THE GOLDEN YEARS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
This week’s Torah portion tells the story of the sin of the Golden Calf, which the Jewish people made for themselves to worship. A few hundred years later, the wicked Jewish king Yeravam ben Nevat would do the same thing, on a larger scale. Instead of building one golden calf, he built two calves.
Most worshipers knew the laws of idol worship by heart. How did they learn the rules? There was a very popular book called AN IDIOT’S GUIDE TO IDOL WORSHIP. For the children, there was a book by Dr. Suess called HOW TO BOW TO A COW.
For those who did not have a chance to read these books, there were big signs outside the calves’ cages with instructions for worshiping the idols. The first sign read, “NO IDOLING.”
The second sign showed the instructions for feeding the calves: “If the first god is hungry, please serve it. If, after being served, the first god is still hungry, please serve the second god- to the first god”!
The third sign was the most interesting of all. It was exactly the opposite of the signs we have in America today. The sign by the golden calves read, “CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR GOD”!
By R’ Yankel Moskowitz
