True Love Begins After Disappointment - A Lesson from Exodus | 10@9 | 2026.03.08

What keeps a relationship alive after disappointment? The Torah’s most important relationship—between God and the Jewish people—nearly collapses at the Golden Calf. Yet strangely, it becomes deeper afterward. The Book of Exodus begins with one kind of relationship between God and the Jewish people—and ends with another. After the catastrophe of the Golden Calf, the original relationship of command, obedience, and punishment breaks down. In its place emerges something deeper: a relationship sustained by loyalty, patience, and love, even after disappointment. The Torah suggests that this is the foundation of every enduring relationship. We will sometimes fail each other. We will sometimes struggle to understand each other. Yet love grows precisely when we remain committed on the other side of disappointment. As Paul Weinfeld wrote: “True love begins on the other side of disappointment.” What might it mean to stay committed on the other side of disappointment? Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.