Remembering the Golden Calf
In Parshat Ki Tisa, we read about the sin of the Golden Calf. The Torah later refers to this sin and instructs us, “Remember (Zachor), never forget how you provoked the Lord your G-d to anger in the wilderness” (Devarim 9:7). It would seem that just as we can fulfill the mitzva of Zachor relating to Amalek by listening intently when the Torah portion describing the battle with Amalek is read, so too we should be able to fulfill the mitzva of Zachor in relation to the Golden Calf by listening intently to the relevant Torah reading. This would be very reasonable if remembering the sin of the Golden Calf were actually a mitzva. However, the rabbis who list the 613 mitzvot do not, in fact, include this directive. The Ramban is unsure as to whether to include this mitzva on his list, as one could argue that it was relevant only for the generation of the desert, but not for future generations.
Even if the mitzva of remembering the Golden Calf is relevant to future generations, no opinion says that the way to fulfill it is by listening to the story of the Golden Calf. Perhaps this is because the story reflects poorly on the Jewish people.
The Sefer Charedim makes an interesting suggestion. Perhaps what is pertinent to future generations is the instruction to remember the sins of our forefathers. If that is important, it is even more important that we examine our own deeds daily. Doing so will lead us to be embarrassed by our sins and to repent for them.
There are other possible ways to fulfill the directive of remembering the Golden Calf. The Magen Avraham (60:2) says that in the prayer preceding the morning Shema, when we recite the word “be-ahavah” (about the Jews’ love of G-d), we should have in mind that this excludes the time when we did not show our love for G-d, e.g., when we sinned with the Golden Calf. This would qualify as remembering the sin.
The biblical texts placed in tefillin are wrapped in calf’s hair. Perhaps this too is to remind us of the sin of the Golden Calf.
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