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One of the most
persistent and troubling questions regarding the event of the Golden Calf,
as recorded in this week’s parsha, is: “How could Aharon have done what he
did?” Did he not realize the consequences of his action to himself and his
family, as well as to the people of Israel generally? After all Aharon is
to be the paradigm of Jewish priestly leadership for all generations to
come.
And yet the Torah
records for us that Aharon rose from this debacle, albeit at a tragic and
heavy price to him and his family, and became revered as the ultimate High
Priest of Israel. In this, he resembles the story of Yehudah, who also
inexplicably falls into strange and unacceptable behavior and yet arises
from his situation to become the leader of the tribes of Israel and the
founder of the royal house of Jerusalem.
The Torah seems to
emphasize to us the recuperative powers of these individuals as examples
for us, while dealing with their negative actions and consequent
punishments in a more indirect fashion. The Torah excuses no sins and gives
no one a free pass on one’s negative behavior.
Yet, all of the
champions of Israel have baggage associated with their stories and
descriptions of character as portrayed in the Torah. Yet, even accounting
for human frailty, the question begs itself as to the causes of Aharon’s
behavior regarding the construction of the Golden Calf. And, over the ages,
the commentators to the Torah have wrestled with and attempted to solve
this problem.
I suspect that it was
Aharon’s great and unconditional love for the Jewish people that drove him
to cooperate in the construction of the Golden Calf. Moshe’s love for
Israel was also unbounded and unconditional but Aharon was incapable of
Moshe’s tough love approach. He therefore sought to mitigate the evil act
that he felt was inevitably coming and tried to soften its eventual
consequences.
He was willing to
provide Israel with the excuse – “Look, Aharon was with us and he
participated in the Golden Calf, so it was not entirely our fault, and it
could not have been that bad.” There is a concept in Judaism called aveirah
lishmah – a sin committed knowingly but for a higher purpose, for the sake
of Heaven itself, so to speak.
A sin committed for
the sake of the eventual salvation of the Jewish people from destruction is
still a sin – but it has a moral content to it that allows the sinner
to rise and recover after participating in that sin. Aharon’s love of
Israel, in this case misplaced and exaggerated, was nevertheless the cause
of his redemption and of his becoming the High Priest of Israel for all
history.
Such an insight aids
in understanding the complexities of personality and circumstance that this
week’s parsha occasions. It is beyond human abilities to make such
reckonings and judgments. However the Torah does allow us a glimpse as to
how Heaven deals with such issues and we should be most grateful for having
that insight brought to our knowledge and attention.
Shabat shalom
Rabbi Berel Wein
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