0 Life

TORAH PORTION

Delaying Game

Shabbat Parah,
Parshah Ki Tissa:
Exodus 30:11-34:35;
Numbers 19:1-22;
Ezekiel 36:16-38.

T

people were of the jewelry
he story of the
they had just "liberated"
Golden Calf in this
from Egypt, Aaron calls
week's portion
out to them, "Take off the
leaves us speechless. How
golden ear rings, which
could the Israelites have done
are in the ears of your
this so soon after their mirac-
wives, of your sons and of
ulous escape from Pharaoh?
your daughters; and bring
How could they shout, "This
them to me." (32:2) Aaron
is Elohechah your God, 0
thought that the women
Israel, who brought you out of
Jose ph Klein
and children would refuse
the land of Egypt!" (Exodus
Speci al to the
to give up their jewelry,
32:4)
Jewi sh News
that in the ensuing argu-
The people couldn't have
ments and family disruptions, enough
been so faithless as to believe that the
time would pass for Moses to return.
statue Aaron made, right before their
But to Aaron's great surprise, "all the
eyes, was God. Hadn't they all seen
people took off the golden ear rings
God's work only three months earlier
which were in their ears and brought
when they crossed the Sea of Reeds?
Surely they knew the difference between them to Aaron." (32:3)
Needing then a second plan of delay,
God and this calf-statue idol.
The truth is that they were not reject- Aaron announced that he, and he alone.
would fashion the image, thinking that
ing God; they just wanted an image! It
he would slowly take his time. "And
wasn't God they had lost confidence in,
he received them from their hand, and
but Moses. He'd been absent, up on the
fashioned with a graving tool a molten
mountain for almost 40 days; and they
calf!' (32:4)
wanted an icon, a statue, a representa-
But as slowly as he worked, sooner
tion of God to give them confidence.
than later the calf was finished "and
"Give us Eloheem (God) to go before
they said,`This is Eloheem, 0 Israel,
us," they said, "for we don't know
who brought you up out of the land of
what has become of this man Moses:'
Egypt.— (32:4)
(Exodus 32:1)
So again, Aaron declared himself the
And of course, they didn't know that
one to make an altar, "And when Aaron
they were prohibited from represent-
saw it, he built an altar before it" (32:5)
ing God with an icon or statue! Moses
again working slowly, running out of
hadn't come down from the mountain
hope that Moses would return in time.
and hadn't yet brought them the Torah.
But still no Moses, so in desperation
They hadn't yet heard the second com-
Aaron
proclaimed, "Tomorrow is a feast
mandment, prohibiting graven images.
to the Lord" (32:5), thus giving Moses
Way back in Chapter 20 when the Ten
one more day to come down from the
Commandments were proclaimed, they
mountain.
had fainted away, afraid to hear, telling
But all of Aaron's efforts went for
Moses to go up and listen and tell them
naught,
for when morning came, the
later — and he's still up there!
people danced and sang and celebrated
If they had wanted a replacement for
God, Aaron would never have gone along around the fashioned image of their
god. And up on Sinai, God heard; and
and made the calf. But Aaron was a
Moses hurried down. E
practical priest, selected for his negotiat-
ing and mediating skills.
Joseph P. Klein is rabbi of Temple Emanu-
Perhaps, the traditional midrash
El in Oak Park.
explains, Aaron stepped into the fray in
order to stall the rebellion. Seeing that
Conversations
the people wanted an image of God
Compare this midrash with Aaron's
to lead them, Aaron fashioned a plan
feeble excuse to Moses later on.
to delay them in the hope that Moses
Reading only the Torah text, is Aaron
would return in time.
a person to be admired or chastised?
Therefore, knowing how fond the

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March 16 2006

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