D'Var Torah Ki Tisa
20 Adar 5760 25 February 2000 
Mark Burger Sh'mot Exodus 30:11 - 34:35 Chant 33:12-23 

"Wet Signature"

One of the signs of our changing world is selecting different providers of telephone, electricity and natural gas services, which used to be regulated monopolies. These changes have resulted in price savings, confusion and a lot of dinner interrupting phone calls.

Companies selling us new service use the telephone, television, direct and electronic mail. With a lot of these transactions, we're asked to give a verbal yes to switching, often to a computerized recorder.

What happens a lot is that people revoke their decisions, claiming they changed their mind, they misunderstood or were possibly misled. Sometimes these disputes require a legal solution. Often the solution proposed is to have the customer agree to a switch in writing. This is called in the industry a "wet" signature, implying ink that dries. A "dry" signature is the oral agreement that's taped or done by e-mail.

The premise is that a "wet" signature signifies more thorough understanding. The industry doesn't like it because using paper copies drives up costs. It is also not clear whether a "wet" signature in itself results in a clearer understanding of what customers are getting. But many marketers also believe that getting a "wet" signature results in better buy-in by the customer, leading to a longer lasting, and more profitable, relationship.

Ki Tisa is about the ultimate relationship, God and Israel. The first giving of the covenant apparently did not work. It was apparently a "dry" signature. The subsequent breakdown required a closer interaction in the relationship. The closer interaction was Moses himself inscribing the new relationship - a form of a "wet" signature. It also occurred after blood was shed after the Molten Calf - a more pronounced "wet" signature.

But the covenant between God and Israel has been cast since. Was the "wet" signature better than the "dry" one? Do we understand better? Maybe not. But the relationship has been long lasting.

Amen.