CHASSIDIC PEARLS BY RABBI LAZER BRODY PARSHAS KI TISA

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"And Moshe (Moshe) stood at the gateway to the camp and said, 'Whoever is for God, join me!', and all the Levites gathered around him" (Shmot 32:26). Rashi says that the phrase "all the Levites" is mentioned to inform us that the entire tribe of Levi was "kosher". In other words, not a single Levite participated in the tragic golden-calf fiasco. The Midrash, also cited in Rashi's commentary, tells that once the people started worrying about Moshe's apparent tardiness in coming down from Mount Sinai, the Satan seized the opportunity to create an atmosphere of darkness, chaos, and confusion. He even staged an image of Moshe on a bier being carried up to the heavens. Having lost their patience, the people were weak, gullible, and subsequently fooled, falling into a spiritual dive that crash-landed in idolatry. In light of the above, we must ask ourselves, what gave the Levites the power to wait so patiently for Moshe? Why did the rest of the people lack patience, and fall prey to Satan's trap?