וַיִּגֹּ֥ף יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־הָעָ֑ם עַ֚ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשׂ֣וּ אֶת־הָעֵ֔גֶל אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה אַהֲרֹֽן׃ (ס)
און גאָט האָט געפּלאָגט דאָס פֿאָלק פֿאַר װאָס זײ האָבן געמאַכט דאָס קאַלב, װאָס אַהרן האָט געמאַכט.
Sifra
1) (Vayikra 8:1) ("And the L–rd spoke to Moses, saying (Vayikra 8:2): "Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the garments, and the oil of anointment, and the bullock of the sin-offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread.") "Take Aaron and his sons with him": What is the intent of this? Because (Shemoth 32:35): "And the L–rd smote the people with plague because they had made the calf that Aaron had made" implies that Aaron was rejected, from "Take Aaron and his sons with him" all knew that he was (re-) accepted. Whence is it derived that Moses knew that Aaron was rejected? From (Devarim 9:20): "And against Aaron the L–rd was wroth to destroy him, and I prayed also on Aaron's behalf at that time," and it is not written there (as it is in the preceding verse in respect to Moses' prayer on behalf of Israel) "And the L–rd hearkened to me at that time too." From "Take Aaron and his sons with him," Moses knew that Aaron was (re-) accepted. Whence do we derive that it was in Aaron's heart that he had been rejected? It is written at the end of the episode (Vayikra 9:7) ("And Moses said to Aaron) draw near to the altar." (Why was this command necessary?) Had not Moses just presented to him the entire order of sacrifices? (We must say, then, that Moses saw Aaron hesitating, apparently feeling that his service would be rejected, and) to dispel this from his heart, he told him that the L–rd had said to him "Take Aaron and his sons with him," thus apprising Aaron that he had been (re-) accepted.
Vayikra Rabbah
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a person will sin unwittingly regarding any of the matters that the Lord commanded not to perform, and he will perform one of them” (Leviticus 4:2).
“When a person will sin unwittingly regarding any of the matters that the Lord commanded [not to perform]” – this is what the verse says: “Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment [there is wickedness, and in the place of justice there is wickedness]” (Ecclesiastes 3:16). Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Eliezer says: “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – the place where the Great Sanhedrin convenes and decides the rulings of Israel. “There is wickedness,” – there “all the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate” (Jeremiah 39:3), which is where they decide the halakha.1The word for Middle Gate [hatavekh] is similar to the term for determine [ḥotekh]. Thus, the enemies of Israel sat where the Sanhedrin used to convene. In the parable it is said: In the place where the master hung his sword, the insolent shepherd hangs his jug. The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place in whose regard it is written: “Justice lodged in it” (Isaiah 1:21), now they commit murders. There they killed Zekharia and Uriya.2Because Israel, in murdering Zekharya and Uriya, committed atrocities in the place that should have been set aside for justice, the members of the Great Sanhedrin were replaced in that location by conquering Babylonian officers.
Rabbi Yehoshua says: “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented is the act of the calf, as it is written: “Pass to and fro from gate to gate, [let each man kill his brother…]” (Exodus 32:27). “There is wickedness,” there, “the Lord afflicted the people [because they had crafted the calf] (Exodus 32:35). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous and called them divine, as it is stated: “I had said: You are divine” (Psalms 82:6), there they were wicked, crafted the calf, and prostrated themselves to it.
Another matter, “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – this is speaking of the generation of the Flood. “In the place of judgment there is wickedness,” in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented against the generation of the Flood, as we learned in a mishna: “The generation of the Flood has no share in the World to Come and will not stand in judgment,”3Sanhedrin 10:3. Although some wicked people will stand in judgment at the end of days, when God will return their souls to their bodies and judge them, the members of the generation of the Flood will be completely eliminated from the world. “there is wickedness,”; there, “He obliterated all existence” (Genesis 7:23). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous, as it is written: “Their houses are peaceful without fear” (Job 21:9), “there is wickedness,” “They say to God: Turn away from us” (Job 21:14).
