29th March 2025 Shabbat Chodesh/Shabbat Chazak 29th Adar 5785
PARASHAT PEKUDAI - פְקוּדֵי – ‘Accounts’ by FFOZ
Exodus 38:21-40:38; 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; Luke 16:1-13
Parashat Pekudai concludes the Book of Shemot and therefore, at the conclusion of the d’rash, as is our minhag or custom, we stand and chant together:
חֲזַק חֲזַק וְנִתְּחַזֵּק
Chazak Chazak V’nitzchazeik
Be strong, be strong and may we be strengthened.
Psalm 119:28
My soul dissolves because of grief; renew and strengthen me according to [the promises of] Your word
When we conclude a book of the Torah, it is called Shabbat Chazak – the Shabbat that imparts strength! This particular Shabbat is also known as Shabbat HaChodesh, the Sabbath preceding the new moon.
Sunday evening at sunset is Rosh Chodesh Nissan and Nissan is the month when we celebrate Pesach, the recounting of the story of our deliverance mimitzrayim – out of the Egyptian oppression.
Integrity in Accounts
All of God's children must be above reproach in financial matters.
As the children of Israel completed the building of the Tabernacle, Moses ordered an accounting of all the donations. He did not do so because he suspected some misappropriation or malfeasance. He already knew that all the contributions had been handled with the utmost integrity, but he also knew that his reputation in handling money reflected directly on God. He had to make the audit in order to demonstrate on record that everything had been done with complete honesty. Later in his life, Moses was able to declare, “I have not taken a single donkey from them” (Numbers 16:15).
I once knew a congregational leader who handled all the accounts for the congregation himself. After his deacons had counted the weekly contribution, they turned it over to him. He handled the deposits, the checkbook, and the ledgers, but he never allowed others access to those accounts. He was a God-fearing man, and in all likelihood he handled all the congregational finances honestly. However, since he was not transparent in the process, his congregants always suspected that something was amiss. Stewards over the kingdom’s financial resources need to be completely honest and transparent in the process of handling money. In fact, all of God’s children must be above reproach in financial matters.
Disciples of Yeshua must be comprehensively scrupulous—men for whom penny larceny is still larceny. I once observed the treasurer and bookkeeper of a Messianic community spending several hours tracking down a record-keeping discrepancy of a single missing nickel. A man who is not concerned about honesty until it is in five figures is not honest at all.
Integrity is not only measured in the big things. Little concessions are still concessions to dishonesty. For example, conveniently forgetting to report a portion of income to the government is still tax fraud, even if it is only a few hundred dollars. Illegally duplicating copyrighted material or other media might save you money, but it is actually a means of theft. A person’s integrity is challenged when he is given the wrong change. A man of integrity is just as concerned with the small as he is with the big.
I used to work at a local kosher butcher store. I found it amusing that people always insisted that our scales be accurate, but no one objected if things tipped in their favor a little bit. The butcher I worked for was careful not to cheat his customers. In keeping with the commandment to keep honest scales, the accuracy of the electronic scale was checked frequently for correct calibration, and several times a day it was wiped clean lest dust or residue give a false reading. Once after ringing up a customer at the cash register, the customer eyed the receipt suspiciously. “You should have given me $15.25 back in change, but you only gave $10.25. Are you trying to rip me off?” The butcher responded with a laugh. “If I am going to risk myself before God by committing the grievous sin of theft, it’s going to be for a lot more than five dollars! I assure you, it was an inadvertent mistake.” His point is well taken. A five-dollar sin is as much a sin as a five-million-dollar sin.
Yalkut Shimoni offers a further perspective that we should consider. It says that “Torah demands that we have to satisfy human standards of behaviour even as we have to satisfy divine standards of behaviour and righteous living!
There are two people in Tanach and Chazal who are referred to as “Tzadik” (righteous). The first is Noach (Bereishis 6:9). The other person, as mentioned in the Talmud (Yoma 35b), is Yosef (Joseph). Chazal (sages) never speak of Avraham Avinu haTzadik or Yaakov Avinu haTzadik. The term is not used to describe Moshe Rabbeinu or Dovid haMelech. The Rabbis do, however, speak of Yosef haTzadik.
The Masters teach that a person who conducts his business dealings with integrity and honesty, is a Tzadik. He pays as much attention in his business dealings as he does in prayer in God’s house!
A man without financial integrity has no witness to offer the world and no message to proclaim.