וישב משה אל ד' ויאמר, אנא חטא העם הזה חטאה גדלה ויעשו להם אלקי זהב
“Moshe Rabbeinu returned to Hashem and said, ‘I implore, Klal Yisroel committed a terrible sin against You and made for themselves a golden calf.’” More specifically, three thousand people in Klal Yisroel, the eirav rav, made an eigel. Moshe has Shevet Levi kill the three thousand, and then he comes to the Ribbono Shel Olam to beg for forgiveness on behalf of Klal Yisroel. Rashi says that Moshe mentioned that the aveirah was done with gold as an excuse for Klal Yisroel. The cheit was caused by the excessive gold that Klal Yisroel received from the Ribbono Shel Olam.
Why did Moshe mention in his apology to the Ribbono Shel Olam that yes, Klal Yisroel transgressed a חטאה גדולה, a tremendous aveirah? Why didn’t he just say that Klal Yisroel transgressed an aveirah, and please forgive them?
How does telling the Ribbono Shel Olam that Klal Yisroel did an aveirah help Klal Yisroel obtain mechilah? The word that Moshe used for aveirah is חטא .חטא generally refers to an aveirah done by accident, as opposed to פשע or עון, which refer to an aveirah done on purpose. Moshe could not argue that Klal Yisroel did not do an aveirah; they clearly did. Instead, his argument was that they did not have intentions to do an aveirah. (מהר"י)
Moshe told Hashem that Klal Yisroel transgressed a huge aveirah, but what they did was hevel ur’us ruach, stupidity. They did not serve any celestial bodies, things that have life in them. They served a god of gold, something that has no life in it.
Indeed, it was a huge aveirah, but their intentions were not to go against Hashem. Had their intentions been to go against Hashem, they would have served something that they could see had power to it, some sort of life. The sun, one might think, has powers. What powers does a statue have? Their intentions were to somehow to fill a void they felt because they thought that Moshe was not alive. The way that they did it, with a golden calf, was proof positive that it was not intended as a rebellion against Hashem. (אברבנאל)
Moshe Rabbeinu was willing to do everything in his power to help Klal Yisroel obtain mechilah from the Ribbono Shel Olam. There is obviously something very important for us to learn from Moshe saying to the Ribbono Shel Olam that Klal Yisroel did a huge cheit. Fallibility is often seen as a weakness, while, in actuality, it is a sign of great strength. Human beings make mistakes. The key in this world is to admit the mistakes, apologize, and learn from the mistakes. This applies to all aspects of our lives, to the Ribbono Shel Olam, to our peers, and to our families.
Klal Yisroel certainly made a colossal mistake. It may have been that their intentions were good; it may have been because they were not dan each other l’kaf zechus. Either way, an apology admitting to the aveirah and to the gravity of the aveirah that was done was necessary.
It is not a coincidence that we lain Parshas Parah this week. The Torah is telling us how to cleanse ourselves of all spiritual impurities. Parshas Parah teaches us how to cleanse ourselves of tumah, and Parshas Ki Sisa teaches us how to cleanse ourselves of aveiros.
RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
