Can a Jew deny the truth after witnessing Ma’amad Har Sinai? What lies at the heart of the Jewish people's unwavering loyalty to the Torah, despite centuries of persecution? Were the erev rav present at Sinai? Is there a way to recognize who erev rav is today? How could Korach rebel after what he witnessed at Sinai? How did the nation sin with the Golden Calf so soon after such a Divine encounter?
Why are there so many deniers today? Does zchus avos protect them from Gehenom? Is faith hereditary? Can a person alter his spiritual heritage? Is it possible to acquire the “Jewish spiritual DNA”? Do converts possess this Jewish imprint? How do unaffiliated Jews suddenly experience spiritual awakening, so much that they are able to break deep-rooted habits in their path to return?
These questions, and many more, are explored in our weekly article.
Jewish Heretics – An Oxymoron
Last week’s article explored the question of what the Revelation at Mount Sinai was, and why it is so central to the life of every Jew. Because this topic is so fundamental, we saw the need to expand on it and complete the discussion with an additional article focusing on a key question: What is the essence of Yiddishkeit?
The Revelation at Mount Sinai
Last week we explained that the Sinai Revelation serves as the central and essential proof that the Torah is Divinely given. This proof operates on several levels: logical reasoning, emotional and sensory embedding of faith in the hearts of the Jewish people, and the establishment of a covenant between Hashem and the Jewish people. The Torah commands us to internalize this event, never forget it, and to document the testimony and transmit it precisely and faithfully to the next generation— a mitzvah that you are fulfilling through reading these very lines.
To summarize: Ma’amad Har Sinai took place in the presence of over 600,000 men between the ages of 20–60, women, children, the elderly, and erev rav. Altogether, they numbered several million people. The event is recorded precisely in the Chumash, and has been passed down meticulously from generation to generation, with full genealogical records documented up to the Second Temple period. This level of detailed transmission makes forgery impossible — one cannot, on a whim, fabricate such a story and convince an entire nation that it happened, especially with written documentation as evidence.
This logical proof is already discussed in the Kuzari and earlier sources. It contains many additional details, of which we’ve touched only on the basics. It has been presented countless times in outreach seminars, even to leading secular scientists, and has never been disproven.
Bringing It Home
The next stage is mentioned in the Torah (Devarim 4:39): “And you shall know this day and consider it in your heart, that the Lord He is G-d in heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none else.” Hashem says, “I proved it to you once. I showed you the truth in the most tangible way possible.” You know it – but for the truth to have real impact, it must be internalized in the heart.
When all we present is logical proof, both scientists or laypeople rarely take the next step and begin learning Torah and observing the mitzvos. More often the reaction is of wonder. “Interesting,” or “Fascinating food for thought,” or “I don’t have an answer, but there are other things I also don’t have answers for,” or even, “I never realized Judaism had such solid logical grounding.”
It might create an affection for Judaism, support for religious Jews, or the opposite: antagonism or indifference in face of an uncomfortable conscience. But logical proof alone cannot change a person’s lifestyle. As Andrew Bennett pithily put it, “The longest journey is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.”
Jewish Outreach
So how do people really change? What inspires them to revamp their entire lifestyle? How does Jewish outreach operate? True change begins in our emotional world. When faith is not an abstract idea but a living presence, a reality, one can genuinely transform their life. Remarkably, we are witnessing this unfold real time: hundreds of thousands of Jews who have rediscovered the truth of Torah and returned to their roots.
For some, it begins with the faintest spark of inspiration; for others, the journey is long and arduous. Yet in both cases, the end result is a complete turnaround — embracing Torah and mitzvos, a system of profound depth and discipline that requires a fundamental shift in one’s daily habits and values. The mere fact that such a transformation is even possible is astounding.
Many are Jews are raised in environments that are indifferent to Judaism, or even hostile toward it. And yet, deep within they suddenly discover a powerful longing to learn, to connect, and to return. Many embrace Yiddishkeit without having heard one single logical argument. Where does this sudden awakening come from?
