Tropicasher comentary on the parashah KI TISSAH - THE GOLDEN CALF´S EPISODE

   HERE COMES THE S.A.M.B.A...

   The letters of the Hebrew alphabet have a special light.

Brazil is the land of Samba, an African rhythm blended to Portuguese melodies and played with special instruments such as pandeiro, cuíca, tamborim, surdo, repinique, ganzá, cavaquinho and others.

By the way, do you know what the word S.A.M.B.A. stands for?

Simchah = Happiness of performing a Mitzvah.
Ahavah = Love for our Jewish fellows.
Matan Tzedakah = Material resources used to practice acts of Kindness
Brachot = Blessings
Awaiting for Mashiach = Trust in Hashem

Yes, the Samba has Jewish roots, as everything on Earth, if we only the time and trouble to search for the Holly spark beyond anything we see, hear, smell, taste and touch. You can do it in your own land of birth, looking for the Divine secret hidden in your own culture. We do it in Brazil, you can do that at home.

Q: Why the Canadian flag is that, by the way?

A: Because we had the idea of doing the Tropicasher while living in Toronto for some years. It reinforces, even more, the ability human beings have to find connections between things wherever they live.

You may find S.A.M.B.A. in your Shul, Shabbat Table, Family life, a friendly Lechayim, Community Life. Pick the S.A.M.B.A one like more and enjoy life with a Tropikosher heart!

Here is more Samba for you: JEWISH SAMBA

SAVLANUT HABIBI

This week’s parashah brings us an outstanding episode on World’s History: 

The sin of the Golden Calf.

People made the wrong Samba right below Moshe’s beard, acting vulgarly while receiving Torah - for their sake - much more than for Moses´.

And just because their watch showed SIX hours more than the forty days account. 

Moshe said he would spend full forty days at Mount Sinai.

But Moshe did not come back for long six hours, as the people counted it.

- What a “chutzpah”, Moshe! We went slaves for 210 years and you come six whole hours late?

- Let’s elect for us a new boss!

- Yeeeeeah!!! Let´s do it, folks!!!

       “... So they gave their gold to Aaron, who put it into the fire…  and a Golden Calf came from the flames… and he said: Here is your god, O Israel!”

Moshe called this sin a “Chata’ah Gedolah”, a major sin. However, it was not so bad as the spies’ sin, who said all kinds of nonsense about Eretz Israel after their first visit, causing such an Anger from G-d, that He locked us in the desert for forty years in order to recycle that generation into a more adult one.

In the Calf’s case, Hashem did not punish us so hard, but He sent Moshe to get rid of three thousand people who came out with the idea of creating a new boss.

The tribe of Levi, from where all Levis and Cohens come from, did not take part in the Golden Calf’s Carnival. So Hashem said Moshe He would preserve the Levites and kill the remained eleven tribes.

Moshe had an "argument" with Hashem... and won the case for the Jews!!

Contrary to human nature - man does not like to be challenged - Hashem was pleased with Moshe, for this way, He could show us the level of true leadership we had under Moshe.

Nevertheless... the real sin of Golden Calf was not that of Idol worship.

It was that of lack of patience!

A bunch of anxious guys could not wait anymore for Moshe. So they miscalculated the time Moshe went at Mount Sinai. But Moshe’s “watch” was correct. We came back with Torah 40 exact days after he went up!

The Hebrew word for “patience” is SAVLANUT.

SAVLANUT has the same Hebrew root as SEVEL (suffering).

It seems that the more patience we have... the less we suffer.

Thanks for saving our skin, Moshe!

Tropicasher