<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#4950d3">The explanation I heard for Aaron's agreeing to make the egel was that <br>they only gave him the choice of making the egel or being killed like <br>Chur. Why were those the only choices? Because they were hysterical.</font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Chur said no to their request instead of giving them options.</div><div><div>Had Chur (or the 70 Elders for that matter, who also had been killed) told the eiruv rav that Aaron could be their leader,</div><div>that would have been a different scenario. But that never happened.</div><div>Let's say you are a teacher in school and your students love the principal (it should only happen) and they also love the ass't principal.</div><div>The principal goes to a conference and the students think that the principal died at the conference. (The midrash says that the</div><div>soton gave the people an image of Moshe lying in a coffin dead). The students then come to you and say that either you make them </div><div>an idol to be in lieu of the principal or they will kill you. If you outright refuse their request, then they will kill you. But did it ever occur to</div><div>you to suggest that the ass't principal can take over? </div><div>The people were never given that option so we don't know that it wouldn't have worked.</div><div>BTW, the Beverly Hills Chabad Rabbi Shusterman feels that was an option.</div></div></body></html>