to do the same in return and no one will ever be able to sleep without worry.

Our sages (Vayikra Rabbah 33,3), have stated that the sin of robbery, i.e. holding on to gains obtained by such means, is greater than other sins. In fact the reason that the people of the generation of the deluge were wiped out was precisely because they were guilty of this sin. Their other sins could have been forgiven, the sin of robbery could not qualify for forgiveness. The Torah stated this fairly plainly when it quoted G’d as saying that the “end of all flesh has come before Me (I had to decree it) because of the violence (robbery with violence) that the earth has been filled with” (Genesis 6,13). Anyone who does not return stolen property will never be forgiven. This is why it is the most serious of all sins. This is why Solomon said: “better a little (acquired while demonstrating fear of the Lord.)” He means better a little property which is permissible than a lot which is not permissible. Solomon makes a similar statement in Proverbs 16,8 “better a little with righteousness than bountiful harvests with injustice.” He warns man of the seriousness of the sin of committing robbery as he is aware that man has a tendency not to abandon anything in his possession. To counter the perception that the quantity of one’s possessions is more important than how one came to acquire same, he says: “better a little, provided it is rightfully yours.”

After having spoken of robbery in the abstract, Solomon illustrates his teachings in a practical manner by quoting the example of someone enjoying simple food such as a vegetable soup to someone eating fancy food being watched by envious eyes, etc. Food is enjoyed best in the company of friends and well wishers, whereas even the fanciest food when not eaten in a relaxed atmosphere loses its appeal for the person consuming it.

The thrust of all of Solomon’s remarks on the subject is to teach man not to be greedy for physical possessions and for gratifications of his body. At the same time, man should not put his trust in his material possessions, he should not make the mistake of “relying on the mosaic floors as if they were a high wall (Proverbs 18,11),” but should remember that when it comes to wealth he will always be outclassed by G’d whose wealth is immeasurably greater.

This concept is emphasized by Eliphaz in Job 22,24 when he said: “if you regard treasure as dirt, Ophir-gold as stones of the wadi, and lift your face to G’d, You will pray to Him, etc., you will decree and it will be fulfilled and light will shine on your affairs.” As long as a person’s fear of G’d is subordinate to the reliance he places on his material possessions there is something basically wrong with such a person’s outlook.

A Midrashic approach: The words: “better a little with a measure of fear of the Lord,” is a reference to the people of Israel of whom the Torah has written: “for you are the smallest of the nations” (Deut. 7,7), whereas the words: “with fear of the Lord,” refer to the fact that the people of Israel accepted the Torah in order that they should acquire fear of the Lord. This is the meaning of Exodus 20,17: “in order to test you and in order that the fear of the Lord will always be with you, so that you do not go astray.” The words “rather than a great treasure,“ are a reference to the other 70 nations on earth. In other words: “G’d prefers a small nation such as Israel who are G‘d-fearing, to all the other more numerous nations on earth who lack that quality.” Our sages (on Song of Songs 2,4) “he brought me to the banquet room and his banner of love was over me,” comment that these words are a reference to the other 70 nations, whereas the words “with trouble” in the above-quoted verse in Proverbs refer to the punishment in store for these 70 nations.

Solomon spoke about a simple meal he himself had consumed at the home of a poor man which had given him so much more satisfaction than a banquet in the homes of one of his wealthy friends. Midrash Mishley 16 tells the following: When Solomon lost his throne he was forced to go begging. Whenever he would come to the door of some house he would identify himself saying: “I am Kohelet, and I used to be king in Jerusalem.” Once he met two men who used to know him when he was king. One of them bowed down before him and accorded him the honor due to a king. He invited him to share a meal with him on that day. He took him home to the upper floor of his home and served him a fatted ox. During the meal his host reminded Solomon of the times when he used to be king over Israel in Jerusalem. Solomon broke out crying because he had been reminded of his past glory and contrasted it with his present circumstances. In the end, he could not even eat the meal because he felt so depressed. When he met the other man whom he used to know, this one too bowed down before him and he too invited Solomon to dine with him on that day. Solomon asked him if he too was going to remind him of all the glory he used to enjoy, etc, just as his other one time friend had done. The host replied that he was only a poor man and that the only kind of meal he was able to offer the erstwhile king was vegetable soup, etc. Solomon accompanied the man to his house. They arrived there, his host washed his hands and feet for him and served him a simple meal. During the meal he made a point of consoling Solomon over what he had lost. He said: “My lord king, G’d has sworn an oath to your father David that the kingdom of Israel would not depart from his descendants." The scriptural verse he quoted (Psalms 132,11) was: “the Lord swore to David a firm oath that He will not renounce, ‘One of your own issue I will set upon your throne’”. He explained to Solomon that it was the custom of G’d to subject a man to afflictions when He wanted to discipline him but to relate to him with goodwill again after He had done so. He added that G’d subjects particularly those whom He loves to such trials and tribulations, just as a father does when he wants to discipline his child (Proverbs 3,12). His host added that he was certain that G’d would restore his kingdom to Solomon. When Solomon heard these words he felt greatly encouraged and enjoyed this meal of simple vegetable soup far more than the meal he had been served on the day before. When his kingdom was eventually restored to him, he recorded his feelings on the matter in the verses we have quoted from Proverbs.

