This week, in Ki Tisa, we encounter one of the most famous, and disturbing, Torah stories – Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf. Moses had been called to go up to the top of Mount Sinai, where he would interact with God and receive the 10 commandments. Some midrash teaches that before leaving Moses told the people he would be gone for 40 days. Exodus 32:1 describes how the people reacted when they felt Moses was taking too long to return to them. Here is the very beginning of that verse:
וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר
Vayar ha’am ki vosheish Moshe laredet min haar.
“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain.”
One commentator says we should take the word vosheish which means “so long” and read it as ba’u sheikh, which would mean “came six.” The idea is the Israelites began to grumble about Moses not being with them at the sixth hour on the 40thday. One explanation is how Moses did not count the day he was leaving as one of his days being gone, but the Israelites did. So they panicked. They demanded that Aaron should construct a god for them since they did not know what happened to Moses.
Aaron responded with this in Exodus 32:2:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן פָּֽרְקוּ֙ נִזְמֵ֣י הַזָּהָ֔ב אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָבִ֖יאוּ אֵלָֽי׃
Vayomer aleihem Aharon parku nizmei hazahav asher b’oznei n’sheichem b’neichem uvnoteichem v’havi’u eilai.
“Aaron said to them, ‘take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’”
The key word in this verse is parku, usually translated as “take off” but also meaning “break off” or “tear off.” This implies some violence in getting the gold needed to build the Golden Calf. This implies the opposite of the verbs used in the previous two Torah portions, “give” and “take from yourself” which imply how the people were donating to God’s presence through their hearts. The verb parku illustrates this as a wrong development heading towards violence. One explanation for the use of a word about a violent action to get the gold rings (tear or break off), is that the women refused to participate in this panicking false creation of a god, so the men turned to violence to get what they wanted. This could make a logical connection to the next key word.
In verse 32:6, after the Golden Calf is created, the people are described as rising to dance. The Hebrew word used for dance is l’tzacheik. The root for this word generally means “play,” and the same root word is used to describe what Sarah sees Ishmael doing to the young Isaac in Genesis chapter 21, when she had him and his mother Hagar exiled from their camp. The root for tzacheik can also mean sexual playing. So the playing or dancing being done in front of the Golden Calf could have included sexual abuse of the women who refused to give their golden jewelry, ergo had it torn from their ears.
Now comes the key question about this episode. Who is to blame for this disaster, the call for creating a false god; and doing the horrible activities during the process and worshipping this material idol. Rashi says it was Satan, an angel who was always trying to prosecute and condemn humans. He says Satan showed the Israelites a false view of Moses lying dead on a bier. Could the blame go on Aaron, for being unable to direct the people how they should act plus caving in quickly to their demands. Or does the blame belong on the people, who were too susceptible to falsehoods and worrying.
Rashi says the people wanted numerous gods. Ramban disagrees, saying they just desired a leader, because they were panicking over the absence of their leader, Moses, who got them out of Egypt. When Moses returned and destroyed the Golden Calf, they did not protest at all. Further, Aaron, according to Ramban, did not really mean for the Golden Calf to be seen as a god, but just as an activity of focus to stop the worrying over Moses. Rashi adds that Aaron thought Moses would come back in time before the people actually worshipped the calf. Of course Aaron was wrong.
So let’s summarize the 3 possible blames for this disaster, Satan, Aaron, and the people. Now let’s summarize what they represent, false information, poor leadership, and people routinely over reacting in a terrible way. In a modern context, instead of Satan, we have social media, through which people post horrible and false versions of what is actually happening. Social media provides space for various kinds of leaders, those who actually care about the people by trying to communicate properly to unite, not divide us. It also provides space for leadership that is trying to create benefit for their own, narrow-minded behalf, or who appeal to unknowing folks by agreeing with their false perspectives instead of trying to model the truth. Now look at the horrible activity of the panicking people. Rather than trying to find a way to relate to others who are different, they condemn those who do not completely agree with them, believe the same as them, or look like them. Look at the name calling between supporters of different political candidates. Look at how conservatives and liberals just denigrate each other, instead of acknowledging serious problems or searching for a peaceful ways to find a way to work together plus at least some commonality.
Like the Israelites, too many of us refuse to acknowledge the invisibility and calmness of God. That seems too difficult. Instead we look for something physical and materially fancy to worship. Sometimes that is a person who plays with our beliefs to benefit themselves. Out of panic we are turning to a Golden Calf and “dancing” insanely, instead of having patience and caring. I pray that we, the people and our leaders, can turn back to divinity instead of falsehood. Amen.
