Dear Friends,
Over-reaching political authority, and revolts against over-reaching political authority, are as old as time. And, they are not only confined to human activity. Jane Goodall described younger chimpanzees challenging established chimp leaders, naturalists have observed youthful male elephants taking on older bull elephants and the same in wolfpacks, and I would imagine even junior cavemen undertook periodic contests with their chief cavemen, to upend balances of power.
Thus, we encounter the Golden Calf episode in this week’s Torah portion, in which a cadre of rebels prevailed upon Aaron while Moses was absent atop the mountain, and they made an idol to placate the apparent religious insecurities of the people. But it was more. It was a challenge to the absolute and Divinely-sanctioned authority of Moses over the people which he led. It was a populist revolt, and God and Moses stopped it in its tracks.
So much for challenging authority in our Tradition. Or, is it?
We know that confronting despotic rulers has been a hallmark of both western democracies, and of Jewish history. Our nation was founded on revolution against King George. France underwent its own bloody revolts, as did Germany in the 19th century. In Jewish history, we are in the weeks between Purim and Pesach, each of which commemorates a real or fabled victory of Jewry against an oppressor, either Haman, remembered this week, or Pharaoh, whose time is coming, soon. And, Israel’s War of Independence in 1948 initially was against the British expeditionary force, before it became a defense against invading Arab armies.
Presently, the churning in western and Jewish democracies ought not be a surprise. America is bubbling with political roiling as the 2024 election cycle is accelerating, as well as with upset over border policies, interest rates, state government incursions into social and cultural life, and more. But, more intense, and perhaps more troubling, is the agitation and discontent in Israel. There, the Golden Calf vignette is not a mere story, but a relived circumstance in recent weeks and months, yet one in which justice may be with the people, not with the authorities.
Over a million Israelis took to the streets last weekend to protest the extremes of the new Netanyahu coalition government. That is approximately 20% of the Israeli populace. They are distraught that a government comprised of a Prime Minister who is under indictment for fraud, and a cabinet sporting others who either are under indictment or have been convicted, are seeking to strip the Israeli Supreme Court of its role in legislative and judicial oversight, thus protecting legislators who are in jeopardy. Moreover, Israelis are riled that many extreme-right cabinet members have not served in the military, nor have their children, and yet they are taking steps to weaken Israel’s vaunted defense forces and risking lives of pilots, intelligence officers, and everyday soldiers, let alone the state.
The Golden Calf episode clearly was an unjust, populist affront on authority. Today, we are seeing challenges which may be populist outrages to unjust authority. We pray that justice and right may prevail.
With Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Over-reaching political authority, and revolts against over-reaching political authority, are as old as time. And, they are not only confined to human activity. Jane Goodall described younger chimpanzees challenging established chimp leaders, naturalists have observed youthful male elephants taking on older bull elephants and the same in wolfpacks, and I would imagine even junior cavemen undertook periodic contests with their chief cavemen, to upend balances of power.
Thus, we encounter the Golden Calf episode in this week’s Torah portion, in which a cadre of rebels prevailed upon Aaron while Moses was absent atop the mountain, and they made an idol to placate the apparent religious insecurities of the people. But it was more. It was a challenge to the absolute and Divinely-sanctioned authority of Moses over the people which he led. It was a populist revolt, and God and Moses stopped it in its tracks.
So much for challenging authority in our Tradition. Or, is it?
We know that confronting despotic rulers has been a hallmark of both western democracies, and of Jewish history. Our nation was founded on revolution against King George. France underwent its own bloody revolts, as did Germany in the 19th century. In Jewish history, we are in the weeks between Purim and Pesach, each of which commemorates a real or fabled victory of Jewry against an oppressor, either Haman, remembered this week, or Pharaoh, whose time is coming, soon. And, Israel’s War of Independence in 1948 initially was against the British expeditionary force, before it became a defense against invading Arab armies.
Presently, the churning in western and Jewish democracies ought not be a surprise. America is bubbling with political roiling as the 2024 election cycle is accelerating, as well as with upset over border policies, interest rates, state government incursions into social and cultural life, and more. But, more intense, and perhaps more troubling, is the agitation and discontent in Israel. There, the Golden Calf vignette is not a mere story, but a relived circumstance in recent weeks and months, yet one in which justice may be with the people, not with the authorities.
Over a million Israelis took to the streets last weekend to protest the extremes of the new Netanyahu coalition government. That is approximately 20% of the Israeli populace. They are distraught that a government comprised of a Prime Minister who is under indictment for fraud, and a cabinet sporting others who either are under indictment or have been convicted, are seeking to strip the Israeli Supreme Court of its role in legislative and judicial oversight, thus protecting legislators who are in jeopardy. Moreover, Israelis are riled that many extreme-right cabinet members have not served in the military, nor have their children, and yet they are taking steps to weaken Israel’s vaunted defense forces and risking lives of pilots, intelligence officers, and everyday soldiers, let alone the state.
The Golden Calf episode clearly was an unjust, populist affront on authority. Today, we are seeing challenges which may be populist outrages to unjust authority. We pray that justice and right may prevail.
With Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
