Musar sobre Exodo 32:27

It is necessary to devote this quality to the service of God, as thou knowest from (the story of) Moses, peace be upon him, when he retaliated upon the people by saying to the children of Levi (Ex. xxxii. 27), "Put every man his sword by his side"; and as thou knowest from Phinehas in the matter of his zeal. Thus it is said (Num. xxv. 7), "And when Phinehas, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand." This quality of valor never fails to be conspicuous in the souls of mighty men and courageous heroes. With reference to valor and patience in facing danger, the poet spake: "There came a day in the heat of which some people warmed themselves, but though there was no fire, they acted as if in the fire's midst. But we had patience until the day was done. Likewise, a case of misfortune can be brought to a close only through patience." Among the things which have been said in order to encourage the use of valor is: "Crave death, and life will be granted thee." The Arabs were accustomed to call the man of valor "safe."

Rabbi Judah, the son of Tema, said, "Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, fast as a deer, mighty as a lion to do the will of your Father in heaven" (Aboth 5:24). See how they warned that one make himself light and strong in order to fulfill the commandments! Thus did David say, "I made haste, and delayed not, to observe Thy commandments" (Ps. 119:60). Thus did our Rabbis expound : " 'And ye shall observe the matzot (Ex. 12:17), do not read it as matzot (unleavened bread), but read it is as mitzvot (commandments)" — meaning if an opportunity comes to you to do a good deed, do not let it grow stale but do it at once (Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, vol. I., p. 74). It is very necessary to be agile and alert and strong in order to strive against the wicked — to be mighty of heart as Moses, our teacher, when he said, "Put every man his sword upon his thigh" (Ex. 32:27). And to be like Phinehas of whom it is said, "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear into hand" (Num. 25:7). Therefore, take care to be quick to separate yourself from the company of the wicked, so that you will not be part of their designs and their plans. Above all it requires zeal to do repentence. One must hurry and he should not delay to follow the paths of repentence, and let him not be wicked for even one hour before God, may He be Blessed. See how alert the servants and ministers of kings are in the performance of their duties. All the more so must we be careful to be alert in our service to the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

In order to solve the various remaining difficulties, let me first explain the meaning of the Yalkut as well as the statement that Moses had deducted 3,000 who had been killed by the Levites during the operation referred to in Exodus 32,27-28. These three thousand people were the ones against whom there were valid witnesses, and who had been warned of the consequences if they persisted in what they were doing or were about to do. Further there was a number of people who died through a plague at the hands of G–d, because they could not be brought to trial legally. The Torah refers to these people in 32,35 without specifying their number. In view of this why did Rabbi Hoshiya in the Yalkut say that only 3,000 had died? Why does he give us the impression that only 3,000 were missing from the number of eligible young men prior to the sin of the golden calf? It certainly seems unlikely that those who died from the plague were all under twenty years of age, or that they were all part of the mixed multitude. It seems certain therefore that a number of thousands of young men of the age of 20 and over, all of whom belonged to the twelve tribes, died as a result of that plague. We must assume that the number of young men who reached their 20th birthday before the first of Tishrey in that year made up for those who had died as a result of the plague. Hence, once Moses knew the number of Jewish men of military age prior to the sin of the golden calf, he was able to account for the number who had died during this episode.