Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
The sin of the Golden calf was precipitated by a tragic miscalculation. Moshe (Moses) went up to Mount Sinai on the seventh of the Hebrew month of Sivan and said he would be there for forty full days. This excluded the day of his ascent, for he ascended Mount Sinai in the middle of the day. The people misunderstood and included the day of his ascent, thinking he would return on the sixteenth of Tamuz instead of the intended seventeenth. When noon of the sixteenth arrived and Moshe had not returned, the people panicked. Sahtan [the angel associated with evil] seized the opportunity and showed them an image of a dead Moshe being carried in heaven. (Rashi) In their panic, the mixed multitude of converts influenced the Jews to build and worship the Golden Calf. The word bo'shaysh, in our verse, is translated by Targum Onkelos as 'delayed'. Rashi points out that this word could also be read bi'shaysh, meaning in the sixth hour, referring to noon. This means that at noon they began to stray. Why did the Torah find it necessary to tell us the exact time they started to commit their sin? What significance does this have? In the following paragraphs, based on the teachings of Rabbi Nachman and his student Rav Noson, we will examine this seemingly insignificant point.
Rabbi Nachman taught that since Hashem's light is infinite, it had to be
constricted in order to make room for the creation of the world and
ensure its continued existence. This constriction is referred to as
tzimtzum, and introduces the spiritual energies of harshness, din, into
the world. When Hashem's light is hidden, all of the negatives described
above can occur. No matter how unpleasant this may seem, it is precisely
through encountering and working to elevate the energies of adversity,
din, that we come close to Hashem. Rabbi Nachman explains that Hashem is
hiding within the adversity itself, and therefore the difficulty
actually leads us to Him, as the verse says, "[As Moshe ascended Mount
Sinai to receive the Torah,] the people stood from afar [at the foot of
the mountain, because they were afraid to encounter adversity and lacked
the expertise to deal with it. However,](Moshe approached the thick
cloud for there [in the doom and gloom of adversity] was Hashem [to be
found.
The man of faith, Moshe, possessed the necessary skills to confront
adversity head on, and as a result, specifically within the thick cloud
of adversity, he was able to find Hashem.]" (Exodus 20:18)
The creation of the world did not cease after the first seven days
described in the book of Genesis. Rather, the world is constantly being
renewed and recreated. It is always in a state of change and growth.
Manifestations of the earth's perpetual transformation include the
varying weather, climate, tides, seasons; the rise and fall of political
powers, births and deaths, etc. To each succeeding generation, Hashem
reveals more of His infinite wisdom through advances in Torah knowledge,
science, technology, etc. Thus, we are given ever-greater opportunities
to learn more about Him. In this way, Hashem ensures that there is a
incessant unfolding of creation, as we say in our daily prayers, "With
compassion, and in His goodness [Hashem] renews daily and perpetually
the work of creation."
During the night, totally new, unique spiritual vibrations descend to
the world, emanating from Hashem's infinite light. They are energies
which have never before come to the world and will never return again.
They nourish and influence the world in a singular way, promoting many
types of physical changes in the world, different from any previous
alterations. Initially, Hashem's light is too intense for the world to
absorb. It must first be filtered. The filter is the darkness of night.
This is the time when we pray Ar'vit, the evening prayer. Praying Ar'vit
helps constrict Hashem's infinite light as it descends, so it can be
tolerated by this finite world.
In the morning, after Hashem's light has been adequately constricted by
the darkness of the night and by reciting the evening prayer, it is now
ready to be absorbed by this world. The time this occurs is sunrise,
when the light of day begins to fill the world. This is the
manifestation of Hashem's constricted light going through the process of
being absorbed by the world. To facilitate this process, we pray the
morning prayer, Shacharit. Hashem determines which actions He wants in
the world on a particular day and implements His desire by placing
certain wavelengths within the emanations of light. After the light has
been absorbed and distributed throughout the creation, each aspect of
creation uses the light for spiritual nourishment, becoming energized to
fulfill its designated mission for that day. From noon until sunset,
that day's light gradually recedes in order to make room for the next
day's brand new light. As mentioned above, Hashem's light must descend
through the filter of darkness so it can be safely absorbed by the
creation. So, this process actually begins at noon, when the sun begins
to set and daylight starts to wane. The afternoon prayer, mincha,
harmonizes this process.
[The holy Baal Shem Tov says, "Where a person places his thoughts, that
is where all of him is." (Sefer Baal Shem Tov: Beraishis) In addition,
the Magid of Mezrich (the leader of the Chassidic movement after the
Baal Shem Tov) taught that when a person thinks about evil things, he
constricts his spiritual essence into those things. He thus removes
himself from the realm of Hashem's love and is subject to judgment.
