Tag: parshas Ki Sisa

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Ki Sisa – Why the Oral Torah Originally Was Not Written Down

If the Torah, inclusive of the Witten and Oral Law, is the Blueprints of Creation, and therefore the Handbook for all mankind, why isn’t it more accessible for both Jews and non-Jews alike?

There is a fascinating medrish which discusses why the Oral Law was not originally written down, in this week’s Torah portion of Ki Sisa, based on the pasuk, “Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Write these words for yourself, for according to these words have I sealed a covenant with you and Israel,'” (Shemos 34:27). There are in fact a few versions of this medrish. This dvar Torah focuses on the Medrish Rabba (Ki Sisa 47:1 & Naso 14:22).

The medrish in Shemos Rabba writes, “‘Write these words for yourself.’ Similarly, ‘I will write for them most of My Torah but they would be considered as something alien’ (Hoshea 8:12). When Hashem revealed Himself to the Jews on Har Sinai to give them the Torah, Hashem said it over to Moshe in the order of pasuk, mishna, talmud, and aggadic text, as it says, ‘Hashem spoke all these statements’ (Shemos 20:1), even the questions asked from student to rebbe. [The Etz Yosef explains that for each parsha Hashem told over the pesukim, then the mishna related to them, then the halachos related to them, and finally the aggadta related to them, even the questions that were asked pilpul style, meaning even the questions that were asked by the experienced and sharp students towards the rebbe, were all given over to Moshe Rabbeinu by Hashem.] At that time, after he learned directly from Hashem, [Hashem] told [Moshe] to teach it to the Jews. He said back, ‘Master Of The World, I will write it down for them.’ He responded, ‘I did not ask for it to be given written down because it is revealed before Me that the nations of the world will control you in the future and will take it (the Torah) from you and you will be disgraced amongst the nation. [The Etz Yosef adds the reason why is because when the Torah would get into the hands of everybody equally, then the gentiles will haughtily say they are the Jews.] Rather the Chumash I am giving to you written down and mishna and talmud and aggadta I will give you orally. For if the nations of the world will come and subjugate you, you will be different from them. He [Hashem] said to the prophet [Hoshea] [If] I will write to them most of My Torah [Which the Etz Yosef says refers to the Mishna which is bigger than the chumash as it says in Bamidbar Rabba 14:22,] they will be considered alien, [The Etz Yosef says because the gentiles will view themselves as equal to the Jews,] so what shall I do for them? I will write down the chumash and the mishna, talmud and aggadta will be Oral. ‘Write for you these pesukim’ because by word of mouth, which refers to the mishna and talmud, that will differentiate between the Jews and the gentiles.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

In a similar vein the Medrish [Bamidbar] Rabba 14:22 adds, “Hashem gave us ‘two Torahs’, the Written Torah and Oral Torah. He gave the Written Torah which has 613 mitzvos in order to fill them with mitzvos so they accrue merits as it says in Yeshaya 42:21, ‘Hashem desired for the sake of [Israel’s] righteousness that the Torah be made great and glorious.’ He gave to them the Oral Torah in order to set them apart from the other nations and that is why it was given to be written, so that the nations of the world would not plagiarize as they did with the Written Torah, and say they are the Jews. About this the pasuk in Hoshea 8:12 said ‘I will write for them most of the Torah but they will be regarded as something alien.’ Hashem said if I will write down most of My Torah which is the mishna, which is more than the chumash, then they would be considered as something alien.” The Etz Yosef elaborates what the medrish means that the gentiles would claim they are the Jews, “The intention being that which they haughtily say that Hashem chose them and took them in place of the Jews and gave them their Torah. They took all the good mussar (positive moral lessons) that was in Moshe’s Torah and put it into their books. If they would have gotten ahold of the Oral Torah they would have taken everything. There would then be room to mistakenly follow them because Hashem gave His Torah to them. But now that the truth of the matter is not in their hands which is known through the Oral Torah, then it’s known that they are undoubtedly liars, and their explanations [of the Written Torah] are lies because the true meanings are accepted by us in our hands, i.e. based in tradition.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
It is implicit from the medrish that it would have been better if the Oral Torah would have originally been written down. People would have had the ability to understand it and retain it better, and there would have been more access for all Jews, no matter what their memory skills were to be able to learn it and live by it. It was only not written because the gentiles would have usurped it, translated it, and learned it themselves, thereby falsely proclaiming they were the chosen Jewish people, as they did with the Written Torah. Thereforeit was not originally written down and was in fact a sign of a covenant between Hashem and His Children as an everlasting difference between us and the gentiles. The reason why the gentiles should not have access to it is because they would mishandle it, besides for falsely claiming they are the Jews. But they would also incorporate smidgins or entire parts here and there into their bylaws and claim that they are the moral compass of society.