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The Jewish Observer 
Our Golden Calf
Posted in Torah commentary, tagged The Golden Calf on March 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »
This week, in Ki Tisa, we encounter one of the most famous, and disturbing, Torah stories – Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf. Moses had been called to go up to the top of Mount Sinai, where he would interact with God and receive the 10 commandments. Some midrash teaches that before leaving Moses told the people he would be gone for 40 days. Exodus 32:1 describes how the people reacted when they felt Moses was taking too long to return to them. Here is the very beginning of that verse:
וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר
Vayar ha’am ki vosheish Moshe laredet min haar.
“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain.”
One commentator says we should take the word vosheish which means “so long” and read it as ba’u sheikh, which would mean “came six.” The idea is the Israelites began to grumble about Moses not being with them at the sixth hour on the 40thday. One explanation is how Moses did not count the day he was leaving as one of his days being gone, but the Israelites did. So they panicked. They demanded that Aaron should construct a god for them since they did not know what happened to Moses.
Aaron responded with this in Exodus 32:2:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן פָּֽרְקוּ֙ נִזְמֵ֣י הַזָּהָ֔ב אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָבִ֖יאוּ אֵלָֽי׃
Vayomer aleihem Aharon parku nizmei hazahav asher b’oznei n’sheichem b’neichem uvnoteichem v’havi’u eilai.
“Aaron said to them, ‘take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’”
The key word in this verse is parku, usually translated as “take off” but also meaning “break off” or “tear off.” This implies some violence in getting the gold needed to build the Golden Calf. This implies the opposite of the verbs used in the previous two Torah portions, “give” and “take from yourself” which imply how the people were donating to God’s presence through their hearts. The verb parku illustrates this as a wrong development heading towards violence. One explanation for the use of a word about a violent action to get the gold rings (tear or break off), is that the women refused to participate in this panicking false creation of a god, so the men turned to violence to get what they wanted. This could make a logical connection to the next key word.
In verse 32:6, after the Golden Calf is created, the people are described as rising to dance. The Hebrew word used for dance is l’tzacheik. The root for this word generally means “play,” and the same root word is used to describe what Sarah sees Ishmael doing to the young Isaac in Genesis chapter 21, when she had him and his mother Hagar exiled from their camp. The root for tzacheik can also mean sexual playing. So the playing or dancing being done in front of the Golden Calf could have included sexual abuse of the women who refused to give their golden jewelry, ergo had it torn from their ears.
Now comes the key question about this episode. Who is to blame for this disaster, the call for creating a false god; and doing the horrible activities during the process and worshipping this material idol. Rashi says it was Satan, an angel who was always trying to prosecute and condemn humans. He says Satan showed the Israelites a false view of Moses lying dead on a bier. Could the blame go on Aaron, for being unable to direct the people how they should act plus caving in quickly to their demands. Or does the blame belong on the people, who were too susceptible to falsehoods and worrying.
Rashi says the people wanted numerous gods. Ramban disagrees, saying they just desired a leader, because they were panicking over the absence of their leader, Moses, who got them out of Egypt. When Moses returned and destroyed the Golden Calf, they did not protest at all. Further, Aaron, according to Ramban, did not really mean for the Golden Calf to be seen as a god, but just as an activity of focus to stop the worrying over Moses. Rashi adds that Aaron thought Moses would come back in time before the people actually worshipped the calf. Of course Aaron was wrong.
So let’s summarize the 3 possible blames for this disaster, Satan, Aaron, and the people. Now let’s summarize what they represent, false information, poor leadership, and people routinely over reacting in a terrible way. In a modern context, instead of Satan, we have social media, through which people post horrible and false versions of what is actually happening. Social media provides space for various kinds of leaders, those who actually care about the people by trying to communicate properly to unite, not divide us. It also provides space for leadership that is trying to create benefit for their own, narrow-minded behalf, or who appeal to unknowing folks by agreeing with their false perspectives instead of trying to model the truth. Now look at the horrible activity of the panicking people. Rather than trying to find a way to relate to others who are different, they condemn those who do not completely agree with them, believe the same as them, or look like them. Look at the name calling between supporters of different political candidates. Look at how conservatives and liberals just denigrate each other, instead of acknowledging serious problems or searching for a peaceful ways to find a way to work together plus at least some commonality.
Like the Israelites, too many of us refuse to acknowledge the invisibility and calmness of God. That seems too difficult. Instead we look for something physical and materially fancy to worship. Sometimes that is a person who plays with our beliefs to benefit themselves. Out of panic we are turning to a Golden Calf and “dancing” insanely, instead of having patience and caring. I pray that we, the people and our leaders, can turn back to divinity instead of falsehood. Amen.
Read Full Post »