ראיתי את העם הזה והנה עם קשה ערף הוא
The chet ha’eigel, sin of the Golden Calf, is the first collective rebellion against Hashem by the nation that had just earlier accepted the Torah. Understandably, with our limited ability, we are unable to fathom the sin. What provoked it, its egregiousness, its roots in the mindset of the people? We can, however, piece together various correlative events which shed light on this defining sin. When we take note of the haftorah, reading from the Prophets, which describes Eliyahu HaNavi’s showdown with the prophets of the Baal idol, we are enlightened with regard to a new concept of sin and…
