Golden Calf, Ehud Banai's lyrics
Lyrics to Ehud Banai's עגל הזהב (Golden Calf)
We are here, in the heart of the desert,
Thirsty for living water
You're on top of the mountain
Above the clouds
There is no sign
No signal
So many days
In a closed circuit we circle
Around the Golden Calf.
There's no one to hit the rock
Who will give direction?
In the darkness fighting over every crumb
Around the Golden Calf
He isn't coming down from the mountain top
He isn't coming down to the people
They break into a crazy dance
Forgetting themselves
Dancing around the Golden Calf
Around the Golden Calf
Begging it: “Please don't leave us now; Be for us as a father!”
An abandoned flock, dancing around it
Calling to it in vain
Golden Calf Golden Calf
דאמר ר"ל אין הקב"ה מכה את ישראל אא"כ בורא להם רפואה תחילה, שנאמר (הושע ז, א) כרפאי לישראל ונגלה עון אפרים.
As Reish Lakish said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not strike at the Jewish people unless He has already created a remedy for them beforehand, as it is stated: “When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered” (Hosea 7:1)
Literary structure in the Second half of the book of Exodus -- A Chiastic Structure :
- Instructions for the Sanctuary
- Shabbat
- First Tablets
- Golden Calf
- Second Tablets
- Shabbat
- Building of the Sanctuary
וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם ׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה ׀ מֹשֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֙נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ׃ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן פָּֽרְקוּ֙ נִזְמֵ֣י הַזָּהָ֔ב אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָבִ֖יאוּ אֵלָֽי׃
When the people saw that Moses was shamefully-late in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that fellow Moses—the man who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.” Aaron said to them, “[You men,] take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
וְכׇל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק׃ וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְנִשְׁמָ֑עָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּ֛נוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים פֶּן־נָמֽוּת׃ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־הָעָם֮ אַל־תִּירָ֒אוּ֒ כִּ֗י לְבַֽעֲבוּר֙ נַסּ֣וֹת אֶתְכֶ֔ם בָּ֖א הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וּבַעֲב֗וּר תִּהְיֶ֧ה יִרְאָת֛וֹ עַל־פְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְבִלְתִּ֥י תֶחֱטָֽאוּ׃
All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. “You speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of God may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.”
וַיַּ֥עַל מֹשֶׁ֖ה אֶל־הָהָ֑ר וַיְכַ֥ס הֶעָנָ֖ן אֶת־הָהָֽר׃ וַיִּשְׁכֹּ֤ן כְּבוֹד־יְהֹוָה֙ עַל־הַ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַיְכַסֵּ֥הוּ הֶעָנָ֖ן שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י מִתּ֥וֹךְ הֶעָנָֽן׃ וּמַרְאֵה֙ כְּב֣וֹד יְהֹוָ֔ה כְּאֵ֥שׁ אֹכֶ֖לֶת בְּרֹ֣אשׁ הָהָ֑ר לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
When Moses had ascended the mountain, the cloud covered the mountain. The Presence of יהוה abode on Mount Sinai, and the cloud hid it for six days. On the seventh day [God] called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. Now the Presence of יהוה appeared in the sight of the Israelites as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain.
Abandonment
Jan Nameira in Faith (2014) interviewing Michael Eigen:
JM: "A lot of therapy is about the slow recovery of faith"...... 'can you say more about how you think therapy or analysis can help? Is this something that can be taught?"
ME: Winnicot talks about X time that mother's away from baby, mother comes back, baby recovers. X plus Y time away from baby, mother comes back, baby a little more shaky but comes back OK enough. X plus Y plus Z time away from the baby, and there's a permanent alteration to the psyche. Yes, the baby comes back, but in what form? Altered. Something else. Maybe a deformity's been added. Sometimes we get reborn as monsters, sometimes we get reborn as shrunken, sometimes we get reborn as rageful, but something happens to us and we're not the same. How could we be the same? (p.118)
The Slow Recovery of Faith
Michael Eigen
"a lot of therapy is about the slow recovery of faith (2014, p. 118) ... faith is the vehicle that radically opens experiencing and plays a role in building tolerance for experience ... it is germane to the fervour and possibility of existence, tension, and struggle, with roots in grace. Faith rooted in profound grace deeper than catastrophe [traumatic emotional reality], a sense that has impact on the flavor of our lives.
Michael Eigen, On the Area of Faith, p. 124)
Michael Eigen, Ph.D., is a psychologist and psychoanalyst. He is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology (adjunct) in the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University, and a Senior Member of the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. He is the author of twenty-six books.
Leaning in to Uncertainty (Parashat Ki Tisa)
by Rachel Anisfeld
The basic truth of human existence is uncertainty. We are fragile creatures in a constantly changing environment. Our loved ones are at times delayed in returning; we get sick; we get old; our children undergo difficulty; we don’t know what will happen next and we don’t always know the right next step to take. We don’t know the future and we can’t control it. Lo yadanu. We don’t know, and this not knowing is uncomfortable, makes us uneasy and anxious and restless.