Another matter, “In the place of judgment, there is wickedness” – this is speaking of the people of Sodom. In the place where the attribute of justice was implemented against the people of Sodom, as we learned in a mishna: “The people of Sodom have no share in the World to Come, but will stand in judgment,”4Sanhedrin 10:3. “there is wickedness,”; there, “He rained upon Sodom…[brimstone and fire]” (Genesis 19:24). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous, and wrote regarding their land: “Earth, from which bread emerges…. Its stones are a source of sapphires, and its dust has gold” (Job 28:5–6), they say that when one of them5People in Sodom. would go to the gardener and say to him: Give me a vegetable worth an isar; when he would give it to him, he would shake it and find gold in its dust, to realize what is stated: “and its dust has gold”; “there is wickedness” there, they said: Let us arise and cause the very idea of travelers in our midst to be forgotten: “It did not support the hand of the poor and the indigent” (Ezekiel 16:49).
Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon interpreted the verse regarding Shitim. “In the place of judgment, there is wickedness” – in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented in Shitim, as it is written: “The Lord said to Moses: Take all the leaders of the people, [and hang them for the Lord]” (Numbers 25:4), “there is wickedness,” there, “Those who died in the plague [were twenty-four thousand]” (Numbers 25:9). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place where I transformed Bilam’s curse into a blessing, as it is written: “The Lord your God transformed for you the curse into a blessing” (Deuteronomy 23:6), “there is wickedness,” “Israel was residing in Shitim, [and the people began to engage in licentiousness]” (Numbers 25:1).
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Two matters are in [God’s] right hand and two matters are in [His left] hand. Two matters are in [God’s] right hand: Torah and righteousness. Torah, from where is it derived? “From His right hand, a fiery law to them” (Deuteronomy 33:2). Righteousness, from where is it derived? As it is written: “Your right hand is filled with righteousness” (Psalms 48:11). Two matters are in [His left] hand: the soul and judgment. The soul, as it is written: “In whose hand is the soul of every living being” (Job 12:10). Judgment, as it is written: “My hand grasps judgment” (Deuteronomy 32:41). The soul is situated in the place of judgment, and the soul emerges from the place of judgment and sins? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He said to the soul [nefesh]: I wrote in your regard: “Only be strong not to eat the blood…” (Deuteronomy 12:23), and you emerge and sin? “When a person [nefesh] will sin unwittingly” (Leviticus 4:2).
“When a person will sin unwittingly regarding any of the matters that the Lord commanded [not to perform]” – this is what the verse says: “Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment [there is wickedness, and in the place of justice there is wickedness]” (Ecclesiastes 3:16). Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Eliezer says: “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – the place where the Great Sanhedrin convenes and decides the rulings of Israel. “There is wickedness,” – there “all the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate” (Jeremiah 39:3), which is where they decide the halakha.1The word for Middle Gate [hatavekh] is similar to the term for determine [ḥotekh]. Thus, the enemies of Israel sat where the Sanhedrin used to convene. In the parable it is said: In the place where the master hung his sword, the insolent shepherd hangs his jug. The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place in whose regard it is written: “Justice lodged in it” (Isaiah 1:21), now they commit murders. There they killed Zekharia and Uriya.2Because Israel, in murdering Zekharya and Uriya, committed atrocities in the place that should have been set aside for justice, the members of the Great Sanhedrin were replaced in that location by conquering Babylonian officers.
Rabbi Yehoshua says: “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented is the act of the calf, as it is written: “Pass to and fro from gate to gate, [let each man kill his brother…]” (Exodus 32:27). “There is wickedness,” there, “the Lord afflicted the people [because they had crafted the calf] (Exodus 32:35). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous and called them divine, as it is stated: “I had said: You are divine” (Psalms 82:6), there they were wicked, crafted the calf, and prostrated themselves to it.
