In my commentary last week, I wrote that the Hebrew word for “fear” in that Scripture is יראה (yira), which is fear that comes from reverence and, conversely, reverence that comes out of fear. It is very different from the word פחד (pachad), which means to be scared or afraid. “Yira” does not push us away from God. It draws us closer, while reminding us that we do not set the terms of the relationship.

I also wrote that the fear of the LORD was never meant to push Israel away. It was meant to keep them close enough to hear Him and humble enough to obey. The byproduct of our faith is action clothed in reverence and gratitude to the LORD. We get to serve the LORD; we do not have to.

Now comes the question that we should all ask ourselves, and I believe that the answer must be based on God’s standards and precepts and not our own: by which precepts and standards are we truly living?

I know that the immediate answer is “God’s,” but do we really mean it?

Our weekly Scripture portion opens with a very interesting verse, which is usually interpreted negatively. However, I believe we misunderstand the essence of what the LORD is saying to us in it, and I argue for a more positive interpretation of it:

And these are the ordinances (statutes) המשפטים that you shall set before them.
Exodus 21:1

(All quoted Scripture in this commentary is my translation directly from the Hebrew.)

God tells Moses that He is about to give statutes (המשפטים- “mishpatim”) to the Children of Israel. I chose to translate the Hebrew word mishpatim as “ordinances” or “statutes” and not “judgments,” since they are far more than just a set of laws. And we know that the LORD never uses a word without a specific purpose. As we dig deeper into these laws, we discover that they are built on profound logic and moral clarity. I believe that we can find solutions to the world’s problems in God’s Word, and that His statutes make sense when we look at them from the right perspective.

This week we also have a special reading for Shabbat Shekalim, the Shabbat before the Hebrew month of Adar. The Hebrew word shekel refers to the currency used in Israel until today, though the shekel mentioned in our reading carried far greater value.

In Exodus 30:11–16, we encounter a unique form of giving:

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to count them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD when you count them, so that there will be no plague among them when you count them. This is what everyone who is counted shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. Everyone who is counted, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less, than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and give it for the service of the tent of meeting, so that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.”

What is striking about this command is that it applies equally to everyone twenty years old and above. There is no distinction between rich and poor. Each person gives the same amount, as a personal ransom before the LORD. This principle is echoed in the New Covenant, reminding us that every individual will ultimately give an account of himself before God.

In our Haftarah portion, we see a principle that I believe is reflected in all of our lives:

In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all his days, as long as Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
2 Kings 12:1–3 (4 in the Hebrew Bible)

Just as in the days of Jehoash, so it is today. We may be doing what is right in the sight of the LORD, yet there are still areas of our lives that we have not fully surrendered to Him. We all have “high places” that remain standing.

Too often, instead of acknowledging these areas, repenting of them, and tearing them down, we justify them to ourselves and to others. At times, we even misuse the Word of God in the process.

When we speak about “yira”, we are not speaking about fear that paralyzes or distances. We are speaking about a reverence that keeps us close enough to listen and humble enough to respond. God’s statutes are not given to push us away, but to shape a life that remains near to Him. True reverence is not measured by what we say we believe, but by what we are willing to surrender and obey.

Yeshua Himself framed it this way:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
John 14:15

This Shabbat, let us reflect and repent, not because we have to, but because we get to, motivated by our love for God.

Shabbat Shalom,
Moran