Midreshet Amit

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Parshat Ki Tissah

By: Mikayla Moskowitz

Picture this scene. Moshe has been gone for almost 40 days to get the Luchot and Bnei Yisroel are anxiously waiting. They do not know what has been going on. They are very worried and do not know if Moshe will come back. That is when they come up with the idea of an intermediary. Aharon does not know what to do because he knows he would not be able to stop them. So, to try and stall them, he told Beni Yisroel to gather all the rings from their wives in order to create the calf. But his plan backfired; the men went as fast as they could to obtain it all. They would even rip the jewels off their wives and daughters, who were unwilling to give up their possessions. These women did not want to give them up because they knew it was not right to create this idol. How did it make sense to create a Golden Calf and say, “this is the God that took us out of Egypt”? The women knew and understood who their true God was. From this, women are given the gift of Rosh Chodesh because they did not participate in the sin of the Golden Calf; they maintained a loyalty to the original experience at Har Sinai. They were then rewarded with Rosh Chodesh as the ultimate symbol of honor.

 

Therefore, in next week's parsha, when Moshe asked everyone to bring their prized possessions to build the Mishkan, the women were very willing to give up their belongings in order to do so. Why this time around? Because the Mishkan was built for Hashem, not to be a new Hashem, so they wanted to take part in the holiness. The women were even willing to give up their mirrors. Some may think it is weird the women gave up their mirrors especially because they represent vanity and possibly seduction. The Ibn Ezra, saw this as quite the opposite. By the women contributing their mirrors to be melt down meant they were willing to sacrifice their vanity. These women were ready to give up beautifying themselves and instead start beautifying Hashem and Judaism. 

 

From these women, I think we can learn a very important value to have in life. Sometimes we will be forced into uncomfortable situations, but when we learn to stand our ground, know what our values and principles are, and stand up for what we believe in, even if it is hard and some things may be sacrificed, it will be worth it. When having passions and truly believing in something, the sacrifice won’t seem bad; it will be seen as a positive because something will be gained from it.