A Thought on Parshas Ki Sisa

"...va'yisabalu v'lo shasu ish edyo alav..." (33:4) "...they were stricken with grief and none put on their ornaments..." "...hored edye'cha me'alecha..." (33:5) "...take off your ornaments..." HaShem commanded us to remove our ornaments, following the Egel. ibn Shu'aib, however, ponders this: according to the earlier verse (33:4), immediately upon our hearing that HaShem would no longer be sensed in our midst during the trek through the desert, we stopped putting our ornaments on. If that is so, what does the next verse accomplish by stating that we were commanded to remove the ornaments that we had already removed? He first offers the view of ibn Ezra who reconciles the verses with the principle of "ain mukdam u'ma'uchar ba'Torah" - the Torah does not stick to a precise chronological sequence at times. The commandment verse preceded the implementation verse. Its just that they are written, for some reason, in reverse sequence. He next offers the view of the Baalei HaTosfos, that we had received two ornaments at the Giving of the Torah, one upon hearing "I am the Lord Your G-d" (Anochi) and one upon hearing "You shall not have other gods before me" (lo yiyeh lecha). Both of those commandments were heard directly from HaShem. When the Egel was made, our shame over how this was so inconsistent with the literal meaning of "lo yiyeh lecha" led us to remove our first ornaments voluntarily. At that time, our assumption was that whereas some of us may have transgressed "lo yiyeh", and for that we all removed our first ornaments, we had not transgressed "Anochi". We all still accepted that there is but One G-d. However, the second verse commanded us to remove the second ornament, teaching us that anyone who transgresses "lo yiyeh" also automatically transgresses "Anochi." Having any image to which one attributes any power or sanctity actually defiles his observance of the entire Torah. That is why the next verse (33:6) says in plural that we removed our ornaments. He then offers the view of Rabbeinu Bachya that the ornaments were the garments worn by angels when they are sent to appear on earth in mortal form. We had reached an angelic level at the Giving of the Torah and were no longer subject to death (malach ha'mav'es). We became adorned with those protective gear reserved for the malachim. We were the "mortal angels on earth" after receiving the Torah from HaShem. Our shame after the Egel led us to remove those vestments from our outerwear and then don them beneath our regular clothing. That is what the first verse teaches. The second verse was when HaShem commanded us to surrender those garments completely. After the Egel we forfeited our place as "malachei mata"; one may not masquerade as an angel when still behaving like a mortal. Good Shabbos. D Fox