Whenever a person thinks about a certain place he draws his spiritual
essence there. (Magid D'vawrav L'Ya'akov 48) In other words, one's
thoughts transport his soul to that place, whether it be to the realm of
holiness or impurity.] Therefore, Rav Noson explains that in order for
us to purify our soul, we must focus our thoughts on Hashem. However,
the forces of evil try to prevent this by assaulting us with all kinds
of impure and negative thoughts.
Based on the above, it would seem that the afternoon is the worst time
of the day, and if we could somehow avoid it , we should. Rav Noson
says, however, that the trials and tribulations of the afternoon affords
us the best opportunity to fully repent and reconnect with Hashem.
Therefore, if one is able to focus on Hashem during this most chaotic
time, using mincha as a starting point, he will be able to atone for all
of his past misdeeds, as King David wrote, They [the forces of evil, who
were created from my sins] surround me, they surround me; in Hashem's
Name, I cut them down [I destroy them by connecting myself to Hashem
through repentance]." (Psalms 118:11) In addition, if one is able to
focus on Hashem despite the distractions of the afternoon, he will be
able to completely destroy the forces of evil, because there is an axiom
that evil can only be eradicated at its source. [This is akin to ridding
a garden of weeds. It can only be done by getting to the root of the
weeds. Just pulling off the leaves does not help.]
The sin of the Golden calf teaches us that without the proper guidance
from the Torah and our holy sages, one could make the mistake of serving
Hashem through too much light.
Now we can understand why the Torah makes a special point of recording
the actual time of the sin of the Golden calf. It teaches us that
without the proper guidance from the Torah and our holy sages, one could
make the mistake of serving Hashem through too much light. We must be
careful to follow the Torah as prescribed by our sages, for they knew
how to create the proper spiritual filters and they knew how to balance
Hashem's great light in the proper way and amount. This is why Rabbi
Nachman exhorted his followers to be very careful to adhere to and be
guided by the teachings of the Sulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) and to
perform its laws as prescribed with simplicity, avoiding any unnecessary
strictness or extremes, which could elicit too much light. (Lekutai
Halachot: Orach Chaim: Hilchot tefilat Mincha 7:1-2, 27-28)
[The Talmud goes on to list people of exceptional spiritual radiance.
(Maharsha)] The radiance of any [other person's countenance] in
comparison to that of Sarah, is like that of a monkey in comparison to
that of a human being. The radiance of [the countenance of] Sarah in
comparison to that of Eve, is like that of a monkey in comparison to
that of a human being. The radiance of [the countenance of] Eve in
comparison to that of Adam, is like that of a monkey in comparison to
that of a human being. The radiance of [the countenance of] Adam in
comparison to that of the Divine Presence (the Shechinah - i.e. the
radiant light created by Hashem to signify His presence), is like that
of a monkey in comparison to that of a human being.
[The Talmud then lists people of exceptional beauty. (Maharsha)] The
beauty of Rav Kahana was a semblance of the beauty of Rav. The beauty of
Rav was a semblance of the beauty of Rav Abahu. The beauty of Rav Abahu
was a semblance of the beauty of our forefather Jacob. The beauty of our
forefather Jacob was a semblance of the beauty of Adam. (Talmud: Bava
Basra 58a)
Everyone has many things that they are unhappy about in this world. So
they complain, gripe, are annoyed. This occurs because Hashem's light,
which has the power to bring perfection to the world, lies dormant,
hidden within physicality. Hashem is the source of all perfection and
joy, there can be no perfection or joy without Him. Rabbi Nachman taught
that one of the reasons why Hashem created this world is that, through
it, His creatures would be able to learn about Him. It is human nature
that a person does not appreciate good health until he looses it. The
same is true regarding our relationship with Hashem. His apparent
absence makes us appreciate Him all the more. Because Hashem is hidden,
there is so much missing, so many imperfections in this world. However,
the positive side to this is that our lack makes us acutely aware of how
much we need Hashem and how much we benefit from following in His ways.
When people do not accept and follow His ways, there is little incentive
to do good, and so evil, injustice, and corruption proliferate. The
physical world is a reflection of the spiritual worlds. Therefore,
through encountering all the complex facets of this world such as
nature, science, human relationships, economics, politics etc. we can
learn much about Hashem as well. This is one of the reasons why Hashem
created the world as He did.
