Held To Account

March 20, 2009
Rabbi Seymour Rossel

     There are times when the Torah portion happens to fall at an appropriate moment in our everyday lives. This week, we read a double portion including both Vayachael and Pikudei. Vayachael tells how the Israelites brought gifts to complete the work of building the sanctuary. Pikudei tells us how Moses insured that every gift was accounted for.

     In ancient times, the sofer, the "scribe," not only wrote letters and documents, but was also an accountant. In fact, the word for "book" which is sefer comes from the same root as the word for "number" which is mispar. And a sofer was a person who "enumerated." We have the same sense in English in the word "count," since we can either "account" for things or "recount" the story of things.

     This week, the people of the United States are wondering how bail-out money for a company could be used to pay executive bonuses which seem entirely undeserved. We are calling for an "accounting" of the money and, to find out what really happened, we want a "recounting" of the facts.

     Back in the Torah, we read how careful Moses was with the Israelites' gifts. He appointed one of Aaron's sons, Ithamar, to be the official accountant. Pikudei includes the final report made by Ithamar. The report includes the gold, the silver, and the copper -- how much was used in each part of the sanctuary. It also includes the half-shekels collected in the census -- these were given as dues by each male over twenty years of age. Weighing all the half-shekels, Ithamar reports that there are 603,550 households in the community.

     Ithamar also accounts for gifts used in the special uniforms for Aaron and the other priests -- the yarn; the ephod with its two large jewels; the breastplate with its twelve jewels; the robe with its hem decorated with gold bells and pomegranates; the tunics; the headdress of the High Priest; the turbans of the other priests; the linen pants; the sashes; and the gold tiara worn by Aaron. All this, Ithamar says after each item on the list, was donated and made exactly "as Adonai had commanded Moses." To end the accounting, the Torah adds "Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. The Israelites did so; just as Adonai had commanded Moses, so they did."

     Ithamar's records included every gift. Because of his careful accounting, each Israelite could point and say, "I brought gold, so my donation is right here in the Tabernacle"; or "I brought jewels, so my gift is right here in Aaron's uniform"; or "My silver is right here in the Tabernacle." Everyone could be sure that their gifts were used -- nothing stolen or set aside -- and everyone could perceive that his or her gift was essential. Without every donation there would be no Tabernacle.

     Very little has changed in all these years. The best accountants still spend hours reconciling even minor discrepancies. If the books are a penny short, they want to know, Where did that penny go? If the books are over by a penny, they want to know, Where did that penny come from?

     When you make donations to Congregation Jewish Community North, you expect the congregation to account for your donation. If it is to the flower fund, you want to be proud when you see the flowers on the High Holy Days. If it is to the prayerbook fund, you want to know that the prayer books purchased have been earmarked as your donation. If it is to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, you want to know that the money has been used for charitable purposes. The point of Pikudei in the Torah is to remind us that our leaders are accountable for the ways in which they use our donations, just as we are held accountable for making donations in the first place.

     In these trying times, the CJCN Board of Trustees has been struggling to account for every dollar that is gifted to the congregation and every dollar that is spent by the congregation. They have the urgent sense that our very survival as a congregation is what is at stake. Sometimes, it may seem to us, or even to them, that they are forced to spend too much time on details. But this week's Torah portion reminds us that what they are doing is entirely praiseworthy. No donation is too small to make a difference in our congregation's survival; and everyone is required to be a part of the design for the congregation's future. We can only point with pride to the things we have contributed if the accounting is accurate and true.

     All this is in proportion to what is happening on the national scene. At CJCN, we may be concerned with hundreds and thousands of dollar and nationally, we may be concerned with millions and billions of dollars, but the same rules apply. Torah teaches us that accounting for public money is a trust and the accountants are not just answerable to the public, but also to God. Torah teaches us that God seeks the welfare of the community and the welfare of the community is undermined when we cease to trust our leaders. And Torah teaches us that the pride of the community can only be insured if our leaders are accountable. All these lessons from Pikudei resound today in the national news, just as they form the basic values of our own Board of Trustees.

     The lesson is writ small and large. If our leaders cannot account for what they do, we mistrust them and doubt them and the community is undermined; but if our leaders carefully account for what they do, we come to trust and follow them and the community continues to thrive. Just as God accounts our every deed in the Book of Life, so must we be responsible to account to one another. And let us say: Amen.