Gordo-Vargas D'Var Torah: Looking to Aaron for the Answer

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?

#18 March 29 - The Golden Calf

Exodus 31:18 - 32:20

When God had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone tablets, written with the finger of God. 

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt -- we do not know what has happened to him."

Aaron said to them, "Take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me." All the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. This he took from them and melted them together in a mold and formed it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!" When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron announced: "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord!" Early next day, the people offered up burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; they sat down to eat and drink and then got up to dance.

The Lord spoke to Moses, "Hurry down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted wickedly. They have been quick to turn away from the way I told them to follow. They have made themselves a molten calf and bowed down low to it and sacrificed to it, saying: 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"

The Lord further said to Moses, "I see that this is a stiff-necked people. Now let Me be, let My anger blaze forth against them and that I may destroy them and make of you a great nation." But Moses begged the Lord his God, saying, "Don't let Your anger blaze forth against Your people, whom You delivered from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand. Don't let the Egyptians say, 'God delivered them out of Egypt for an evil purpose, only to kill them off in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth.' Turn from Your blazing anger and give up Your plan to punish Your people. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Israel, how You swore to them by Your Self and said to them: I will make your children as numerous as the stars of heaven and I will give to your children this whole land of which I spoke, to own forever." And the Lord took back His punishment He had planned to bring upon His people.

At that point, Moses turned and went down from the mountain carrying the two tablets of the Pact, tablets written on both surfaces: they were written on the one side and on the other. The tablets were God's work and the writing was God's writing, carved upon the tablets. When Joshua heard the sound of the people in its merriment, he said to Moses, "They are getting ready for war." But he answered, "It is not the tune of victory, Or the sound of the tune of defeat; It is the sound of song that I hear!" As soon as Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became enraged; and he hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it; he ground it to powder and poured it out over the water and made the Israelites drink it.

~

Did you get all that? 

With a partner or on a sheet of paper, answer the following questions:

1. Why did Aaron build a golden calf? How did he make it?
2. Which of the ten commandments are Aaron and the people violating when they make and worship a golden calf? 
3. Which character in the Torah does Moses remind you of when he asks God not to destroy the people?
4. Why is God so angry? What does God wish to do?
5. How does Moses convince God to refrain from destroying the people?

Let's go a little deeper...

Read the following commentaries / questions and choose one to respond to (below in the comments box):

1. ... God gave Moses the two tablets ...

Rashi says that this moment, when God gives Moses the tablets and the people, meanwhile, are worshiping a golden calf, happened long before God commands Moses and the people to build the Mishkan (portable dwelling place for God). According to the order of events in the Torah, this is not the case. God has already commanded the Israelites to build God a Mishkan. Why do you think Rashi insists that the golden calf incident happens before God commands them to build the Mishkan?

2. A Midrash says: Aaron tried to busy the people with tasks. He said to them: "Remove the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives"-- a most difficult thing, for the women, who saw all the miracles that G-d performed in Egypt, at the Sea and at Sinai, would surely not participate... When the women did not do as the men demanded, the men removed their own jewelry, as it says, "And all the people unloaded the golden earrings which were in their ears."

They wanted to build the altar together with Aaron, but he would not allow them, saying: "Allow me to build it by myself, for it is not befitting the respect due to the altar that another should build it." Aaron's intention in this was to delay matters, saying to himself: "By the time I build it all by myself Moses will come down." But when he had built it Moses had not yet descended.

What did Aaron do? He said: I shall postpone the festival until tomorrow, as it is written: "And [Aaron] proclaimed: Tomorrow is a feast to G-d!" His intention was to the true G-d, being certain that by the next day Moses would come and they will serve G-d. But they "Arose early in the morning..."

What is the purpose of this Midrash? What is it trying to say about Aaron's role in the golden calf incident?

3. ... stiff-necked ... This word, according to Rashi, means that the people are stubborn. They turn the hardness of the backs of their necks toward those who scolded them and they refused to listen.

How does Rashi's definition of "stiff-necked" help you understand how God characterizes the Israelites?

4. Why do you think Moses breaks the tablets?

#17 March 22 - What Happened on Mount Sinai?

