The Misunderstood Torah
The consequence of the sin of the golden calf is that the Torah appears, to most, as simply stories, genealogies, and laws. Subsequently, many perceive the Torah from the opposite angle, fixing their gaze upon the garments.
One of the most cataclysmic events this side of the Garden of Eden is probably not one that first comes to mind.
After having endured many generations of enslavement, the nation of Israel was about to receive the Torah on Sinai. All of those years in Egypt, our Sages tell us, were efficacious in bringing a tikkun (repair) for the sin of Adam. The nation had reached the heights of holiness, refined through the fires of trial. They were finally ready to receive the Torah, and humankind was back on track to realize its potential.
Moses is given the tablets when the storyline is interrupted by the sound of 'revelry' - the sound of idolatry. We know the story, Moses shatters the first tablets and begins a period of repentance on behalf of the people.
The story moves on, but we should stay in this place a while longer, taking inventory of the aftermath. The first set of tablets were unique, spiritual in essence, known as Torah [of] Atzilut, a supernal level above time and space. They were not identical to the second set. The Midrash describes them as radiant, made of sapphire, miraculous in design (Shabbat 104a), and even defying the laws of physics (Dev. Rabbah 1:2).
Moreover, they contained a level of Torah wisdom that has been mostly lost to us ever since that day. The incident with the Golden calf sent mankind hurling back into the former state of chaos and impurity, no longer a vessel to receive this level of Light.
The second set of tablets are the Torah we are familiar with today, known as the Torah [of] Beriah. This Torah seeks to help us navigate the realities of our deficient state.
Two Paths
R. Abraham Kook describes the difference between the sets of tablets as two different ways to serve G_D.
- The natural, ethical way
- Our higher level, as we were intended to serve G_D from the beginning.
Essentially, both paths are included in the higher dimension, but the same is not always true in reverse.
The first tablets contained Torah wisdom of higher luminosity. The second tablets are wearing the garments of the natural world, occluded, concealing this higher dimension. In his Torah commentary on Deuteronomy, the Rebbe writes:
The Torah possesses both a physical, external dimension (laws and the study of their derivation) and a spiritual, inner dimension (its philosophical and mystical aspects).
The Rebbe continues:
... [we must be] well-rounded individuals, fully dedicated to both our Divine Mission on earth, we must study both dimensions of the Torah.
The consequence of the sin of the golden calf is that the Torah appears, to most, as simply stories, genealogies, and laws. Subsequently, many perceive the Torah from the opposite angle, fixing their gaze upon the garments.
Like Adam's miscalculation, the incident of the golden calf rerouted humanity down the long road to redemption and revelation, for which we still wait. Until then, may we all begin to glimpse the inner dimensions of the world around us.
