The focus of this week’s parasha is the episode of the
Golden Calf. The Israelites have been waiting for weeks for Moses to come back
down the mountain. Their patience wears out, and they prevail upon Aaron to
“make us a god who shall go before us.” The result is the construction of a
molten calf around which the Israelites celebrate and offer sacrifices. As you
might imagine, God and Moses are not pleased!
God’s response is (after sending a plague to kill off the
guilty ones) to allow Moses to continue leading the people forward. But God
will no longer be in their midst. The entire enterprise of the Mishkan – of
having God dwell among the people – seems to be falling apart.
Ultimately, Moses is able to convince God to stick with the
people. But Moses needs reassurance from God in order to continue with this
journey. Moses wants to “know” God’s ways. God’s response to this is to reveal
God’s self to Moses in a an intimate and mysterious scene. God places Moses in
the cleft of a rock, and God’s Presence passes by while God pronounces God’s
attributes of mercy and compassion. Moses isn’t allowed to see God’s face –
only God’s back.
The big questions I’m left with this week are – How is the yearning
to experience God’s presence that the Israelites express (by asking Aaron to
make them a god) any different from Moses’ yearning to know God’s ways? Why is
it that God will show God’s self to Moses but not to the people?
It seems that the people and Moses are both looking for proof
that God is with them. The Haftarah, from the Elijah cycle in I Kings, has a
similar theme.
So – what then, is the role of proof when it comes to our
ability to rely on God? Do we relate to the people’s need for some outward
sign?
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