Something that troubles many people about the Eigel is the contradiction (or the apparent contradiction) in the Divrei Chazal. On the one hand Chazal tell us that only 3,000 Jews served or bowed down to the Eigel. More than that, they were the Eiruv Rav and were not really the main body of Klal Yisrael. Chazal also tell us as the Ramban is Maarich, that the Eigel was never meant to be an Avodah Zorah. Klal Yisrael wanted the Eigel in place of Moshe Rabbeinu as an intermediary. There is something wrong but still it doesn’t seem to be as serious an Aveira as we find on the second hand that there is a tremendous punishment L’doros to Klal Yisrael for what had taken place during the Cheit Ha’eigel. Therefore this entire episode, everything that takes place here needs to be explained in a clearer light.
I saw a beautiful Vort from the Chasam Sofer here on this week’s Parsha that explains it although the Chasam Sofer is really coming to explain something else. We find that when Moshe Rabbienu comes down from Har Sinai right before he goes and destroys the Luchos and kills those who bowed to the Eigel, he has an exchange with Yehoshua. Yehoshua says in 32:17 ( וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶת-קוֹל הָעָם, בְּרֵעֹה; וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, קוֹל מִלְחָמָה, בַּמַּחֲנֶה) I hear the sound of battle in the camp. Moshe Rabbeinu responds in 32:18 (וַיֹּאמֶר, אֵין קוֹל עֲנוֹת גְּבוּרָה, וְאֵין קוֹל, עֲנוֹת חֲלוּשָׁה; קוֹל עַנּוֹת, אָנֹכִי שֹׁמֵעַ) meaning it is not the sound of people winning the battle or losing the battle. I hear the sound of people speaking against G-d. Yehoshua’s mistake of thinking that is was the noise of battle does not seem to be important enough to be recorded in the Chumash. What does that have to do with the Cheit Ha’eigel?
Says the Chasam Sofer beautifully, Moshe Rabbeinu had heard from the Ribbono Shel Olam himself that Klal Yisrael sinned by creating a Eigel and bowing to it. Moshe Rabbeinu assumed that there must be some Tzaddikim, some righteous people who are not silent and stood up against those that are making the Eigel. He assumed that when he came down that there would be a battle taking place. It didn’t happen. Yehoshua assumed the same thing as is evident from the Posuk (קוֹל מִלְחָמָה, בַּמַּחֲנֶה), there must be some battle going on. To Moshe Rabbeinu’s great disappointment there was not. The Cheit of the multitudes of Klal Yisrael is that when this group created an Eigel and said 32:4 (אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל) the multitude of Jews didn’t speak up. They did not fight a battle against those who were creating the Eigel. That is the Cheit Ha’eigel.
Rabbeuin Yonah writes that someone who isn’t Mochiach when he sees a sin is considered as an accessory to the sin. That is what happened here, of course they on their lofty Madreiga were judged very seriously. Therefore, Klal Yisrael was judged for participating in the Cheit Ha’eigel because there was no Milchamah that had taken place at that time. This gives a new light of what took place. What took place was the silence of Klal Yisrael in the face of something terrible that was taking place and there should have been someone to speak up against what happened. For that they were included (so to speak) in the Cheit Ha’eigel.
The Satmar Rebbe in Divrei Yoel brings a Chasam Sofer who says now he understands a Gemara. The Gemara in Maseches Yevamos 62a (12 lines from the top) says (שיבר את הלוחות מאי דרש אמר ומה פסח שהוא אחד משש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות אמרה תורה כל בן נכר לא יאכל בו התורה כולה וישראל מומרים על אחת כמה וכמה והסכימה דעתו לדעת המקום דכתיב אשר שברת ואמר ריש לקיש אמר ליה הקב"ה למשה יישר כחך ששברת) Moshe Rabbeinu broke the Luchos because he made the following calculation. The Korban Pesach is one Mitzvah out of 613 and it says (כל בן נכר לא יאכל בו), that Jews who are not true to the Torah can’t participate. So all Taryag Mitzvos certainly, and he broke the Luchos. So it was a Kal V’chomer from Korban Pesach. The Maharsha asks by Korban Pesach if the Korban is Shechted for Keshairim and Mumrim together. If there are eligible and ineligible people participating in the Korban Pesach, the Korban Pesach is Kosher. So too the Luchos should have been acceptable because there were some who were not eligible because of this Kal V’chomer but many who were eligible. So the Maharsha says if the Kal V’chomer is from Korban Pesach it shouldn’t be a good Kal V’chomer.
Says the Divrei Yoel the Satmar Rebbe, according to the Chasam Sofer it is Geshmak. Everyone was included in the Onesh of the Eigel. All the participants were included because they didn’t take up a Milchamah against those who were bowing to the Eigel. They had no right to be counted separately. A beautiful Vort. R’uyim L’mi Amorom. The Satmar Rebbe who fought the Milchemes Hashem all of his life.
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