In the Parsha Ki Tisa, specifically Exodus 30:11, we learn about the importance of learning from our mistakes  through the story of the Golden Calf. The Parsha begins with Moses going up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten  Commandments from God, and the Israelites become impatient and worried about his absence. They approached Aaron, Moses’s brother, and asked him to make them a God to worship. Aaron collected gold from the people and crafted a golden calf. The Israelites then began to worship the calf, which was in direct violation of the Ten Commandments. When Moses returned and saw what was happening, he became angry and shattered the tablets containing the commandments. Moses confronted the Israelites about their idolatry and punished those who were involved.  

As a high school student, I have a lot of responsibilities. I have to balance my schoolwork, my job, and all of my  extracurriculars and that becomes a lot, I’m sure many of you can relate. To keep everything organized I use an agenda  book where I write down all of my homework. One day, I decided that I was going to be late to school because I wanted  to sleep in, little did I know my teacher was assigning a group project. When I got to school and asked my friend what I  missed, she told me that we got assigned a group project in class and we had 24 hours to complete the assignment. I spent all day doing the assignment to the best of my ability. When we got to the next day our teacher told us that we  had to present our projects but we weren’t presenting on our part of the project, we were presenting another person in our group’s part of the project. That’s when I realized that my decision to sleep in was not so smart because I barely  knew the people in my group and couldn’t get in contact with them to find out what they wrote and why. The other two  people in my group suffered as well, as we all got a lower grade on the project because none of us knew how to properly  explain the other person’s part due to my absence. I immediately apologized so many times to my group as I knew I  made a mistake. My mistake not only impacted me and my grade but 2 other people’s grades and the teacher’s  impression of us. I felt terrible when I realized my selfish decision had a negative effect on my group mates.  

The experience of the Israelites taught them not only the value of repentance and the need to learn from their mistakes but to also take responsibility for them. Similarly, in my situation making a mistake that affected other people’s grades  shows the need to acknowledge my error and take responsibility for the impact it had on others. Taking responsibility is a crucial aspect of personal growth and building strong relationships. This is a skill that everyone needs to work on because, after all, everyone makes mistakes. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Avery Fox, Northern Region East: DC