Moses, the man
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
What a genius our Moses was: jurist, diplomat, five-star general, navigator, and lawgiver. And what a job he had leading our stiff-necked ancestors through the sandy wastes of Sinai.
Consider he descends the mountain after his mountaintop interview with the Master of all creation to find his team worshipping a pagan deity and claiming that this junkyard calf, not the One and Only, rescued them from Egyptian swords!
Can you imagine? Moses has just bargained with their deliverer for a land of milk and honey and down below the treason of all treason is taking place. And who is the leader of this rebellion? None other than Moses’s own brother. And his explanation – “I cast it into the fire and this calf came out.” What a whopper – it’s tragic comic.
Incidentally, 3,000 of the rebels died by the sword. But not Aaron. Why? Because he had a relative in high places. There must be midrashim galore tempering Aaron’s behavior. If there was proof of G-d’s mercy, here it is. G-d himself authorizes Aaron, this molder of golden calves, as his priest.
But poor, harassed Moses not only stumbles on as commander-in-chief, but faces a daily barrage from our ancestors – better we had served the Egyptians and dined on baked fish backed with green onion sauce than die in this sand pile. That’s their mantra. Over and over they complain. Over what? Their freedom.
Thereby building the logical argument that they were unprepared for it – a lesson in the Chumash on human behavior; i.e., you must learn freedom. It is not a natural occurrence, nor is it genetic. And the forty years of gritty wandering were quite justified by their ignorance. I cite only one or two complaints. There were many.
They even complained about the menu. Manna was filling (free too), but oh so boring. Do they think their G-d is a chef? As usual, Moses runs to his boss – who himself is on the point of exasperated explosion (“Let’s get rid of them and make a nation out of you”), but swallows His rage and serves up a delicious quail dinner. It’s a wonder this hungry, homeless, ragtag bunch of wanderers don’t ask for Marengo sauce on their quail and a side of vinaigrette broccoli
Strange, is it not, that amidst this almost childish narration we get the Decalogue and many other rules that frame civilization. Our Chumash is certainly an uneven document. Jealousy, greed – human characteristics true then and now – are mixed with profound, literally G-d-given truth and rules that turn barbarism into laws that man can live by. How patient and merciful is our G-d.
In the midst of all this commotion, as though our first and greatest prophet doesn’t have enough trouble, another issue arises. Aaron and Miriam – Moses’s brother and sister – also stage a mini-revolution. The two conspirators, like all family members, are not happy with Moses’s selection of a bride. The implication is that they resent his choice of an Cushite (which begs the question as to why she is not Jewish or else why the Chumash doesn’t tell us there were Ethiopian Jews before the diaspora, which could be a stretch).
And there’s more to their grievance. Why doesn’t G-d speak to them, but only to Moses? As punishment for their resentment Miriam is struck with leprosy. But as usual, Aaron draws a pass. What is it with this jealous brother of Moses? He lets the people sink to the level of paganism and worship a golden calf, he revolts against his overworked brother – his own brother – who must guide the Israelites through forty years of gritty waste and he ends up as high Priest. A merciful G-d doesn’t even impeach him.
And after all this, Moses never steps into that golden land of milk and honey and obedient siblings. Consolingly, neither do they.
