Ki Tisa

Par sha t Ki Tis a T he G ol den Ca lf Ra bbi Ari Kahn This week's Parsha contains one of the great tragedies of Jewish history. The people, who had left Egypt miraculously, and witnessed the great salvation at the sea, and had stood at Sinai and experienced the great theophony, now awaited Moshe's descent from the Mountain. Moshe was to bring with him the teachings of the Torah, the mandate given the Jews which was to change the course of world history. However, the wait became too difficult, and the people, perhaps searching for immediate gratification, made a calf of gold and worshipped it. Thousands of years later we are still shocked at how this generation, so privileged, could possibly have made so fundamental an error. The Zohar, in almost the very first teaching, deals with this question via a discussion between Rav Shimon bar Yochai and his son Rav Eliezer regarding the meaning of the verse: Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things (Yishayahu 40:26) "This mystery remained sealed until one day while I was standing on the seashore, Eliyahu came and said to me 'Master, what is the meaning of 'Mi barah eleh - Who created these'? I said to him, that this refers to the heavens and their hosts, the works of the Holy One Blessed be He, works through the contemplation of which man comes to bless Him... Then he said to me 'Master, the Holy One Blessed be He had a deep secret which He at length revealed at the heavenly academy. It is this: When the Most Mysterious wished to reveal Himself, He produced a single point, which was transmuted into a thought, and in this He executed innumerable designs, and engraved innumerable engravings. He further engraved within the sacred and mystic lamp a mystic and most holy design, which was a wondrous edifice issuing from the midst of thought. This is called MI, and was the beginning of the edifice, existent and nonexistent, deep, buried, unknowable by name. It was only called MI (Who?). It desired to be manifest and called by name. It therefore clothed itself in a refulgent and precious garment and created ELeH (these) and ELeH acquired a name. The letters of the two words intermingled, forming the complete name "ELo-HIM (Lord). When the Israelites sinned in making the Golden Calf they alluded to this mystery in saying 'Eleh - These- are thy Lords O Israel' (Shmot 32:4) And once MI became combined with Eleh, the name remained for all time. And upon this secret the world is built'. Eliyahu then flew away and vanished out of my sight. And it is from him that I became possessed of this profound mystery.” Rav Eliezer and all the companions came and bowed down in front of him, weeping for joy, they said 'If we had come into this world only to hear this we should have been content'" (Zohar, prologue 1b2a)

Obviously, many of the philosophical issues surrounding this passage are beyond the scope of this shiur, but we can reconstruct some basic teachings. The Zohar explains that the creation of the world is based on the combination of the "MI" and "Eleh" which spell out "Elo-him (by inverting the "I" and "M"). Therefore the first verse in the Torah reads: "Breishit bara Elo-him et hashamayim v'et haaretz" The name Elo-him (‫ים‬-‫ )אלה‬is employed, which combines "Mi" and Eleh". The Zohar’s theological explanation is that the verse "Mi bara eleh”-‫ מי ברא אלה‬-‘Who created these?" - lies behind the first verse in the Torah, "In the beginning Elokim created..." It follows, then, that the question "Who created these- Mi bara eleh," must always remain a question, a rhetorical, unanswerable question. The Jew understands that there are certain mysteries which are impenetrable. The essence of G-d is one such mystery. The transcendent, essential aspect of G-d remains elusive, this is expressed by the idea of Elokim, which contains the Mi, the "who", as a question. Man may contemplate Creation, and just at the point that we think the question is answered, and we attempt to point a finger at G-d, we run into trouble. The Jews who stood at Mount Sinai pointed a finger at the calf of gold, which they formed, and declared "These are your gods Israel". They wished to understand and experience G-d on their own terms, to provide a concrete answer for this unanswerable question. What was it that brought this response from these people? The people complained, "The man Moshe who took us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." They believed they had the right to "know" that which was beyond them. But was it really knowledge that had eluded them? Let us analyze the situation: The Jews are but moments before the descent of Moshe, all they need is to be patient one more day and the precious Torah would be theirs. However, we know how the story ends: instead of the Torah coming into their hands it was shattered at the foot of the mountain. There is a fascinating parallel: At the dawn of history man was told of two trees in the Garden which were distinct from all the others, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam was permitted to eat of all the trees except the Tree of Knowledge. Again, we know how that story ended: man ate from the wrong tree, death was brought into the world, and man was expelled from Eden. The Rabbis note that there was no prohibition against partaking from the Tree of Life. In fact, we are taught that the original plan was for Adam to have eaten first from the Tree of Life and then from the Tree of Knowledge. Evidently, the sin of