If the Written and Oral Torah is the handbook for of all mankind then why can’t all peoples just understand it by reading and delving into it on their own and figuring out what Hashem wants from them to make this world a better place?

The answer lies in the concluding statement quoted above from the Etz Yosef on Bamidbar Rabba: Mesora! Tradition!!🎻 The only way the Torah can properly be learnt, even if it is written down, is through mesora, the link from generation to generation, father to son, teacher to student going all the way back to Har Sinai, when Hashem, Himself, gave the Torah to the Jewish people. Without the chain, without the links which connects us to the author of the Torah, the Creator Of The World, then it is impossible to accurately understand the Torah and be able to live by the Blueprints of Creation, the Handbook for mankind the way Hashem destined for us to live our lives. Because the gentiles rejected their chance of receiving the Torah directly from Hashem they lost the opportunity to live by the Handbook in its entirety, unless they choose to convert and honestly join the chain of mesora. We must say though that although  the Oral Torah has indeed been written down and published since the times of Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi, which was an emergency protocol to ensure the Torah would not be forgotten, but by that point the gentiles were so far gone and even until today with all the advancement of translated Torah works, they are even more far gone, b’chasdei Hashem, that they are too far from being  interested in picking up and proactively delving into the Oral Torah.

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Ki Sisa-Shabbos: A Testimony of Self-Sacrifice

 
We say the paragraph of Vishamru every Shabbos eve before Shemone Esray, and during the Shabbos daytime kiddush. The paragraph comes from this week’s Torah portion of Ki Sisa. It states, “The Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbos, to make the Shabbos an eternal covenant for their generations. Between Me and the Children of Israel it is a sign forever that in a six-day period Hashem made heaven and earth and on the seventh day He rest and was refreshed” (Shemos 31:16, 17).
 

The Mechilta points out that “”it’s a sign between Me and you” and not between Me and the other nations of the world.” The Markeves HaMishna explains that this is alluding to the conclusion of the gemara in Beitza 16a, which states that non-Jews were not informed about the reward given for keeping Shabbos, and were not given an extra soul (neshama yeseira) on Shabbos, as Jews have. It also alludes to the gemara in Sanhedrin 58b that any gentile who rests on Shabbos is deserving of the death penalty.
 
The Vilna Gaon transposes a piece from a couple of paragraphs later on, into this line of the Mechilta, to read: “For it is a sign between Me and you and not between Me and the nations of the world. Just as so-and-so closed his store to observe Shabbos, and just as so-and-so stopped working to observe Shabbos, they testify about the One Who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. And so it says, ‘You are my witnesses -the word of Hashem- and I am G-D’ (Yeshayahu 43:12).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

 
According to the flow of the pesukim, the simple understanding of why the Jews are a testimony to Hashem’s existence is because just as Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, we give testimony to that by working six days and resting on the seventh. One might think that a clear testimony of Hashem’s existence and how He runs the world is proclaimed when we say kiddush, sanctifying Hashem’s name. Or even through the festive meals we have every week in honor of Shabbos. Or even from us restraining from turning on lights, cooking, or writing. All these are verbal or active testimonies of dedication to Hashem and His will. But the medrish says the ultimate testimony is the person who closes his store or stops doing his job; which in a vacuum makes sense, as said earlier, because it’s just like Hashem who stopped working on the seventh day. Indeed, that would be enough if we would just keep this paragraph where it was, where it was talking about how Shabbos adds holiness to the Jews, which is done by just working; that would be a testimony to Hashem. However, the Vilna Gaon moved this line about people who close their shop and stop working as testimony, to where the Mechilta states that Shabbos is a sign between G-D and the Jews and not between the gentiles and the Jews. What indication is there that closing shop and stopping working is a testimony that only Jews make? Why wouldn’t it also be a testimony if non-Jews would close up shop and not work on Shabbos; in fact many are off or closed on the weekends?
 
