Leadership & Responsibility | Ki Tissa • 26 Feb 2016

(א) וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם ׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה ׀ מֹשֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֙נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ׃ (ב) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן פָּֽרְקוּ֙ נִזְמֵ֣י הַזָּהָ֔ב אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָבִ֖יאוּ אֵלָֽי׃ (ג) וַיִּתְפָּֽרְקוּ֙ כָּל־הָעָ֔ם אֶת־נִזְמֵ֥י הַזָּהָ֖ב אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיָּבִ֖יאוּ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹֽן׃ (ד) וַיִּקַּ֣ח מִיָּדָ֗ם וַיָּ֤צַר אֹתוֹ֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶט וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ עֵ֣גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ה) וַיַּ֣רְא אַהֲרֹ֔ן וַיִּ֥בֶן מִזְבֵּ֖חַ לְפָנָ֑יו וַיִּקְרָ֤א אַֽהֲרֹן֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר חַ֥ג לַיי מָחָֽר׃

Exodus 32:1-5

(1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him: ‘Up, make us a god who shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.’ (2) And Aaron said unto them: ‘Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.’ (3) And all the people broke off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. (4) And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said: ‘This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.’ (5) And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said: ‘To-morrow shall be a feast to the LORD.’

At the end of forty days, there gathered 40,000 that had come up with Israel, together with two of Egypt's magicians... It was they who performed all those acts of witchcraft in Pharaoh's presence, as is said: "They also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their secret arts" (Exod. 7:11). All of them gathering against Aaron and said, "Moses will not come down again." Aaron and Hur responded, "Any moment he will be coming down from the mount." But the mixed multitude paid no attention to them. (Midrash)

שמות י״ב:ל״ח

(לח) וְגַם־עֵ֥רֶב רַ֖ב עָלָ֣ה אִתָּ֑ם וְצֹ֣אן וּבָקָ֔ר מִקְנֶ֖ה כָּבֵ֥ד מְאֹֽד׃

Exodus 12:38

(38) And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

בראשית ג׳:י״א-י״ג

(יא) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֚י הִגִּ֣יד לְךָ֔ כִּ֥י עֵירֹ֖ם אָ֑תָּה הֲמִן־הָעֵ֗ץ אֲשֶׁ֧ר צִוִּיתִ֛יךָ לְבִלְתִּ֥י אֲכָל־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ אָכָֽלְתָּ׃ (יב) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הָֽאָדָ֑ם הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תָּה עִמָּדִ֔י הִ֛וא נָֽתְנָה־לִּ֥י מִן־הָעֵ֖ץ וָאֹכֵֽל׃ (יג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יי אֱלֹהִ֛ים לָאִשָּׁ֖ה מַה־זֹּ֣את עָשִׂ֑ית וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה הַנָּחָ֥שׁ הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִי וָאֹכֵֽל׃

Genesis 3:11-13

(11) And He said: ‘Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’ (12) And the man said: ‘The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.’ (13) And the LORD God said unto the woman: ‘What is this thou hast done?’ And the woman said: ‘The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’

When Aaron saw how things stood, he was afraid and attempted to distract them with subterfuges. Thus he said, "Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives" (Exod. 32:2), a difficult request to execute, since the wives were likely to balk. Indeed, when the men went to their wives [they did balk] – they [the wives] defied them [the husbands] saying, "God forbid that we should make an idol and betray the Holy One, who wrought such miracles and mighty deeds in our behalf." So, since the wives refused, "all the [men among the] people broke off the golden rings which were in their ears" (Exod. 32:3) – their own ears. (Midrash)

What a peculiar people! When solicited to build the tabernacle, they give generously. When solicited to fashion an idol, they give equally generously." (Talmud Yerushalmi, Shek. 1:1)

"And when Aaron saw this [calf], he built an altar before it" (Exod. 32:5). The people wanted to build it with him. But he said, "Allow me to build it myself. It is not in keeping with the respect due to the altar that others build it with me." Aaron's intent: In the time it will take me to build the altar by myself, I hope Moses will come down. But after he finished building it, Moses still had not come down, so he announced, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to ADONAI" (Exod. 32:5), saying to himself: Let the "happening" be deferred until tomorrow. (Midrash)

...And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it(Exod. 32:5). What did he actually see? — R. Benjamin b. Japhet says, reporting R. Eleazar: He saw Hur lying slain before him and said [to himself]: If I do not obey them, they will now do unto me as they did unto Hur, and so will be fulfilled [the fear of] the prophet, Shall the Priest and the Prophet be slain in the Sanctuary of God? (Lamentations 2:20) and they will never find forgiveness. Better let them worship the golden calf, for which offence they may yet find forgiveness through repentance. (Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 7a)
ויבן מזבח
va-yiven mizbei-akh / va-yaven mi-zavu-akh

"Why does Your anger wax hot against Your people that You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt?" (Exod. 32:11). Why did Moses mention the Exodus from Egypt? Because Moses was pleading: Master of the universe, whence did You bring them? Was it not out of Egypt, where they worship calves? The aptness of Moses' plea will be understood...by the parable of a sage who opened a perfume shop for his son in the [red light district]. The street plied its trade, the perfume business plied its trade, and the lad, like any young man, plied his natural inclination... When the father came and caught him with a prostitute, he began to shout, "I'll kill you!" But the sage's friend was there, and he spoke up. "You yourself ruined your son, and now you are yelling at him! You ignored all other occupations and taught him to be a perfumer; you ignored all other streets and deliberately opened a shop for him in the [red light district]." Likewise, Moses said: Master of the Universe, You ignored the entire world and deliberately enslaved Your children in Egypt, where the inhabitants worship calves; and so Your children learned from the Egyptians, and now have even made a calf for themselves. Therefore Moses said, "That You have brought forth from the land of Egypt" – bear in mind from what kind of place You brought them forth. (Shemot Rabbah 43:7)