The Rebellion When Moshe Rabbeinu came down from Har Sinai, he found a very different scene than the one he left forty days earlier. A segment of the Jewish nation, in rebellion against HASHEM, had formed a golden calf and were worshiping it. The rest of the nation stood by and didn’t protest. In context, this was such an egregious act that HASHEM threatened to destroy the entire nation. Rashi explains that during the process…

The Jewish people had worshiped the golden calf, and Moshe Rabbeinu petitioned HASHEM to save them in the merit of the Avos. Rashi explains that not only was he successful in his mission, he also found great favor in HASHEM’s eyes. HASHEM then said to him that He was going to reveal one of the great secrets of Creation: “You prayed to Me in the merit of the Avos because you assumed that is the…

Moshe Rabbeinu was the single greatest human being who ever lived. The Rambam tells us that of all the nevi’im, he alone was able to speak to HASHEM directly. Normally, a prophet must go into an altered state of consciousness to experience HASHEM. Otherwise the experience would cause sensory overload, and he would die. Moshe was able to speak to HASHEM in a totally clear, conscious state of mind. At any time, he could approach…