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Thought for the Day: The Golden Calf -- What was the Crime?

At the table where I generally sit for the morning prayer service recently there was a cohein and a levi. I joked, "Hey if R' Ploni were here we would have all of Klal Yisrael represented -- cohein, levi, yisrael, and me -- the eirev rav." (They weren't born as part of Klal Yisrael, I wasn't born as part of Klal Yisrael... get it?) 😁

I thought it was funny, but the cohein and levi both looked at me and said, "You are not eirev rav; don't talk like that!" It was parshas Ki Sisa, so "eirev rav" is a bit of a trigger, after all. I started thinking about the eirev rav, though, and -- as often happens -- the simple, superficial understanding of the situation started to unravel. How did they get there? They crossed though the Yam Suf with Klal Yisrael. What did the eirev rav eat? Presumably the mahn along with everyone else. Moreover, even though it certainly was (a relatively small number of ) individuals from the eirev rav who built and worshiped the golden calf (Shmos 32:4, and Rashi there), it was Klal Yisrael that was in danger of extermination by The Creator Himself.

To recap: Klal Yisrael did not worship nor build the golden calf; yet they were threatened with extermination and suffer to this day from those events. The members of the eirev rav who actively participated were summarily put to death, but on the whole didn't receive the curse for generations that Klal Yisrael suffered (and continues to suffer).

What was the grave sin of Klal Yisrael? At the receiving of the Torah, Klal Yisrael was asked if they wanted the Torah and they responded with two simple words: נעשה ונשמע -- we will do (whatever You, our Father, our King, our Creator) desires us to do; and we are ready to hear and learn what that is. Yet, when the situation got a little dicey, we were already looking for options.

Chazal compare the sin of Klal Yisrael to a bride having an affair under the wedding canopy. Imagine the new bride in the yichud room and her beloved chason excuses himself to freshen up. There is a knock on the door and the waiter brings in their first meal. Seeing that bride is alone, the waiter decides to flirt with her, even ask what she is doing later. Imagine her smiling demurely. Not accepting, but tacitly giving him permission to continue. Is there any greater betrayal of her new chason than that?

That's what Klal Yisrael did when the eirev rav built their golden calf and (Shmos 32:4) announced that this was their god who led them out of Mitzrayim. Why were they silent? Why didn't they rebuke and feel outrage? Is there any greater betrayal of HaShem than that? Is there a greater demonstration that נעשה ונשמע were just words?!

We are still paying for that mistake. Not in a punitive way, chas v'shalom, but in a remedial way. Whenever things go off the rails and we calm ourselves by remembering that HaShem runs the world and we are his kallah, then we heal that wound and strengthen our bond with our Father, our King, our Creator.

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