THE PEOPLE SAW MOSHE DELAYED COMING DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN, AND THE PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND AHARON AND SAID TO HIM "ARISE, MAKE FOR US ELOHIM WHO WILL GO BEFORE US, FOR THIS MOSHE, THE MAN BROUGHT US UP FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT- WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM (Shmos 32:1).
Did the Jewish nation worship the golden calf?
No, says Ramban.
1. The people requested a replacement for Moshe, whom they never worshiped as a deity.
2. Aharon asked Moshe "not to be angry" for his role in the affair, an absurd request if he produced an idol to be worshiped.
3. When Moshe returned, they abandoned the calf and allowed Moshe to destroy it. Why would they permit the destruction of their deity?
4. Aharon proclaimed a festival to YHVH, not to the calf. (A calf is actually a prophetic symbol of the Divine chariot (Ezekiel 1:10), and Aharon apparently wished to obtain Divine favor upon the power symbolized by this image).
Kuzari (1:97) explains as follows:
1. Images were extremely popular in those days. Even an ancient worshiper of God would prefer an image on which to focus (to recount God's wonders) and to which Divinity attaches itself. It is like the reverence we have for holy objects and places.
2. This is why they came to Aharon and why Aharon agreed to help.
3. Their sin was to make a forbidden image, and to attribute Divine attachment to something not ordained by God. By contrast, the cheruvim above the Ark were an image commanded by God, and a place where God's presence was manifest.
4. Less than 3000 men were executed, proving that the Jewish nation as a whole was innocent of idolatry.
No comments:
Post a Comment