And so the urge arises, right alongside this unease, to escape the uncertainty by acting, by doing something in the external world – making arrangements, sending emails, going online, eating, drinking, cleaning, working, playing video games, building a wall, whatever it is – all in order to alleviate our anxiety, to give us something concrete, like the golden calf, to hold on to.
Staying with the Uncertainty
But maybe something else is called for – the ability to simply be with the discomfort of not knowing, to let go of the story around it and the desperate urge to resolve it, to get underneath the movement outward, and stay with the sensation of unease in our bodies, to tolerate that shakiness and, instead of running away from it, to enter into it.
We can, over time, learn to live in the questions. I don’t know what will happen and I’m not sure what to do next. I can sit in the discomfort of that question – how do i move forward – sit in the discomfort of not being sure, not knowing what’s next, and allow myself to live in the question until, in its own good time, an answer comes, not the answer of restless desperate rushing energy, but the slow clarity of a rising sun. There is relief here in the waiting, in the allowing, in the learning to sit in the not knowing, a sense of – yes, I don’t know, but I also don’t need to know.
Excerpt from Essay that can be found here https://rachelanisfeld.com/2023/03/09/essay-leaning-in-to-uncertainty-parashat-ki-tisa/
| Creation of the Universe (Bereishit) | Creation of the Mishkan (Shemot) |
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“And God made the sky” וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־הָרָקִ֒יעַ֒ Genesis 1:7 |
“They shall make Me a Sanctuary” Exodus 25:8
וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ |
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“And God made the two large lights” Genesis 1:16וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־שְׁנֵ֥י הַמְּאֹרֹ֖ת הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים |
“They shall make an Ark”
וְעָשׂ֥וּ אֲר֖וֹן עֲצֵ֣י שִׁטִּ֑ים אַמָּתַ֨יִם וָחֵ֜צִי אׇרְכּ֗וֹ וְאַמָּ֤ה וָחֵ֙צִי֙ רׇחְבּ֔וֹ וְאַמָּ֥ה וָחֵ֖צִי קֹמָתֽוֹ׃ Exodus 25:10 |
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“And God made the beasts of the earth” (Bereishit 1:25) |
“Make a table” (Shemot 25:8, 9, 23) |
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“And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good.” (Bereishit 1:31) וַיַּ֤רְא אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד Now God saw all that he had made, |
“Moses saw all the skilled work and behold they had done it; as God commanded it, they had done it.” (Shemot 39:43) וַיַּ֨רְא מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־כׇּל־הַמְּלָאכָ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ עָשׂ֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה כֵּ֣ן עָשׂ֑וּ וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֹתָ֖ם מֹשֶֽׁה׃ |
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“The heavens and earth and all of their array were completed.” (Bereishit 2:1) וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃ |
“All the work of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was completed” (Shemot 39:32) וַתֵּ֕כֶל כׇּל־עֲבֹדַ֕ת מִשְׁכַּ֖ן אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כְּ֠כֹ֠ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֖ה כֵּ֥ן עָשֽׂוּ׃ |
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“And God completed all the work that He had done” (Bereishit 2:2) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה |
“And Moses completed the work” (Shemot 40:33)
וַיְכַ֥ל מֹשֶׁ֖ה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָֽה׃ |
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“And God blessed” (Bereishit 2:3) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ |
“And Moses blessed” (Shemot 39:43)
וַיַּ֨רְא מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־כׇּל־הַמְּלָאכָ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ עָשׂ֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה כֵּ֣ן עָשׂ֑וּ וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֹתָ֖ם מֹשֶֽׁה׃ {פ} |
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“And sanctified it” (Bereishit 2:3) וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ |
“And you shall sanctify it and all its vessels” (Shemot 40:9) וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֥ אֹת֛וֹ וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֖יו וְהָ֥יָה קֹֽדֶשׁ׃ |
(א) וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃
(א) ויקהל משה את כל עדת בני ישראל יכלול ''כל עדת בני ישראל'' האנשים והנשים, כי כלם התנדבו במלאכת המשכן. והנה משה אחר שצוה לאהרן והנשיאים וכל בני ישראל האנשים כל אשר דבר ה' אתו בהר סיני אחרי שבור הלוחות (שמות ל״ד:ל״ב), ונתן על פניו המסוה (שם פסוק לג), חזר וצוה והקהילו אליו כל העדה אנשים ונשים.
ויתכן שהיה זה ביום מחרת רדתו. ואמר לכולם ענין המשכן אשר נצטוה בו מתחלה קודם שבור הלוחות, כי כיון שנתרצה להם הקב''ה ונתן לו הלוחות שניות וכרת עמו ברית חדשה שילך השם בקרבם, הנה חזרו לקדמותם ולאהבת כלולותם, ובידוע שתהיה שכינתו בתוכם כענין שצוהו תחלה, כמו שאמר (שמות כ״ה:ח׳) ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם, ולכן צוה אותם משה עתה בכל מה שנצטוה מתחלה:
(1) AND MOSES ASSEMBLED ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. The expression all the congregation of the children of Israel includes the men and women, for all donated to the work of the Tabernacle. Thus Moses, after having commanded Aaron, and the rulers and all the children of Israel — the men — all that the Eternal had spoken with him in Mount Sinai, following the breaking of the Tablets, and after he had put the veil on his face [as all this is narrated in the preceding section], again commanded that the people be assembled, whereupon the whole congregation gathered to him — men, women, and children.
