We give the builders of the golden calf a bad rap, and deservedly so. In the Portion this week we read of a people who saw G-d directly, heard the Ten Commandments, and yet betrayed him 40 days later. How could they? If we had seen the revelations at Sinai, there is no way we would have sunk so low!
Or would we?
Let's take a step back, These people had a concrete relationship with G-d. To them, G-d was not an idea, He was real! G-d protected them for their enemies, delivered them from slavery, sustained them in the dessert, and communicated His truth to them at Sinai.
And who helped make G-d real for them? Moses. And suddenly, Moses went missing. True, it had been merely hours since the deadline he gave when he was to return from the Mountain (according to their calculation) but when something precious goes missing, you panic before long.
And here one positive thing to learn from the people who built the golden calf:
We need to learn about G-d and know Him in a real way. We need to think about G-d and learn to see Him in everything. We need to pray to G-d and feel him listening. We need to trust in G-d as we would trust a parent who provides for us. We need to have a direct relationship in G-d that is not dependent on the inspiration of anyone else.
And yes, we should be bothered during those times this relationship feels weaker. We should feel what our ancestors felt when they were driven to build a golden calf - but of course we should never build it. Instead, we should learn how to make G-d real the way that He tells us to in our Torah…