The Secret of the Jewish Mind: Why Did the Sin of the Golden Calf Turn Into a Blessing?
Lesson No. 105 | *Sunday, Parashat Re'eh, 21 Menachem Av 5753 *Monday, Parashat Re'eh, 22 Menachem Av 5757
The wicked Bilaam thought that the sin of the Golden Calf was the weak point of the Nation of Israel, because only a Jewish mind is capable of receiving the Torah and immediately afterward making a mistake. But Hashem showed him that specifically this complexity is their greatest virtue – true faith is not blind, but rather one that is chosen anew out of deep clarification.
The wicked Bilaam tried to accuse the Nation of Israel from every possible direction. After he ascended to Bamot Ba'al and to the top of the peak and saw that no accusation was effective, he decided to pull out his last card. One always saves the winning card for the end, in case the initial attempts fail. And what was Bilaam's last card? The sin of the Golden Calf.
Bilaam understood that no nation in the world – whoever they may be – would have made a golden calf exactly at the time of the Giving of the Torah. Only a Jewish mind is capable of doing such a thing. A gentile has a straightforward and simple mind, almost single-celled. If he is told that fire is god, he will accept it. Even if water comes and extinguishes the fire before his eyes, he will not change his belief. He will say that it is a secret, "the secret of secrets," but he will remain fixated on what he received, and will pass that same belief on to his children and his children's children until the end of all generations.
The Complexity of the Jewish Mind
In contrast, the Jewish mind is infinitely complex. The Jewish mind is composed of billions of parts and sefirot, grasping from here and absorbing from there, until no gentile can follow it. A Jew can stand at Mount Sinai and receive the Torah one moment, and the very next moment, if Moshe is absent, already think about making a calf. His mind goes in all directions, analyzing, asking questions, and searching for answers.
Our holy Rebbe, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, writes in 'Sichot HaRan' that it is very difficult for a person to maintain a single practice. A person decides: "Now I will only study Gemara," and within a short hour an opposite thought already comes to him, and he decides to only study 'Likutey Halakhot' or Tanakh. A Jew can barely hold onto the same thought for one minute, because his mind is so complex and includes infinite opinions and possibilities. It requires months of stubbornness to persevere in a certain practice without becoming confused.
Bilaam's Mistake
Bilaam saw this trait and thought it was the weak point of the Nation of Israel. He saw a nation that changes its mind every moment, and rejoiced that he had found the sin that no other nation would stumble in. The gentile walks with one "diskette" his entire life. If the government tells him to do something, he does it blindly, without asking questions and without doubting, even if it involves cruel deeds.
But Bilaam made a bitter mistake. He did not understand that specifically this complexity is the tremendous virtue of the Nation of Israel. For the Jew, everything is clarified a thousand times from all directions, with questions and answers. The Jew does not accept things compulsively or with blind, robotic faith.
Like Streams Spread Out: When the Sin Turns Into Spices
When Bilaam came to accuse regarding the sin of the Golden Calf, he expected to expose the most terrible sin. But to his astonishment, Hashem showed him the exact opposite. Instead of an accusation, blessings came out of his mouth:
"Like streams spread out, like gardens by a river, like aloes planted by Hashem, like cedars beside the water" (Numbers 24:6).
The sin turned into gardens of spices, into streams of myrrh and persimmon. How did this happen? Hashem explained to Bilaam that the faith of the Nation of Israel is not the faith of foolish slaves. If a slave were taken out of Egypt, put into a luxurious hotel for free with Clouds of Glory, manna, and quail, and told: "Here we keep Shabbat and do not light a fire" – what slave would refuse? After all, he has a pillar of fire illuminating for him, and he has no need to work. Receiving the Torah under such conditions, out of absolute comfort, is no great feat and carries no true reward.
When is true faith revealed? When a person is shown the opposite side. When the mixed multitude comes, incites, and confuses, and even if, God forbid, one stumbles for a moment in the aspect of a descent for the sake of an ascent – and then chooses the truth anew out of deep clarification. Only then does the true reward for faith and for the Torah begin. Out of this clarification, it is specifically the complexity of the Jewish mind that turns the tents into dwellings of holiness, "How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael."
When we merit to clarify our faith amidst all the confusions, we draw closer to the level of the "Seven Beggars" from the tale of our Rebbe – to be "blind" and "deaf" to the vanities of this world, not to breathe the impure air of the world, but rather to receive the strength to uplift the entire world. Through this pure faith, may we merit that the complete Geulah (Redemption) will come in the blink of an eye, Amen.
Part 3 of 4 — Lesson No. 105