AND LEARNING ABOUT HIM BY EXPERIENCING THE CREATION
In the ongoing process of creation, many of the changes must take place
on the spiritual level before they can be manifested physically. The
holy Ari says that there are three distinct spiritual processes that
actively bring change to the world every single day. Each one acts
independently, during its own particular segment of the three segments
of the day--morning, noon, and night. In order to sanctify and
facilitate these three spiritual processes, the patriarchs, and later
the sages, instituted the three daily prayers of Ar'vit, Shacharit, and
Mincha.
AND THEIR ASSOCIATED PRAYERS
The absence of Hashem's light allows the forces of evil to dominate. As
Hashem's light recedes from noontime onwards, the forces of evil grow
stronger. As they strengthen, they attack people's minds, creating
negative and confusing thoughts. Therefore, the sages gave the following
exhortation, "Rav Chelbo(said in the name of Huna, 'A man should always
take special care about the afternoon-prayer [and be sure not to miss
reciting it]. For even Elijah [the prophet] was favorably heard only
while offering the afternoon-prayer." (Talmud: Berachot 6b) Thus, the
recitation of mincha helps save a person from the confusing and bad
thoughts that come from the strengthened forces of evil during the
afternoon.
Repentance, which means to reunite one's essence with Hashem, is
achieved when we are able to extricate ourselves from these impure and
spiritually harmful thoughts by focusing on pure and good thoughts. As
mentioned above, during the afternoon, when the forces of evil are
strengthened, they attempt to sever the soul's connection to Hashem by
inducing corrupt thoughts. Furthermore, the afternoon is the time when
we are most immersed in the material world, for this is the time when
most people are involved in their occupations. This makes it extremely
difficult to focus one's thoughts on holiness. Mincha helps us focus and
connect our thoughts to Hashem at this most critical time, amidst the
hustle and bustle of earning a livelihood and the assaults from the
forces of evil. So the mincha-prayer is an oasis of spirituality that
saves us from total disconnection from Hashem.
AN OASIS OF SPIRITUALITY IN THE DESERT OF MATERIAL PURSUIT
There are three levels of repentance. Depending on the type of sin
committed, we must strive for atonement on the levels of action, speech,
and thought. Every sin originates in thought. Therefore, any sin
entailing action or speech not only damages the spiritual essence of the
particular limb involved and/or the spiritual root of one's speech, but
also spiritually damages the mind. So, atonement and the repair of
spiritual damage must always occur on the level of thought. This is
precisely why noontime affords the best opportunity for full repentance.
A sin creates negative spiritual energies that persist until there is
atonement. Rabbi Nachman taught that the essence of true repentance lies
in never repeating the sin...One must be in the place where the sin was
committed, under the same circumstances, and let the temptation stand
before his eyes. When a person is sure that he can do this, without
succumbing to the temptation, then he has broken his Evil Inclination
and has truly repented. (Sichot HaRan 71) Rabbi Nachman echoes the
Tanya's teaching that a person cannot always stop bad thoughts from
entering his mind. But he does have the power to reject them once he
becomes conscious of them. This is vital to the atonement process.
Sinning starts when temptation enters our minds and we succumb to it.
When we decide to repent but are tempted again, we must realize that
this is an opportunity to fully atone by rejecting and not acting upon
the enticement. [As mentioned above, the holy Baal Shem Tov says, "Where
a person places his thoughts, that is where all of him is." Therefore,
one can attain complete atonement by rejecting his bad thoughts, just as
if he returned to the actual location of a sin and there, resisted the
renewed temptation.] (1 Lekutai MoHaran 27:8) When we are assaulted with
all sorts of improper and confusing thoughts, (which more often than
not, occurs during the afternoon) and we resist the urge to sin, this
breaks the spiritual energies created by our past transgressions, and
rectifies the sin at its root--the level of thought. Thus, the
afternoon-prayer is a powerful tool in helping us completely atone.
In truth, it is understandable how our daily encounters with the forces
of evil and the necessary focus on physicality in order to earn a
livelihood might lead us to despair. A person may wonder, "How can I
ever expect to achieve pure and lofty thoughts and strengthen my bond
with Hashem, when I have to contend daily with situations which threaten
to swallow up my soul. Is there any hope for me!? It seems like I am
wasting my life away, overly involved in materialism, neglecting that
which is truly important, the development and enrichment of my soul!"
Rabbi Nachman says that one should not despair even when he is
overwhelmed by evil thoughts. "One may feel overwhelmed by evil thoughts
and desires. When he strengthens himself, and is victorious in
overcoming them, Hashem has great delight from this. The struggle itself
is very precious to Hashem and never goes unnoticed. Great kings used to
pit animals against each other on their festivals. They would watch the
battle, and have great enjoyment from the victory of their favorites.
