“I Have Called You Friends”
Parashat Ki Tisa, Exodus 30:11–34:55
Dr Jeffrey Seif, Executive Director, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations
As a rabbi, I work through the parasha every week. I typically read through the portion and, while paying attention to what the text is saying, I look for a feeling, an impulse prompting me to land on a particular passage. My heart bounced all over the place while reading this week’s parasha. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to land, because there are compelling landing strips all over the place.
Moving through it backwards, one alights upon the Lord’s “Thirteen Attributes” (34:6–8), about which much rabbinic ink has been spilt. Moses’ beckoning God to “show me Your glory” (33:18) taps and articulates readers’ interest in experiencing God in worship, much as it resonates with prayer warriors who want to “speak to God face to face” (33:11), and experience His presence and rest (33:14). More intellectually-minded exegetes, forever keen on connecting the dots between Tanakh and New Testament, find connections with a theme that resonates in both: friendship.
In 33:11, Moses is likened to a “friend”—specifically, a friend of God. In the Johannine Gospel, Yeshua is on record promising “friendship” to believers who abide (Jn 15:14). Then, immediately afterwards, He more forcefully reiterates the point and a promise, saying: “I have called you friends” (15:15). It’s hard to overstate the significance: the relationship with God that believers in Yeshua enjoy is akin to Moses’. Friendship is a key in both. The incredibly good news articulated in Exodus 33 and 34, however, is juxtaposed against tragic and agonizing bad news in chapter 32. There, readers learn of the Gold Calf incident, and the judgment that came as a result of it.
There’s agony and ecstasy in this week’s Torah portion. While there’s much I could say from these few pages—and perhaps should say—I am going to limit myself to Aaron’s failure.
Moses’ absence from the people while atop Sinai, in 32:1, created a problem—one not of his making. Moses was gone.… Restless, discontented sorts beckoned Aaron to step into the leadership void. The shepherd sheepishly complied. He bought into a “let’s return to Egypt” narrative, and began the manufacture of a golden calf (32:2–4). Though the principal (Moses) was out of sight for a season, the principle to move forward and not manufacture and worship Egyptian idols most surely would have been present. Would it have been too much to expect Aaron, the High Priest, to resist their press toward its manufacture and return to Egypt? I think not. He, however, solicited donations of gold rings from the Hebrew men’s wives and daughters (32:2) and commenced with the manufacture of the idol (32:5). This surely wasn’t Aaron’s finest hour!
Rashi comes to Aaron’s defense, conjecturing: “Aaron said in his heart: ‘The women and the children cherish their ornaments; perhaps the matter will be delayed and in the interim Moses will come’ [back].” I’m not altogether sure Rashi can know what Aaron said in his heart. That aside, Aaron’s lack of resolve here wasn’t simply a “one off” event. Later, after the Israelites left Sinai, we see how Aaron was yet again drawn into another’s discontent. Spirited along by Miriam’s chagrin this time, Aaron was drawn into her angst and participated in her family rebellion (Num 12:1–2). Rashi conjectures it was Moses’ wife’s beauty that invoked Miriam’s ire. Maybe; maybe not, I don’t know. . . . I do know this though: Aaron’s lack of fortitude and his being too easily swayed is apparent.
So as not to single out Aaron, I’ve long observed how flaky people can be—every now and again. Mindful of it, I’ve long wondered how God gets any work done through us, given various glaring imperfections associated with the human condition. He does. God graciously and patiently bears with our human foibles—and this fact is salient in this week’s parasha.
The Torah follows Aaron’s lackluster performance in chapter 32 with an important statement in Exodus 34:6–7. Therein, in what Judaism refers to as the “Thirteen Attributes of God,” God’s “compassion,” His “gracious” disposition, His being “slow to anger” and “showing mercy to a thousand generations” are stated emphatically. That God is thus minded is not only good news for Aaron but it’s good news for us as well. As we’ve seen, the relationship with God that believers in Yeshua enjoy is akin to Moses’ relationship with God. Friendship is a key in both. To be sure, Aaron’s performance with the golden calf leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not unreasonable to expect better from a spiritual leader. We want leaders to lead us forward, not back to Egypt. My main take away, however, derives from the reminder that God is gracious and bears with us kindly, and in friendship.
Speaking of “bearing” and speaking of “forward”—and as I close—permit me to say the following: Stay tuned for the UMJC’s Kadima: Forward! program. Information on where we’re going will be coming to you in reasonably short order. Forward!
Jeffrey Seif is the Executive Director of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations. He can be reached at jeffreyseif@umjc.org.