No Extra Show And Effects - The Pasuk says, “No man will ascend with you, and no man will be seen upon the mountain.” After the sin of the golden calf, HaShem asked Moshe Rabbeinu to go up the mountain by himself. In our days, everyone’s personal life is exposed and publicized all over, with social media and such. Similarly, the first Ten Commandments were given with a grand show of thunder lighting. But then, Am Yisrael committed a terrible sin of making the golden calf, and Moshe broke the Luchot. This Parasha, we learn the process of forgiveness andappeasement for Am Yisrael. Moshe Rabbeinu went up to receive the luchot for a second time. This time, however, there was no extra show and effects. It was done quietly and personally, with no one else there. There is a phrase in Hebrew, “אם לא פרסמת, לא עשית,” If you didn’t publicize it, you didn’t do it. But, in some cases, if you didn’t publicize it, you truly did it. This was the case here. As Chazal famously teach us, “Blessing only comes upon things that are hidden fromour eyes.”
No Quick Fixes - In this Parasha we learn that there are no quick fixes. After forty days, Am Yisrael loses their patience. The people have no energy to wait for the real tablets, so they are in a rush to find alternatives, even if they are false alternatives, like the golden calf. This is a life lesson that one should always keep in mind. Even if you're a hundred percent sure that you are right, it is always good to take a second and wait without acting hastily. One should always have patience and never jump to conclusions, or take faster, riskier options without waiting and taking the better one. It can lead to detrimental consequences, like it had with the Golden Calf.
The Connection Becomes Stronger - The story of the golden calf teaches us a profound message. Although Am Yisrael made a terrible mistake, after they made Teshuvah, the connection between them and HaShem became better and stronger. It can be compared to a rope that was severed. When you tie the two ends together, each side gets closer and the connection becomes stronger. Sometimes people think that after they have an argument with their friend, he feels that there is no way to fix it. The reality is that one is able to fix their relationship, and even strengthen it despite the fact that they argued.
There is no succes without unity - In this week's Parsha, we learn about the thirteen attributes of HaShem. Moshe tries to defend Am Yisrael by doing two things. First, he mentions the merit of their fathers. Second, he recites the thirteen attributes. We are obligated to work on ourselves to follow HaShem’s ways, and to emulate His thirteen attributes of mercy. The big question is: How can we follow the ways of HaShem, He is so much greater than us? How can we be compared to HaShem in any way, and expected to act like him? If we just take a look at one example of the thirteen attributes, we see how difficult this is. “Nose Avon” means that HaShem actually gives a person energy and freedom, even though He knows that he will use it to sin against him. It’s like giving someone money, even though this same person had seriously wronged him, and will use this very money to wrong him again. How could someone reach such a level? The Maharil says that this is the reason why we are not allowed to say the thirteen attributes of mercy by ourselves, and only to recite it in a minyan. One is unable to accomplish this feat by himself, but rather everyone together completes these traits amongst themselves. That’s why one of the opinions is that the most important Pasuk in the Torah is that you should love your fellow like yourself. Without working together, no one can succeed.
Everything is spiritual -This Parasha discusses the copper wash basin that was used by the Kohanim in the Mishkan. The women of Am Yisrael donated their copper mirrors which they used to beautify themselves for this wash basin. Moshe initially didn’t accept them, because he felt it was improper to use a vessel of vanity for a holy item of the Mishkan. HaShem then told Moshe that this is really the most meaningful gift, as these mirrors helped them beautify themselves and please their husbands when they returned from their back-breaking work in Egypt, and these mirrors have an importance to them. So, these mirrors were accepted and used for the wash basin. We can learn from this that anything in this physical world can be spiritual and dedicated to serving HaShem. Someone who goes to sleep isn’t just sleeping, but is energizing himself to do Mitzvot and learn Torah during the day after.
The Way To Experience Shabbat - Once, a yid came into Reb Moshe Feinstein’s study with tears in his eyes. He told Reb Moshe that all of his friend’s children follow in his footsteps and are on the right path. My children, on the other hand, are not interested in following my ways. Why is he succeeding to bring up his children in the right path, and I am not? Reb Moshe Feinstein answered him, “When you first came to America, it was very difficult to find a job that would let you take off on Shabbat. So, every time you would start a job, and tell your boss that you would not work on Shabbat, he would fire you. When you came back home for Shabbat, you were miserable and had no energy. Your children saw this, and thought, Why should I follow my father's footsteps and be miserable? But, when your friend would be fired for taking off Shabbat, he would rejoice nevertheless, and not become saddened. His children saw this, and thought to themselves, I want to be happy, I should follow my father’s footsteps. It says in this Parasha, “And Am Yisrael will keep the Shabbat, to make the Shabbat.” What does the Pasuk mean when it says “to make”? The answer is that the Pasuk is saying that one shouldn’t just keep Shabbat, but should rejoice in it. Someone can keep Shabbat because he is obligated to, and he has no feeling or joy for it. But, someone can keep Shabbat with joy, and really make the Shabbat yours. This is what the Pasuk is trying to tell us, “to make the Shabbat,” make it yours, don’t just keep it.
