In this week’s parsha we read about the chet haegel. Rashi says (33, 11) that Moshe Rabeinu came down from shamayim on the th of Tamuz and broke the luchos. On the th of Tamuz he burned the eigel and punished the sinners, and on the 19th he went up to Hashem to daven. The Ramban argues and says that Moshe broke the luchos and punished the sinners the same day, which was the 17th of Tamuz. According to Rashi, why did Moshe Rabeinu wait a day to punish the sinners?
There is another machlokes between Rashi and the Ramban regarding what punishment the sinners of the eigel received. Rashi (32,2) says that if there were witnesses and a warning then they were punished by sword. If there were witnesses but no warning, a plague caused them to die. If there were no witnesses and no warning, they had to drink a mixture of the ground-up eigel, similar to a sota, which caused them to die if guilty. Says the Ramban, there was no need to warn them because the order to kill the sinners was by Hashem. What is peshat in the pasuk that says there were 3 different punishments? Says the Ramban, it depended how the person worshipped the eigel. Those who offered korbanos to the eigel were punished with the sword. Those who hugged and kissed the eigel were punished with a mageifa. And those who were merely happy with the eigel were killed with the “drink”.
We see that these two “machloksim” are regarding when were they punished and how were they punished. The Brisker Rav that they both go lishitosam, according to their original opinions. Did the punishments given to the sinners follow the normal rules of bais din or was it a hora’as shaah – an exception to the rule? Rashi held that it followed the normal rules of bais din and the rule is that when bais din sentences someone to death, they don’t kill that person right away. He is killed a day later in order to give bais din time to review the case and make sure the sentence is correct. That’s why Rashi says that the sinners were killed on the 18th of Tamuz. The Ramban held that it was a hora’as shaah and they didn’t follow the normal bais din laws. Therefore, there was no reason to wait and they were punished on the same day, on the th of Tamuz.
It is said in the name of the Vilna Gaon that only a few thousand people served the eigel. The Kuzari writes that only 3000 males served the eigel, which is 0.5% of the 600,000 population. The Ramban says this as well, that it was only a small percentage of Klal Yisroel that served the eigel. If so, why was the entire nation punished? Says the Ramban (32,6) that despite the fact that only a few people served the eigel, there were many more who were happy with it. Or maybe many people just didn’t care; they didn’t stand up against the ones serving the eigel to try to stop them. Ultimately, this indifference caused them all to be punished and it was Hashem’s initial plan to wipe out everyone. We see from here that we have to do all that is possible to make sure that others are following the correct path. An adam gadol once said: “Indifference is the biggest killer.”
Rav Schwab was a 20-year-old student learning in Mir Yeshiva when he traveled to Radin to spend shabbos with the Chofetz Chaim. He never forgot the warmth he received from the Chofetz Chaim. It was rare for a bachur from Germany to become a student in an Eastern Europe yeshiva. When told that this was a Frankfurter bachur, the Chofetz Chaim took Rav Schwab’s hand in his own and lovingly caressed it as he remarked, “A yeshiva bachur, so many drowning today. Only through Torah can one survive. How fortunate that you are learning!” The Chofetz Chaim then asked Rav Schwab, “Are you a kohen?” “No”, he replied. “Maybe you have heard that I am a kohen”, said the Chofetz Chaim. “Yes, I did”, answered Rav Schwab. Then the Chofetz Chaim asked him, “Are you a levi?” “No, I am not”, replied the bachur. “What a shame”, said the Chofetz Chaim, “Moshiach is coming, and the Bais Hamikdash will be rebuilt and you will not be able to perform the avoda. Do you know why? Because 3000 years ago, your grandfather didn’t run when Moshe declared “Mi la”Hashem alai”- Whoever is for Hashem, come with me. The next time you hear that call, come running”. This is exactly what happened by the eigel. There were the instigators who actually sinned. Then there was shevet Levi who stood up and went against the sinners, and they were rewarded by doing the avoda in the bais hamikdash. And then there were those who just kept quiet, and as we previously mentioned, that was considered a big aveira. Now take this lesson to heart. In every person’s life, there is a moment when a call goes out. And when you hear that call, make sure you come running.
As he retold this story, Rav Schwab said, “I know precisely at which moment in my life the call of “mi la’Hashem alai” was sounded for me. And I know that it was because of that conversation I had with the Chofetz Chaim that I answered the call”.
We find the same thing by Pharaoh. He had 3 advisers - Bilam, Yisro and Iyov. Bilam advised Pharaoh to enslave and torture the Jews, and so he was punished and killed. Iyov, who was silent, was punished through suffering. And Yisro, who fought against the evil decree, had to run for his life and his children were greatly rewarded. Again, we see that silence in the face of evil is a sin.
There are times when we find ourselves in a situation where we know the right thing to do is to cry out in protest. However, it’s uncomfortable. It’s so much easier to just remain silent and pretend we didn’t see. The issue is that when remaining silent, you are actually acting as an accomplice to the crime and will be held accountable. It’s only if we actively fight against the evil that we remain innocent of sin. Let’s heed the cry: “mi La’Hashem alai!”
