Nevertheless, about three thousand men were subsequently killed by Moshe and the tribe of Levi, while an additional number of people perished in a plague (Shemot 32:28-35). If HaShem granted forgiveness to the nation, why did these people deserve to die?
Rashi explains in the name of the sages that the three thousand men sinned before witnesses after having been warned that their sin was punishable by death. Acting according to the principles of Jewish Law, Moshe could not touch those who did sin but were not properly warned, and they were the ones who were killed by the hands of Heaven.
Death penalty can only be administered if the accused acted after having been properly warned. It must be established beyond doubt that the accused sinned willfully and in full awareness of the consequences. This is not just a legal precept – it is an expression of basic morality. Can it be, then, that HaShem acted against this principle?
The answer may be in the enigmatic closeness of the sin of the golden calf to Matan Torah. A warning went out when Israel was preparing for Matan Torah: "Beware of ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely die" (Shemot 19:12). A little while later the warning was emphatically repeated (Shemot 19:21-25).
Our sages teach (Chagiga 14b) that certain kinds of knowledge and certain experiences can be beneficial for exalted souls yet disastrous to others. The most famous example is the fate of the three men that went into the Pardes with rabbi Akiva. After having glanced at the divine Presence, only rabbi Akiva came out in peace. Of the others, one died, another went crazy, and the third became a heretic.
Those who violated the prohibition to not touch Mount Sinai would have met a similar fate. Though this is not explicitly stated in the Torah, circumstantial evidence indicates that some indeed entered the forbidden area. Firstly, from the repeated warnings in Shemot 19, it appears that there was a strong temptation to advance beyond the boundary that Moshe had set. Secondly, quite suddenly heretics arose. Thirdly, if these heretics were those who stepped beyond the boundary, they did violate a command for which they were warned in the most serious terms, and this would justify the punishment of death at the hands of Heaven.
The final redemption will be similar to the redemption from Egypt. However, because the final redemption will not be followed by a regression, there must be some qualitative differences. With this principle in hand, we see that the background of the sin of the golden calf sheds light on the nature of the final redemption.
Without the top-down nature of the first redemption the Torah could not have been given, but it contributed to the regression that ensued. From this we can understand that the nature of the coming redemption must be opposite.
Indeed, our sages teach that the final redemption will be triggered by an awakening from below. At Mount Sinai, an insufficiently prepared nation watched from afar how its leaders climbed to the top. The final redemption will not come until a holy nation arises that will be worthy to climb the shoulder of Mount Moriah. There is a tradition that this nation will be identified by an event in the desert. I think that we saw the principle at work in Kfar Maimon.
If the first redemption was feminine, the coming redemption will be masculine. After the revelation at Mount Sinai, heretics succeeded to interrupt the process of the redemption. They succeeded because the punishment for their transgressions did not come immediately. From this we can understand that the coming redemption will be harsher.
Indeed, our sages sternly warn those who will try to interfere when HaShem will finally redeem His holy nation. They will meet the horrendous fate of one who interferes with two lions that have set out to mate (Sanhredrin 106a). I think that the principle applied to Ariel Sharon. Let the words of the sages be a warning to whomever it may concern.
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