Can a Jew truly Deny G-d
We touched upon this question in our previous article, quoting the profound words of the Rambam in Iggeres Teiman. The epistle was written to the Jewish community of Yemen during a crisis caused by dashed hopes that followed a false messiah. He writes:
“The Blessed Creator has assured us, like one who stands as a guarantor for his friend, and His word is sufficient, that all who stood at Mount Sinai believe in the prophecy of Moshe Rabbenu and everything he received from G-d — they, their children, and their children’s children, forever.
As it says (Shemos 19:9): ‘Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will believe in you forever.’ Therefore, know this: anyone who strays from the path of the religion given at that moment is not a descendant of those people.
And our Sages said: ‘Whoever doubts prophecy, his ancestors did not stand at Mount Sinai.
May G-d protect us and you from doubt, and distance from us thoughts that lead to confusion or stumbling.”
The Rambam here teaches us that a Jew who denies the Torah or the Revelation at Sinai shows that his soul did not descend from those who stood at Sinai. The Jewish spiritual indelible imprint received a that occasion includes an unshakable connection to Torah, and faith in Hashem and Moshe Rabbenu’s prophecies.
There is no other explanation for the Jewish people’s extraordinary loyalty to their faith throughout their long history of persecution, exile, and relentless attempts at annihilation. Only an eternal spiritual imprint could endure for so long. In that case, how is it possible that some of their descendants deny the Torah?
This question becomes even more perplexing when learning in the Chumash how those same people who stood at Sinai and received the Torah created the Golden Calf just one month later; rejected G--d’s promise regarding the Promised Land, among other such occasions. How could these sins have happened, especially to those who saw the truth with their own eyes?
To answer this, we must break the issue down and examine its different facets.
- The revelation at Mount Sinai left a direct and lasting spiritual imprint only on the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and not on the erev rav who joined the nation when they left Egypt.
B. Heretics whose ancestors stood at Sinai behave very differently from those whose lineage does not trace back to that moment. For those with the Sinai imprint in their spiritual DNA, denial is not an intellectual rejection — it is a result born of a different struggle altogether.
Understanding these distinctions is the key to resolving the paradox of how heresy can exist within the Jewish people.
The Covenant
The revelation at Mount Sinai is described as a covenant. The Ten Commandments were engraved on the tablets, which are called the Tablets of Covenant. They were brought down by Moshe from Heaven. The Torah describes the covenant ceremony at the conclusion of the Sinai event (Shemos 24:4–8): “And Moshe wrote all the words of the Lord, and he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Yisrael. And he sent the youths of the children of Yisrael, and they offered up burnt offerings, and they slaughtered peace offerings to the Lord, bulls. And Moshe took half the blood and put it into the basins, and half the blood he cast onto the altar. And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that the Lord spoke we will do and we will hear." And Moshe took the blood and sprinkled [it] on the people, and he said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has formed with you concerning these words.’”
The Gemara (Sota 37b) teaches that a separate covenant was made with each of the 603,550 Jews present for every single commandment. Every individual entered a personal covenant with G-d on each and every mitzva. Furthermore, each individual took on mutual responsibility to ensure that all other Jews would uphold the Torah.
(The Gemara counts 48 separate covenant ceremonies in the wilderness. Based on this calculation, Am Yisroel entered 603,550 × 48 × 613 covenants — over 17.7 billion in total.)
Where was the erev rav in all these covenants? Why are they not included in the number of people present? Did they not take part in the covenant?
Although the erev rav were present and deeply impressed by the event, it did not affect their spiritual DNA. The covenant was not sealed in their hearts. They witnessed the grandeur of Sinai and, just 40 days later, created a Golden Calf and invited the Jewish people to join.
But their influence was not limited to that generation. The Bnei Yissaschar (Tishrei 4:2) explains that erev rav is anyone who hears words of Torah and fails to be inspired, remaining unmoved or indifferent. His soul is not considered as having stood at Mount Sinai, since he lacks that profound, sensory perception of spiritual truth.
This idea was mentioned in last week's editorial: At Sinai, the nations of the world felt shaken. They sensed that the world was no longer stable, that the Creator had revealed Himself. But that instability did nothing to inspire them to join the Jewish people or change their ways. In their panic, they turned to Bil’am, the mythical sorcerer. When he assured them that this event only concerned Beni Yisrael, they returned indifferently to their former lives. The fact that they saw with their own eyes that G-d governs the world left no lasting impression and triggered no internal transformation.
