Ki Tisa – Breathing Room

The Greater Crisis of Spiritual Malaise

The insistence of the people to build a golden calf led to idolatry, inclusive of the revelry that accompanied that idolatrous form of worship; yet, the greater crisis was the spiritual malaise that brought on the unrest in the first place; it is this underlying cause that may serve as an entry point for our understanding. Moreover, we should be able to relate more to the spiritual malaise, than the actual act of idolatry. For, rarely does the general population of Westerners worship actual idols, except within the New Age Movement, as well as certain Eastern religious traditions tailored towards the Western Mind.

Yet, G-d would like us to discern what is within our hearts. Whether or not we keep the L-RD in mind throughout the day is of great significance to our walk with the Him. Yet, if we grow restless and impatient like the Children of Israel, in their expectation of Moses to return from his forty-day retreat on Sinai, then we may seek other means of assuring ourselves that we have some kind of connection to the divine. This is the beginning of spiritual malaise, a turning away from our belief in G-d.

As a result of this recognition, we should examine our own conscience in order to determine whatever obstacles we may have placed between us and G-d. These obstacles, whether abstract ideas, or something more concrete like money, sports, or a favorite sitcom may inadvertently serve us as modern day idols, capable of preventing us from fully focusing on G-d.

At Sinai, when Moses did not immediately return from atop the mountain on the fortieth day, as the people had calculated, they began to panic as a result of their growing impatience and insecurity. Without Moses, they grew distressed, because he was not only their leader, he was also their intermediary between themselves and G-d. So, they sought to replace him with a new intermediary, a golden calf that served as a tangible representation of G-d. As much as Moses represented G-d, and spoke on His behalf, the people now demanded a “god” as a concrete form to better fixate their minds upon, even though they had already been given the commandment, not to make any images.

In our own lives, we need to lift ourselves up above the fascination of this world, inclusive of all its glamour, and the sparkle in front of our eyes that we gravitate towards, instead of seeking G-d within our hearts. We would do well to spend more quiet time, disengaged from the screen, as well as other electronic devices, in order to disconnect from externals, and reconnect with our main Power Source. The Creator of all that we might hold in esteem, should be given more reverence than manmade technological wonders.

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