Monday, March 23, 2026
Half Shekel was Atonement for Sin of Golden Calf
Or HaChaim (Shemos 30:13) The alienation between Israel and its G'd resulted from the episode of the golden calf which affected the roots of all the Jewish souls. G'd therefore commanded that the people give a "half-shekel" to symbolise that their previous action had resulted in something whole having become divided. The contribution of this half-shekel was to repair the damage done to the whole through the people's participation in the sin of the golden calf. Every mitzva is meant to close a gap that may exist between man and G'd.
Moshe's defense of the making of the Golden Calf
Ramban (Shemos 32:11) ETERNAL, WHY DOTH THY WRATH WAX HOT AGAINST THY PEOPLE? Now when Moses prayed about this great sin, it would have been fitting that he do so by way of confession and supplication, similar to what he said later on, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and just as Ezra prayed and confessed because of the faithlessness of them of the captivity, and there is no reason why he should say, why doth the Eternal etc.? Our Rabbis, prompted by this difficulty have in various homiletic ways tried to mention several reasons for Moses’ minimizing the sin before Him.
Yalkut Shimoni (795) Moshe told G-d that the Golden Calf was a good thing and that it would assist Him. G-d asked how it would assist? Moshe answered “When You make it rain it will produce dew.When you make storms it will make lightning.”G-ds replied Moshe you also are mistaken about the Golden Calf . Moshe replied “If so why are You angry with Your people and say that they have sinned a great sin?” This can be compared to a king who was angry with his wife and sent her from his house. Her defender questioned the king for what he did and also asked his wife why she was upsetting the king
Devarim Rabbah (01:02) When Israel made the Golden Calf, G-d desired to destroy them, whereupon Moses said to Him: ‘Master of the Universe! This Calf will be of great help to Thee.’ God then asked him, ‘How can it help Me?’ Thereupon Moses replied: ‘Thou causest rain to fall, the Calf will produce dew; Thou bringest out the winds, the Calf will bring out lightnings.’ Said God to Moses: ' So you also are going astray after the Calf! ' Whereupon Moses exclaimed before God: ' Then," Why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people" seeing that the Calf is nought?’ To Israel, however, he said: ' Ye have sinned a great sin.’
Bamidbar Rabbah (02:15) Moses’ plea: Lord, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people, etc. . Moses suggested: ‘This calf which Israel have made can now be of assistance to Thee.’ He can send down rain while Thou wilt produce the dew! ‘‘But,’ replied the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘is there any such hope from him?’ ‘Then,’ came Moses’ retort, ‘if there is no substance in him, why art Thou wroth? ' ‘Lord, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people... wherefore should the Egyptians speak... For evil did He bring them forth... Remember Abraham,’ etc. (ib.11 ff.). What follows in the text? And the Lord repented of the evil which He said He would do unto His people (ib. 14). ‘His people.’ Thus has been explained the text, ‘And it shall come to pass that, instead of that which was said to them,’ etc.
Berachos (32a) Moses spoke insolently towards heaven The school of R. Jannai learnt it from here: And Di-Zahab. What is ‘ And Di-Zahab’? They said in the school of R. Jannai: Thus spoke Moses before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of the Universe, the silver and gold which Thou didst shower on Israel until they said, Enough, that it was which led to their making the Calf.
Shemos Rabbah (43:10) When Israel made the Golden Calf, God intended to destroy them, but Moses pleaded: ' Lord of the Universe! Didst Thou not bring them forth from Egypt, a place of idol-worshippers?
Golden Calf changed the Way Torah was Given
Sforno (Shemos 24:12) “which I (the Lord) have written.” If it had not been for the sin of the golden calf, the entire Torah would have been handed to the Jewish people (Moses) as a signed and sealed document just like the Tablets with the Ten Commandments. Instead, Moses wrote down the Torah at G’d’s command. In fact, Moses only brought the Tablets to within sight of the people in order to smash them before their eyes, so that they would understand what they had forfeited due to their disloyalty to G’d. This demonstration of Moses having smashed the Tablets was designed to shock the people into penitence.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5795894-bessent-trump-empathy-plea/
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said people need to give President Trump more empathy after Trump posted that he was “glad” former FBI Director Robert Mueller was dead.
“I think that given what has been done to President Trump and his family it is impossible for either of us to understand what he has been through,” Bessent said during a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
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Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service have been set on fire in Golders Green, with police saying they were treating the incident as an “antisemitic hate crime”.
Officers were called to Highfield Road in Golders Green at about 1.45am on Monday after receiving reports of a fire.
The Metropolitan police confirmed the incident in north London was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
The ambulances were run by Jewish charity Hatzola, which was established in 1979 and is run by volunteers, providing free medica
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Kennedy’s supporters in the Make America Healthy Again Movement, which include social media influencers selling popular peptide treatments, and his pharmacist allies have applauded his remarks and say they expect bold action from him any day now.
Yet some pharmacists and doctors warn that any move by the FDA to loosen current regulations around peptides could pose serious health risks because of the lack of scientific data to support many of them.
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Trump’s shifting Strait of Hormuz strategies raise questions about US war preparation
After failing to assemble coalition to secure critical oil shipping route, president has resorted to a threat to hit Iran’s power plants that critics warn is illegal, may backfire
“Trump has no plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, so he is threatening to attack Iran’s civil power plants,” said Democratic Senator Ed Markey, adding: “This would be a war crime.”
Ambitious Mossad plan to spark Iran uprising seems to fall short as war drags on
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b13n118r911l
Trump and Netanyahu embraced an optimistic strategy of assassinations and covert efforts to trigger unrest, but intelligence officials say fear of Iran’s security forces has so far prevented mass protests or a broader revolt
Watching Trump’s Monday Deadline for Iran
President Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iranian power plants set off a cascade of alarm bells around the region with Tehran saying it would respond in kind. Oil-exporting Gulf countries said Iranian reprisals could further endanger the world economy.
Trump made his threat in a social-media post late Saturday, saying that if Iran doesn’t fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply, within 48 hours the U.S. would act. Iran contended that the U.S. threat raised issues under international law against targeting civilian infrastructure.
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Apparent antisemitic arson attack targets Jewish ambulance service in London
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-890851
Several ambulances belonging to Jewish volunteer emergency medical service Hatzola Northwest were set ablaze in Golders Green, London, in a suspected antisemitic arson attack early on Monday morning, surveillance footage shared on social media appears to show.
The footage appears to show several hooded or masked men pouring gasoline on the vehicles before fleeing the scenes.
Four ambulances appear to have been destroyed in the incident.
Iran threatens to hit power plants in Israel, Gulf if its electricity sector is targeted
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-march-23-2026/
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IDF Spokesperson: 'We are facing more weeks of fighting in all sectors'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/424392
IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin announced that the Iranian regime is being undermined by Israel's ongoing attacks and estimated that the fighting will continue in the coming weeks.