The parsha commences with the counting of Bnei Yisrael and continues with the sin of the Golden Calf (The Jewish People worship a golden calf, which is considered idolatry.)
A question I just thought of was even if the Jewish People thought that Moshe was not returning, why would that prompt them to start serving an idol?! Where is the logic? Why would they need an intermediary to God, all of a sudden- even if Moshe was gone? They could have just turned to Yehoshua, or God himself with their concerns!
The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that the title of this parsha does not merely concern the beginning of the parsha’s events, namely the counting of Bnei Yisrael. The word Sisa can mean to count, but it can also mean to lift up. The Rebbe explains that even though the Jewish People in this parsha commit a heinous crime of idolatry- they still needed to realize that one can get up from a fall. They can be uplifted. They fell so low, and yet repentance was still available to them. While it is true that many people were punished for their actions, the Jewish People as a whole, were saved by Moshe’s pleas, and in the next perek, God is already commanding them to take the next step- to enter the land of Israel.
There are many sources for this idea. We all, including myself struggle with different challenges, and it can seem like we fall into the same tantalizing pit of sin again and again. Not to cite cliches, but life is a war, with many fronts. As long as we stay in the war and march forward, we will with God’s help succeed.
(Rav Rosner)
Have a great shabbos- from Baltimore ir HaKodesh!