 I humbly propose that the reason why the Mechilta emphasizes closing up shop and stopping to work as the difference between a Jew a non-Jew is because when a Jew closes his business or decides not to work on Shabbos he is moser nefesh., it is an incredible self-sacrifice on his part, and that dedication is a testimony to his belief in an Almighty who created and runs the world. Whereas for any gentile it’s not self-sacrifice; rather it’s just a choice to take time off and get a break from his busy week to unwind.
 
Being moser nefesh for Shabbos, like many Jews did in America in the early part of the 20th century, where many of them lost their jobs for the sake of Shabbos, or even today, the self-sacrifice (mesiras nefesh) the hostages who decided to take on Shabbos observance and their parents who did the same is the best testimony and sign between Hashem and His people of their belief and dedication in Hashem.
 
Have a restful (מנוחה) and delightful (עונג) Shabbos,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

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Ki Sisa – Sin of the Golden Calf: A Lesson in Parenting

Imagine if you, as parents, went away for a few days and left your 8 children, one of them being adopted, with a caregiver. Their ages are 15,12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, and the adopted one is 13. The parents left on their trip, and the caregiver went to the grocery store before she came, to pick up a few items. The 15-year-old was in charge until the caregiver got there. Which is fine because the 15-year-old is old enough to watch for a few hours. The caregiver is taking her time to get to the house and the kids are getting a little antsy. But the 15-year-old keeps them calm. And then, the 13-year-old adopted child, who is known to be a troublemaker but all in all is a good kid had an idea. He was getting a bit nervous so he told his siblings that he has an older friend that can come over and take care of them because this other babysitter must not be coming. He calls his friend, and the guy comes over. He is a drug addict, spiked hair, earrings in other places besides his ears and tattoos. He starts handing out drugs to the kids. The 15-year-old does not know what to do but he plays along and spins the joint between his two fingers without taking a puff. The parents look at the cameras they have in their house to check on how their children are doing and are appalled at the sight! They call the caregiver to runover right away. She walks into the house, sees the scene in front of her and drops all the packages in her hands. The police are called, the guy is arrested, and the drugs confiscated. The adopted child, the parents felt, had to be removed from the house and put back into a home. What would you do as parents if this happened to you?

