Ki Sisa – Page 14 – Peninim on the Torah

“And they arose early on the morrow, and they offered burnt offerings, and they brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to (play) make merry.” (32:6)

The Golden Calf incident was Am Yisrael‘s first deviation from the Torah path. This was the first time that Bnei Yisrael supported ideals antithetical to Torah values. The relationship between the ideology of these historical sinners and their actions is typical of those who have espoused distorted thinking throughout the generations. The visions and their behavioral consquences are the same today. It is only the names and places which have changed. Horav Y. Galinsky, Shlita, notes the progressive deterioration of Bnei Yisrael’s values from the sequence of events portrayed by the pasuk. First it states, “They offered burnt offerings.”…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5753, Ki Sisa

“And Hashem spoke to Moshe… go descend, for your people have become corrupt… they made for themselves a Golden Calf… and Hashem said to Moshe: I have seen these people and behold they are a stubborn people… and now leave Me be and let Me vent My anger and annihilate them.” (32:7,8,9,10)

The Torah lists the sins transgressed by Bnei Yisrael. They corrupted themselves, and they made a Golden Calf. They replaced service to a Divine G-d with the worship of a molten image. Hashem did not choose to destroy them, however, for these sins. Only after they are described as an obstinate people does Hashem seek to decimate them. Horav Meir Chadash, z.l., notes that stubbornness is an evil which must be totally eradicated. Obstinacy, by its very nature, is the antithesis of free will. One who doggedly refuses to accept guidance and reproach, who continues upon his chosen path of…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5753, Ki Sisa

“And it came to pass when he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf and (the) dancing that Moshe’s anger arose, and he threw from his hands the Luchos and he broke them.” (32:19)

We must endeavor to understand what transpired when Moshe approached the camp that precipitated his angry reaction. Did he not already know the extent of Bnei Yisrael‘s transgression? The Abarbanel questions Moshe’s intentions in bringing the Luchos down only in order to break them. He responds that Moshe desired to accentuate Bnei Yisrael’s travesty and its consequences. Therefore, he broke the Luchos blatantly in front of them. The text, however, seems to imply that it was only after Moshe “came near” the camp and actually saw their conspicuous transgression that he reacted in such an intense manner. We may also…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5753, Ki Sisa

“And Moshe stood in the gate of the camp and he said (called out) whoever is with Hashem (should come) to me!” (32:26)

As a young man, Horav S. Schwab, z.l., had the occasion to spend a Shabbos with the Chofetz Chaim, z.l., On Friday morning, the Chofetz Chaim questioned him regarding his lineage, whether he was a Kohen or a Levi. Horav Schwab responded in the negative. The Chofetz Chaim remarked, “What a pity! Moshiach is coming, and the Bais Hamikdash will be rebuilt. If you are not a Kohen, you will be unable to perform the Avodah, priestly service.” The Chofetz Chaim continued, “Do you know why? Because 3,000 years ago, during the incident of the Golden Calf, when Moshe called…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5752, Ki Sisa

“When you will take the sum of the Bnei Yisrael, according to their number, and every man shall give a ransom for his soul.” (30:12)

The primary purpose of the half-shekel contribution was to serve as a method for counting Bnei Yisrael. In addition to this, the proceeds of the first shekel collection served a sacred cause; the silver collected was used in the building of the Mishkan, the symbol of the Divine Presence in the midst of Klal Yisrael. Subsequently, this became an annual collection during the month of Adar. The money was specifically earmarked for the provision of the sacrifices, thereby including all of Klal Yisrael in this act of daily worship. In this manner, the shekel became a significant symbol of an…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5752, Ki Sisa

“This they shall give… half a shekel of the shekel of the sanctuary.” (30:13)

