Ki Sisa – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

ויאמר ד' אל משה ראיתי את העם הזה והנה עם קשה ערף הוא. ועתה הניחה לי...ואכלם.

Hashem said to Moshe, “I have seen this people, and behold! It is a stiff-necked people. And desist from me…and I shall annihilate them. (32:9,10)

The severity of the chet ha’eigel, sin of the Golden Calf, is beyond description. It represents an egregious rebellion against Hashem, a sin for which we still are paying for to this very day. One would think that, after Hashem related to Moshe Rabbeinu the sequence of events leading up to the sin, He would have addressed the iniquitous sin which the people so flagrantly committed. Idol worship immediately after receiving the Torah was an unpardonable sin. Yet, all Hashem says is that Klal Yisrael is an am kshei oref, stiff-necked people. This is why Hashem is prepared to annihilate…

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ונתנו איש כפר נפשו לד'... זה יתנו כל העבר על הפקדים מחצית השקל... העשיר לא ירבה והדל לא ימעיט ממחצית השקל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Ki Sisa

Every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul… This shall they give – everyone who passes through the census – a half-shekel… The wealthy shall not increase and the destitute shall not decrease from half a shekel. (30:12, 13, 15)

The Jewish census was taken by having the people contribute an item which would then be counted. In this instance, when the nation was counted in the wilderness, they were instructed to each give a half-shekel coin which was later used for the construction and maintenance of the Mishkan. Participation in this census via the half-shekel coin was mandatory on each and every Jew, who was to give an equal amount – a half-shekel. This was mandated regardless of financial ability or lack thereof – everyone gave the same. Why a half-shekel? Why did everyone contribute an equal amount? A…

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וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Ki Sisa

The people saw that Moshe delayed in descending the mountain. (32:1)

The egregious sin of the Golden Calf was precipitated by a tragic error on the part of the people. This, of course, does not mitigate their sin. Had their emunah, faith, been without reservation, they would not have fallen prey to misconception. When Moshe Rabbeinu ascended Har Sinai, he said that he would return forty days later – in the morning. The people thought that the day he ascended the mountain was included in the count – when, in fact, it was not. Thus, on the fortieth day, which was the sixteenth of Tammuz, (Moshe ascended on Sivan 7), they…

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ושני לחת העדות בידו לוחת כתובים משני עבריהם מזה ומזה הם כתבים.

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Ki Sisa

With the Two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, Tablets inscribed on both sides; they were inscribed on one side and the other. (32:15)

The Midrash to Megillas Esther (8:4) relates that when Mordechai heard of the terrible decree issued against the Jewish People, he rent his garments, dressed in sackcloth as a sign of mourning and wept bitterly throughout the city. When Esther was informed of Mordechai’s public expression of grief, she said, “Never in the history of the Jewish People has there been such a decree leveled at us. Perhaps it is because they denied Zeh Keili v’anveihu, “This is my G-d and I will build Him a Sanctuary” (Shemos 15:2), or they disbelieved in the Luchos, Tablets, about which is written,…

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וישמע יהושע את קול העם ברעה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Ki Sisa

Yehoshua heard the sound of the people in its shouting. (32:17)

Targum Yonasan ben Uziel comments on this pasuk: Kad meyabvin b’chedvah kami egla, “as (the people) they cried with joy before the Calf.” Crying generally is an expression of sorrow – not joy. Why does Targum Yonasan describe the joy of the people as being expressed through tears? Joy and crying are not synonymous expressions. When one is sad – he cries. We see this in the Torah’s description of a Kol anos, a distressing sound (32:18). On the other hand, the people exhibited joy by dancing (32:19) and “shouting” (see Rashi 32:17). How do we reconcile this joy, if…

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כי עם קשה עורף הוא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Ki Sisa

For they are a stiff-necked nation. (34:9)

When the Torah describes the sin of the Golden Calf, we observe Hashem referring to the Jewish People as “a stiff-necked nation.” It almost implies that it was this character trait – that seems to be inherently Jewish – which is blamed for their capitulation to the Golden Calf. It, therefore, begs elucidation why Moshe Rabbeinu uses this very same character trait as a defense for saving the Jews? How can a trait which appears to have played a pivotal and negative role in the catalyzation of such an egregious sin, actually be the reason that Moshe presents to Hashem…

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ושמרתם את השבת כי קדש היא לכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Ki Sisa

You shall observe the Shabbos, for it is holy to you. (31:14)

