Spirituality DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS TORAH PORT1 REAL REMBRANDT? What The 'Golden Calf' Reveals About Ourselves Parshat Ki Tisa: Exodus 30:11-34:35; I Kings 18:1-39. T his week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, contains the episode of the Golden Calf. While Moses was up on Mt. Sinai receiving God's commandments, the Jews were getting antsy. What was taking Moses so long? What could possibly be going on? Aaron, Moses' older brother decided to help the people feel better and attempted to appease the crowd. He asked the people to bring him gold, which they did. Then Aaron took all of the gold and cast it into a mold, and made the gold into a golden calf. And the people began to worship in front of the calf, bringing sacrifices and offerings and they began to dance in a rather salacious manner. Moses descended from the moun- tain, saw this idolatrous behavior and smashed the tablets of the 10 Commandments. He blamed Aaron for leading the Jewish people astray. Aaron then retorted, telling Moses that he asked the Jews to hand over their gold and, in one of the great- est biblical lines ever, "They gave it to me, and I hurled it into the fire ... and out came this calf?' Aaron, in essence, has refused to take any responsibility for this turn of events. We see in this story that our holy text is peopled with characters who have both great flaws and great assets. Often times, their Achilles' heels and their greatest assets are two sides of the same coin. Moses, Aaron and the Jewish people had wonderful qualities that could also be problematic if not held in check. Aaron just wanted the people to be happy. He was known throughout the Jewish community as a peacemaker. But, unchecked, a person who pursues peace can become the Neville Chamberlain of his time, obtaining peace at any price. Moses, who smashed the tablets upon seeing the golden calf, was filled with passion and a sense of justice. But, when provoked, he had a serious anger management problem. And the Jewish people are known in this Torah portion as a stiff- necked people, people who resisted constantly being led and didn't easily fall in line, no matter how strong the vision of our various lead- ers has been. I'm remind- ed of the complaint that Chaim Weizmann, an early president of Israel, made before an American Jewish audience: that just because Israel was a smaller country than America, it was harder to lead Israel's then 2 million citizens because it was a country of 2 million presidents. Yet that quality of being resistant to leadership is also, on its good days, a stubbornness, a resistance to being annihilated and the survival quality that allowed us to get to this point. None of us is perfect. The trick is to keep the aspects of ourselves in check. We can be both kind and, at the same time, not be a push- over. We can be sociable, but still hard-working. We can be loving, and insist that others treat us with respect. Through reflection, friend- ship and love of ourselves and oth- ers, we can find the holy facets in both our good and our not-so-good qualities. Visit Fakes, Forgeries and Mysteries, sharpen your sleuthing skills and decide for yourself. Through April 10 Members receive FREE tickets. Join today! 313.833.7971. Tickets at dia.org or the DIA Box Office. Bring your cell phone for the audio tour. Download a OR code reader and snap a photo of the code to see DIA mysteries revealed. Rembrandt's Son, Titus, about 1880, oil on canvas. Imitator of Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. Formerly Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-69). Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. This exhibition has been organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts. Generous support has been provided by Chase. Additional support has been provided by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, and the City of Detroit. CHASE 0 DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit Named "Best Florist" of Michigan! -Michigan Meetings + Events Blumz... by JRDesigns is an award- winning full-service florist and event company, specializing in creatively designed fresh flowers, competitively priced with VIP service. Keren Alpert is a rabbinic associate at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township. Conversations What personality characteristic is your greatest strength? How can this strength, when unchecked, lead to unfavorable behavior? What personality characteristic is the most challenging for you? Is there a positive aspect of this challenging characteristic? BLAtifMZ B J R DESIGNS For a wedding consultation call 248-398-5130 or visit us on the web at www.blumz.com 163 9680 DON'T MISS THE HEALTH & FITNESS SECTION INSIDE THE JN THE LAST WEEK EVERY MONTH Call 248.351.5107 for more information February 17 • 2011 25