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To
My Dear Students,
I
believe that one day scientists will discover
the center of the universe, and that many people
will be disappointed to learn that they are not
it!
This
week's Torah Portion finds the Israelites believing
that they are the center of the universe.
They fashion a Golden Calf, considered in the
Jewish tradition to be the greatest sin in Jewish
history. Instead of worshipping G-d as He
is, our ancestors wanted to believe in a G-d of
their own production. Not satisfied with
being created in the image of G-d, they tried
to create G-d themselves. They were not
content to be the work of G-d's hands, but thought
G-d should be the work of their hands. Their
sin was thinking that they were the most important
part of creation, not G-d.
A
person wrapped up in himself makes a small package!
The Israelites were small packages, indeed.
Their desires, their needs, were more important
to them than what G-d desired and needed from
them. They worshipped the tyrant of their
selfish desires. Rather than live their
lives in dialogue with G-d, they were lost
in a monologue of self-seeking.
We
build our own Golden Calf whenever our lives center
solely or primarily on ourselves. We should
live up to G-d's expectations of us, rather than
live by our expectations of G-d.
Shabbat
Shalom,
Your
Rabbi
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