Adam was in eating from the trees in the improper sequence. In order for us to understand the significance of the order we must reconsider the nature of these two trees: According to Rabbinic thought, the Tree of Life is identified with Torah; "She (the Torah) is a Tree of Life to those who embrace her"(Proverbs 3:18, Vayikra Raba 25:1) If the Tree of Life is identified with Torah, what is the meaning of the Tree of Knowledge? If anything, we would have a priori associated the Tree of Knowledge with Torah. Apparently, this knowledge has a very specific meaning. In the verses following the expulsion of man, the Torah says that Adam "knew his wife". Here again the same term "yada" is used, and here it is clear that this term does not refer to Torah, but rather implies experience. This allows us to reinterpret the sin of Adam; the plan in Eden was for man to eat from the Tree of Life - Torah, and only thereafter, with the onset of the first Shabbat, to eat from the Tree of Knowledge as well. The issue at hand is what should come first, Torah-wisdom, or experience? The advantage of Torah preceding experience is that the Torah, once internalized, will serve as a basis from which subsequent experience will be interpreted. Torah becomes a vantage-point from which experiences are viewed and understood. If, however, experiences are acquired first, they will serve as a basis for the interpretation given subsequently to the Torah. This latter sequence can lead to distortion of the Torah and misinterpretation based on the subjective experience of the individual. Torah must precede experience. Torah must be the benchmark by which Jews lead their lives, and mold their views. The tragedy of Eden was re-experienced at the foot Mount Sinai. The Jews were awaiting the descent of Moshe with the Torah, but they did not know where Moshe was (the word they use is yada'nu, from the same root as is used in Eden, the root which gave the Tree of Knowledge its name). Here lies their difficulty; they wanted to "know" that which they could not. The episode ends with people arising in an orgiastic feast - experiencing god in their subjective manner, creating a graven image, instead of receiving the Torah from G-d via Moshe. Again, the Tree of Knowledge/experience is chosen over the Tree of Life/Torah. But why this particular response? Why a calf? The Zohar described the sin as the pointing with their fingers saying "Here are (or, "These are) your gods Israel", trying to know/experience that which they could not. In order to understand this, we must return to the previous time we saw the Jews pointing a finger, and declaring something about G-d. When the Jews passed through the sea, the Torah recounts that they declared: "This is my G-d and I will cherish him"(Sh’mot 15:2) Rashi, drawing from the Midrash, comments: sea

"(They) pointed with a finger. We see that even a maidservant on the perceived more than the Prophets.

Walking through the sea was an incredible religious experience, in which even the uninitiated perceived more than the Prophets. Which Prophets does Rashi have in mind? The source of Rashi is the Michilta, which writes "more than Isaiah, or Yechezkel". The Ramban cites the Michilta as making the comparison with Yechezkel. There is something unique about these two prophets; they both beheld the dazzling revelation known as the Merkavah. Raba said: All that Ezekiel saw, Isaiah saw. What does Ezekiel resemble? A villager who saw the king. And what does Isaiah resemble? A townsman who saw the king. (Chagiga 13b) Can we learn from this comparison anything specific about the nature of the Jews' collective vision at the sea? What exactly did the people see? The Prophesy of Yechezkel is one of the most obscure sections in Tanach, the images and references transcending the understanding of the average reader. By the river Kevar Yechezkel has "visions of G-d": he sees an image with "the leg of a calf" (1:7). The image had the face of a person, a lion, a bull, and a eagle. We cannot help but notice that the image in the Vision of Yechezkel contained the face of a bull and the legs of a calf. To make matters worse, when in a later chapter Yechezkel reiterates and describes his vision, he lists the four faces in greater detail: "One had the face of a "kruv" (cherub), the second had the face of a person, the third had the face of a lion, the fourth had the face of an eagle" (10:14). Here the bull is paralleled with the cherub. The keruv, which will become the source of revelation in the temple, is paralleled with a “face of a bull’, possessing “legs of a calf”. If the sin of the Golden Calf took place after the order to build the Mishkan, we may be able to understand why the Jews built specifically a Golden Calf. They thought that this was part of the command to build the Mishkan. It reminded them of that glorious moment when they experienced, and thought that they understood, G-d. As they pointed a finger praising G-d they also deluded themselves into thinking that they understood G-d. Such is the nature of experience. Knowledge of Torah would have corrected this error. The Midrash also clearly connects the error of the Golden Calf with the misunderstanding of the Merkavah: I HAVE SURELY SEEN. It does not say ‘I have seen’ once, but ’raoh raithi’. Why? G-d said: ‘Moses, you can only see one vision, but I see two visions. You see them coming to Sinai and receiving My law and so do I. This, however, is only one vision. But I can also see the vision of the Golden Calf, as it is said: I have seen this people (Ex. XXXII, 9). When I come to Sinai to give them the Torah, I will come down in My chariot with four animals abreast. Yet though they will observe Me and unhitch one [of the four animals of My chariot]’ and provoke Me. (Midrash Rabbah - Exodus III:2)