Exodus 19:1-20:18

In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, they entered the wilderness of Sinai. And the people camped in front of the mountain.

Moses went up to God, who called to him from Mount Sinai and said to him, "Tell the Children of Israel, 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you close to Me. If you obey Me faithfully and keep my covenant, you will be My special treasure among all the peoples of the earth, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' Say these words to the Children of Israel."

Moses called the elders and told them all that God had commanded.

And all the people answered together: "All that God has said we will do!"

Then Moses brought the people's words back to God. God said to Moses, "I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will trust you forever. Now go to the people and warn them to stay pure and to wash their clothes, and to be ready for the third day, for on the third day I will come down, in the sight of all the people, to Mount Sinai. Tell the people, 'Beware of going up on the mountain or touching its borders. For whoever touches the mountain will die. Whether animal or human, they shall not live.' When the shofar sounds a long blast, then they may go up on the mountain."

Moses came down from the mountain and told the people all that God had commanded.

On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder and lightning, and a dense cloud, and a very loud blast of the shofar, and all the people in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

Mount Sinai was covered in smoke, for God had come down upon it in fire. The smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain shook violently. The blare of the shofar grew louder and louder. When Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder, God came down to the top of Mount Sinai, and Moses went up.

Then God spoke all these words:

• I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery, You shall have no other gods besides Me.
• You shall not make for yourselves a sculptured image or anything resembling what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to these idols or serve them.
• You shall not swear falsely by God's name, for I will not pardon anyone who swears falsely by My name.
• Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is My Sabbath. You shall not do any work -- you, your son or your daughter, your male of female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your gates. For in six days God made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them and God rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
• Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long on the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
• You shall not murder.
• You shall not commit adultery.
• You shall not steal.
• You shall on testify falsely against your neighbor.
• You shall not covet your neighbor's house, or his wife, or his male or female slave or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

All the people saw the thunder and lightning, the blast of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. when the people saw all this, they backed away and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, "You speak to us and we will obey but do not let God speak to us or we will die." Moses said to them, "Do not be afraid for God has come only to test you and be sure that you will always revere God so that you do not go down the wrong path." 

Then Moses approached the thick cloud where God was. Moses remained on the mountain covered in cloud for 40 days and 40 nights. 

~

Did you get all that? 

With a partner or on a sheet of paper, answer the following questions:

1. What do the Israelites have to do before the third day?
2. What do God, Moses and the Israelites do on the third day? (Try to list the events in order.)
3. At what point are the Israelites allowed to go up the mountain?
4. If you were a weather forecaster, how would you describe this day in the Sinai wilderness?
5. After God comes down and declares the 10 Commandments, what do the Israelites do?

Let's go a little deeper...

Read the following commentaries / questions and choose one to respond to (below in the comments box):

... I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you close to Me.

What does it mean when God says God carried the Israelites out of Egypt on eagles' wings?Rashi says: Like the eagle who carries its young upon its wings. For all other birds put their young between their feet because they are afraid of another bird that can fly above them, but the eagle is only afraid of man, for a man could shoot an arrrow into him because not bird flies above him. Therefore the eagle puts the baby birds upon his wings. He says, "Better that the arrow should enter me than my child." 

Based on Rashi's description of the eagle and its young, why do you think God describes Godself as an eagle? If an eagle is the symbol for God, what is the symbol for Israel?

***

... you will be My special treasure among all the peoples of the earth, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

God says that the Israelites will be special and holy to God if they follow God's commandments. God says they will be a "kingdom of priests." Later on in the Torah, God will assign certain Israelites (Aaron and his sons) to be priests. They will get to work in the Mishkan (the portable Temple that the Israelites will build for God). They will get to wear special clothing. They will not have to cook their own food. They will be in charge of all the sacrifices that Israelites will bring to God. In short, they will be very important. Why, then, do you think God says ALL of the Israelites will be priests? What do you think God means by this?

Marin-Rosenzweig D'Var Torah: Pharaoh's Stiff Heart

Let’s just say, when it comes to the Exodus story, God’s catchphrase (right after “Let My People Go”) could be: “Go Big, or Go Home.”

