04 Mar 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 Tisa, 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.