The passage in Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei_Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei Zohar 56 dives deep into a pivotal moment: the sin of the Golden Calf. Remember that story? Moses is up on Mount Sinai receiving the Torah, and the Israelites, impatient and fearful, create a golden idol to worship. What does this have to do with time? Everything, according to this mystical interpretation.
The text highlights a curious phrase from Exodus 32:1: "And the People saw that Moses delayed…" The Tikkunei Zohar, through a play on words, unpacks this delay as vo-shesh. It then connects this to ba-shesh, meaning "in six." According to the sages (BT Shabbat 89a), "in these six hours they made the golden calf." Think about that. In just six hours, they managed to derail their entire spiritual journey!
But it’s more than just a historical account. The text goes on to say that this act separated between the Vav and the Qei. Now, the Vav (ו) is the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has the numerical value of six, and the Qei (ה) is the fifth letter with a numerical value of five. The text associates these with the numbers six and seven. The implication is that the sin created a rift between the sixth millennium and the seventh millennium – a crucial period in Jewish mystical thought that speaks to the coming of the Messiah and ultimate redemption.
What does this separation mean? What's so important about the sixth and seventh millennia? Jewish tradition teaches that the world operates in cycles, and the seventh millennium will be an era of profound spiritual awakening and peace. The sin of the Golden Calf, in this reading, jeopardized that future, delaying and complicating our path toward that ultimate era.
The text then makes a poignant statement: "because of them, the Shekhinah was as 'a broken unleavened-bread'…the bread of poverty…Poverty, specifically!" The Shekhinah is the Divine Presence, the aspect of God that dwells among us in the world. And matzah, unleavened bread, is a symbol of humility and freedom, especially during Passover, as we read in Deuteronomy 16:3. The Golden Calf, a symbol of idolatry and materialism, effectively "broke" the connection to the Divine, leaving us in a state of spiritual poverty.
This isn't just about ancient history; it's about our present moment. The Tikkunei Zohar suggests that our actions have consequences that ripple through time, impacting not only ourselves but also the very fabric of reality and our collective destiny. The mixed multitude at the Giving of the Torah, and their actions, created a spiritual challenge that we are still working to overcome.
So, what's the takeaway? Perhaps it's a call to be mindful of our choices, to recognize that even seemingly small actions can have profound implications. Maybe it's an invitation to bridge the gaps, to heal the brokenness, and to work towards a future where the Divine Presence is fully revealed. It also serves as a lesson to have patience in times of uncertainty and stress. After all, the redemption isn't just something that happens to us; it's something we actively participate in creating, one moment, one choice, at a time.