Have you ever had a problem and didn't know how to fix it? What if everyone is looking to you for a solution? What do you do?
Before the construction of the gold calf, the people believed they had lost their leader. Moses had been gone for some time, and they turned to Aaron and asked him to build them a god to go before them (Shemot 32:1), to restore their sense of direction and purpose in Moses’ absence. Aaron, instead of taking up Moses’ role as leader, prompted the people to give over their gold and he melded it together to make the golden calf that the people then worshiped.
We were curious to know why Aaron had to bring everyone’s gold together. Why not just make the idol out of found materials? Better yet, why not take that leadership role instead of building the idol at all?
Imrei Shefer, quoted in Or Ha-Hayy says that Aaron himself wasn't forced into idolatrous practices, that the people simply asked him to make them a god. When Aaron obliges them, Shefer argues, that Aaron's sin is that of lif’nei iver, “enabling someone else to commit a sin i.e. placing a stumbling block before the blind.” But this is where we think Aaron might have been more clever than he is credited. He didn't just build the idol for the people and he certainly didn't do it out of malice. He made sure everyone had to sacrifice something precious and valuable thus demonstrating how important it was to have something symbolically in place of their missing leader. They essentially all participated (actively and willingly) in the making of their own stumbling block.
Aaron didn't simply step up and take Moses’ place because God didn't speak to Aaron the same way Moses had. Aaron didn't know what to do without Moses any better than the people did. So instead of pretending and taking charge, possibly leading the people further astray, Aaron facilitated the people in making the idol they wanted and in so doing bought some time for Moses to return from Mt. Sinai. In this way, Aaron essentially admits he doesn't have the answers and figures out a way to appease the people until Moses returns, who will provide the leadership that the people (including Aaron) so desperately needed. The golden calf, this “stumbling block,” is really a stalling device, a distraction, until help from Moses can arrive.
There is an important lesson here that we don’t often discuss with this parsha. Instead of worrying about who is to blame, Aaron or the people, we can look at it as Aaron admitting he doesn't know the answer to the problem the people are facing. He doesn't know which direction is right or what action to take, but he knows that Moses will know and so Aaron waits for that guidance instead of acting in haste.
Discussion Questions:
-Are there times when you don’t have the answer to a problem?
-Can you think of someone who might be able to help you?
-Are you brave enough to ask for help when you don’t know what to do?
No comments:
Post a Comment