Rashi explains that Hashem showed Moshe a “fiery” likeness of the half-shekel coin. The Chachma Umusar explains this homiletically, as an allusion to the fire of devotion that must permeate our fulfillment of mitzvos. It is not sufficient to merely give one’s shekel. The significance lies in how it was given. Does one part with his coin with coolness or does he distribute it with the enthusiasm and joy which should be present in the performance of mitzvos? When a Jew keeps Shabbos but does it indifferently, without the warmth that should permeate an Oneg Shabbos, he will not be…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5752, Ki Sisa

“And the people saw that Moshe delayed in coming down from the mountain. And the people gathered themselves together unto Aharon, and they said to him rise up, make for us gods…” (32:1)

It seems peculiar that those involved in the sin of the Golden-Calf did not choose Aharon as the leader to replace Moshe. Indeed, if Aharon was not acceptable to them, how did they have the audacity to ask him to find another leader? Horav Efraim Tzemel Z”l responds to this question with a simple, but insightful, answer. They desired a leader who was more politically oriented, capable of making prudent decisions which affected the community, while simultaneously maintaining his stature as a statesman and diplomat. Aharon was viewed by them as a great scholar embodying an aura of holiness that…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5752, Ki Sisa

“And Moshe was angered, and he cast out from his hands the tablets and he broke them.” (32:19)

At first glance the narrative which deals with Moshe’s breaking the first set of tablets is very puzzling. When Bnei Yisrael made a Golden-Calf, did Moshe have the right to decide that they would forever forfeit their claim to the Torah? Would it not have been more appropriate for Moshe to delay teaching them the Torah until they had repented and mended their ways? Instead, he broke the tablets and subsequently asked Hashem for a second set of tablets. This question may be answered by explaining a deeper understanding of the unique characteristics of the first set of tablets….

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5751, Ki Sisa

“And in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom.” (31:6)

Regarding this posuk the Talmud states that “Hashem only grants wisdom to those in whom wisdom is already present“. Hashem only uses as an instrument for His Divine wisdom one who already possesses, having developed on his own, the gift of human wisdom. What is the indication that one has developed his gift of human wisdom? Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz Zt”l explains that one must be one “who seeks the word of Hashem”. A person must exhibit an unrelenting quest to attain an understanding of Torah in its depth and breadth. He must be diligent in guarding the fruits of the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5751, Ki Sisa

For this man Moshe brought us up out of the land of Egypt we do not know what became of him.” (32:1)

Rashi says: An image of Moshe was shown to them by the Satan as Moshe was being carried in the sky. Rashi explains how the Satan was able to deceive the Jewish people into believing that Moshe had died. The Daas Zekainim states that there were three groups involved in the incident of the Golden Calf. One group intended only to create a leader to replace Moshe but not to make an idol of the calf. A second group accepted the Golden Calf as an idol. The third group consisted of the members of the tribe of Levi,…

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“And they arose early on the morrow, and they offered burnt offerings, and they brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to (play) make merry.” (32:6)

“And Hashem spoke to Moshe… go descend, for your people have become corrupt… they made for themselves a Golden Calf… and Hashem said to Moshe: I have seen these people and behold they are a stubborn people… and now leave Me be and let Me vent My anger and annihilate them.” (32:7,8,9,10)

“And it came to pass when he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf and (the) dancing that Moshe’s anger arose, and he threw from his hands the Luchos and he broke them.” (32:19)

“And Moshe stood in the gate of the camp and he said (called out) whoever is with Hashem (should come) to me!” (32:26)

“When you will take the sum of the Bnei Yisrael, according to their number, and every man shall give a ransom for his soul.” (30:12)

“This they shall give… half a shekel of the shekel of the sanctuary.” (30:13)

“And the people saw that Moshe delayed in coming down from the mountain. And the people gathered themselves together unto Aharon, and they said to him rise up, make for us gods…” (32:1)

“And Moshe was angered, and he cast out from his hands the tablets and he broke them.” (32:19)

“And in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom.” (31:6)

For this man Moshe brought us up out of the land of Egypt we do not know what became of him.” (32:1)

YEARS

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