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Messages from the Egel Hazahav

By: SFW Students & Alumna
Aviva Lyons (SFW '09)

Learnt from a shiur by Rav Yammer

Only forty days after Bnei Yisrael received the Torah, forty days after the marriage binding us in an everlasting contract with G-d, the tragic incident of the Golden Calf occurred. So much needs to be understood from this event and so many questions need to be asked. How could they do it? How were they able to worship an idol so soon after the most awe-inspiring day in our History? Was it even considered real idol worship? Why did Aharon seem to co-operate? Most importantly, what messages can we take today from this event?

The Sefer Hakuzari written by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi discusses in depth the sin of the Egel in the form of a conversation between a Jewish Chacham and the King of Kuzar. The king of Kuzar used this sin to claim that the Bnei Yisrael were unstable and therefore Judaism was not a religion worth converting into. The Chacham proves how the sin was not due to instability, rather was due to an error that lay in the intentions of the Jewish people. Bnei Yisrael in those days were surrounded by nations worshipping idols. Only physical and practical methods of serving were used then, the action of bowing to something concrete, tangible. This way of life was worldwide and enveloped the Jewish people, influencing their own ideas on the matter. For the king of Kuzar, and indeed for us, to understand this now is challenging because we are no longer faced with any such temptation. However the scene of every other nation living through only physicality helps one to understand why the idea of a creation would appeal to them.

Societal influence has a severe impact on one’s life so much so that the Rambam explains that the concept of Korbanot exists only because G-d saw that Bnei Yisrael were unable to cope without something physical. The Korbanot acted as the physical means by which to bring them closer to G-d. The need for this, however, only existed because every other nation would serve their gods in this manner causing Bnei Yisrael to believe that this was the only successful way. The first message to be taken from the sin is therefore clear; the Jewish people do not live in a bulletproof bubble. We are inevitably influenced, be it consciously or sub-consciously, by our surroundings and one can so easily let foreign cultures that don’t always match perfectly with Jewish ones seep into our minds, affecting the ways we think and act.

The Chacham has a fascinating approach to the actual transgression. What did Bnei Yisrael do wrong? Moshe ascends Har Sinai and the nation watches him go and waits for him. They wait and wait, and notice that he didn’t take any food with him, so the automatic assumption is that he can’t survive for that long without food! Bnei Yisrael thought Moshe to be dead as no human can survive for that long without food. Their mistake in this assumption was grave. Moshe was not an ordinary human, he was different to them and was spending the time with G-d; he did not need any food. The Bnei Yisrael viewed Moshe as they viewed themselves, humans who need sustenance and not as a different being, whose requirements could be different. Therefore, the second lesson to be learned from this incident is not to judge people by your own standards.

Everyone has different requirements and strengths, and therefore has to be viewed from their own perspective. Place yourself in their situation in order to view them properly.

Judaism does need physicality, and G-d is the first one to show Bnei Yisrael this. He summoned Moshe to Har Sinai to present him with the Luchot, the tablets of concrete stone, representing our covenant with Him. When Bnei Yisrael understood that Moshe had died, they also understood that the Luchot would not be coming down either. As the need for physicality still remained, the decision to create something physical came about from their desire to replace the Luchot. The golden calf stood to represent what the Luchot were meant to. According to the Chacham in the Kuzari, the golden calf was therefore not even considered idol worship! The calf was merely a substitute for the Luchot in order to serve G-d; the desire to serve G-d was still very much a genuine one.

Aharon Hacohen understood all of this which is why he co-operated with the people. He did not consider this actual idol worship; moreover he understood that the people really just wanted to fill their need for something physical for the sake of serving their G-d. Aharon knew it wasn’t ideal, yet he thought that were he to forbid them from creating it, the nation would not cope without it and serving G-d would become an impossible feat. Theoretically of course they didn’t need it but they did not know this, and with their current mentality, Aharon had to act in accordance with what was best for the people in their relationship with G-d. The third message from the Kuzari is that it is sometimes ok to understand your limitations. Humans are certainly limited, and at times one just has to make the best of a situation when the ideal is not a feasible option, as we learn from Aharon’s response.

We can now understand that it wasn’t a willful sin, nor was it outright idol worship or signs of rebellion. The want to serve G-d remained strong; the error was how they went about it. Although it was not on purpose, a graven image was indeed created after having been explicitly stated as forbidden from G-d. Bnei Yisrael thought that as long as everything they were doing was for the sake of G-d, then it was perfectly alright to create such a being. This is not alright at all, and the message here is that at the end of the day G-d’s word is G-d’s word. We might think we are doing the moral and right thing and   G-d will surely be happy with us, but if it is not as He commanded us then no matter what we think we cannot do it.

To solve this whole problem Bnei Yisrael simply had to ask Aharon what the right thing was to do! Moshe explained that he and Chur were now in charge and he was ready for any question. Instead they came up with a plan themselves without running it first through their leader. Emunat Chachamim was distinctly lacking then and a simple question would have prevented this whole tragedy. This is particularly relevant today, with so much intellect and understanding now in the world it is fairly easy to forget that our trust and faith must lie in our Rabbanim. Answering questions on one’s own because they appear logical is not the Jewish way to serve G-d, and we can see what severe consequences can come about when one does not seek enough advice on the correct way to act. May we all live our lives according to how G-d wants us to and serve Him always to the best of our abilities.

Shabbat Shalom