In this week s portion the Jewish people commit the sin of the golden calf. This is an almost inexplicable event, since it occurred a mere forty days after the Jews had heard G-d speak at Sinai. Obviously this sin was not as simple as it seemed. What is equally difficult to understand is the number of Jews involved in this sin.
Popular perception is that the entire nation was involved.
The reality is that only 3000 people were involved. At Mount Sinai all the Jews stood together and received the Torah. When they received the Torah it was not merely a covenant between them and G-d, it was also a connection between them and their fellow Jews. Cosigner is a very strong word. When a person cosigns on a loan, and the original borrower cannot repay, the cosigner assumes responsibility for the loan.