Ki Tisa - כי תשא : "When you take"
Torah : Exodus 30:11-34:35
Haftarah : 1 Kings 18:1-39
Gospel : Matthew 9:35-11:1

Thought for the Week:

Spirituality is a natural human reflex--as instinctual as eating, drinking and breathing. We are preprogrammed for spiritual awareness. Yet without revelation, our spiritual inclination is merely an appetite for which there is not satiation, a thirst for which cannot be slaked. Messiah is the living water. "He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." (John 6:35)

Commentary:

To understand how it is that Israel thought she might worship the LORD via an idol we need to understand the concept behind idolatry. Though the prophets often lampoon idol worshippers by pointing out that an idol is certainly not a god (rather, it is a piece of wood, metal or clay), idolatry is somewhat more subtle than simply the adoration of an object. Only a very simple idolater would have supposed that the idol he bowed before was actually the god he was worshipping. Instead the idol was a physical representation of the spiritual power of that god. The pagan deity's power and essence w...