Exodus 31:18 - 32:20
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.
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Did you get all that?
With a partner or on a sheet of paper, answer the following questions:
- Why did Aaron build a golden calf? How did he make it?
- Which of the ten commandments are Aaron and the people violating when they make and worship a golden calf?
- Which character in the Torah does Moses remind you of when he asks God not to destroy the people?
- Why is God so angry? What does God wish to do?
- 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?
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