The Man Moshe

(Exodus 32:1)

Adar 19, 5777/March 17, 2017

The children of Israel were right to be concerned when "the man Moshe" (Exodus 32:1) appeared to be lingering more than anticipated on Mount Sinai. The man who had stood up to Pharaoh, led Israel out of Egypt, shepherded them across the Sea of Reeds, brought them to Mount Sinai where they experienced a direct confrontation with G-d, and lived to tell the tale, was now gone. Thirty nine days earlier he stepped into the fire and smoke at the top of Mount Sinai and never reemerged.

The man Moshe was the nations' sole connection to G-d. If Moshe is gone, then whither the nation? The people were right to be concerned. But concern soon turned to panic. The people turned to, or perhaps even turned against Aharon, demanding a solution. In a wilderness without sustenance, in a barren desert without direction home, what were they to do?

Aharon, who would become the Kohen Gadol, (High Priest) the representative for all of Israel before G-d in the Holy of Holies, did his very best under the circumstances, and, in fact, despite the severe repercussions, saved the nation of Israel that day. "Remove the golden earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me." (ibid 32:2) It is the nature of man, when in need of a solution, to create a solution. Man relies on the work of his own hands for solving the problems of life every day. This is called progress, and we are blessed to live in a world where so many terrors of the past have been vanquished and our lives have become so full of comfort and convenience, all because man takes it upon himself to solve problems. And to call upon the people to bring their most precious possession, namely their gold jewelry, for the purpose of solving the problem of Moshe's absence, is likewise completely in line with man's nature. To go to the moon, to build tall buildings, to cure deadly diseases all require the most precious of our resources. So, Aharon seems to be suggesting, if Moshe is gone, let's work together to create a solution.

Aharon took the gold, "fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into a molten calf, upon which they said: "These are your gods, O Israel, who have brought you up from the land of Egypt!" (ibid 32:4) Then Aharon worked quickly to put his "solution" to the test. He "built an altar in front of it, and Aharon proclaimed and said: "Tomorrow shall be a festival to HaShem." (ibid 32:5) Let us see, he proclaimed, if this golden object can replace the man Moshe, our nation's connection to G-d.

Pandemonium broke out the next day, begging the question: What was Aharon's plan? Had he succeeded in staving off a mass panic or had he failed? When confronted by Moshe, Aharon gave the following explanation concerning the golden calf: "I threw it [the gold] into the fire and out came this calf." (ibid 32:24) Significantly, the same Hebrew word, egel, which means calf, also means, when pronounced egol, a ball or lump. Was Aharon covering his tracks? Earlier we are told that he "engraved" and "made" the molten calf, and now he is telling Moshe it just happened.

No. Aharon wasn't denying his culpability, and true to his future appointment as Kohen Gadol, he attached his fate to the fate of his errant people. But he was telling Moshe something much greater. In effect, he was telling Moshe that they could have crafted the Hubble telescope or an iPhone 7 and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. No technology, however great, can replace the human connection with G-d. The real problem, he was telling Moshe, was not what the people had done wrong in their frantic efforts to reconnect with G-d Whom until now was seemingly only accessible through the man Moshe. The real problem is how can this people, now a nation, experience a direct relationship with G-d, and not be dependent upon a single leader of Moshe's stature, or, G-d forbid, fall prey to a charismatic pretender to the crown.

This was Aharon's intuitive answer to the question, Midrash tells us, Moshe had previously asked G-d: "Master of the Universe! Is it not written, Behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain You!' (Kings I - 8:27) And yet You say that they shall make a Sanctuary for You?!"

The commandment to build for G-d a Sanctuary was not intended as a corrective measure to steer man away from his basest tendencies toward idolatry. It was intended to provide for man a way to fulfill his most G-dlike desire to connect to G-d. G-dlike, because it is G-d's desire also to connect with His people, as He said, "They shall build for Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." (ibid 25:8)

The debacle of the golden calf was a true national meltdown, a cosmic disaster by all accounts. But it also was incontrovertible proof of Israel's undying love for G-d. For thirty nine days G-d was sequestered alone with Moshe, on the top of Sinai. And as He was teaching to Moshe every detail of every aspect of the Tabernacle, by which He would dwell among His people, his people were down below pining away for His presence! The debacle of the golden calf can truly be called "The Gold Calf: A Love Story." Like all great love stories, the story of the golden calf had its moments of separation, panic, anguish, misplaced expressions of love, endless moments of deep regret, anger, forgiveness, and ultimately, we joyfully testify four thousand years hence, a happy ending! Now it is time to set aside our iPhones and Androids and all our other meaningless lumps of molten gold, and build the space both man and G-d still long for - the Holy Temple!

-The Temple Institute