By Nathan Wojcik & Jarod Golub

Ki Tisa kicks off with Moses and God chilling on Sinai, talking religion and getting the Ten Commandments. Back at the bottom of the mountain, Am Yisrael was busy betraying Moses’s trust and practicing the ever dangerous path of “Yihieh Beseder” ((it will be alright, don’t worry) S/o Ido, Nai, Ben Marsh, Amit Bob and the rest of tzevet Kaveret), and building the Golden Calf. Well, we all know, God wasn’t too happy about that, and even threatened to smite Am Yisrael then and there. It was only Moses’s great shuk-brand bartering that swayed God to not destroy their chosen people.

When Moses got down from the mountain, carrying the Ten Commandments with him, he saw not a welcome party, anxiously waiting for his return, but all of Am Yisrael dancing around the forsaken Golden Calf. Moses was so angry that he didn’t just destroy the calf, he ground it into a powder, put it in water and made Am Yisrael drink it. After that, God killed all of their non-believers.

This parsha presents an interesting juxtaposition between what is going on up the mountain, God laying out ground rules and guidelines for this new religion to Moses, and Am Yisrael forsaking God’s and Moses’ trust by creating the Golden Calf. By using both of these situations simultaneously, the reader sees that there really are two sides to every coin. Am Yisrael, while being the people of God, are also capable of sin and wrong-doing. However, because of the juxtaposition, the reader also sees that opposite that sin comes faith and trust.

Moses tells God that if he can’t forgive Am Yisrael, he should “blot out” Moses as well. Moses would rather be forgotten or killed, but remain with his people, than serve God without them. Moses has the power to stand up to what he believes in, God. Am Yisrael, on the other hand, chooses to turn the backs on who they believe in, Moses. Am Yisrael and Moses rebel against God in very different ways.

While some might view this rebellion as a betrayal of faith, we view it as the epitome of it. Perhaps not faith in God, but faith in his people. Moses has enough faith in his people that he can stand up to God, an almighty being, and say, I believe in my people. Moses’s unswaying faith in the people of Israel is what, in the end, convinces God to keep them around for a little longer.

Too often, faith is referred to only through the lens of religion. As a prophet, Moses has a lot of faith in his God. However, he has equal, if not greater faith, in his people. This is the kind of faith that the Jewish people today need.

The fickle thing with Faith is that it's created to be broken. It takes one hell of a people to stick it out. We all have our Golden Calves, we all have our battles with Faith. There will be a time where we lose them. And it can come when we least expect it. The Golden Calf was created to be many things, one of which, obviously, was flashy. It was supposed to be blinding. The symbolism there is blatant: the Golden Calf was meant to take Am Yisrael’s focus away from what was actually important to them, what had freed them, and what had chosen them. Although the context is different, and we won’t be smited for our Golden Calves, the idea is the same. In our day to day lives they come in the form of Just Do It, Have It Your Way, Maybe She’s Born With It, etc. There are endless distractions keeping us from actualizing our goals in the consumerist society we inhabit, and the best way we can stay true to our vision is to share it with those we can depend on; those we have faith in.

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