There is no question why the non-Jews don’t believe in Hashem or why erev ravs are heretics. The question is how full-fledged Jews, who entered the covenant with Hashem, can deny Him.
The Sin of Korach
Let us begin with Korach. Korach and his assembly came from the most distinguished families of Am Yisroel. In fact, Korach was Moshe and Aharon’s first cousin! He was privileged to carry the Holy Aron, and even merited seeing with Ruach HaKodesh that the prophet Shmuel would descend from him, and his sons composed parts of the holy Tehilim. His entourage, also, was no ragtag rebellion. They were members of the Sanhedrin and other national leaders. How could such great men reject what they saw at Mount Sinai? As the Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 10:1) explicitly states: Korach was an apikoros (heretic) because, “At that moment, Korach said: ‘There is no Torah from Heaven, Moshe is not a prophet, and Aharon is not the High Priest.’”
Despite having been present at Mount Sinai, Korach denied that the Torah was given from Heaven, and that Moshe was a prophet. How could he have denied what he saw with his own eyes?
Ancestry Is Not Enough
The Steipler Gaon (as quoted in Mishmeres HaLevi, Berachos §70) explains that the Divine promise of unwavering belief in Hashem and the Torah applies only in the absence of external interference. A Jew whose forefather’s stood at Mount Sinai would not be naturally inclined to adopt foreign ideologies like Greek philosophy. However, one who fails to live according to Torah loses that inner clarity.
This decline can stem from various factors. Forbidden foods spiritually dull the heart, and succumbing to sinful desires distort one’s moral compass. One sin leads to another; one misguided choice paves way for deeper spiritual erosion, until eventually, one’s identity becomes entangled in sin. Then, seeking intellectual justification – he denies the truth outright.
This is exactly what happened to Korach. His downfall began not with ideology, but with wounded pride — he felt slighted when passed over for leadership. Rather than addressing the emotional wound, he allowed it to fester, until it morphed into a campaign of rebellion. By the time Korach was asking, “Why does a tallis made entirely of techeiles still require tzitzis?” he was already lost in rationalizations. The spiritual clarity he had acquired at Sinai had long been clouded up.
Rav Shach (also in Mishmeres HaLevi) phrased it similarly: The Divine promise is that one's natural inclination will be to believe in Hashem and the Torah, and Hashem will assist anyone taking this path. But one still has free will, and if he chooses evil, Hashem’s promise will not save him.
Natural Predisposition
This idea appears also in Igeres Teiman. The Rambam writes that anyone whose ancestors stood at Mount Sinai cannot truly deny Hashem, and concludes: “Therefore, strengthen yourselves in faith, and support one another.”
At first glance, this seems contradictory: On one hand, The Rambam tells the Jews of Yemen, struggling with questions of faith, that belief is hereditary, encoded in their spiritual DNA, and that anyone who denies must not have been present at Sinai. On the other hand, he encourages them to fight their doubts and strengthen their faith. So, which is it? Is faith acquired, or is it hereditary?
The answer is: both. While the Rambam acknowledges the crushing trials, he encourages them: you have the inner strength to overcome the crisis. Your spiritual DNA is wired for faith, so work on it. Success is guaranteed.
And indeed, history proved him right. The Jews of Yemen weathered that storm with honor and courage. Despite brutal decrees, expulsions, and exile — including the harrowing Mawaza Exile (1679-1680, when the local ruler banished them from their homes for failing to convert to Islam), they held fast to their faith. Even to this day, Yemenite Jewry is known for its unwavering and pure commitment to Yiddishkeit.
Conclusion
Every Jew is born with a deep unwavering belief in Hashem, in the Revelation at Mount Sinai, and the Divine origin of the Torah. However, we are also endowed with free will. Each person has his unique mission and purpose, which includes withstanding challenges -- even in matters of faith.
Nevertheless, when a Jew puts the effort into his emuna and bitachon, he is assured to succeed, even when faced with tests and temptations that no other nation could endure without losing faith. This endurance is rooted in the fact that the experience of Mount Sinai is embedded in the very root of the Jewish soul.
