Today, Tucker Carlson floated a theory that Chabad is a prime mover of the current war. It would almost be funny if an untold number of people weren’t going to believe him. 

This week’s parsha contains one of the most tragic events in Jewish history: the sin of the Golden Calf. According to Rashi, the sin did not begin with rebellion. It began with a mistaken calculation.

Moses had ascended Mount Sinai and told the people he would return after forty days. The people began counting. But they made a subtle mistake: they counted the day he went up as the first full day. In reality, the day he went up was only a half day—it did not include a night. The forty days only ended the next day. 

When, according to their calculation, Moses did not return, they began to create a story. Forty days and nights without food—Moses must be dead. Without him, the possibility of a relationship with HaShem was gone. Fear took hold, and they grasped for something tangible—something stable they could see and touch. So, they built a golden calf. 

This is not just an ancient story. It is one of the deepest patterns of human behavior. We do it in relationships. We do it at work. We do it in politics. And we are especially prone to doing it in moments of fear and uncertainty.

Someone close—someone who should answer—doesn’t take the call. A colleague doesn’t reply to a text. A friend seems distant.

They don’t care. They don’t like me and don’t want to work with me. They’re selfish and didn’t think about me—again.

This lesson from the Golden Calf is priceless: listen carefully to the stories you tell yourself. And specifically, before you conclude that someone you trust has abandoned you or betrayed you, pause and examine your assumptions.

Sometimes the truth is much simpler.

Sometimes the forty days just aren’t over yet.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)