The Tikuney Zohar refers to thoughts as beasts. Holy thoughts are kosher
beasts, while unclean thoughts are non-kosher beasts. They are
deliberately pitted against each other from on high. Hashem has great
joy when the kosher animals completely vanquish the unclean animals.
Vanquishing our improper thoughts can only be accomplished by ignoring
them, for when we fight them directly, they become worse. (1 Likutai
MoHaran 232) Therefore, the struggle and attempt to come close to Hashem
has great value in and of itself, and eventually leads to purity.
Hashem, Himself is concealed within the constriction of the afternoon.
The spiritual darkness of the afternoon acts like a protective filter
that enables one to better perceive and focus upon Hashem. Without this
protective device, one would not be able to perceive and find Hashem,
because he would be blinded by His infinite light. Only when Hashem's
light is constricted can we perceive Him, as Rabbi Nachman analogizes,
squinting our eyes, which partially blocks out the light, enables us to
better see a distant object. Therefore, the spiritual adversity of the
afternoon is a manifestation of Hashem's great kindness, for when
Hashem's light is in a constricted state, like the squinting of the
eyes, it facilitates our ability to find and connect to Him. This
concept, is alluded to by the incident of Elijah the Prophet. Through
his prayers, Elijah caused a heavenly fire to descend, which consumed
his sacrifice. This miracle was performed for a large crowd of Jews who
had fallen into idolatry. Elijah specifically chose the afternoon to
demonstrate Hashem's power through this miracle, as the verse says, "And
it was when the evening sacrifice was offered...And a fire of Hashem
fell and consumed the burnt offerings..." [The evening sacrifice refers
to mincha which was actually performed in the afternoon, just before
sunset.] (1 Kings 18:36, 38) His reason for choosing to perform this
great miracle in the afternoon is consistent with our teaching, that one
can best perceive Hashem in the afternoon, when His light grows dimmer,
through the waning spiritual light that occurs then, as the verse says,
"All the people saw and fell on their faces, and they said, 'Hashem, He
is Elokim [the name of Hashem associated with the constriction of His
light, hidden within the physical creation]('" (1 Kings 18:39) Rav Noson
says that when someone falls on his face, as described in the verse, the
face becomes hidden from view. The face is responsible for absorbing
much of the spiritual lights and energies that descend from the upper
worlds. When the face is hidden or covered over, its ability to absorb
spiritual light is constricted, and inhibited, as the verse says, "[When
Hashem's great light was revealed to Moshe through the burning bush,]
(Moshe hid his face, for he was afraid to gaze toward Hashem [lest he
absorb dangerously high levels of Hashem's light.]" (Exodus 3:6)
Elijah's miracle reveled so much of Hashem's light that it needed a
triple filter to prevent the onlookers from being overwhelmed. (The
miracle was performed 1) in the afternoon, 2) the people hid their
faces, and 3) Hashem's light was revealed in a constricted way, through
His Name of constriction, Elokim) These filters enabled the people to
perceive Hashem strongly enough to prevail over their idolatrous
thoughts and to once again realize that "Hashem, hu haElokim. Hashem, He
is G-d."
WHICH ENABLES US TO COME CLOSER TO THE LIGHT
During the period of Egyptian bondage, the Jews had almost become
completely assimilated into the immoral Egyptian society. Hashem had to
unleash a very great light in order to burn away all the evil spiritual
energies so they could be freed. This light was far greater than the
Jews would have been able to tolerate. In order to filter the light, the
Jews were commanded to eat matzah, which is flat in appearance. The
shape of physical objects reflect the spiritual energies they contain.
The low and flat shape of matzah indicates that it contains the
spiritual energies that reduce and diminish, whereas the inflated
appearance of leaven shows that it contains the spiritual energies that
cause things to increase. Therefore, in order to properly filter
Hashem's great light so it could be safely absorbed, the Jews were
commanded to remove all leaven from their possession from the afternoon
before the exodus, and to quickly eat the pascal sacrifice with matzah
the night before they left Egypt.
The mixed multitude of converts who left Egypt did not have the
opportunity to create spiritual filters, as did the native-born Jews.
They embraced Judaism the night after the matzah eating, and therefore
lacked the spiritual filters that the Jews-from-birth had acquired. When
the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, Hashem revealed a tremendous amount
of His awesome light. Hashem had adequately prepared the Jews, however
the mixed multitude was not sufficiently protected for this experience.
