In the thirteenth century B.C., a mere three months after leaving Egypt, and only 40 days after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people created the Golden Calf as an idol and worshipped it. Scholars theorize that the figure is likely a representation of the Egyptian bull god Apis, known during the Hebrews’ time in Egypt prior to their future encounter with the Canaanite fertility god Baal when they finally entered the Promised Land.
After travelling through the desert and reaching Mount Sinai, the Israelites witnessed God’s glory descend upon that holy mountain and heard the Ten Commandments. The next day, the God of Israel commanded Moses to ascend the mountain for 40 days, where the Lord God would teach him all the laws and present Moses with the tablets on which those Commandments were carved. Moses took leave of his people to do what God demanded, promising to return in 40 days.
Due to a miscalculation, they expected Moses to return on the 16th of Tammuz; when he did not return, the people became agitated. A mixed multitude (Heb. erev rav), likely a ragtag group of Egyptian outcasts who were impressed by the miracles that plagued their nation, tagged along with the Jews when they left Egypt and were insincere in their commitment to the one God, sowed fear among the people that Moses was dead and, so, they needed a new leader. Terrified, the Jewish people gathered around Aaron, Moses’ brother, and demanded that he appoint a new leader for them. Aaron told them to go home and collect their wives’ jewelry and bring it back to him. Crazed, the men even ripped off their own jewelry and threw it into a fire. And out of the fire a golden calf emerged. Three possibilities have been proposed as to who actually fashioned the calf: (1) Aaron did by using the molten gold from what was thrown into the fire; (2) sorcerers formed the idol; or (3) Micah, a member of the mixed Egyptian multitude whose life had been saved by Moses might have created the calf.
Tradition has it that when the Israelites were preparing to leave Egypt, in order to fulfill Joseph’s request that his remains be taken out of Egypt with his fellow Jews, Moses went to collect Joseph’s coffin to fulfill that ancient request; however, in an attempt to stop them from leaving, the Egyptians had sunk Joseph’s coffin in the Nile. Moses took a plaque, wrote on it the words alei shor (Eng. rise ox), and threw it into the river, causing the coffin of Joseph (who had been compared to an ox) to rise to the surface. His detractors claimed that Micah had stolen the plaque and used it to create the idol by throwing that plaque into the blaze. Then the erev rav called out to the Jewish people, “These are your gods, O Israel, who took you out of Egypt!” (Ex 32:8). Aaron built an altar and instructed the Jews to go to sleep, saying that “tomorrow there will be a festival” (Ex 32:5). The next day, the people rose early and made their way to the golden calf, where they offered sacrifices and started worshipping it. The Torah tells us, “The Jewish people sat to feast and rose to play” (Ex 32:6), which scholars broadly interpret to mean that in addition to idolatry, the people also committed acts of debauchery, immorality, even murder!
Meanwhile up on Mount Sinai, God told Moses to descend. ”Your people have become corrupt. Already they have strayed from the path I set for them. They created a golden calf, worshipped it and offered sacrifices to it. Now, I shall destroy this nation for they are a stiff-necked people. I will rebuild a nation from you, one that will not disobey or rebel against me” (Ex 32:7-10). Moses prayed for God to stay His wrath (Ex 32:11-14). Moses then came down the mountain, and together with his disciple Joshua, turned to enter the camp. Utter carnage met his eye: Drunken revelry, blasphemy, adultery and idolatry. Outraged, Moses took the tablets that were given to him by God, and hurled them to the ground, shattering them. Moses ground the golden calf into a powder, mixed it with water and gave it to the worshippers to drink, killing many of them. He then commanded the tribe of Levi, who had remained faithful to him, to further seek out any worshippers and annihilate them. God brought a plague on the Jews, killing thousands more.
Moses returned to the holy mountain two more times for 40 days each, finally descending on Yom Kippur bearing the second set of tablets and having secured God’s forgiveness of the Chosen People.
Nature and dignity 