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<p>The following is some of RSRH's commentary on Shemos 32:1. Note what he says about the role of an intermediary between man and G-D. YL<br>
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<p>32 1. When the people saw that Moshe did not fulfill their expectation that he would come down from the<br>
mountain, the people gathered against Aharon, and they said to him: Arise, make us gods who shall go before us; for this man Moshe, who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.
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<p>In their view, the eternal bond with God was not formed by the<br>
Divine Torah given to them through Moshe. The eternal guarantee of<br>
God’s protection and of the intimacy with God attainable by each individual,<br>
without an intermediary, was not the Divine rules for life —<br>
i.e., the <em>mishpatim</em>— which would remain with them even when the temporary<br>
transmitter had departed. Rather, they considered the personality<br>
of Moshe, a man who was close to God, as the vital link in their connection<br>
with God. Only as long as he was alive could they be certain<br>
of God’s protection.</p>
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They believed that Moshe’s relationship with God had been initiated<br>
not by God but by Moshe; hence, they reasoned, if Moshe was no longer<br>
alive they could, and indeed must, take some action on their own in<br>
order to force God’s hand. They had not yet completely absorbed the<br>
Jewish conception that man has direct access to God, without the need<br>
for any intermediary, as long as he conducts himself in accordance with<br>
God’s Will. Or perhaps the fear that henceforth they would have to<br>
wander through the wilderness without a leader to guide them caused<br>
them to doubt this truth.</p>
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<p>They believed that Moshe’s relationship with God had been initiated<br>
not by God but by Moshe; hence, they reasoned, if Moshe was no longer<br>
alive they could, and indeed must, take some action on their own in<br>
order to force God’s hand. They had not yet completely absorbed the<br>
Jewish conception that man has direct access to God, without the need<br>
for any intermediary, as long as he conducts himself in accordance with<br>
God’s Will. Or perhaps the fear that henceforth they would have to<br>
wander through the wilderness without a leader to guide them caused<br>
them to doubt this truth.</p>
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<p>YL<br>
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