Moshe accepted these converts without consulting Hashem. Hashem did not
want to accept them at that point, because they did not possess the
wherewithal to be exposed to such intense light. Nevertheless, when
Hashem showed His brilliance, they gazed intently at the light,
attempting to absorb as much as they could, something which they should
not have done. Excessive light nourishes the forces of evil, which
throws the mind into confusion, overwhelming a person with thoughts of
physicality. This is exactly what happened to the mixed multitude, and
it lead them to worship the Golden Calf. Not only did they sin, but the
confusion was so great, they were even able to influence the Jews to
join them in their sin. This is why the sin of the Golden Calf started
exactly at noon, the time when the forces of evil are strongest. It is
the time when one must filter and dilute Hashem's great light. However
the mixed multitude made the mistake of trying to increase Hashem's
light at this time. They erroneously thought that just as Moshe had
addressed Hashem to provide them with salvation, miracles, and all of
their needs, so too they needed some tangible presence to take his
place. This was not a denial of Hashem, but an erroneous belief that
they needed a Moshe, to represent them before Hashem. Therefore, they
built the Golden Calf as a replacement for Moshe to serve as conduit to
receive Hashem's light. Thus, they implemented their desire to come
close to Hashem at the wrong time and in the wrong way.
The mixed multitude caused great damage by gazing at lofty spiritual
realms, far beyond their level. The following true story demonstrates
that only those who are worthy are permitted to gaze upon lofty
spiritual realms and even then, they are restricted to what their level
will permit(Rav Bana'ah would mark [the boundaries of burial] crypts [so
that people would not inadvertently walk over them and become ritually
impure. Rav Bana'ah would enter burial crypts to determine their
dimensions and then outline the corresponding surfaces of the ground
above with lime. People would see the markings and detour around the
crypts.] When he reached the crypt of Avraham [and sought to enter in
order to measure its dimensions,] he found Eliezer, the servant of
Avraham, standing in front of it. [Eliezer is one of the seven righteous
people who never died. (Talmud: Derech Eretz Zuta)]. [Rav Bana'ah] said
to [Eliezer], "What is Abraham doing?" [[The crypts of the righteous are
hallowed places and people are generally barred from entering them. Rav
Bana'ah however, was permitted to do so, due to his extreme piety.
(Rashbam) Rav Bana'ah assumed that Eliezer would not let him enter the
crypt to prevent Avraham from being disturbed. He therefore questioned
if Avraham was engaged in an activity [such as prayer] which could not
be interrupted. (Maharsha)]. [Eliezer] replied to [Rav Bana'ah], "He is
lying in the arms of Sarah, and she is peering at his head." [This
symbolizes the true union of Avraham and Sarah, which transcended the
physical limitations of their earthly marriage (Maharsha)]. [Rav
Bana'ah] said to [Eliezer], "Go and tell [Avraham] that Bana'ah is
standing at the entrance." [Eliezer announced Rav Bana'ah and Avraham]
said to him, "Let him enter. It is well known that there is no physical
desire in this world. [Thus there is no concern that what he will see
inside will be misunderstood as something immodest, therefore there is
no need for me to conceal myself from him. (Rashbam)]" [Rav Bana'ah]
entered [the crypt], surveyed [its dimensions] and departed. When he
reached the [nearby] crypt of Adam, [and attempted to enter to measure
its dimensions], a Heavenly voice came forth and proclaimed, "You have
gazed at the likeness of My (Hashem's) image [i.e. at the form of Jacob.
Jacob possessed a beauty second only to Adam himself. (Rashbam) Jacob
was buried in the same crypt as the other patriarchs and matriarchs,
thus Rav Bana'ah had seen Jacob, who possessed Adam's likeness. Adam was
buried in an adjoining chamber]. Do not gaze at My (Hashem's) image
itself." [i.e. Adam. Hashem has no form or image, however when He
reveals Himself to the prophets He shows them a Divine representation,
this image was similar to the special image in which Hashem had created
Adam, who was the only human to possess such an image. All subsequent
people, however, possessed only a likeness of that original image.
(Rashi and Mizrachi) Although the people of Adam's own generation gazed
upon this image, after Adam's death it became forbidden to do so.
(Maharsha)] [Rav Bana'ah replied] But I want to mark [the dimensions of]
the crypt [and I must enter in order to ascertain this information.]
[The Heavenly voice responded,] "As the dimensions of the outer crypt
[the size of which you have already determined, where the patriarchs and
matriarchs are buried], so are the dimensions of the inner [crypt, in
which Adam is buried. Thus there is no need for you to enter and measure
it.] Rav Bana'ah said, "I glimpsed [at Adam's] two heels [from outside
the crypt], and they were like two orbs of the sun [so radiant was his
skin. Although Hashem told Adam that he would return to dust, that
refers to a moment before the resurrection of the dead. (Rashbam)]