The Sin of the Golden Calf and the Mishkan

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1. The Mishkan: A Mini Mt. Sinai, or a 'Kosher' Golden Calf

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ג | | Hour and 5 minutes

   In this shiur, we seek to understand the sin of the Golden calf. What is so bad about it? What can we learn from it? Through our study, we also gain insight into the role of the Mishkan and the ark.

2. The Ideological Foundations of the Sin of the Golden Calf

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   How could have Bnei Yisrael performed the Sin of the Golden Calf immediately after receiving the Torah? A look at the description of God's chariot shows that the cherubs are in fact oxen. Aharon had intended on bringing the Divine Presence down to earth after Moshe had disappeared; but the nation misunderstood his intentions, and believed the calf was a replacement for God. The same mistake was made, hundreds of years later, by Yerovam.

3. The Mishkan - Ideal First Choice or After-the-Fact?

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   One of the major areas of disagreement concerning the effect of the sin of the Golden Calf concerns the Mishkan. Would there have been no Mishkan according to Rashi had the nation not sinned?

4. Parshat Teruma - Of Sequence and Sanctuary: The View of Rashi (Audio)

   Rabbi Chanoch Waxman |

   What compels Rashi to insist that the stories of the command to build the Mishkan and the Sin of the Golden Calf are not presented in chronological order? Is the mikdash merely an after-the-fact response to the sin of the Golden Calf? Or could the textual and thematic parallels between the mikdash and the Revelation at Sinai provide significantly different reasons and implications for Rashi’s sequencing?

5. Parshat Vayakhel- Pekudei

   Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 29 minutes

   Why are the parshiot of Teruma-Tetzveh repeated while the actual building of the mishkan took place in parshiot Vayakhel-Pekudei? Wouldn't it suffice to just state that Moshe built the mishkan as God commanded? An analysis of these questions contributes to an exploration of the dual nature of the mishkan and a deeper understanding of the nature of the relationship between Am Yisrael and Hashem. 

6. Parashat HaShavua Teruma - Rashi and Ramban

   Rabbi David Silverberg | 33 minutes

   This shiur examines the famous mahloket (debate) between Rashi and Ramban regarding the chronology of Parashat Teruma.
   Is the command to construct the Mishkan given before or after Het Ha-Egel (the Sin of the Golden Calf) takes place? Rashi views the Mishkan as part of the atonement process for the sin, while Ramban sees the Mishkan as perpetuating the experience of Ma'amad Har Sinai.
   
    

7. Parashat Vayakhel Pekudei - Why the Repetition?

   Rabbi Alex Israel | 30 minutes

   Vayakhel - Pekudei contains the precise dimensions of the Mishkan, but these already appeared in Teruma and Tetzaveh. Why did "Moshe followed the instructions" not suffice? We try to understand the secrets behind this "list - repetition" phenomenon in Vayakhel - Pekudei. 

   We relate to the question of the detailed language and repetition of our parsha by looking at the wider context of the latter part of the Book of Shemot.
   Is this repetition part of the emphasis on the possibility of Israel's atonement for the Sin of the Golden Calf? Ultimately, the structure of the parasha and Sefer Shemot is such that it ends off with the message that God has come back to dwell within the midst of Israel, as the Mishkan is filled with a Divine cloud.
    

8. The Aftermath of the Sin of the Golden Calf

   Rabbi Ezra Bick

   This article studies the aftermath of the Sin of the Golden Calf - how Moshe, on the one hand, tries to amend the disastrous situation engendered by the sin of the eigel (a situation which originally leads God to propose the destruction of the Jewish nation), and on the other hand, God's response to Moshe's efforts. In so doing, we can begin to understand why the Sages viewed the chet ha-eigel as a watershed in Jewish spiritual history, and how post-eigel history differs from pre-eigel history.

9. “Let Them Make Themselves a Sanctuary, That I Might Dwell in its Midst”

   Rabbi Gad Eldad

   One of the most conspicuous examples of repetition in the Torah is found in the section devoted to the Mishkan. Following the detailed list of commands in the Parashot of Teruma and Tetzaveh, instead of simply noting, “And the people did as Moshe had commanded,” we find all the details of the construction repeated over again. In this article, we will examine the sin of the golden calf, which is recorded in between the commands concerning the Mishkan and their fulfillment, and its results and ramifications, with a view to explaining this phenomenon.

10. God's Presence in the Mishkan after the Golden Calf: The Nature of God's Relationship with Israel

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 22 minutes

    In Vayakhel-Pekudei, there is an interesting phenonenon of the repetition (in certain places) of "as God commanded" - mostly occuring in the descriptions of the construction of the Mishkan vessels. It comes up once again after the Mishkan is set up. Afterward, God's presence is felt in the Mishkan to the extent that even Moshe cannot enter the Tent of Meeting.

     The description of Bnei Yisrael's fulfilment of God's instructions, and especially, the description of God's presence entering the Mishkan,  highlight the special relationship between God and Israel. Astonishingly, even after the Sin of the Golden Calf (and its aftermath), the relationship continues. In this shiur, we contemplate the duality of God's relationship with Israel as expressed in these chapters: there are aspects of the constancy (and difficulty) of a parent-child relationship, as well as the passion (and risks) of the marriage relationship.

11. Tetzaveh - Mishkan, Aharon, and the Sin of the Golden Calf

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 20 minutes

    Parashat Tetzaveh offers us a vantage point onto the place of sin in our reality.  There is a well-known debate between Rashi and Ramban about the placement of Tetzaveh vis a vis the Sin of the Golden Calf. Was the command to build the Mishkan given before the Sin of the Golden Calf as a way to continue the experience of the Revelation at Sinai, or was it a way to facilitate an atonement process after the Sin of the Golden Calf?

    We look at the implications to gain insight into the function and role of the mishkan according to each view – how does each deal with possibility of sin,  and failure? And where does Aharon fit in with all of this?