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Why were the Jewish people forgiven after the Golden Calf without genuine teshuvah? The shiur develops the yesod that the Thirteen Attributes revealed a new basis of creation: Torah (תורה) Shebe'al Peh makes Klal Yisroel partners in God's reality. This answers why the second luchos required Moshe's participation and why the mitzvos are repeated after the chet ha'egel.
The shiur addresses a fundamental paradox in Parshas Ki Sisa: the Jewish people sinned with the Golden Calf and deserved destruction, yet were forgiven without any apparent process of teshuvah or change. This appears to contradict the basic principle that sins require genuine contrition and transformation for atonement. Moreover, the immediate forgiveness seems to undermine the entire concept of "lechem kinah" - that man must earn his existence rather than receive everything as an undeserved gift. Rabbi Zweig explains that the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy revealed at this juncture represent not a magical formula for forgiveness, but rather a fundamental restructuring of creation itself. Before the Golden Calf, the relationship between God and Israel was unilateral - God gave the first luchos entirely on His terms, like a chassan providing everything for the wedding. The Midrash captures this when it says God told Moshe regarding the second luchos: "The first time I did it, now it's your turn."
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Parshas Ki Sisa - Second Luchos and Thirteen Attributes
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