The sin of the Golden Calf negated the great spiritual elevation which resulted from the Revelation at Sinai. This is also what G-d said: ‘At Sinai, you prepared two cups-" We will do," and “listen"; by making the Golden Calf, you have shattered one-the [cup for] "we will do". Be very careful therefore with the second one-"we will listen” (Midrash Rabbah - Exodus XXVII:9) After the debacle of the Golden Calf, the Jews needed to pay special attention to “the second cup”, - Nishma, adhering to the word of G-d. Rashi, while commenting on the Para Aduma, explains that this is a "hok" a command for which we do not understand the reason. And yet, at a later point, Rashi cites a tradition in the name of Rav Moshe Hadarshan that the Para Aduma was a rectification for the sin of the Golden Calf (Rashi Bamidbar chapter 19). These two explanations in Rashi are not contradictory: the Para Aduma brings about forgiveness for the Golden Calf, precisely because it is a commandment which we can not understand. If the sin of the Golden Calf was indeed thinking that one can understand G-d, then forgiveness lies in performing a commandment despite, or perhaps because we do not understand its reason. Death entered into the world when man ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, partaking of experience prior to acquiring Torah knowledge, and attempting to understand that which is not given to our understanding. BEHOLD, I SEND AN ANGEL BEFORE THEE (XXIII, 20). Thus it is written, I said: Ye are godlike beings (Ps. LXXXII, 6). Had Israel waited for Moses and not perpetrated that act, there would have been no exile, neither would the Angel of Death have had any power over them. And thus it says, ‘And the writing was the writing of G-d, graven (harut) upon the tablets (Ex. XXXII, 16). What is the meaning of ’harut?’ … R. Nehemiah says: Free from the Angel of Death. When Israel exclaimed: ’All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and listen’ (ib. XXIV, 7), the Holy One, blessed be He, said: ' If I gave but one commandment to Adam, that he might fulfill it, and I made him equal to the ministering angels,- for it says, ‘Behold, the man was as one of us’ (Gen. III, 22) --how much more so should those who practice and fulfill all the six hundred and thirteen commandments--not to mention their general principles, details, and minutiae-- be deserving of eternal life?’ This is the meaning of ‘And from Mattanah to Nahaliel—nahalu’ (Num. XXI, 19); for they had inherited [through the Torah, given as a gift], from G-d eternal life. As soon, however, as they said, ’This is thy god, O Israel’ (Ex. XXXII, 4), death came upon them. G-d said: ‘You have followed the course of Adam who did not withstand his trials for more than three hours, and at nine hours death was decreed upon him.” (Midrash Rabbah - Exodus XXXII:) The Para Aduma is the antidote for death; it removes the spiritual stigma caused by death, because it is performed without understanding. It is performed simply because it is Torah. It is the ultimate acceptance of Torah, which eluded man at

the dawn of history in Eden, and again at what should have been the apex, at Sinai. Indeed: Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things; (Yishayahu 40:26)

Addendum: On most years this Parsha is read in close proximity to Purim, and according to the Tikunai Zohar there exists an intrinsic relationship between Purim and Yom Kippurim, the day on which the Jews were forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf. The Ariz"al explained this relationship: Purim is, in fact, on a higher level, and Yom Kippurim should translate as "a day like Purim". The Jerusalem Talmud states that in the future, all holidays will fall into disuse with the exception of Purim. We may describe the relationship as follows: Part of the sin of the Golden Calf was, as we said above, the choice of experience prior to Torah. On Yom Kippur Moshe descended from Mount Sinai with the Second Tablets, and the Jews finally accepted the Torah. On this day we do not eat or drink, wash, or engage in sexual relations. This would serve as a "tikkun," a rectification for the sin of the Golden Calf and the "festivities" which followed. Forgiveness on Yom Kippur is brought about by total abstention. On the other hand, the Sages tell us that the People of Israel did not completely accept the Torah until Purim: Said Raba, Yet even so, they re-accepted it in the days of Ahasuerus, for it is written, [the Jews] confirmed, and took upon them [etc.]:17 [i.e.,] they confirmed what they had accepted long before. (Shabbat 88a) The Talmud offers as the origin of the name "Haman" the verse in Genesis which refers to Adam's sin: Where is Haman indicated in the Torah? — In the verse: "Hamin haetz hazeh" Is it from the tree?(Hulin 139b). Haman is connected with the Tree of Knowledge, and we see that the problems in the time of Megillat Esther began in Shushan when the Jews partook of the festive meal of the king, an inappropriate experience which echoes the festivities for the Golden Calf. It is in Shushan so many years later that the Jews finally accepted the Torah completely. Only then can an attempt be made to elevate the eating and drinking into a holy context. This is why we are commanded to drink on Purim "Ad d'lo Yadda"-- again the word "yada". On Yom Kippur we abstain from eating and drinking, on Purim we elevate eating and drinking. On Purim we attempt to elevate experiences into the context of Torah, which is accepted anew.