Another matter, “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – this is speaking of the generation of the Flood. “In the place of judgment there is wickedness,” in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented against the generation of the Flood, as we learned in a mishna: “The generation of the Flood has no share in the World to Come and will not stand in judgment,”3Sanhedrin 10:3. Although some wicked people will stand in judgment at the end of days, when God will return their souls to their bodies and judge them, the members of the generation of the Flood will be completely eliminated from the world. “there is wickedness,”; there, “He obliterated all existence” (Genesis 7:23). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous, as it is written: “Their houses are peaceful without fear” (Job 21:9), “there is wickedness,” “They say to God: Turn away from us” (Job 21:14).
Another matter, “In the place of judgment, there is wickedness” – this is speaking of the people of Sodom. In the place where the attribute of justice was implemented against the people of Sodom, as we learned in a mishna: “The people of Sodom have no share in the World to Come, but will stand in judgment,”4Sanhedrin 10:3. “there is wickedness,”; there, “He rained upon Sodom…[brimstone and fire]” (Genesis 19:24). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous, and wrote regarding their land: “Earth, from which bread emerges…. Its stones are a source of sapphires, and its dust has gold” (Job 28:5–6), they say that when one of them5People in Sodom. would go to the gardener and say to him: Give me a vegetable worth an isar; when he would give it to him, he would shake it and find gold in its dust, to realize what is stated: “and its dust has gold”; “there is wickedness” there, they said: Let us arise and cause the very idea of travelers in our midst to be forgotten: “It did not support the hand of the poor and the indigent” (Ezekiel 16:49).
Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon interpreted the verse regarding Shitim. “In the place of judgment, there is wickedness” – in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented in Shitim, as it is written: “The Lord said to Moses: Take all the leaders of the people, [and hang them for the Lord]” (Numbers 25:4), “there is wickedness,” there, “Those who died in the plague [were twenty-four thousand]” (Numbers 25:9). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place where I transformed Bilam’s curse into a blessing, as it is written: “The Lord your God transformed for you the curse into a blessing” (Deuteronomy 23:6), “there is wickedness,” “Israel was residing in Shitim, [and the people began to engage in licentiousness]” (Numbers 25:1).
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Two matters are in [God’s] right hand and two matters are in [His left] hand. Two matters are in [God’s] right hand: Torah and righteousness. Torah, from where is it derived? “From His right hand, a fiery law to them” (Deuteronomy 33:2). Righteousness, from where is it derived? As it is written: “Your right hand is filled with righteousness” (Psalms 48:11). Two matters are in [His left] hand: the soul and judgment. The soul, as it is written: “In whose hand is the soul of every living being” (Job 12:10). Judgment, as it is written: “My hand grasps judgment” (Deuteronomy 32:41). The soul is situated in the place of judgment, and the soul emerges from the place of judgment and sins? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He said to the soul [nefesh]: I wrote in your regard: “Only be strong not to eat the blood…” (Deuteronomy 12:23), and you emerge and sin? “When a person [nefesh] will sin unwittingly” (Leviticus 4:2).
Bamidbar Rabbah
Another matter, “do not cut off,” that is what is written: “But the Lord had not spoken to erase the name of Israel from beneath the heavens” (II Kings 14:27). The Holy One blessed be He does not seek that any one of them should die. See what is written: “The foreigner who accompanies the Lord shall not say: [The Lord will separate me from His people]” (Isaiah 56:3). If regarding a foreigner, I said not to disqualify him, all the more so Israel, who are My children. That is, “but the Lord had not spoken to erase…”
Likewise, the Givonites, who were unsought proselytes, and were not sincere proselytes, but rather they converted due to fear, and I accepted them. And because Saul sought to confront them and killed the priests who would provide their sustenance, I killed him. Moreover, I brought three years of famine on their account, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the days of David [for three years…the Lord said: For Saul, and for the bloody house, in that he put the Givonites to death]” (II Samuel 21:1). If the Givonites, who came to you, I did not disqualify, will I disqualify My children? That is, “But the Lord had not spoken to erase…” This is true all the more so regarding the Levites, who are servants before Me. That is, “Do not cut off.”
