Parsha Talk Ki Tisa Shabbat Parah 5786 2026

Parashat Ki Tisa [Exodus 30:11-34:35] this year coincides with Shabbat Parah [maftir, Numbers 19:1-22; haftarah, Ezekiel 36:16-38], the third special Shabbat before Pesah. It comes the week before Shabbat Ha-Hodesh, which occurs on Shabbat Rosh Hodesh Nisan, or the Shabbat before, as is the case this year. There are some final details about the plans for the mishkan [Tabernacle] and a concluding chapter which Nahum Sarna entitles “Renewal of the Covenant”, but the main focus is the two chapters devoted to the Golden Calf [32:1-33:23]. It is this episode which was the subject of our conversation. Once again, soldiers in Isra...