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Why did Chazal say the Jewish people fell to the sin of the Golden Calf through ayin hara when no one actually saw Maamad Har Sinai? The shiur develops the insight that the ayin hara was self-inflicted: the pressure of maintaining Sinai's spiritual perfection became unbearable. Success creates its own crushing expectations, and we sometimes unconsciously wish for relief from the very greatness we've achieved.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a fundamental problem with the Chazal's statement that the ayin hara (evil eye) caused the sin of the Golden Calf. Ayin hara by definition requires someone to see something—yet no nations witnessed Maamad Har Sinai directly. The thunder and lightning made the event known, but the nations were not present as spectators. How can Chazal attribute the sin to ayin hara when there was no actual "eye" observing the Jewish people? Additionally, why would HaKadosh Baruch Hu give the Torah (תורה) in such a public manner if it would expose Klal Yisrael to ayin hara, when He could have given it quietly like the second set of luchos? The shiur explores Rashi (רש"י)'s citation of a Gemara (גמרא) in Shabbos (שבת) that describes how Satan showed Klal Yisrael a vision of Moshe Rabbeinu's coffin being carried. This raises a troubling question: how can Satan create a vision of something that doesn't exist? Satan doesn't manufacture reality—he doesn't have the power to produce false images out of nothing. What does it mean that Satan showed them something that wasn't real?
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Parshas Ki Sisa - the sin of the Golden Calf and Maamad Har Sinai
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