From the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Zt”l
This week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, contains one of the most misunderstood occurrences in the Torah - the sin of the Golden Calf.
This sin was so great that its consequences are still being felt today, 3300 years later. For, as a result of the sin, G-d promised that every punishment that would ever befall the Jewish people would contain an element of chastisement for this grievous transgression.
And yet, as it appears in the Written Torah (without the accompanying commentary), the entire account is difficult to understand. How could the same people who had just left Egypt under miraculous circumstances, received the Torah at Mount Sinai amidst open miracles and actually heard the voice of G-d utter the first two of the Ten Commandments, actually worship a molten image?
Closer study reveals, however, that the Jewish people were not seeking a substitute for G-d in the Golden Calf; what they desired was a substitute for Moses, as expressed in the verse, "And the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down ...and they said [to Aaron]: Get up, make us a god...for this man, Moses, who has taken us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
Without Moses, the Jewish people felt lost. Moses was the intermediary that connected them to G-d, as it states, "I stand between you and G-d." Moses was the medium through which the Children of Israel were freed from Egypt and through whom they received the Torah, to the point where "the Divine Presence spoke from his throat."
A Man of G-d
Moses is referred to as "a man of G-d," for despite the fact that he was mortal, Moses existed on a spiritual plane on which he was totally united with the Divine. His function as intermediary between man and G-d served to strengthen the Jews' belief in the Creator, for it is difficult to believe in a G-d one cannot see. When the Jews beheld a human being on such a G-dly level, it strengthened their faith in G-d and connected them to Him in a tangible manner.
In this light, the mistake they made is far easier to comprehend. When Moses did not reappear when they expected him, the Jewish people feared they had lost the means by which they bound themselves with the Infinite.
They rightly understood that such an intermediary needs to be completely united with G-d; having just witnessed the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, at which G-d descended in a "supernal chariot" bearing the face of an ox, they decided to forge a calf of gold that would closely resemble it.
Understanding the Error of Jews at That Time
The Jewish people were correct in their recognition of the need for an intermediary between man and G-d in the form of a G-dly human being; there was also nothing wrong with their choice of an inanimate object to draw holiness down into this world (G-d's voice would later issue forth from between the cherubim - fashioned in the form of two angels - above the holy ark in the Sanctuary).
Rather, their error was in taking into their own hands a matter that can only be determined by G-d. Only G-d can decide how His holiness will be transmitted; only He may choose the correct medium.
Reprinted from the Parashat of Ki Tisa 2025/5785 edition of L’Chaim, a publication of the Lubavitch Youth Organization. Adapted from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l.
