However, elsewhere we find that Rosh Chodesh was a reward for the gifts the women gave for the building of the Tabernacle. This is based on the passuk in Parshas Pekudei, "The women came with the men," interpreted to mean that the women gave more. The question is why did the women receive Rosh Chodesh as their Yom Tov - for withholding their gold by the sin of the golden calf, or for handing over their gold for the building of the tabernacle?

We can propose an answer based on the understanding of a Mishna in Mesechas Avos (Avos 5:11) The Mishna states that there are four types of character traits: (1) One who is easy to anger and easy to appease; his reward is offset by his loss. (2) One who is difficult to anger and difficult to appease; his loss is offset by his reward. (3) One who is difficult to anger and easy to appease is a pious person. (4) One who is easy to anger and difficult to appease is a wicked person. Why by the first two traits does the Mishnah describe their situation, yet by the second two traits, labels are given?

Rav Mordechai Miller (former dean of Gateshead Teachers Seminary) offers a beautiful explanation. If one's personality is such that he is not steadfast in his emotions, and therefore angers easily and is easily appeased, this doesn't tell us anything about his level of piety. Likewise, one's personality may be such that he takes things slow, and doesn't allow emotions to overtake him. Yet, when he does anger he is not easily appeased. This too doesn't evidence a level of piety. Rather, it is indicative of his basic nature. Conversely, one who doesn't anger easily, but yet is easily appeased, this indicates conflicting traits. Therefore, the mishna labels such a person pious. The fact that his actions seemingly are not in line with each other indicates he acts not out of instinct. Such a person must have worked on himself and is deserving of the label, pious. The reverse is true as well. One who angers easily but is appeased slowly is deserving of the title, wicked.

Using this idea we can understand what the women were rewarded for. It's quite understandable for a woman to be reluctant to part with her jewelry. Although the given explanation that they don't want to go against G-d made sense, who is to say it was true. Perhaps it was just a ruse to hold onto what was dear to them. When it came to the building of the Tabernacle, however, it would have made sense for the women not to part with their gold and jewelry. Yet, we find that they gave even more then the men. This demonstrated, in retrospect, that by the golden calf, the lack of participation by the women was out of principle, not based on their basic nature. We can now understand why both scenarios contributed to why the women were given Rosh Chodesh. One revealed the other. 

We are taught that it was in the merit of the righteous women that we were redeemed from Egypt, and in their merit we will be redeemed from this long lasting exile.  May we merit to work on our traits, becoming slow to anger and easy to appease, so that we can bring the redemption speedily in our days.