Middle of the Road: R’ Yehuda Oppenheimer

This week’s Torah portion, T’tzaveh, is almost entirely devoted to clothing.

We arrive at Parashat Vayishlach during a week — during an era — in which the Jewish people again find themselves standing at a frightening crossroads. Antisemitism is erupting across European capitals, college campuses, major American cities, and international institutions. Israel is slandered with the gravest accusations — “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing” — even as the world closes its eyes to the barbarism of Hamas, the complicity of large segments of Gaza’s population, and far worse atrocities taking place around the globe.

The Ten Commandments occupy a unique and exalted place in the Torah. Much has been written by our Sages about why these ten, of all mitzvos, were chosen to be proclaimed at Sinai and engraved on the Tablets. Without entering that broader discussion, it is clear that their selection reflects their foundational role in shaping Jewish belief and moral life.

It is the beginning of the seven weeks of nechamah. We typically understand nechamah to mean consolation – something we, as a Nation, desperately need after the tragic events commemorated on Tish’ah B’Av.

On a recent visit to the United States, I felt an unfamiliar disorientation. It began with the mundane: a quick trip to the grocery store and the shock of seeing how much more expensive everything felt compared to just a year or two ago. But it was a frum podcast that truly unsettled me. The hosts casually asserted that an average Orthodox family earning less than $250,000 annually is not merely struggling but verging on poverty—and that true financial security requires at least $400,000 a year. I listened, baffled. I have never earned anything close to that so-called “poverty line,” and yet I raised five children, paid tuition, married them off, and even managed to send some to camp.

As we enter the period of the Four Parshiyos, which ushers in the Pesach season – a time when we long for the G’ulah (Redemption) more than any other – we begin with Parshas Sh’kalim. This parshah mandates that every man in Israel, rich or poor, donate exactly half a shekel to the Sanctuary. Rav Hirsch explains that a half-shekel, rather than a whole, signifies that we cannot achieve our goals alone; only by partnering with others can we fulfill our fundamental needs, such as the daily Tamid offerings, the most crucial sacrifices brought by am Yisrael.