A rational approach to our verses: When writing the verse: “better a little with the fear of G’d,” Solomon wanted to warn man that he should reflect on matters involving philosophy only to the extent that his intellectual capacity was capable of dealing with the concepts involved. He should not delve into matters which were beyond his understanding. This is why he also counselled us in Kohelet 7,16: “do not act the wise man to excess.” He used the parable to explain that he who tries to digest more than his stomach can handle will inevitably bring up and vomit all he has eaten. The same is true with intellectual pursuits. He who engages in them beyond his capacity to understand will ultimately be revolted by all intellectual pursuits. He will reject the idea of a life beyond death and become a heretic. Solomon illustrated this further when speaking about the consumption of honey. A little honey is sweet and pleasant; too much of it is revolting (Proverbs 25,16). When one has eaten more honey than one should, one will even vomit the initial amout which would have been good for one.

Our sages in Sanhedrin 106 illustrated these thoughts also when they discussed that Bileam detoured to Midian in order to collect the reward for having been the cause of the death of 24,000 Israelites. Instead of reaping his reward, the Israelites who had mounted a punitive expedition against Midian caught up with him there and killed him. Had he gone back to his hometown he would not have suffered such a fate (Joshua 13,22). The reason he was killed was because he tried to amass something he was not entitled to. Our sages also comment on the subject of wisdom comparing it to honey when they interpreted the verse (Proverbs 25,16) “if you found some honey, eat only as much as you need,” as applying to Rabbi Akiva. The second half of that same verse, i.e. “lest you overeat and vomit all of it,” they applied to ben Zoma. [Both scholars had tried to delve into esoterical mysteries, Rabbi Akiva returned from his mental excursion with new insights, whereas Ben Zoma who had overestimated his intellectual capacity became mentally deranged (Chagigah 14)].

Having concluded his remarks about the need to exercise discretion when studying philosophy and the mysteries of G’d’s creation, Solomon turned to the subject of the quality of one’s spiritual achievements. This is why he said that consuming a meal of vegetable soup in surroundings where love is present is good. The “love” Solomon spoke of is the belief in the Shechinah which is also described as a dimension of G’d’s love (Song of Songs 2,7). When the word אהבה, “love,” appears in our liturgy such as באהבה תרום קרננו להודות לך וליחדך באהבה, just before we recite the קריאת שמע in the morning, we allude to G’d’s Shechinah. It is better to become privy to this “love” of G’d without some of the deep philosophical insights that some people strive for, than to eat the fatted ox, i.e. to try and obtain the kinds of sophisticated insights which led some of the people of Israel to making the golden calf. Seeing that the Israelites had made the golden calf in their search for deeper insights, and not because they wanted to practice idolatry G’d was able to forgive them their sin. Proof that they were granted forgiveness promptly was the fact that the Shechinah manifested itself in the Tabernacle. This is also the reason why the אהל מועד, the Tent of Meeting in the desert became known by the name משכן, as that name is a reminder of the presence of the שכינה amongst the Jewish people at that time.

Our sages, in commenting on the opening word of our portion, i.e. אלה say that the people who had sinned with the word אלה, when they said אלה אלוהיך ישראל, were now forgiven by the Torah using this very same word when describing the completion of the building of the משכן העדות, “the Tabernacle of Testimony” (compare Tanchuma Pekudey 6).