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therefore, the thirteen materials hint to God’s forgiving that sin, parallels the three sets of forty days he spent on Mount Sinai: (1)
while the Tabernacle serves as an ongoing sign of God’s compassion. When he initially received the Torah; (2) When he ascended the
mountain to plead on behalf of the Jewish people after the sin of the
Parenthetically, this notion of God’s compassion is also related to
the Tabernacle because the Tabernacle is considered the microcosm of Golden Calf; and (3) When he received the second set of tablets. (See
all creation (see “The Tabernacle, the Temple, and the Synagogue”). Rashi on Shemot 18:13 for a complete explanation of these three
In the initial account of creation, in the book of Genesis, only the forty-day periods.)
Divine name Elokim appears. This name is usually associated with Why does Noah’s rectification appear in the portion of Ki Tisa –
God’s attribute of judgment and strength. The Tetragrammaton, where “lifting up the heads” is an important theme (see “Recognizing
God’s four-letter name, generally associated with His compassion, the Individual’s Worth” at the beginning of Ki Tisa)? This portion
is used for the first time in the Torah’s second account of creation, is, indeed, a fitting one for Noah’s rectification as his soul is uplifted
especially in the more extensive account of humanity’s creation – attains its true potential – in Moses’ act of genuine initiative, true
and the full recounting of what occurred in the Garden of Eden. leadership, and incredible self-sacrifice. These qualities were always
The Midrash explains that initially God wanted to create the world present in Noah’s soul, but he used them to save himself and his
exclusively with the aspect of judgment but realized that creation family. Moses fully actualized these qualities by saving his entire
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would not be able to survive with this characteristic alone; therefore, generation.
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He added the aspect of compassion. Symbolically, the Tabernacle,
like creation, is suffused with both judgment and compassion.
On the level of derash, the Tabernacle allegorically represents God’s
££God’s Goodness
compassion and the rectification of the sin of the Golden Calf as already £God’s Goodness God’s Goodness
alluded to in the peshat and remez explanations. God had originally
and the Existence of Evil
and the Existence of Evil
decided to mete out strict judgment for this sin, but after Moses’ prayers and the Existence of Evil
chose to exercise His compassion and forgive the people; in a sense this
dynamic mirrors His introducing compassion into running the world,
after His initial decision to just exercise strict judgment. God and Moses’ protracted dialogue in the aftermath of the sin
The sod, the secret meaning, stems from the connection between the of the Golden Calf is one of the lengthiest and most fascinating
thirteen materials used in the Tabernacle and the Hebrew word for conversations in the entire Tanach. As a result of Moses’ pleading for
“one” (echad), which has the numerical value of thirteen. The thirteen his people, God rescinded His threat to wipe out the nation, revealed
materials used in the Tabernacle reflect God’s oneness in the world the Thirteen Principles of Compassion and instructed Moses to
and the ensuing unity and purpose of creation. This fundamental prepare two tablets so that the Ten Commandments could be given
message conveyed by the Tabernacle was gleaned above from how to him again, as the first ones had been broken.
hooking the curtains together united the Tabernacle and made After God promises not to annihilate the Jewish people, Moses
it “one” (“Inherent Unity”); furthermore, we learned above that asks Him to reveal His glory. The Slonimer Rebbe notes that given
creating such oneness was the very purpose of the Tabernacle and in the low spiritual level to which the people had fallen such a request
fact of the entire Torah. The Jewish people, Abraham’s descendants, seems to be coming at an extremely inopportune time. He therefore
are charged with realizing God’s oneness, proclaiming it to the world, explains that Moses was actually asking God to reveal to him how
and introducing it into every aspect of life. He could be honored in any way by allowing His people’s spiritual

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