27 Feb KI TISA: HOW THE GOLDEN CALF BENEFITED THE JEWS – WHEN G-D LEARNED NOT TO TAKE HIS PEOPLE FOR GRANTED

Whence Such a
Transformation?
It was one of our
lowest points in
history, the nadir of
the Jewish people.
Forty days earlier, they
heard the voice of G-d; they vowed to
become His people. Now they were dancing
around a golden calf and yelling “this is your
god, Israel, who has brought you up from
Mitzrayim!” Forty days earlier, they stood at
the foot of Har Sinai, and experienced the
greatest moment in history: The only time
G-d revealed Himself to an entire nation,
giving them a blueprint to heal and sanctify
the world. Now, five weeks later, the very
same people are enthralled by a golden calf.
They are laughing, sacrificing animals,
bowing down to it, all around their new god
crafted of the jewelry in their ears. G-d is
“furious,” as it were. He tells Moshe: “Now
leave Me alone, and My anger will be
kindled against them so that I will annihilate
them, and I will make you into a great
nation.” Listen to the words: “Leave Me
alone.” Moshe got the message. If He does
not leave G-d alone, all would end up well.
So Moshe does not leave G-d alone. He
pleads, prays, and begs for forgiveness. The
people repent. G-d forgives the people. We
are still here.
Always Remember
Yet during the conversation, G-d says
something shocking. And now go, lead the
people to [the place] of which I have spoken
to you. Behold My angel will go before you.
But on the day I make an accounting, I will
bring their sin to account against them. G-d,
it seems, is telling Moshe that He will never
forget this sin. Whenever He is going to
make an accounting of their sins, this sin
will be included in the “package.” Rashi
seems to say so clearly: Now I have listened
to you not to destroy them all at once, but
always, always, when I take an accounting
of their sins, I will also account a little of this
sin with the other sins. No punishment
befalls Israel in which there is not part of the
punishment for the sin of the [golden] calf.
This is deeply enigmatic. It is one of the
foundations of Judaism that Teshuvah atones
for all sins and wipes them away. Every Yom
Kippur we conclude the central Amidah
blessing with these words: “G-d removes
our sins every year again.” No matter how
many times we commit a sin, if we repent,
we are forgiven. Three times a day, we say
in the prayers, “Forgive us father because we
have sinned… blessed are you G-d, the

gracious one who forgives excessively.”
Think about it. I sinned in the morning, I
asked forgiveness, G-d says, no problem. A
few hours later, I sin again, I apologize
again, and G-d says: You got it, my son. A
few hours later I sin again, and again, G-d
accepts my apology. All is good. This goes
on for decades or more. Three times a day I
apologize, even though my last apology was
just a few hours or a few minutes earlier. If
this would be you apologizing to your wife,
at some point she would say: Don’t be a
‘nudnik!’ Stop sinning so much against me
so you will not have to apologize. But G-d
patiently offers forgiveness, three times a
day, for 120 years! And yet here, suddenly,
we discover a very different G-d. “On the
day I make an accounting, I will bring their
sin to account against them.” Or in Rashi’s
words: “When I take an accounting of their
sins, I will also account a little of this sin
with the other sins.” G-d will never let go of
this sin. The Jews repented, but He can’t let
go. Why?
I Will Forget!
What is more, the Talmud offers a very
opposite perspective. The Talmud quotes a
verse from Navi Yeshayahu (49:15): “Shall a
woman forget her sucking child, from having
mercy on the child of her womb? These too
shall forget, but I will not forget you.” Says
the Talmud: “These too shall forget,”
represents the story of the Golden Calf. G-d
“forgets” that story. “But I will not forget
you,” refers to the events at Har. Sinai,
where the Jews embraced the Torah and
entered into a covenant with G-d. That I will
never forget. Yet here in Ki Sisa, G-d says
clearly to Moshe that He will always
remember the story of the Golden Calf?!
What is more, the Talmudic interpretation
seems to distort the verse. The verse says
that at times a mother can forget her child,
yet G-d will not forget you. In the Talmud’s
commentary, G-d also “forgets.” He forgets
the Golden Calf!
The Lover of Israel
The most marvelous answer to these
questions was presented by the famed
Chassidic master and one of the greatest
lovers of Israel, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of
Berditchov (1740-1809). In a daring
interpretation, classic to the Chassidic
approach toward Judaism, Rabbi Levi
Yitzchak becomes the great “advocate” for
the Jewish people, as he always was. Here is
what he suggests.
Two Natures
Some people seem to be naturally good,