Shabbos is to the Jew much more than a mitzvah imperative. Shabbos is a holy day, consecrated from the beginning of time by the Almighty Himself. This is an idea which we often do not consider. If Hashem made this day holy, what right do we mortals have to desecrate it? People tend to offer two common excuses/answers to this question. First, “I do not care.” This is the response of the individual who disregards the Torah. It has no bearing on his life. Such a person simply does not fit into the equation. He has written himself off from…

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סרו מהר מן הדרך אשר צויתם עשו להם עגל מסכה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Ki Sisa

They have strayed quickly from the way that I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten calf. (32:8)

Six weeks after the seminal event in Jewish history – the Giving of the Torah – the nation demonstrated that all was not “good.” Thirty three hundred years later, we still experience the ramifications of chet ha’eigel, sin of the Golden Calf. Indeed, Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu, U’byom pakdi u’pakedeti aleihem chatasam, “And on the day that I make an accounting, I shall bring their sin to account against them” (Shemos 32:34). Rashi quotes the Talmud Sanhedrin 102a, where Chazal explain this pasuk: “There is no punishment that comes upon Yisrael which does not have in it some retribution for…

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ועתה אם תשא חטאתם ואם אין מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Ki Sisa

And now if You would but forgive their sin! – but, if not, erase me from this book that You have written. (32:32)

Herein lies the test of the true Torah leader. What are his priorities? Is it now about himself, or is it about his flock? Moshe Rabbeinu’s first priority was to save his nation. The Almighty had threatened to put an end to this nation that seemed to keep on testing Him. Moshe first had to save them. Then he would see to it that they regain their status as the Chosen People. Once again, it is important to underscore that it was not the entire nation that had sinned. It was a group of mixed multitude who had come along…

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והיה כצאת משה אל האהל יקומו כל העם ונצבו איש פתח אהלו והביטו אחרי משה עד באו האהלה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Ki Sisa

Whenever Moshe would go out to the Ohel, the entire people would stand up and remain standing, everyone at the entrance of his tent, and they would gaze after Moshe until he arrived at the tent. (33:8)

Chazal (Midrash Tanchuma) derive from here the reverence one must accord to a Torah scholar. “One must stand in the presence of an elderly Jew, a Torah scholar, an Av Bais Din, Head of the Rabbinical court, and a king.” Moshe Rabbeinu was the nation’s quintessential leader; it would make sense that he be demonstrated such respect due to his position as leader – no different than a distinguished political leader, king, etc. Chazal do not say this explicitly. The fact that they mandate kavod talmid chacham, the respect one must show to a Torah scholar, indicates that Moshe Rabbeinu…

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ויאמר ד' אל משה ראיתי את העם הזה והנה עם קשה ערף הוא. ועתה הניחה לי...ואכלם.

Hashem said to Moshe, “I have seen this people, and behold! It is a stiff-necked people. And desist from me…and I shall annihilate them. (32:9,10)

ונתנו איש כפר נפשו לד'... זה יתנו כל העבר על הפקדים מחצית השקל... העשיר לא ירבה והדל לא ימעיט ממחצית השקל

Every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul… This shall they give – everyone who passes through the census – a half-shekel… The wealthy shall not increase and the destitute shall not decrease from half a shekel. (30:12, 13, 15)

וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר

The people saw that Moshe delayed in descending the mountain. (32:1)

ושני לחת העדות בידו לוחת כתובים משני עבריהם מזה ומזה הם כתבים.

With the Two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, Tablets inscribed on both sides; they were inscribed on one side and the other. (32:15)

וישמע יהושע את קול העם ברעה

Yehoshua heard the sound of the people in its shouting. (32:17)

כי עם קשה עורף הוא

For they are a stiff-necked nation. (34:9)

ושמרתם את השבת כי קדש היא לכם

You shall observe the Shabbos, for it is holy to you. (31:14)

סרו מהר מן הדרך אשר צויתם עשו להם עגל מסכה

They have strayed quickly from the way that I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten calf. (32:8)

ועתה אם תשא חטאתם ואם אין מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת

And now if You would but forgive their sin! – but, if not, erase me from this book that You have written. (32:32)

והיה כצאת משה אל האהל יקומו כל העם ונצבו איש פתח אהלו והביטו אחרי משה עד באו האהלה

Whenever Moshe would go out to the Ohel, the entire people would stand up and remain standing, everyone at the entrance of his tent, and they would gaze after Moshe until he arrived at the tent. (33:8)

YEARS

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