Parashat Ki Tisa is famous for the Chet HaEgel/Sin of the Golden Calf.
The commentaries point out that after the Jewish people saw the ten plagues, Yetziat Mitzrayim and the splitting of the sea, they could not possibly believe that the golden calf took them out of Egypt. But Moshe Rabbenu was gone, and they felt that they needed an intermediary to deal with Hashem.
The Rambam writes that this is actually the source of all Avodah Zara- when people start to think that just the way you don’t speak to a king directly, and you have to go through his chef, for example, they think that God has His, so to say chefs. That was their mistake. They did not understand that God deals with people on an individual basis.
When the Hovot HaLevavot talks about the benefits of bitachon, one of the things that he says is that You don’t serve anyone else but God. But what does that mean? Who serves people? The commentary Pat Lechem says that he doesn’t literally worship Avodah Zara. In his words, “ For those that worship idols, it was due to a lack of reliance on God.” They thought that God does not supervise lowly beings, and that He gave over control of the world to stars, and that is why they started worshiping stars.
It all comes from a lack of Bitachon.
Rav Elchonon Wasserman, in his sefer Kovetz Ma’amarim, written about the end of times, says that in the end of times, we will also have Avodah Zara. It might not be a Buddha, but rather, it can be an Avodah of “isms,” where a person “worships” communism, socialism, global warming or any other ideology. He says Avodah Zara is not limited to a rock or a tree. Anything that a person believes has the power to benefit or harm is an Avodah Zara.
For some people, democracy was an Avodah Zara.
We have to realize En Od Milevado/There is nothing else but Hashem.
One by one, each idol that you rely on gets smashed, and then another one comes up and gets smashed.
We have to understand that Avodah Zara can be any thing other than dealing directly with Hashem.
Rav Shlomo Kluger, in his sefer Kehilat Yaakov (27th derush to Rosh Hashanah), says that if a person needs something from his friend, and he humbles himself to the person, as if without humbling himself he will not get what he needs, it is like he is turning his friend into Avodah Zara, because he’s putting his reliance on his friend. There is a pasuk
(Yeshaya 2,22) that says חִדְלוּ לָכֶם מִן־הָאָדָם כִּי־בַמֶּה נֶחְשָׁב הוּא….
Stay away from man…for what is he worth?
And the Gemara tells us in Mesechet Berachot 14a, “A person that relies on another person turns him into an altar, into Avodah Zara.
This concept needs to be constantly reiterated- We have to realize that Hashem is watching every little detail in life, and He is controlling every detail in life- to the point that my classes are prepared by Hashem. This lesson came to me once again from Rabbi Ebstein of Lakewood, who writes beautiful weekly Bitachon message.
I also have a story to share:
Rabbi Reuven Krishevsky runs an organization in Israel called Alei Siach, which is a special home for special people. Many of our community members support it.
A year ago, he asked for my brother Rabbi Ari’s phone number, because he was under the impression that Ari was able to help fund raise for his organization. I told him that maybe he had the wrong guy. Ari is a nice person, and a Talmud Chacham, but he’s not a fund raiser.
The rabbi assured me that he had heard that Ari was indeed a good fundraiser, so I gave him the number, and that was the last I’d heard about it. Until three days ago.
Rabbi Krishevsky was in town and came to the Torah Center. He approached me, and thanked me for giving him my brother’s number. He said my brother opened up many doors for him in Lakewood.
I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I called my brother and asked him about it. Ari told me that when the rabbi called him, He wondered why the Rabbi was even calling him because he did not know how to raise money, but he offered to meet the Rabbi in shul. He had to go to a wedding, so he only had a few minutes after Arbit, and he offered to meet the rabbi then.
The rabbi came to meet him, but my brother prays a long Arbit and by the time he finished his Amida, there were only two guys left in shul to introduce the rabbi to. One was a fellow sitting in the other section of the shul. Ari knew that this fellow was wealthy, so he went to introduce him to the rabbi, and they agreed to meet the next morning to discuss the cause.
It turned out that this man had a special place in his heart for people with special needs, and he ended up giving a donation of $18,000.
The other man Ari was able to introduce him to said he was making a wedding a few days later, but he offered to meet the rabbi the at his home, the night before the wedding.
My brother didn’t know this at the time, but this man has a special child. This man and his wife were so moved by what rabbi’s organization that they sat there crying, and gave him a check for $18,000.
So the rabbi collected $18,000 each, from the first two men he met.
Ari didn’t know how it happened. He just stumbled upon the only two guys in shul, and the rabbi walked out with $36,000.
I was stunned.
If you can’t see from this that Hashem runs the world then I don’t know what to tell you. Neither me nor my brother could figure out who told the rabbi to seek out Ari.
The point is, forget the Egel. Hashem is down here, watching every little detail, and taking care of every special need child, making sure they have a place to stay.
Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.