Parshas Ki Sisa - An odd idol

When Moshe did not descend the mountain after the giving of the Torah, the Jewish people grew nervous. They agitated for a replacement and Aharon complied. (Shemos/Exodus 32: 1-5). The result was a golden calf.

Why was this new object of worship a golden calf?

One answer I have heard is that the Egyptians worshipped cows so the Jews went back to a familiar motif. This suggestion is plausible.

Rashi offers another answer. Citing the Midrash Tanhuma, he relates the following story: Moshe complained to God that when the Jewish slaves fell short of their quota of bricks, the Egyptians took Jewish babies and used them to fill gaps in the buildings. God told Moshe that these babies were fated to be evil so their loss was not as tragic as it appeared. To illustrate His point God brought one of the babies back to life and that child was Micah, who later grew up to become a well-known idol-worshiper in the time of the Judges (chapter 17-18). Shortly before leaving Egypt Moses sought to raise Joseph’s coffin from the bottom of the Nile, where the Egyptians had buried it to prevent the Jews from leaving. Moshe wrote on a metal plate “Arise Ox, arise Ox” (echoing his reference to Joseph much later in Devarim/Deuteronomy as “a first born ox”; 33:17) and threw it in the water, which caused Joseph’s coffin to miraculously float to the top of the waters. Somehow, Micah got hold of this metal plate and, at the critical moment at Sinai, he threw it in the goldsmith’s fire that Aharon was tending and ‘Poof!’ a golden calf arose.

What are we to make of this midrash? One message appears to be that questioning God’s judgment, even when there is widespread suffering, is unwise and can even lead to a much greater loss of faith. Another theme may be that the same words that are focused and fitting in one setting may wreck unbelievable havoc in another.

Perhaps a third idea is that when you create a tool for miracles, even seemingly necessary ones, that tool can be tragically misused. The same metal plate that enabled Moshe to fulfill the Jewish people’s promise to bring Joseph’s bones out of Egypt (Bereishis 50:25) became the catalyst that produced the golden calf. In our era this message may have particular resonance. We are blessed to have incredible technological resources. For some these resources serve some as powerful tools for research and personal growth. For others, the same resources enable an accelerated pursuit of mindless diversion, a mind-numbing escapism and, in the worst cases, serve as a vehicle for destruction of relationships and lives.