EXODUS XXX:11-XXXIV:35
CONTRAST BETWEEN MOSES AND AARON
The first theme of these chapters concerns the census that took place after the episode of the Egel Hazahav, ”Golden Calf” that the Hebrews worshipped when Moshe (Moses) took longer than anticipated to descend from Har Sinai (Mount Sinai). The biblical account continues with instructions to Moshe to make a copper receptacle that will be used for washing the hands and feet of the Kohanim (Priests).
The Torah (Pentateuch) then specifies which species are necessary for worship in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) one of them being Mor Deror, pure myrtle. This species is considered by the Talmud to be an allusion to Mordechai, the hero of the Purimstory. According to the Rav (Rabbi Josepha B. Soloveitchik) when the Talmud asks: Mordechai minHaTorah minayin and responds with Mor Deror, the use of an item that will be used in the Mishkan is to signal his involvement in the rebuilding of the Second Beit HaMikdash.
The episode of the Egel Hazahav had 4 protagonists: God, the Jewish people, Aharon (Aaron) and Moshe. The apparent complicity of Aharon who tried to appease the mood of the people surely caused much anguish to Moshe, because according to the personality characteristics that the Torah attributes to him, he probably would never have yielded to the request of the people.
While Aharon approached the people and identified with their challenges and anxieties, Moshe looks like a person who isseparate, closer to the heavenly than to the earthly. In this sense, Rashi explains the difference between Leha’azin and Lishmo’a, synonyms of the verb to listen. Because he is closer to heaven, Moshe expresses himself with Haazinu haShamayim, while Yeshayahu affirms Shim’i Shamayim. Leha’azin means to listen closely, while lishmo’a implies a certain distance between the parties.
According to Ibn Ezra, Moshe was educated in the palace of Pharaoh, because from the beginning he had the posture of a prince, to become the Melech, the king of the Hebrew people. Moshe is unique, there is no other similar character in the Bible. Except for the Midrash accounts, the characteristics of their children are unknown, they simply disappear from the biblical account. Moshe seems like a solitary being in the earthly universe because he felt more akin to the spirit world. He was the only person who spoke to God “face to face.”
Moshe’s death before the conquest of the Promised Land marks the end of his career, although his accomplishments left a mark forever. Aharon’s case is very different. He always felt close to the people and perhaps because of this, he understood their weaknesses. In addition, Aharon is the patriarch of all the Kohanim who will always officiate at the Beit HaMikdash and be the teachers of the people. Even up to the present, the sons of Aharon are the protagonists of certain ceremonies and have preference in the rituals of the synagogue.
The Yom Kippur service has as its central theme the activities of the Kohen Gadol at the Beit HaMikdash. Aharon was also a prophet, a person with penetrating vision to understand the meaning of history. It will be the descendants of the Kohanim, the Chashmona’im who will rebel against the hellenized Syrians to restore the Beit HaMikdash to its former glory and usher in a couple of centuries of national liberation until the destruction of the House of God perpetrated by the Romans in 70 of the common era.
Perhaps the leadership of the people demanded a symbiosis of both positions. On the one hand, the apparent inflexibility of Moshe, opposed to any compromise or alteration of the Will of God, and on the other hand, there is the personality of Aharonwho intuits the intrinsic weakness of the human being, his understanding of the weakness of the people, but at the same time their capacity for regeneration. The possibility of Teshuvah (repentance) appears as a reality in the story of the first man Adam. While Moshe disappears from the stage, Aharon lives on through his offspring, because it is only through his understanding and empathy for human frailty that there is the possibility of final redemption.
MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 4 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 5 PROHIBITIONS
105. Exodus 30:13 Give half a shekel (coin) annually.
106. Exodus 30:19-20 Washing hands and feet when serving in the Temple.
107. Exodus 30:25 making anointing oil.
108 Exodus 30:32 A person who is not authorized should not pour anointing oil on himself.
109 Exodus 30:32 Do not make anointing oil that has not been authorized according to the indicated formula.
110. Exodus 30:37 Do not make incense that has not been authorized according to the indicated formula.
111. Exodus 34:12,15 Neither eat nor drink of the offering for an idol.
112. Exodus 34:21 Allow the land to rest in the year of Shemitah(seventh year).
113. Exodus 34:25 Do not eat meat and milk that have been cooked together.
