Parashat Eikev: When peace comes at the expense of justice

The sin of the golden calf was one of the gravest sins the Israelites committed during their years in the desert. In its wake, God considered eradicating the entire people, but Moses persuaded Him to act otherwise. Even so, subsequently, Moses and his men killed thousands of the sinners. In light of this, it is strange that the very person who presided over the whole affair of the calf – who gave in to the people’s request and instructed them to bring him their gold earrings so he could fashion them a god, who took the materials from them and shaped a molten calf with his own hands – went entirely unpunished. Aaron, Moses’ brother and second-in-command, failed in his role. Nevertheless, God did not put him to death.

Various commentators and midrashim try to resolve this conundrum with apologetic interpretations in an attempt to clear Aaron’s name, suggesting that he did not really sin, or at least that his sin was less severe than the verses suggest. Some say that Aaron told the people to bring the gold earrings from the women and children only to buy time until Moses returned; others explain that once the people had already handed him all the materials for making the calf, Aaron tried to back out, but the leaders of the rebellion threatened his life and he had no choice; still others hold that when Aaron announced that the next day would be a festival to their new god, he was again trying to stall for time in the hope that Moses would return before that.

Moses’ secret

These midrashim are touching in their all but desperate attempt to defend Aaron’s character, but they require a great deal of turning a blind eye. The plain text simply shows otherwise. It seems to me that the answer to why Aaron was not punished for the sin of the calf lies in this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Eikev. Nearly forty years after the sin, Moses suddenly reveals to the people, almost accidentally, the great secret he had kept all that time: “And the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.” (Deuteronomy 9:20).

It turns out that Aaron did indeed fail severely as a leader in the sin of the calf, and only his brother’s prayer saved him. This revelation stands as a warning sign for generations of what happens when the value of peace stands alone, unaccompanied by values such as truth, justice, and judgment.

Hillel teaches in Tractate Avot that Aaron was “loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.” (Avot 1:12). Aaron always tried to make peace and help people live together without quarrel or strife, but it was precisely this virtue that led him to avoid confrontation – and to the greatest failure of his life. A beautiful midrash in Avot DeRabbi Natan (12:3) tells that when two people were quarreling, Aaron would go and sit with one of the disputants and tell him that the other man was in deep anguish, sitting at home beating his chest and tearing his garments in grief, not knowing how to appease him and make peace. Then Aaron would hurry to the other man and say the very same things to him. He kept this up until both men softened and reconciled, and when they met, they embraced and kissed one another.

The delicate art of leadership

It is heartwarming to witness the love of humanity in this midrash, but it also highlights the fact that truth and justice were of no importance to Aaron, who lied easily to both disputants in order to establish peace. When the Israelites came to Aaron and said they didn’t know where Moses had gone and wanted to make other gods, he was expected to summon courage and refuse. Instead, Aaron tried to appease them. He sought to avoid conflict, but what would be expected of a leader at that moment was to draw red lines and be willing to face a difficult confrontation.

Often a leader needs to act peacefully, to prevent conflicts and quarrels, and to do what the public demands of him. But there are times when he is expected to do exactly the opposite. Hillel suggested that we be Aaron’s disciples – “loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind.” That is a wonderful proposal, but notice that he added to it the words “and drawing them close to the Torah.” In other words, Hillel instructs us to do all this only when it helps draw people closer to the right and good path – not when, for the sake of peace, truth vanishes and justice is trampled.

The prophet Zechariah already taught us: “Love truth and peace” (Zechariah 8:19). Truth – and the judgment that accompanies it – and peace – and the compromise that accompanies it – must balance one another. It is the delicate art of leadership to know when and how much to use each of them.

Lior Tal Sadeh is an educator, writer, and author of “What Is Above, What Is Below” (Carmel, 2022). He hosts the daily “Source of Inspiration” podcast, produced by Beit Avi Chai.

For more insights into Parashat Eikev, listen to “Source of Inspiration” 

Main Photo: The Golden Calf\ Wikipedia