while others are forever struggling with
negative character traits and ominous
perversions. Some individuals have a serene
inner landscape, while others are filled with
trauma and toxicity. One individual is raised
in a warm and loving home and, from earliest

infancy, is impressed by educators and role-
models exemplifying integrity, compassion,

and idealism, while his fellow has only
dysfunction and corruption to emulate.
While the first person’s noble behavior is
praiseworthy, he is emulating his parents and
grandparents. Credit he deserves, for every
person has free choice, but nonetheless, this
person remains in his comfort zone. To apply
business language: this man never started a
new business; he took over a successful
business from his father and continued to
maintain it. He was born into success. But
the second fellow—ah, he owns everything
he achieves. Every spiritual state he achieves
he or she had to battle for. Nothing was
given to him on a golden platter or any
platter at all. He must reinvent himself.
Which category do the Jews fit into? Due to
the holy ancestors of the Jewish people and
their great leaders, it seemed like the
acceptance of the Torah by Jews was as
natural as water to a fish, a match made in
heaven. The Jewish soul is a “Fragment of
G-d,” and the Jewish DNA was sculptured
by Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Sara, Rivka,
Rochel and Leah. Torah for them is as
organic as the piano to Mozart, the paintbrush
to Van Gogh. But then came the Golden
Calf. Suddenly, a new story emerged. There
were hidden demons and skeletons in the
Jewish psyche that still needed purging. The
Torah was far from organic. Merely 40 days
after Sinai, they exploded. All the pressure
of the new covenant with G-d “platzt” in
their face and they ran to the other extreme.
They chose temporary insanity. The rules
got to them and they decided that for one day
they will go back into the sandbox and rebel
against everything. They simply wanted to
hear of no yoke, no G-d, no destiny, no
meaning, no purpose. What they wanted was
unbridled anarchy and endless frivolousness.
What was now revealed was the brokenness
of the Jewish people—the depth of their
struggles. They had a long journey ahead of
them. What this brought out more than
anything else is how much we ought to
appreciate their initial commitment to G-d at
Sinai. Seeing how low they fell only
demonstrated the tremendous courage and
faith the Jewish people professed previously
as they said “we will do” and “we will hear”
and embraced their destiny as the
ambassadors of G-d in this world.

Gaining Perspective
This, says the Berditchover, is the meaning
of the verse: On the day I make an
accounting, I will bring their sin to account
against them. Throughout all of history, G-d
promises, whenever I think of the Jewish
people, I will recall the story of the Golden
Calf—simply to give Me perspective. It will
remind Me not to take them for granted! Not
to just assume that Torah comes easy to
them. That living a life of nobility, morality,
justice, and ethical depth is a no-brainer. No!
I will always remember how deeply they fell
at that fateful moment and it will remind Me
how much to appreciate all of their sacrifices,
commitments, mitzvos, and their entire
existence as My people. When they are
doing something good, it will remind Me
how much I ought to celebrate it and reward
them for it, that I should never take their
goodness for granted and assume that they
could have not chosen any other path. And
when they are failing, it will remind me how
expected that is too. It is a lesson for each of
us. Next time you fail, instead of beating
yourself up for it, cut yourself some slack.
Let your very failure remind you to give
yourself credit for all your good days and all
your positive accomplishments.
The Mitzvah Reminds Me of the Sin
The Talmudic verse: “Shall a woman forget
her sucking child, from having mercy on the
child of her womb? These too shall forget,
but I will not forget you.” Says the Talmud:
“These too shall forget,” represents the story
of the Golden Calf. G-d “forgets” that story.
“But I will not forget you,” refers to the
events at Har Sinai, where the Jews embraced
the Torah and entered into a covenant with
G-d. That I will never forget. G-d is saying
that I will forget the Golden Calf. When
people repent, I “forget” the sin. It gets
completely erased. No future debts held. Yet
when I remember Sinai, ah, then I will go
back and remember the Golden Calf too! For
it is the story of the Golden Calf that will put
Sinai into perspective. It is the Golden Calf
that will remind Me for all of eternity how
much I need to appreciate the daily
commitment of every Jew to do what G-d
wants him or her to do in this world.