This is a pretty good comparison, mashal, to what took place in this week’s Torah portion of Ki Sisa by the sin of the golden calf, where the Eirev Rav, those that left Egypt with the Jews supposedly pledging allegiance to G-D, but were the ring leaders of the movement to replace Moshe with the golden calf as leader of the people because he wasn’t coming back after 6 hours into the 40th day from when he went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Aharon tried pushing them off and waste time but they took over the situation and wreaked havoc until Hashem told Moshe there is havoc down there in the camp, hurry go down, and when he went down and saw what was happening he dropped the two tablets of Ten Commandments he was carrying, eventually destroying the idol and killing whoever was directly involved and Hashem was ready to wipe out the entire Jewish people and start anew with Moshe Rabbeinu. 
 Rabbeinu Yona in a drasha he said to his congregation found in the Sefer Drashos Upeirushei Rabbeinu Yona al HaTorah explains Hashem’s reaction and Moshe’s response and how Moshe advocated on behalf of the Jewish nation before Hashem. “And it says that He does judgement kindness, and righteousness in the land. For we find that He did a great kindness to our forefathers when they left Egypt, and by Mount Sinai, and He spoke to them from Heaven. And He told Moshe Rabbeinu go up this mountain to Me and I will give the tablets of stone etc. (Shemos 24:12). He did all this in order to turn them into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This is called kindness, just like it says in Tehillim (89:3) ‘A world of kindness He shall build.’ ‘And He prepared with kindness the Throne’ (Yeshayahu 16:5). After this when Moshe seemed to have been delayed coming back down the mountain, the sin of the golden calf occurred. They wanted something they could gather around and to be their leader to replace Moshe. For they said, ‘get up and make for us an elohim’ (which can mean a judge). That is why Aharon didn’t take his life to ensure he would not be involved in it and only the rest of the nation deserved to be destroyed. So, then Moshe Rabbeinu got up in prayer and said ‘Why Hashem have you become furious?’ Meaning, don’t become furious, as it says similarly, ‘Why should I be dead in your eyes’ (Breishis 47:19). [Moshe went on and said] ‘that You took them out of Egypt.’ This is to teach us that if one does a kindness for another, he has to be able to deal with the iniquities done afterwards in order to uphold the original kindness. [Moshe also] said ‘and with great strength etc.’ He asked of [Hashem] to raise upon them the power of mercy as it says, ‘Please raise the power of Hashem… Slow to anger and much kindness’ (Bamidbar 14:17, 18). [Moshe also] said ‘The Egyptians will say etc.’ Not that there was a concern about what the Egyptians would say just that Moshe and his children would become a great nation. We learn from here that one should be concerned about what others would say and should not do something which would lead to being the laughing stalk of others even if what you do is justified.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
 Rabbeinu Yona gives 3 reasons of why Hashem should not act furiously against the Jewish People. 1. Because it wouldn’t be right to get rid of someone who You originally saved. 2. Arouse mercy in Yourself. 3. The Egyptians will make fun of You. But why are those justifications and how does it sound right? The Jewish People betrayed Hashem and Moshe. This was fresh off of Hashem taking them in to be His nation and children. Why do they deserve to have mercy? They didn’t live up to their original expectations and it’s not like Hashem took them in for a long time and after a while they made a mistake, so it looks bad to get rid of them after raising and molding them for a long time. Whereas here, just getting them and they made a major mistake just means it was like a bad sale so it’s understandable that He would just give them back or get rid of them? Furthermore, who cares what other people say? Hashem is the King Of All Kings, He proved His might and force with the plagues. He proved He means business and He has high standards of what’s right and wrong so it’s understandable that Hashem would severely punish us and get rid of us even after He just saved us and what the Egyptians would say if they would say anything is meaningless.

 It must be that these were all reasons that Moshe gave to arouse mercy on Hashem’s children, though they might deserve severe punishment and really what the Egyptians would say is meaningless but in the context of how a father should react to the actions of his children, Moshe made these points as an advocate for His children towards their Father in Heaven.
 That doesn’t mean that Moshe was asking for a free pass. Rabbeinu Yona goes on to explain a few other claims Moshe made to Hashem on behalf of the Jewish People and in the end Rabbeinu Yona writes, “After He taught Moshe the 13 attributes of mercy, Moshe went back and asked Hashem ‘if it finds favor in His eyes, if He can please walk amongst us?’ But it wouldn’t be the same kind of walking as originally planned. Originally [Hashem] with His Honor would have walked amongst them but now He would only rest His Shechina amongst them, as it says ‘I will walk in the Tent and in the Mishkan’ (Shmuel Beis 7:6) and it says ‘And I will walk amongst you’ (Vayikra perek 26). And it says, ‘For they are a stubborn nation,’ Meaning even though they are a stubborn nation. ‘And You will forgive us…’ Meaning, since the Shechina will be amongst them they will not further sin. And it says, ‘we will be an inheritance’ Meaning, You will place us as an inheritance for You when You will rest amongst us. It also says in the prophets, ‘Hashem chose Yehuda as His part on the Holy ground and chose Yerushalayim again’ (Zechariah 2:16).”
 Hashem didn’t just give a free pass, out of His abundance of mercy to the Jewish People. There were consequences for their actions, namely they could have had the Shechina resting amongst them throughout the entire camp. A feeling of bliss and holiness would have been felt consistently by everyone on a level quite incredible. They lost their chance to have a “buddy buddy” so to speak type of relationship with Hashem but rather Hashem just rested His Shechina over the Mishkan as like a knowing eye constantly watching over them to deter them from sinning.