“Do not cut off,” that is what is written: “The Lord is good; He is a stronghold on the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7). The attributes of the Holy One blessed be He are not like the attributes of flesh and blood. A flesh and blood king against whom the province rebelled, he initiates chaos and kills the good with the bad. The Holy One blessed be He is not so. When the generation angers Him, he spares the righteous and eradicates the wicked. The generation of Enosh sinned; He eradicated them, but spared Ḥanokh: “Ḥanokh walked [with God and he is not, as God took him]” (Genesis 5:24). Why? “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him” (Nahum 1:7). The generation of the Flood angered Him and He eradicated them, but He spared Noah: “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” The people of Sodom angered Him and He eradicated them, but He spared Lot, as it is stated: “It was when God destroyed the cities of the plain…[He sent Lot from the midst of the upheaval]” (Genesis 19:29). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” He brought darkness upon the Egyptians, “But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (Exodus 10:23). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” Israel departed from Egypt, came to the wilderness, and performed that act,4The making of the Golden Calf. except for the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “Whoever is for the Lord, to me, and all the sons of Levi gathered to him” (Exodus 32:26). Immediately, Moses stood and killed the sinners by means of the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “The sons of Levi acted in accordance with the word of Moses, [and some three thousand men fell from the people on that day]” (Exodus 32:28). And the Lord afflicted those who performed the act of the calf, but He did not afflict the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “The Lord afflicted [the people, because they made the calf that Aaron had made]” (Exodus 32:35). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The tribe of Levi took shelter in Me and sanctified Me with the calf, by right, I should acknowledge them for good and rescue them from trouble.’ That is why He cautioned Moses and Aaron regarding the sons of Kehat, who were Levites, so they would not be eradicated on account of the Ark. That is what is written: “Do not cut off…”
Likewise, the Givonites, who were unsought proselytes, and were not sincere proselytes, but rather they converted due to fear, and I accepted them. And because Saul sought to confront them and killed the priests who would provide their sustenance, I killed him. Moreover, I brought three years of famine on their account, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the days of David [for three years…the Lord said: For Saul, and for the bloody house, in that he put the Givonites to death]” (II Samuel 21:1). If the Givonites, who came to you, I did not disqualify, will I disqualify My children? That is, “But the Lord had not spoken to erase…” This is true all the more so regarding the Levites, who are servants before Me. That is, “Do not cut off.”
“Do not cut off,” that is what is written: “The Lord is good; He is a stronghold on the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7). The attributes of the Holy One blessed be He are not like the attributes of flesh and blood. A flesh and blood king against whom the province rebelled, he initiates chaos and kills the good with the bad. The Holy One blessed be He is not so. When the generation angers Him, he spares the righteous and eradicates the wicked. The generation of Enosh sinned; He eradicated them, but spared Ḥanokh: “Ḥanokh walked [with God and he is not, as God took him]” (Genesis 5:24). Why? “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him” (Nahum 1:7). The generation of the Flood angered Him and He eradicated them, but He spared Noah: “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” The people of Sodom angered Him and He eradicated them, but He spared Lot, as it is stated: “It was when God destroyed the cities of the plain…[He sent Lot from the midst of the upheaval]” (Genesis 19:29). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” He brought darkness upon the Egyptians, “But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (Exodus 10:23). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” Israel departed from Egypt, came to the wilderness, and performed that act,4The making of the Golden Calf. except for the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “Whoever is for the Lord, to me, and all the sons of Levi gathered to him” (Exodus 32:26). Immediately, Moses stood and killed the sinners by means of the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “The sons of Levi acted in accordance with the word of Moses, [and some three thousand men fell from the people on that day]” (Exodus 32:28). And the Lord afflicted those who performed the act of the calf, but He did not afflict the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “The Lord afflicted [the people, because they made the calf that Aaron had made]” (Exodus 32:35). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The tribe of Levi took shelter in Me and sanctified Me with the calf, by right, I should acknowledge them for good and rescue them from trouble.’ That is why He cautioned Moses and Aaron regarding the sons of Kehat, who were Levites, so they would not be eradicated on account of the Ark. That is what is written: “Do not cut off…”