Mitzvot With Enthusiasm - There was a Rebbe that went to one of his student’s Brit Milah for his son. Before he left, he blessed all the attendants to the Simcha. His Shamash asked him, “Isn’t it boring to use the same Beracha to bless them everywhere you go?” The Rebbe didn’t answer. They continued walking, and they passed by a place where there was a a lady standing with a table full of bagels, yelling, “Bagel for a dollar, buy a bagel for a dollar.” The Rebbe asked his Shamash the same question, “Isn’t it boring to repeat the same thing?” The Rebbe answered both questions, “This lady sells more bagels each time she yells, so she doesn’t care if she’s repeating the same thing.” This story reminds us of Yehoshua Ben Nun. He was chosen to be the leader for Am Yisrael because he was excited for every Mitzvah. He didn’t look at the Mitzvot as simply a system we are obligated to, but a new opportunity to do something for HaShem. Yehoshua is compared to a fig tree. Just as a fig tree’s fruits don’t all ripen at the same time, and you can see figs on every stage on one tree, so too Yehoshua saw each Mitzvah as if for the first time, with full enthusiasm. Yehoshua also didn’t favor his dignity over Mitzvot, and he would do them with his full energy, no matter what. It says in the Pasuk regarding Yehoshua Ben Nun, “The youth would not depart from within his tent” - “Na’ar Lo Yamish MiToch HaOhel.” The Chidushei Harim says that the word “Na’ar” is an acronym for Ayin Tovah - Seeing the good in everything, Ruach Nemucha - Humility, and Nefesh Shfelah - Cautiousness.
The Process Of Fixing Ourselves - There is a problem in this generation that we always have to send the message that we are perfect. Rabbi Jacobson says that we don’t talk about our problems enough. Dealing with our issues is the key to getting to the truth, as we can only fix something if we are aware of it. In this week’s Parasha, HaShem actually commended Moshe for breaking the Tablets. Only when we understand that we are broken and not perfect are we able to start the process of fixing and improving ourselves. Additionally, Rabbi Hirsch says that Moshe Rabbeinu saw that the sin of the Golden Calf was not just a sin of believing or not, but was a sin done out of desire. If it was a sin rooted in a mistaken belief, or a lack of a proper one, then Moshe can simply guide them, as it is a mistake of their own thinking. On the other hand, if it was a sin of desires, and they really did believe, then you cannot simply speak to them or guide them, because they know anyways what’s right and are simply drawn by their desires. The only solution to this is to break this false illusion and to start from scratch. Thus, Moshe broke the Luchot. In this generation, there is a heavy culture of inclusion. We don’t like to break, and we are afraid to make clear boundaries and enforce them. We are too scared that we will offend, and we don’t know when to declare a serious crisis and to do something about it. We have to identify our mistakes and start from scratch when we need to.
It’s Worse To Not Be Ashamed - Rabbi Yerucham Leibovitch says that Moshe rabbeinu didn’t break the tablets because they had made the golden calf, rather because they were dancing around it. A nation that had just received the Torah from Mount Sinai suddenly degrades to such a level, and they were not ashamed of it whatsoever. Someone could do a terrible sin, but it is more detrimental if he is not ashamed about it whatsoever. This also reminds us of the sin in the times of the Megilah. The Jews didn’t just attend the party because they were forced to, but actually enjoyed it and took pleasure from it. This reminds of a story of a person that went to a restaurant, and someone approached him and demanded that he eat pork. He responded that he can’t, as he is a Jew. But then, the Jew told him that he could theoretically be permitted to eat the pork if his life was threatened. So, the non-Jew took out a gun and did exactly that. The Jew was now “forced” to eat the pork, so he sat down and ate a full course. After he had “unwillingly” finished his meal, he thanked the non-Jew.
What is the Biggest Sin - In the thirteen attributes of HaShem found in this Parasha, it says twice “HaShem, HaShem.” The Gemara says that we need HaShem’s mercy before we commit the sin, and we need His mercy after we commit the sin. The Maharsha questions on this why we would need mercy before committing a sin, if we haven’t done anything wrong. The Chovot Levavot says that if a person thinks that he didn’t commit a sin, that itself is the biggest sin of being arrogant, and he thus needs mercy for it. This is the meaning of the Gemara, that the first mention of the name of HaSHem refers to those who arrogantly feel they have not committed sins, and the second one is for those who have committed sins and know they have.