Now let’s back up to the time just before HaShem gave the instructions for building the Mishkan. You already know that Moshe went up to the top of Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, and stayed up on the mountain for 40 days.
Here's what happened while he was up there.
First, he and all the Jews heard the Ten Commandments. Then Moshe received many mitzvot (commandments) . . . in fact, HaShem taught Moshe all 613 mitzvot, including all of their detailed explanations.
After that, HaShem gave Moshe two luchot (tablets) made of sapphire stone, with the Ten Commandments carved on them. But Moshe never gave those luchot to the Jewish people . . . because something was happening while he was up on the mountain?
The Jews were getting worried and impatient. They felt alone and unprotected in the desert wilderness. Moshe had told them that he would return on the 40th day, before noon… and according to their calculations, it had been 40 days already. (Unfortunately, they were one day off, because they counted the first day as one of the 40 days, even though it wasn't a complete 24-hour period.)
"Where is Moshe?!" they asked each other.
"Shouldn't he be down by now?"
"What's going on? The 40 days are up!"
"Who knows if he's even still alive? He didn't have any food with him, you know!"
Then the eirev rav -- the Egyptians who had joined the Jewish people when the left Egypt -- started to cause big trouble.
"Let's face it. Moshe is never going to come down," they said. "We need a new leader."
"That's right! We need a leader! But who could ever replace Moshe?"
"We'll make a golden image to be our leader!"
"You mean an idol?!" some of the Jews wondered. That didn't sound too kosher.
"Sure! Then we'll be able to see who we're praying to!"
Even though almost everyone thought that making some kind of image was a good idea, most of the Jews didn't plan to worship it as an idol. They just wanted to have something to help them connect to HaShem, just as Moshe had always done for them. Unfortunately, an idol just can't be kosher, no matter what!
To make things even worse, the people saw a vision of Moshe lying in a coffin, up in the clouds over Mount Sinai. (This dark and dreary vision was brought to them courtesy of the "Satan," the no-good angel who was up to his usual faith-busting tricks.)
That did it. It was agreed. They would create an idol out of gold.
