Week 21: Exodus 30:11 - 34:35
Haftarah Portion: I Kings 18:1 - 39, 19:1 - 19:21
Summary: The census, the instructions for the half-shekel tax, and the incident of the Golden Calf are highlighted. The Haftarah recounts Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal, emphasizing the importance of fidelity to the one true God.
Thematic Connection: Worship and Devotion
By Rabbi Patrick Beaulier
The golden calf has become a western metaphor for idolatry, even so much as being referenced in a Kevin Smith movie called Dogma:
(Warning: it’s violent).
An appropriate element to the story is that the female character is spared. I don’t know if Kevin Smith knew the idea…
the Israelite women did not participate in the incident of the Golden Calf…
but it’s worth discussing…
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