We learn from here a very important lesson on how to deal with loved ones who we are responsible for but might have gotten into trouble, maybe even severe trouble. The first thing one has to do is remember that you have been taking care of them until now so you have a sense of responsibility for them and should not give up on them so quickly. Then you should arouse mercy on them, and one can think about how others will look at you for lashing out and severely punishing a loved one, as a means to calm yourself down. But that doesn’t mean he or she should get a pass for what they did. One can’t just be “buddy buddy” with them you have to show your authority while showing love and keeping an eye on them, making sure they know your presence is felt to ensure they don’t make mistakes at least for quite a while. (This applies to the party involved that just joined in but the ring leaders might deserve and need a more severe punishment as we see what happened to the Eirev Rav in the nimshal or the adopted child in the mashal I gave.)

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

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Ki Sisa – Traumatic Fear


 In this week’s Torah portion of Ki Sisa we have the infamous episode of the sin of the golden calf and Aharon’s involvement. What was going through his mind, what exactly did he do, and how much was he really involved? 
The medrish Pirkei diRebbe Eliezer (45) paints a picture of what enfolded: “Rebbe Shimon ben Yochai said that when Hashem revealed Himself to Moshe from within the bush and sent him to Egypt, Moshe said before Hashem, ‘Master of the World swear to me that whatever I ask of You to do, You shall do, so that I won’t say something to Pharaoh, You won’t do it, and he will kill me.’ He swore to him that whatever request he makes he will fulfill except for two things: going into The Land, and not dying…
When the Jews accepted the commandments, after 40 days they forgot their G-D. They said to Aharon, the Egyptians use to carry their god, serve it and sing before it and they saw it in front of their eyes. Make us a god like the god of the Egyptians etc. They went to the friends of Moshe, Aharon, and Chur, the son of their sister (Miriam)…
Since Chur (on his father’s side) was from the tribe of Yehuda, and was one of the leaders of the generation, he started rebuking the Jews with harsh words. The lower echelon of Jewish society stood up against him and murdered him. Aharon saw that Chur was murdered and he built an alter as it says, ‘And Aharon saw’. What did he see? That Chur, the son of his sister was murdered, and he built an alter as it says, ‘And he built an alter.’ Aharon judged a judgment by himself and said, ‘If I tell them to give me gold and silver, immediately they will bring it, rather I will tell them to give me the earrings of your wives and children and then the whole plan will be spoiled’, as it says, ‘And Aharon told them to take off etc.’ The women heard this, did not want to, and didn’t accept to give the earrings to their husbands. They said we don’t want to be involved in making such a decrepit and disgusting thing that has no power to save us. (The Be’ur Maspik [in some editions it is called Bayis Chadash] explains ‘that what was going through Aharon’s mind was that women and children are more protective of their jewelry and will refuse to give them up, and in the meantime Moshe will come down and the whole situation will dissipate.’ In fact the women were against the whole plan of their husbands.) Hashem rewarded them with a reward in this world that they observe Rosh Chodesh more than men do (by not doing strenuous work, like laundry, on the new month). They also got reward in the World to Come in that they would be resurrected (the Mishna in perek Chelek of Sanhedrin lists the men of the generation in the desert as those that have no share in the World to Come.) The men saw that their wives were not listening to them to give the earrings to their husbands. What did they do? At that time they wore earrings just like Egyptians or Arabs did, they took theirs off and gave them to Aharon… Aharon found amongst all the jewelry a head band of gold which had Hashem’s Holy name written on it and also a picture of a calf inscribed in it. That was the only thing he threw into the pot of fire. As it says, ‘they have gave to me’ ‘and I threw them into the fire’ it does not say after that but ‘I threw it into the fire.’ (Assumingly, with something so holy, Aharon was assuming or hoping that nothing wrong will come out from it.) The calf came out mooing and the Jews saw this. Rebbe Yehuda says Samel (Satan) entered into it and started moving to seduce the Jews… the Jews saw it and started to kiss it, bow down and sacrifice to it.”

