5769

“And he (Moshe) saw the calf and the dances, and Moshe’s anger flared up. He threw down the Tablets from his hands.” (32:19)

The sin of the Golden Calf is viewed as the worst, most reprehensible transgression against the Almighty. Indeed, Chazal compare it to a bride who proves herself unfaithful on her wedding night. It is such a difficult sin to understand. Klal Yisrael had reached the zenith of holiness, the apex of spirituality. They were privy to an incredible Revelation. Yet, they fell; they quickly descended to the nadir of depravity. How did a nation that had experienced the miracles of the exodus from Egypt and had stood at Har Sinai to receive the Torah amidst an unprecedented revelation of Hashem’s glory,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5769, Ki Sisa

“When He finished speaking to him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moshe the two Tablets of Testimony.” (31:18)

Rashi notes that the words “k’chaloso,” when he finished, is spelled defectively, without the letter “vov” between the “lamed” and the “saf,” as if it were vocalized “k’kalaso,” which means like his bride. This implies that the Torah was given to Moshe as a gift, as a bride to a groom. Moshe was not able to grasp the entire Torah in such a short time. Indeed, as the Midrash comments, throughout the forty days that Moshe Rabbeinu was on Har Sinai, Hashem taught him the Torah, but he constantly forgot what he had learned. Moshe turned to Hashem and said,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5769, Ki Sisa

“The Bnei Yisrael shall observe the Shabbos.” (31:16)

Shabbos observance is a foundation of our faith. It is a sign of our commitment to the Almighty and His Torah. In his sefer, M’loh Ha’omer, the Aruch L’ner notes an intriguing phenomenon. Those years that the first day of Rosh Hashanah was on Shabbos, Klal Yisrael either experienced its most wonderful years or its most tragic years. Indeed, our greatest national tragedies, the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash and the most devastating pogroms against our People, occurred during years when Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos. Why is this? The answer given by the Aruch L’ner, based upon a…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5769, Ki Sisa

“See I have called by the name — Betzalel son of Uri… I have filled him with a G-dly spirit.” (31:2-3)

We note that referring to Betzalel, Hashem says, “See, I have called by name – Betzalel.” Should it not simply have said, “I have called Betzalel”? What does the word “by name” add to this pasuk? Moreover, when Moshe Rabbeinu repeats Hashem’s statement, he also says the word “b’shem,” by name. Furthermore, the taam, sound/cantillation note, beneath the word, b’shem, is an “esnachta,” which separates this word from the next. In other words, the word b’shem and the name Betzalel are distanced from one another. This implies an element of significance to the word b’shem, as if calling Betzalel…

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YEARS

“And he (Moshe) saw the calf and the dances, and Moshe’s anger flared up. He threw down the Tablets from his hands.” (32:19)

“When He finished speaking to him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moshe the two Tablets of Testimony.” (31:18)

“The Bnei Yisrael shall observe the Shabbos.” (31:16)

“See I have called by the name — Betzalel son of Uri… I have filled him with a G-dly spirit.” (31:2-3)

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BOOK OF SHEMOS

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BOOK OF BAMIDBAR

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