As we were reading our Parasha about the period after “Pharoah let the people go,” it was striking to us that the story, right after its huge dramatic climax – plagues, death of the First Born, and freedom from slavery –  does not wind down into denouement and final credits, but oddly ramps up again.  Instead of allowing the Israelites to swiftly escape and start life anew, God intentionally has Moses take them into the wilderness, and tarry long enough to give Pharoah time to have a change of heart and pursue them. Isn’t this kind of an unnecessary complication?

Why, we wondered, did God once again “Stiffen Pharoah’s heart?”

And maybe God, the original and ultimate cinematic director, knew that in order for His story to really have an impact,  to be worthy of telling year after year, there had to be a Chase Scene.  And one with a Big Finish. 

Commentary explains his motivation, addressing Moses:

“Of course Pharaoh will not be easily swayed, but not on account of your

inadequacy. Rather, it is because I use his stubbornness to demonstrate My active Presence.” (From Etz Hayim, JPS)

God did not want the Israelites to come to The Promised Land before they had developed a deep visceral understanding of His Greatness.  And to do that, he had to set the stage for a heartstopping, showstopping Major Display of Awesomeness that would be etched permanently into the Israelites’ consciousness.   

In Exodus, it is written:  “And I will stiffen the hearts of the Egyptians so they go in after them, and I will gain glory through Pharaoh, and all his warriors, his chariots and his horseman.” He had to stiffen Pharaoh’s heart so the Israelites would be trapped, facing certain death, No Way Out suspense, just so he could bust the Big Superhero Move – splitting the seas --  he needed to Prove to the Israelites that he was not just a God, but The God.  He had to Go Big.  

Okay, so once we get that He had to make Pharaoh a jerk in order to create the drama he needed to teach the Israelites there is Only One God, and He is Awesome, we  still ask ourselves, why this expression, “stiffen the heart?” It’s mentioned 20 times in the Shemot. It must have significance.

We wonder if God, in addition to teaching Israelites to exalt Him, also needed a succinct way to express the essence of holiness and religion: the ability to feel compassion.  Not that the Exodus story includes a great hero lionized for his compassion, Moses isn’t there demonstrating wonders to help the suffering -- that is more a New Testament image.   In Exodus, God, with his brilliant instinct for dramaturgy, is not so On The Nose.  Instead, Exodus teaches us the value of compassion by creating a Super Villain – Pharaoh -- who proves himself utterly lacking it -- over and over again, incapable of feeling for someone else’s suffering.  And is punished for it.  

This is illuminating to our family, when thinking about the part of the seder where we stick our finger in the wine and remove a drop for each plague.  Always an odd moment, a) weirdly messy and b) a bit hard to swallow the logic that we should not celebrate the punishment of our enemy. Compassion, it seems, is a key element in this saga.  Maybe we remove wine from our cups to distinguish us as different from Pharoah, whose own self-interest  and ego clog the arteries and harden his “Heart.”  In contrast, we lessen our portion as a symbol of feeling the pain of another – regardless of whether their suffering is in our self interest.

The fact that in the parasha it says that, “The Lord stiffened Pharoah’s heart” makes it complicated.  If it was not Pharoah’s free will, but the Lord using him as a pawn to exemplify values to teach the Israelites, that is hardly compassionate.  Maybe even unfair, or abusive.   To be kind, we’ll leave it at ironic.

So maybe God had to Stiffen Pharoah’s Heart so he could create a Big Story, one that would help the Israelites Get It (God) and be worthy of revisiting every year and not get bored (His “The Godfather”).  And maybe we tell the story every year of How We were Slaves, and how Pharoah’s heart was hardened, not just to remember our own history of suffering and persecution in the context of faith and redemption; but as an annual call to connect with our own empathy and compassion – the cornerstones of what is holy humanity.

#16 March 15: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

Exodus 5-7

Moses and Aaron came to speak to the Israelites in Egypt. They told the people all that God had said to Moses. They performed miracles before the people and the people were convinced.

Then Moses and Aaron came before Pharaoh and said to him, "The God of the Hebrews has appeared to us. Please let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to worship our God."