The rest of the Medrish goes on to say that Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu that the Jewish people forgot His limitless power and all the wonders He did for them in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and therefore they are not My people anymore but they are yours to deal with. Moshe took the tablets of the Ten Commandments which were carved out by Hashem and the Holy letters were carrying the tablets on their own. When Moshe came Towards the bottom of the mountain the letters flew off the tablets and the tablets became too heavy for Moshe to carry so he dropped them to the bottom of the mountain. He then went over to Aharon, seeing what was going on, and asked him, ‘What did you do to this nation? You uncovered them like an adulterous woman that was caught!’ Aharon said back to Moshe, ‘I saw what they did to Chur and I was very much afraid!’ Moshe found that the princes of each tribe and the entire tribe of Levi had no involvement in the golden calf. He took the golden calf, and crushed and burned it to smithereens. He took the ashes, mixed them in water, and forced the Jews to drink it. Whoever had gold lips after they drank showed that they kissed the idol with all their heart, so Moshe ordered the Leviim to kill them. Around 3000 people give or take were executed. Then Hashem sent down destructive angels to wipe out the entire nation and Moshe Rabbeinu had to pray, using the 13 attributes of mercy, in order to save the nation from destruction. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
If not for Aharon “playing along” with the heathens, none of this would have happened. Aharon was a rodef shalom, someone who ran after peace, always dealing with people and their plights and skirmishes. He knew how to talk in a convincing way to make sure everything worked out and was peaceful at the end of the day. Why couldn’t he do the same in this circumstance? Nicely tell them this is inappropriate and the wrong thing to do. Granted, his nephew, Chur, was just slaughtered by these people, but he spoke quite harshly to them. Aharon, the great tzadik, beloved by all, and leader that he was, should have been able to talk them out of it instead of using subterfuge, which didn’t work. How could it be that he didn’t think that even if the women and children refused, the men would act fast and donate their own jewelry to the cause?

Yet the Beur Hamaspik says that Aharon actually saw Chur murdered in cold blood in front of his eyes, as we see at the end of the pasuk. This appears to mean that what Aharon was doing was purely for the sake of Heaven, as he said, “a holiday for Hashem there shall be etc.” That is why the medrish was wondering what he actually saw. And therefore the medrish taught that the pasuk was bringing a defense for Aharon. What did he see to listen to them to make the golden calf? He saw Chur slaughtered before his very eyes and he was afraid lest they do to him what they did to Chur.

We can infer from this medrish and the comments the Be’ur Maspik makes on this medrish that if Aharon would not have seen his nephew, Chur, viciously slaughtered in  front of him, then Aharon would have stealthily convinced them to not make the golden calf, rather than going along with their idea with a trick which he hoped would delay the making.

We see from here the impact seeing a traumatizing experience can do to even the greatest of people and the ramifications it has on the masses. Aharon wasn’t held responsible for anything that he did or resulted because he wasn’t trying to do anything wrong and his intent was purely for the sake of Hashem to try to divert the evil plans from coming into fruition but if not for the impact of what he saw he could have made better choices which would have resulted in the sin of the golden calf never happening and its ramifications would never have reverberated until this very day.

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Ki Sisa – In the Courtroom of Hashem

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In this week’s Torah portion of Ki Sisa we witness the sin of the Golden Calf and the tragic ramifications it had on the Jewish people and the world throughout history. After Moshe came down from Mount Sinai and broke the tablets it says: “Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in fire…on that day some three thousand men fell from among the people…And now, if You forgive their sin But if not…Behold My angel will go before you. But on the day I make an accounting [of sins upon them], I will bring their sin to account against them…” Then the Lord struck the people with a plague… The Lord spoke to Moshe: “Go, ascend from here… And Moshe took the tent and pitched it for himself outside the camp, distancing [it] from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting, and it would be that anyone seeking the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp” (Shemos excerpts from perakim 32, 33).

