Dear Friends;
I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;
” Parsha in a Nutshell “
The people of Israel are told to each contribute exactly half a shekel of silver to the Sanctuary. Instructions are also given regarding the making of the Sanctuary’s water-basin, anointing oil and incense. The people are once again commanded to keep the Shabbat.
When Mohe does not return when expected from Mount Sinai, the people make a Golden Calf and worship it. G-d proposes to destroy the sinful nation, but Moshe intercedes on their behalf. Moshe descends from the mountain carrying the Tablets of stones engraved with the Ten Commandments. Seeing the people dancing around their idol, he breaks the Tablets, destroys the Golden Calf and has the primary culprits put to death. He then returns to G-d to say: “If You do not forgive them, blot me out from the book that You have written.” G-d forgives, but says that the effect of their sin will be felt for many generations. .
Moshe prepares a new set of tablets and once more ascends the mountain, where G-d reinscribes the ten commandments on these Second Tablets. On the mountain Moshe is also granted a vision of G-d’s glory! So radiant is Moses’ face upon his return, that he must cover it with a veil, which he removes only to speak with G-d and to teach His laws to the people.
” Dvar Torah “
In this week’s parsha, we read the sad and disturbing story of the “Golden Calf”. Well, we all know the story by now……….. After the Benei Yisrael heard the voice of G-d declaring the ten commandments by Mount Sinai, Moshe ascends the mountain once again for 40 days, in order to learn the entire Torah and to bring down the two tablets of stones which would have the ten commandments inscribed on them. The people, somehow, miscalculated and they thought that the 40 days are over and Moshe is not back yet. So, they reasoned that he must have died by now. So, immediately, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Make us a God that will go before us, for we do not know what has happened to this man, Moshe, who brought us out of Egypt”. Aaron tells them to remove the gold and jewelry from their wives and children and bring them to him. Without any hesitation, the entire people gathered their gold and brought them up to Aaron. He took it from their hands and throws them all together in a fire furnace and miraculously a Golden Calf pops out. Aaron then called out and said, “A festival for God tomorrow”. The people arose early the next day and started rejoicing around the Calf and brought sacrifices. Hashem tells Moshe to go down since the people have committed a grievous sin. Hashem was so angry at the people that He decided to destroy the entire nation and make a new one out of Moshe. But, Moshe intervenes and pleas to Hashem to forgive the nation. Moshe then comes down, brakes the tablets, burns the Golden Calf and kills the culprits. He then goes up the mountain again to ask Hashem for forgiveness. After another 40 days, Moshe’s plead is finally accepted by Hashem and He forgives the nation….
Well, one of the questions that bothers the Chachamim is as follows: Why is Hashem so angry at the entire nation that He was ready to destroy them all? According to Chachamim, they were only 3000 people out the 3,000,000 who participated in the act of idolatry and only a handful of people who brought sacrifices for the Calf. So, why did Hashem want to punish the entire nation for the sin of the minority? We are talking about the same compassionate G-d who was ready to forgive the sin of ALL the inhabitants of the cities of “Sedom and Gemara” for the sake of ten righteous people, if found. So why in this case, Hashem could not forgive the sin of a few for the sake of the majority?
Well, as usual, there are many different commentaries on the same topic. One of the explanations is as follows: The Benei Israel greatest sin was that they stood in silence and not protested while some people were engaged in worshiping the idol. When you witness a crime and you keep silence, you’ll become partners in the crime. Similarly, when you witness some people committing a great sin publicly and you don’t protest, it’s as if you agree with what they are doing and you are liable for punishment.
But the explanation that I liked the most is given by Rabbi Yakov Kamenetsky. He says that Benei Yisrael’s great sin was that they could not comprehend to the idea of having ONE “invisible” G-d! They wanted a tangible G-d! They wanted a G-d to talk to and get a response immediately; they wanted a G-d to complain to; they wanted a G-d to tell them what to do everyday and every night; they wanted a G-d to be a Judge to them whenever they have a dispute between each other; they wanted a G-d that with His stick, He could hit the water and split the sea and He could hit the rock and make water to come out!!
So, to them, unfortunately, Moshe was not just their leader; he was like a G-d to them!! That’s why when they saw that Moshe didn’t come back from the mountain after 40 days, they
panicked and immediately went to Aaron and told him: “Make us a G-d, that he can go before us”! They didn’t want a replacement for the G-d Almighty; they wanted a replacement for their God, “Moshe”!!
When Moshe was at the top of the mountain and the Benei Yisrael made the Golden Calf, Hashem tells him: “Go down – for YOUR people that YOU brought up from the land of Egypt has become corrupt…”! Hashem was being sarcastic!! Hashem was telling Moshe, that these people think that it was “YOU” who brought them out of Egypt, and not me! So YOU go and fix it now!!!! So, Hashem was not mad at the “whole congregation” for the sin of a few committing idolatry! He was mad at them, because after all these miracles that he had performed for them, majority of the Benei Israel still didn’t see him as their true and only G-d!! They believed in Moshe more than they believed in Him! And that was their ultimate sin that bothered Hashem so much!!
Yes my friends, in every generation, we have great Leaders and great Talmid Chachams. We sometimes get so mesmerized by their words and their actions that we tend to forget about the Almighty himself and we start worshiping them instead. Yes, some of them can give powerful blessings, and some of them can even perform miracles, but we have to remember that it’s Hashem who has given them all these powers. All the blessings and miracles comes from Hashem ONLY! These people are just the mediators! Although we should have great respect for our leaders and our Chachamim, but we should only worship G-d! These great people can help our prayers to get to the heaven a little faster, but it’s ultimately Hashem who will answer our prayers! Let us not lose focus of who is G-d and who is the servant of G-d!
My friends, we have a G-d who is invisible. Although we cannot see him, but he can see us; Although we cannot hear him, but he can hear us; Although we cannot touch Him, but he is in touch with us; And although we might not know how to love him, but He still loves us…..
Our G-d is a compassionate G-d, who is slow to anger, and abundant in kindness and truth! He will perform miracles for us, he will carry us on his shoulders, he will listen to our prayers and he will shower us with all kinds of blessings. And in return, all He asks from us is to “believe” in him! Do you think, is this too much to ask for???
Shabath Shalom and Regards;
Martin