But Pharaoh answered, "You are distracting the people from their work!" Pharaoh ordered the taskmasters, "You will no longer provide the slaves with straw to make their bricks. From now on they will have to gather straw for themselves. But do not reduce the daily amount required. They are lazy. That is why they want to stop working and go sacrifice to their God. Let them work harder so they will not have time to listen to such false promises."

So the people had to work even harder. And when they did not make the required amount of bricks, the taskmasters beat them. Then the Israelite guards came to Moses and Aaron and said to them, "May God punish you! You have put a sword in the hands of the Egyptians to kill us."

Moses turned to God and said, "Why have You brought harm to Your people? And why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt even worse with them. And still You have not freed Your people."

God said to Moses, "You will soon see what I will do to pharaoh. He will let the people go because of a power greater than his. In fact, he will drive them from his land. Go to Pharaoh and act as God before him, and your brother, Aaron, will serve as your prophet. Tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave his land. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will refuse, and then I will show Egypt that I am God. I will stretch out my hand and bring the Israelites out of their midst."

~

With a partner or on a sheet of paper, respond to the following questions:

1. Moses and Aaron are sent by God to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery. But first they must convince the Israelite people that God actually sent them to do so. How do Moses and Aaron convince the people? Why is this necessary?

2. When Moses and Aaron first ask that the Israelites be released from their work to leave Egypt and serve God in the wilderness, what does Pharaoh do to the people? 

3. Why do the Israelite guards curse Moses and Aaron, saying, "May God punish you! You have put a sword in the hands of the Egyptians to kill us"? 

Instead of just freeing the Israelites, God decides to draw out the process by hardening Pharaoh's heart. Even after nine plagues sent to strike pharaoh and the Egyptians, Pharaoh's heart is hardened and refuses to let the Israelites go. It is not until the tenth and final plague (when God kills the first born sons of every Egyptian household) that Pharaoh finally let's the people go. 

What do you think it means to harden someone's heart?

But I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will refuse, and then I will show Egypt that I am God.  -- According to Rashi, God chooses to harden Pharaoh's heart because God will then have the opportunity to show how powerful God is -- by sending ten terrible plagues. God wants to show the Israelites what will happen if they behave like the Egyptians. This, Rashi says, is God's way: God punishes sinful nations so that God's people, the Israelites, will see this punishment, become fearful, and choose to behave differently. 

Why do you think God chooses to harden Pharaoh's heart? Is this fair of God to do? Why or why not?Do you agree with Rashi's interpretation? Why or why not? (Post your response below in the comment section.)

Moses Leaves Egypt

A Stranger in a Foreign Land

Exodus 2:11-22

Some time later, when Moses was grown up, he went out among his people and saw how hard they worked. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. He looked around, and seeing that no one was close by, he struck the Egyptian dead and buried his body in the sand.

The next day when Moses went out among the Hebrew slaves, he came upon two of them fighting.

Moses said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why are you beating your fellow Hebrew?”

The man answered, “Who made you lord and master over us? Do you plan to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”

Then Moses was afraid. He thought, “Surely everyone must know!”

When Pharaoh learned what Moses has done, he tried to have Moses killed. So Moses ran away to the land of Midian. He came to a well and rested there.

No Yitro, the priest of Midian, had seven daughters. They came to the well and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock of sheep. But other shepherds came and drove them away. Mose came to their defense, and he watered their flock.

When the seven sisters returned home, their father asked them, “Why are you home so early?”

They answered, “An Egyptian saved us from the other shepherds, and even watered our flock.”

“Where is this man?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him there? Bring him home so her can share bread with us.”

Moses agreed to stay with Yitro and his family. Yitro gave Moses his daughter Tzipporah as his wife. She gave birth to a son, whom Moses named Gershom, saying, “I have been a stranger - ger - in a foreign land.”

~

On a sheet of paper or with a partner, respond to the following questions:

1. Based on the story, is Moses an Egyptian or a Hebrew?
2. Moses kills a man in this story. You be the judge - did Moses do right or wrong? Explain your answer.
3. Why does Moses run away from Egypt?
4. Based on all of Moses’ actions in this story, what kind of man is he? How would you describe his personality?

Respond to the following question on our blog:

Why do you think Moses calls himself a “stranger in a foreign land?” Which land is he talking about? How is he a stranger?