A Father

Parshas Ki Sisa

Posted on March 8, 2023 (5783) By Rabbi Yochanan Zweig | Series: Rabbi Zweig on the Parsha | Level: Intermediate Beginner

“Hashem passed before him and proclaimed…”(34:6)

After shattering the Tablets in reaction to witnessing Bnei Yisroel worshipping the Golden Calf, Moshe prayed on their behalf and saved them from destruction. Hashem then agreed to give Bnei Yisroel a second set of Tablets. When Moshe ascended the mountain to receive these Tablets, Hashem taught Moshe the text of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, a prayer which invokes Hashem’s mercy and reassures us that repentance is always possible.

 

The verse states that Hashem passed before Moshe and proclaimed the Thirteen Attributes. From the fact that Hashem passed before Moshe, the Talmud derives that He wrapped Himself in a tallis like one who leads the congregation, and showed Moshe the order of the prayers.[1] Why was it necessary for Hashem to wrap Himself in a tallis and go through all the motions of the prayer in order to teach Moshe the text of the prayer?

 

Hashem was sending Moshe a message that this prayer will never go unanswered. The reason for this phenomenon is that it invokes the love that Hashem feels for his children. Much the same way as a father’s concern for his child’s welfare is even greater than the concern that child has for his own well-being, Hashem is revealing to Moshe that His concern for Bnei Yisroel transcends their own, to the extent that He too, figuratively, prays for their well-being.

 

From Rags to Riches

Parshas Ki Sisa

Posted on March 11, 2020 (5780) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

Parshas Ki Sisa describes the tragic downfall of the Jewish people at the very pinnacle of their spiritual achievement.

 

The people encamped as one around Har Sinai in their zeal to receive the Torah. Hashem’s voice thundered off the mountain tops, proclaiming the Aseres Hadibros, the Ten Commandments, and designating the Jews as His chosen people for accepting His eternal covenant.

 

From the lofty heights of those wonderful intoxicating days, the Jewish people spiraled downwards. Moshe had ascended to Heaven to bring down the Luchos, the stone Tablets, and in his absence, the nation had strayed far. The Torah describes how, only forty days later, the people embraced the worship of the Golden Calf and were dancing around it in wild abandon.

 

Hashem revealed to Moshe in Heaven exactly what was taking place down below, and instructed him to go down and take control of the tragic scene. Moshe grabbed the Tablets and made his way down the mountain. He was greeted by Yehoshua and by the crescendo of noise emanating from the camp.

 

As he approached the camp and saw the people dancing to musical instruments around the golden calf, Moshe took the miraculous Tablets of stone and smashed them at the foot of the mountain.

 

The commentaries ask why Moshe waited until he descended the mountain to shatter the Luchos. Did he not believe Hashem when He told him the Jews were worshiping a golden calf?

 

The Tablets transcended the laws of nature; the letters penetrated the stone through and through, yet one could read the holy text on them from either side. The Tablets were a reflection of the divine connection that the Jewish people had with their creator-but which, by worshiping the golden calf, they had lost. The Jewish people, after this serious breach of faith, were no longer worthy of being the recipients of the Luchos. So why did Moshe wait? Why didn’t he leave them in Heaven instead of smashing them at the foot of the mountain?

 

The commentaries explain that although Moshe knew beyond any doubt that the Jewish people had worshiped the golden calf. Yet he rationalized that it was surely just a temporary lapse, not done willfully or with enthusiasm. Perhaps they had succumbed to their base urges momentarily and could still be restored to their previous lofty stature.

 

But when he saw the people brazenly dancing around the calf, with musical accompaniment and great gusto and excitement, he realized the truth: they could never again be worthy of those heavenly Tablets.

 

It is one thing to abandon G-d out of fleeting temptation while all the while experiencing pangs of guilt. It is another to abandon Him without compunction, with relish and merriment. After such debasement, the disconnect is complete and absolute.

 

When not acting harmoniousness with the inner vibrations of our conscience, we often feel stirrings of guilt and remorse. We may wonder why we need to be plagued with misgivings and confusion about our behavior. Why can’t we feel whole and happy with what we are doing?

 

In truth, Jewish guilt is a gift from Hashem. It doesn’t allow us to re-define our priorities and our character, based on our “fall from grace.” That little voice inside of us that is telling us we shouldn’t be here, we shouldn’t be doing this, this is not me-is making sure that our substandard actions do not define our essence. It is ensuring that we regain our grip and give genuine expression to our innermost aspirations.

 

Wishing you an inspiring Shabbos.

The Oreo Cookie

Parshas Ki Sisa

Posted on February 17, 2022 (5782) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

And all the people stripped themselves of the golden earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took [them] from their hand[s], fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into a molten calf, upon which they said: “These are your gods, O Israel, who have brought you up from the land of Egypt!” (Shemos 32:3-4)

 

The building of the Golden Calf is one of the most tragic events and destructive episodes in all of Jewish History. We are still mopping up the fallout from what occurred just 40 days after the most glorious happening in all of human history, Matan Torah -the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

 

The question is why is it related to us in the Torah in this particular place. We are in the midst of a long and detailed discussion about the construction of the Mishkan. For 2 and ½ Parshios that is the dominant theme. Then suddenly the tragedy of the Golden Calf is spelled out in living color and then for another 2 and ½ Parshios we return to our detailed discussion of the construction of the Mishkan.

 

An additional factor to consider is that chronologically, the building of the Mishkan postdated the building of the Golden Calf. The order is inverted. We should first have read first about the Golden Calf and then about the Mishkan. In fact, the Mishkan was the Tikun, the cleanup, the active demonstration of Teshuva to repair the damage done by the Golden Calf.

What can we learn from the peculiar positioning of this narrative?

 

I often find myself engaged in something I call, “spiritual reverse engineering”. If I discover an idea that seems to be an undeniable truth, then I go into the search mode to see if I can find a source for it in the Torah. For example, one of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, in Stephen Covey’s bestselling book is, “If you want to be heard, then listen”. It makes a load of sense on many levels.

 

Let us say that someone barges into his boss’s office and demands, “I need a giant SUV, 6 new suits, a private secretary, and a platinum credit card with no limit and a raise in salary.” The boss will likely be pointing toward the door before he is finished.

 

He should rather step out, recalibrate, and enter again with ears open. He just might ask, “Sir, what is your most expansive vision for this company?” After listening well, he could commit himself to the boss’s mission and say, “I want to be your east coast guy. I want your product in every store on the eastern seaboard. I need a giant SUV, 6 new suits, a private secretary, and a platinum credit card with no limit and a raise in salary.” Now he has the boss’s ear and he is more likely to have his requisites met because he listened first and only then did he request.

 

Maybe that’s the wisdom in the strategy of placing the SHEMA before the Shemona Esrei. We enter prayer with our ears open, “SHEMA Yisrael… Love HASHEM … with all your heart …soul and might… (I am your east coast guy) Now, this is what I need to do your bidding. If you want to be heard then listen!

 

For years I have been arming my teachers with a Primer on PTA to ready them to meet parents. One of the bullet point items is, “If you must share some unflattering information about a student with his parents, then employ the Oreo Cookie approach.

 

Start with a complement, and then gently deliver the difficult news and conclude with a complement again. Surgery finished! He’s a great kid with loads of energy. Sometimes he disrupts the class. If we can help him to channel that energy then I have no doubt he will accomplish great things. He’s a super kid!

 

HASHEM sandwiched the sin of the Golden Calf in the middle of the construction of the Mishkan to let us know how truly-good we are and how great we can be, while rebuking us strongly. So, there we have it right there in our Holy Torah a humongous hint to the Oreo Cookie!