Only one whose ancestors did not stand at Sinai begins life with the assumption that there is no Creator and that the Torah is not Divine. In order to embrace Torah, they need external factors to arouse their quest for truth.
A Jew’s heresy is fundamentally different from that of a non-Jew because of his natural predisposition. A Jew’s test of faith usually begins with emotional or circumstantial struggles, not philosophical doubt. The answer must address the root cause, not philosophical discussions.
Sins In Tanach
With this understanding, we can take a deeper look at the sins mentioned in Tanach.
The Golden Calf
How did a nation that just saw G-d’s Revelation with their own eyes, pivot to creating an idol? It was a test of circumstances. The nation had become accustomed to relying on Moshe Rabbenu for guidance and inspiration, and when they thought he had disappeared, they panicked. In that moment of crisis, the erev rav -- whose emunah was tenuous for lack of Jewish ancestry --- reverted to their Egyptian spiritual instincts and created a golden calf as a Moshe-substitute.
And yet, even in that confused, destabilized state, Chazal teach us that most of the nation did not see the calf as a deity. Rather, they viewed it as a means through which to serve Hashem — a misguided tool indeed, but not a replacement for Hashem.
The Spies
In this event, the spies spread a deep fear in the people, not that G-d could not give them the Promised Land, but that they were not worthy of conquering it from the Canaanites.
The Prophets
During Achav’s times, idol worship was rampant. But even then, the nation did not fully forsake their faith in Hashem (Melachim I, 16:30–33; 21:25–26). When called upon by Eliyahu Hanavi to choose between Hashem and the idols, the people wavered. They hadn’t completely abandoned G-d.
Even Achav’s name reflects this contradiction. As Chazal teach us (Sanhedrin 102b) that “Ach-av” means ‘a brother’ to Heaven, and ‘a father’ to idolatry.
Another powerful example is that of King Menashe, under whose reign idolatry reached its most extreme form. And yet the Gemara (Sanhedrin 102b) relates that Menashe knew halachos and their inner meanings better than Rav Ashi. He even told Rav Ashi that had Rav Ashi lived in his generation, he too would have lifted the hem of his cloak and run to worship idols — such was the strength of the temptation.
Erev Rav Imprint
This raises a fundamental question: Do descendants of the erev rav have any hope? Do converts lack spiritual purity?
Indeed, some early authorities explicitly supported this view. For example, Machzor Vitri (598), the Meiri (on Pirkei Avos, 5), and the Rashbatz (on Avos 5:24) cite a version of Maseches Kallah (1:16) stating that one who brazenly challenges talmidei chachomim proves he is the product of a forbidden union, such as ben niddah, mamzer, or one whose soul did not stand at Sinai. That is to say that even one who hails from a prestigious lineage can lose his spiritual “imprint” if born through forbidden circumstances.
The Shitah Mekubetzes (Nedarim 20a) writes that shamelessness is proof of not having stood at Mount Sinai, and of descending from converts. This appears to indicate that converts indeed lack the special imprint of those who were present at Sinai.
However, the Gemara (Shabbos 146a) teaches that the neshamos of all future converts were present at Sinai, and that they too were cleansed of spiritual impurity. Based on this, Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin (Pri Tzadik, Beha'aloscha, 10) explains how Rabbi Akiva merited understanding aspects of Torah that even Moshe Rabbenu did not comprehend.
The Maharal of Prague (Chiddushei Aggados, Nedarim 20a) explains that the answer is more nuanced. Having forbearers who stood at mount Sinai is not enough to ensure one’s spiritual health. One must also actively accept the yoke of Heaven upon himself. One who lacks shame may have been present at Sinai and descend from kosher Jews, but he, himself, did not fully accept G-d’s sovereignty, and therefore he lacks the full spiritual stature granted by the event.
Similarly, the Abudraham (in his commentary on the morning blessings) explains that the blessing “Who has not made me a slave” reflects this essential distinction. It is not sufficient to simply be counted among the Jewish people. A slave, too, is obligated to keep the mitzvos, but he lacks the spiritual elevation of one who stood at Sinai. The soul-level connection to that moment — the spiritual imprint — is not embedded in him, since he was brought into the Jewish people by coercion, through his master.
