Parashat Ki Tissa (Exodus 31:1 - 34:10)

by Rabbi Pete Tobias of The Liberal Synagogue Elstree

Summary
The section of the Torah that goes into specific and intricate detail about the construction of the sanctuary in the wilderness is about to come to an end.  For the last six chapters or so, we have been bombarded with instructions and measurements that seem to bear more resemblance to instructions for a piece of flat-pack furniture than a holy scripture.  Ki Tissa begins with the obligation placed on every Israelite to pay half a shekel towards the construction and upkeep of the sanctuary.  There then follows a further series of instructions relating to the cleansing and anointing of the priests before the real story of this week’s portion kicks off – the incident of the golden calf.

Commentary

Every now and then, an incident turns up in the Torah that raises alarm bells, that seems to emphasise that this document is indeed a human creation, influenced by and reflecting the political bias of its all-too-human authors.

The story of the Israelites’ impatience caused by Moses’ delay in returning from his encounter with God on Mount Sinai that led to them constructing the golden calf is well known, as is the consequence of that construction: the smashing of the first set of stones on which the ten commandments were written.  Once the idol has been completed, the people cry out ‘Here is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of of Egypt.’ (Exodus 32:5)  Then Aaron, who has overseen the whole episode, declares that there will be a special celebration the following day.  An account of Moses’ descent from the mountain and his subsequent outrage (reflecting God’s own anger) then follows – as does a plague, not to mention a violent assault by sword-wielding Levites in a typically brutal piece of ‘Old Testament’ retribution.  It’s things like this, you might say, that give the God of the Israelites and his followers a bad name.

But let’s look beyond the text of the Torah for a moment and take ourselves to a key event in ancient Israelite history, which took place ostensibly some four hundred years after the incident of the golden calf in the wilderness.  The first book of Kings begins with the death of King David and, within less than a century, the kingdom he bequeathed to his son Solomon is being torn apart.  The ten northern tribes have chosen to be ruled by Jeroboam rather than by Solomon’s son Rehoboam.  Jeroboam, realising the powerful attraction that of the Temple in Jerusalem will hold for those of his subject living close to it, decides to build – guess what? – a golden calf in nearby Beth-El, similar to another much further north in Dan.

‘After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.  And this thing became a sin…’ (I Kings 12:28-30).  The words that I have put in bold, uttered by Jeroboam, are identical to those declared by the Israelites in the wilderness – and both are referring to a golden calf.  Was Jeroboam copying Aaron?  Or was the author of this section of the Torah taking a shot at Jeroboam, transplanting an act of political revolt against Jerusalem and its priesthood in a fictitious event at one of the most crucial moments in Israelite history – the receiving of the Ten Commandments?

Those listening to the story in biblical times would easily recognise in the account of the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai the actions of the northern king Jeroboam.  For us, almost three thousand years later, such nuances and connections are lost, and we tend to regard the episode of the golden calf as an integral part of the Israelites’ wilderness experience rather than a contemporary attack on king Jeroboam.

There is insufficient time or space to consider the question of who actually penned this account and incorporated it into the text we now know as the Torah.  But the point is surely, as in so many cases, that we need to be cautious about the ways in which we read our biblical texts and be sure to take into account the historical, political, social and religious context in which they were written.

Rabbi Pete Tobias

The Liberal Synagogue Elstree

You can hear Rabbi Pete Tobias on Radio 2 on the following dates:  ‘Wake up to Wogan’ – Pause for Thought: March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 2, 10, 17 at 9.15 am and ‘Good Morning Sunday’ April 1 7.40 – 8.00 am.