B"H

Thursday, Adar 16, 5786 / March 5, 2026

This week’s Parsha,Ki Tisa, is about the story of the Golden Calf.

This was one of the gravest sins which the Jewish people committed. It took place very close after the Giving of the Torah, while they were still at Mount Sinai. It took place only 40 days after the greatest G-dly revelation in history, when G-d came down Mount Sinai and spoke the Ten Commandments to the entire Jewish people.

The Parsha begins with G-d’s commandment that every Jew over the age of twenty should contribute a Half Shekel, as atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. Only later in the Parsha does the Torah tell us how the people came about making the Golden Calf and worshipping it.

The Torah tells us that when the people saw that Moshe was not back yet from the mountain, they approached Aaron and asked him to make them a replacement for Moshe. Aaron told them to bring him their wives jewelry. Aaron then threw it into the fire and a Golden Calf emerged.

Q. Why was Moshe still on the Mountain when the people made the Golden Calf?

A. After G-d’s revelation at Mount Sinai and speaking the Ten Commandments, G-d told Moshe to come up the mountain, where G-d would give him the Tablets and teach him the entire Torah to later teach it to the Jewish people. Moshe was still up on Mount Sinai and was to return the next morning, when they made the Golden Calf.        

Q. Did all the twelve tribes have a share in this sin?

A. The tribe of Levi had no share in the sin of the Golden Calf. According to our sages, not even one person of the tribe of Levi participated in the Golden Calf. As a result, the tribe of Levi was chosen to perform G-d’s service in the Mishkan and later in the Holy Temple. The Kohanim and the Leviyim were all from the tribe of Levi.

Q.Why did the Torah change the order of events to tell us in the beginning of the Parsha, about the half- shekel, which was to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf, beforetelling us about the actual sin of the Golden Calf? If the half Shekel was atonement for the Golden Calf, shouldn’t it tell us about the sin of the Golden calf first?

A.Our sages tell us that G-d prepares the remedy before the plague and the cure before the sickness. This is why the Torah tells us about the building of the Mishkan and about the giving of the half Shekel, which was to atone for the Golden Calf, before telling us about the sin of the Golden Calf to teach us this important lesson: G-d always prepares the cure before the ailment.

It is a lesson in life that G-d has the cure and remedy ready before the challenge.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL & POSITIVE DAY