Ki Tissa- Fear- Poor Decision Making- The Golden Calf

 

This week we read parashat Parah, the section of the Torah that speaks about creation of the Golden Calf.  For many, it is a story that is well-known. Moshe has led the Israelites out of slavery, across the Sea of Reeds, and into the wilderness. Although they have seen miracles performed, they are in a setting in which they have many concerns and one such concern is how they would manage if Moshe were not leading them.  Moshe has ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah directly from G-d.  The people anticipated he would not be with them for several days, but weeks passed and he was still not back.  They were anxious, frightened, and feeling abandoned.  They were unsure of what would happen to them in the wilderness if Moshe were not present to be an intermediary between them and G-d.

 

Just 40 days following the giving of the 10 commandments at Mt. Sinai the Israelites approached Aaron to create the Golden Calf.  We might be left with several questions:  1) Why did they ask?  2) Why did Aaron respond and how did he respond?

Let’s look at some traditional texts by Rashi and Ramban to see how they interpreted this section of Torah.

Rashi, the medieval commentator tells us that “When noon of the 16^th came and went without Moses’ return, the people became fearful. Satan seized the opportunity and created an illusion of darkness and turmoil and showed them an image of a dead Moses being carried in heaven.”   In other words, their actions were prompted by fear of abandonment and fear of the unknown.

 

Rashi suggests that Aaron knew that the Israelites were mistaken and were committing a grave sin, but he also was afraid. He wasn’t afraid that Moses would not return, he was afraid that the Israelites would kill him if he did not comply with their request. He felt the pressure of the crowd. The only tactic that Aaron could come up with was to ask everyone to collect their jewelry  – he was stalling for time – hoping that Moses would return from his spiritual journey on Mount Sinai. Aaron assumed that the people would not want to turn over their gold immediately and hopefully by the time it was collected, Moses would return, and the panic would subside. But as Rashi states, Aaron miscalculated, and the Israelites were thrilled about the possibility of using the gold to create a new god without delay. They wanted immediate results. They wanted to feel like they had a solution to their fear and panic. Anything to make their fear go away NOW.

 

Ramban gave the following analysis in Commentary: Ramban Shmot 32:1

 

They did not ask for the calf to be for them a God capable of giving life or death, that they would worship. Rather, they wanted it to be instead of Moshe their guide, and that is what Aharon explained, saying ‘they only asked that I make them Elohim that will go (plural) before them in your place, sir, for they did not know what would happen to you, and whether you shall return, and therefore they needed someone to guide their way all the time that you are not with them. But if you were to return, they would leave it and follow you as before.’

 

And so it was. For as soon as the people saw Moshe they left the calf… and allowed him to burn it and spread its ashes on the water, and none of them disagreed with him at all… But if it was their god, there is no way that a person will allow his king and God to be burnt. Could he have burnt their idol in front of their eyes, and they would not stone him?

 

Once again the idea of making a decision based on fear is shown to be an unwise move although perhaps understandable.

Maybe for many of us, hearing this portion in the past, left us feeling totally stunned that the Israelites could have possibly demanded the creation of the Golden Calf.  Afterall, what could they have possibly been thinking after witnessing so many miracles performed by G-d?

Yet, seen in the light of these two ancient commentaries, is it also possible to realize that they were broken souls who had experienced the trauma of slavery and were fearful of being left without a trusted leader?  When fear takes hold of us and we react with our limbic system chances are that our decision making is less than desirable.

 

It is important to realize that fear is a natural reaction which can be protective if it does not cause us to react rashly or to not act at all.  How do we manage to keep our fear within healthy boundaries so it does not paralyze us?  How do we maintain a “cap” on our fear of the unknown?  How does faith play into this picture? What do you do to achieve a sense of calm especially while experiencing the territory of this unknown pandemic which has caused us all to meet weekly via Zoom?