It is possible that this occurred on the day following his descent from the mountain, and he told all of them the subject of the Tabernacle which he had been previously commanded, before the breaking of the Tablets. For since the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled with them and gave Moses the second Tablets, and also made a new covenant that G-d would go in their midst, He thereby returned to His previous relationship with them, and to the love of their “wedding,” and it was obvious that His Presence would be in their midst just as He had commanded him at first, even as He said, And let them make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell amongst them. Therefore Moses now commanded them all that he had been told at first.
(5) Take from among you gifts to יהוה; everyone whose heart is so moved shall bring them—gifts for יהוה gold, silver, and copper;
(20) So the whole community of the Israelites left Moses’ presence. (21) And everyone who excelled in ability and everyone whose spirit was moved came, bringing to יהוה an offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service and for the sacral vestments. (22) Men and women, all whose hearts moved them, all who would make an elevation offering of gold to יהוה, came bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and pendants*pendants Meaning of Heb. kumaz uncertain; cf. Num. 31.50. —gold objects of all kinds. (23) And everyone who possessed blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair, tanned ram skins, and dolphin skins, brought them; (24) everyone who would make gifts of silver or copper brought them as gifts for יהוה; and everyone who possessed acacia wood for any work of the service brought that. (25) And all the skilled women spun with their own hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen. (26) And all the women who excelled in that skill spun the goats’ hair. (27) And the chieftains brought lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece; (28) and spices and oil for lighting, for the anointing oil, and for the aromatic incense. (29) Thus the Israelites, all the men and women whose hearts moved them to bring anything for the work that יהוה, through Moses, had commanded to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to יהוה.
"Listening to Heart-Wisdom" (an excerpt)
Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible
Rabbi Jill Hammer
There are two modes of Revelation in the Torah. One mode is that of Sinai; revelation comes from a mountaintop, in the form of laws and principles. The laws treated everyone equally. It is a transcendent law, Divine in origin, and descends to touch every member of the covenant with it's truths.
The other mode is that of the mishkan, the Tabernacle or Sanctuary. As the Israelite people build the mishkan, the shrine they will carry through the wilderness, they rely on their inner wisdom and individual gifts. Although the pattern of the mishkan comes from the Eternal, the gifts that make the sanctuary what it is comes from the depths of the human heart. The mishkan is replete with images of love and relationship: images we can use to transform our experience of what Torah is.
Both of these models appear at the beginning of Parashat Vaykhel. Moses assembles the community and reminds them of Shabbat: "Six days you shall work, and the seventh day shall be for you a holy Sabbath. Whoever does work on it shall die" (Ex. 35:2). Moses is communicating in the mode of Sinai, in which law is paramount. You have Moses then moves to the second mode, that of the mishkan. He says, "these are the things G-d has commanded: take from among you a gift for the Eternal. All those whose hearts are willing shall bring a gift for the Eternal" (Ex. 35:5). The Tabernacle cannot be built only according to law. It must be built by those whose hearts are willing.
The people immediately respond to this plea. "Everyone whose heart lifted him up and everyone who was moved by a spirit of generosity, came bringing the gift of the Eternal for the work of the Tent of Meeting, for its service, and for the sacred vestments: men and women, all who were generous of heart" (Ex. 35:21-22). Notice that the genders, so carefully separated by Torah law, come together to create the sacred shrine. There is no division between man and woman. All desire to be part of the building of the Tabernacle.
The Israelites respond, not out of obedience, as they did at Sinai, but because their hearts speak to them…An inner sacred truth is coming out of the people through acts of creation. As the Tabernacle grows in beauty, every single Israelite becomes part of the process of putting it together.
A Horizontal and Perpetual Sinai
In order to understand the significance and purpose of the Tabernacle, we must realize that the children of Israel, after they had been privileged to witness the Revelation of God on Mount Sinai, were about to journey from there and thus draw away from the site of the theophany. So long as they were encamped in the place, they were conscious of God’s nearness; but once they set out on their journey, it seemed to them as though the link had been broken, unless there were in their midst a tangible symbol of God’s presence among them. It was the function of the Tabernacle (literally, ‘Dwelling’) to serve as such a symbol. Not without reason, therefore, does this section come immediately after the section that describes the making of the Covenant at Mount Sinai.
The nexus between Israel and the Tabernacle is a perpetual extension of the bond that was forged at Sinai between the people and their God. The children of Israel, dwelling in tribal order at every encampment, are able to see, from every side, the Tabernacle standing in the midst of the camp, and the visible presence of the Sanctuary proves to them that just as the glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, so He dwells in their midst wherever they wander in the wilderness. This is the purpose of Scripture (25:8), when it states: ‘And let them make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.’
Moshe David (Umberto) Cassuto, late Professor of Bible at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 16 September 1883 – 19 December 1951