The Ralbag learns a lesson from these pesukim in relation to middos

[character development]

. This is that it is not befitting for a person to ask forgiveness for a sin on behalf of others, as long as the sinner still is holding on to the sin. For this reason Moshe only requested from Hashem to forgive the Jew’s sins after the golden calf was destroyed, and the rebels killed. However, since not all the rebels were completely wiped out at that time, and although Hashem accepted his words, he said that those who had sinned against Him should be erased from His Book, and the rest of the rebels who followed the calf should be plagued. But Hashem promised Moshe that He would not take away their inheritance of The Land because of their sin. In this manner He forgave their sins. However Hashem still had not attached to them His Personal Divine Providence, hashgacha pratis, lest they would sin to him. For Hashem brings bad to those He loves as rebuke, and they escaped from that bad as Moshe requested, but the bad that automatically came as part of the system of consequences eventually caught up with them; as it says: “But on the day I make an accounting [of sins upon them], I will bring their sin to account against them” (Shemos 32:34). This destiny Moshe did not try to save them from, since it is inappropriate for a person to ask forgiveness for a sinner while the sinner is still holding on to the sin. Therefore Moshe did not request that Hashem’s Personal Divine Providence, hashgacha pratis, would cling to the Jews as long as their hearts were far from Him. Rather, he conducted himself with reprimand by distancing his tent from them until they subjugated their hearts and returned to Hashem. After that he requested that Hashem’s Personal Divine Providence would cling to them.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

If you analyze the Ralbag carefully you’ll see that there are two stages of dealing with the sin which are being addressed here. We are going to gain a slight glimpse into how we can approach Hashem with our sins. First and foremost, in order to even ask Hashem to forgive us, we must remove ourselves from the sin we have committed, for Hashem doesn’t simply overlook sin for no reason. The perpetrators must take steps to fix the problem before Hashem begins to forgive, and possibly forget. For this reason Moshe destroyed the idol and sent the Levite family to murder all the primary accomplices. Only then was Moshe able to begin to daven to Hashem to not annihilate the Jewish people and to promise that they would still inherit The Promise Land, The Land of Israel.

However that wasn’t enough, because there are underlying reasons and intents for any sin, which are harder to get rid of. But in this case, in order for Hashem to apply his Divine Providence on every individual as a person, and not just as a collective, they had to be cleansed of the underlying emotion that caused them to sin to begin with.

This itself is a telling lesson, for it seems, according to the Ralbag, that because of the consequence of our actions, Hashem out of his love and mercy for His precious children, will not shine His Personal Divine Providence on a sinner who has not psychologically changed his mind, since it would just do more harm than good. This is because of His close relationship with his righteous children; it would behoove Him to rebuke us in order for us to mend our ways.if He was so close to us, therefore Hashem does not give special individual attention to His children when they are sinning, in order to not give dangerous rebuke that is deserved.

For this reason Moshe removed himself from the camp, as if to show his own disgust in their actions, so that they will humble themselves and remove the haughtiness which caused them to sin.

Why did Moshe get involved in this manner by separating his tent from the rest of theirs? Wouldn’t it have been sufficient just to lecture them and verbally take them through the process of how to properly conclude their teshuva, the repentance process of clearing their minds and hearts of any lingering evil intent, no matter how minute it was? Especially since it is really unimaginable at this point that they weren’t humiliated enough for the sin they had committed, especially after they reached such heights at the receiving of the Torah just days before, and then realizing how they quickly came crashing down with the sin of the golden calf, they must have already felt utter embarrassment and disgrace before Hashem as is. Why did Moshe have to dig it in more by separating his tent from the rest of them?

We can learn a very important lesson in how to treat our children, students, or anyone, when they have done something wrong and you want to help them correct their ways. That is, that the most effective way to help a person change is not just to tell them what they did wrong and how to fix it, or even to lead by example, but to put them into the position that they will be forced to figure out, on their own, how to fix the problem. It will make a greater impression on them in the long run, even if they are feeling betrayed in the short term. For this reason, even though the Jewish People must have already begun to feel a tremendous amount of remorse over what they were involved in but Moshe separated himself from them so that they will come to the realization that they had to be even more humiliated in order to wipe out any negative feeling inside them and to completely humble themselves.