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Video Study for Parsha Ki Tisa

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muman613:
Shalom JTF readers,

It is Wednesday already and it is time to begin studying the Sidrah (according to my study program)...

We are reading the portion called Ki Tisa. This portion contains the terrible sin of the Jewish people, the building of the Golden Calf, which was a sin which almost resulted in the complete destruction of the Jewish people (as they were at the time). If not for Moses praying on our behalf the entire nation could have perished at the base of Mount Sinai.

The sin of the Golden Calf is a sin which the Jewish people collectively participated in, despite the fact that according to some the Jews were not the ones who actually built it nor worshiped it, but it was the Erev Rav (mixed multitude) who suggested that it be built. But since the overwhelming majority of the Jews did not zealously protest this building of an idol (and some contend it was not intended as an actual idol, but it was a symbol representing Moses'es leadership of the people of Israel) we are all held accountable.

The parasha starts by continuing the list of things required to build the mishkan (tabernacle) and repeating the command to keep the Sabbath...

Here is the Parsha in a Nutshell according to the Chabad site:


--- Quote ---The people of Israel are told to each contribute exactly half a shekel of silver to the Sanctuary. Instructions are also given regarding the making of the Sanctuary’s water basin, anointing oil and incense. “Wise-hearted” artisans Betzalel and Aholiav are placed in charge of the Sanctuary’s construction, and the people are once again commanded to keep the Shabbat.

When Moses does not return when expected from Mount Sinai, the people make a golden calf and worship it. G‑d proposes to destroy the errant nation, but Moses intercedes on their behalf. Moses descends from the mountain carrying the tablets of the testimony engraved with the Ten Commandments; seeing the people dancing about their idol, he breaks the tablets, destroys the golden calf, and has the primary culprits put to death. He then returns to G‑d to say: “If You do not forgive them, blot me out from the book that You have written.”

G‑d forgives, but says that the effect of their sin will be felt for many generations. At first G‑d proposes to send His angel along with them, but Moses insists that G‑d Himself accompany His people to the promised land.

Moses prepares a new set of tablets and once more ascends the mountain, where G‑d reinscribes the covenant on these second tablets. On the mountain, Moses is also granted a vision of the divine thirteen attributes of mercy. So radiant is Moses’ face upon his return, that he must cover it with a veil, which he removes only to speak with G‑d and to teach His laws to the people.
--- End quote ---

Let us start with the latest upload from Rabbi Richman from the Temple Institute:

muman613:
Rabbi Richmans last few years on the parsha:

muman613:
A couple from Rabbi Finkelstein...

muman613:
Rabbi Odze on the parasha:



Rabbi Chaim Miller from TorahInTen:

muman613:
Now for some commentary:


http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/the_golden_calf/

The Golden Calf
Only a tiny portion of Jews participated in worshipping the golden calf. So why does God seem to blame the whole nation?

The day for this infamous event is forever marked in the Hebrew calendar—17th of Tammuz. This would be the day later in history on which the walls of Jerusalem would be breached by the Babylonians and the Romans prior to the destruction of both the first and the second Temple.

It is very important to analyze what happened with the golden calf and why the Torah criticizes the Jewish people so harshly for this sin. And indeed what is revealed here about how God views the Jewish people.

After the greatest national revelation experience in human history when the whole nation hears God, Moses goes up the mountain and comes down 40 days later to find people dancing around an idol.

Now if I’d had an encounter with the Infinite Creator of the Universe speaking to me and I heard Him say “I am God, don’t worship anything else,” I don’t think I would be stupid enough to be jumping around a golden cow. So what’s going on in this story?

This is a classic case of knowing how to correctly read the text of the Bible. When I say correctly read, I mean, ideally in Hebrew but certainly with the commentators because there’s an oral tradition that must be studied along with the simple, very brief description in the text.

When Moses came down the mountain, were all 3 million Jews dancing around a golden calf? No. The Torah in Exodus 32:28 says it was only about 3 thousand people, mostly the mixed multitude of individuals who left with the Jews because they were so impressed by what went on with the Ten Plagues.1

That means that only about .1% of the Jews (one in a thousand) participated and 99.9% of the Jews did nothing wrong, (although the majority’s failure to stop the minority from worshipping the Golden Calf was considered a mistake). Yet God’s reaction makes it clear he is blaming the whole nation.

LOVE ISN’T BLIND

We already mentioned that amongst all ancient books the Bible is unique in its objective criticism and that the purpose of this criticism is to educate. But why the hyper-criticism?

One of the great untrue expressions of all time is “love is blind.” Infatuation surely is but true love has a magnifying glass for faults. To love someone means to focus on the beauty and positive within that person. This doesn’t mean that you don’t see their faults, but rather that you associate that person with their positive attributes. (Hate is of course the opposite).

An excellent practical example of this is your mother. She probably loves you more than any other person on earth yet she surely knows you faults better than anyone (yet she still loves you!).

Far worse than an overly strict parent is a parent who is neglectful.

If we transplant this parent analogy to God (aka Our Father in Heaven) then the hypercritical nature of the Torah begins to make sense. While God is the God of all humanity, He has a special relationship with the Jewish people and constantly “has an eye” on them. He deliberately overstates the Jewish people’s faults and mistake to get them to pay attention -to hammer home in the strongest possible language vital lessons that we must learn.

AN EXACTING STANDARD

God holds the Jews to a very high standard because they have a unique responsibility in human history. The world won’t get perfected without the Jews and if, God forbid, the Jews blow it, all of humanity, not just the Jewish people, will be doomed. Therefore, the Bible uses hyper-critical language to bring home some important principles:

1. According to your level of knowledge is your level of responsibility. Even the small mistakes of people in positions of power have huge consequences.

2. According to your level of responsibility is your level of accountability. The greater you are, the bigger the impact of your decisions, therefore you must be held to an extremely high standard of accountability.

The Jewish people had been given the ultimate responsibility for the world at Mount Sinai, and these principles explain the criticism that God levels against Jews and why it is so over-stated.

We also learn here another fundamental idea of the Torah—that every Jew is a guarantor for every other Jew. The nation of Israel is a “body” and the individual Jews are like cells in this body. If part of the body does something wrong, the whole body is held accountable.

Judaism teaches you’re either part of the problem or you’re part of the solution, and that you have a legal obligation to be part of the solution. Being a by-stander is not an option. (Till today, the Bible is virtually the only moral/legal code in the world that demands that you actively do good as epitomized by the expression “...go in His ways.” (Deut. 28:9)2 )

This theme of collective responsibility repeats itself over and over again in the Bible and throughout Jewish history.

That’s why when a small group of Jews does something wrong and the rest of the nation doesn’t stop them, all are held accountable.

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