See also this attempt at understanding Aharon
Defending His Role in Golden Calf Story (A portion of a sermon on Ki Sisa)
Defending His Role in Golden Calf Story (A portion of a sermon on Ki Sisa)
When we look at the story of the Golden Calf,
the hero of the story is Moshe.
He destroys the luchos (see the Gemara
(Yevamos 62, BB 14, Menachos 99) יישר כחך ששברת), destroys the
Eigel and makes the people drink its dust, tells God that destroying the
Jewish people is unacceptable, beseeches God to consider the repercussions
of such an action visavis God's reputation amongst the nations of the world,
and threatens to have himself removed from the Torah if his "demands"
are not met.
In contrast, we have Aharon, who should
have been the hero of the story.
They came to him seeking advice, looking for
help; he should have said more forcefully that MOSHE WILL RETURN; he
should not have given into the demands of the people; he should have
taken a stronger stand.
As a result, Aharon seems to be the goat of
the story on account of the things he does:
- He's the one who suggests they bring the gold earrings.
- He is credited with fashioning the calf with an engraving tool.
- He builds the Mizbeach, and then says, חג
לה' מחר – Tomorrow will be a festival to God
- He is yelled at by his brother Moshe "What did the people do
to you that caused you to bring this great sin upon them?" You were
weak, and this seems to be your fault.
Malbim suggests that when Moshe destroyed
the Eigel and was not harmed by the people, this was the real moment when
Aharon was deemed weakest, because it proved that had Aharon done the same
thing, they would have listened to him. [Of course, we can argue that Moshe did
not yet know that Hur had been killed, and as the Eigel was meant to replace
Moshe, his presence proved no need for the Eigel – which
Aharon's presence clearly did not serve to remind the Israelites.]
