Aharon/0

Aharon

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Aharon's Roles

Spokesman

Political Leader

Priest

Possible Sins In several  instances in Torah, a simple reading of the story implies that Aharon might have sinned:

Sin of the Golden Calf

One of the most troubling aspects of the Sin of the Golden Calf is the lead role that  Aharon appears to play  in the events  Is it possible that Aharon was involved in an idolatrous rite, or is it blasphemous to even ponder such a possibility? Though commentators universally attempt to defend Aharon and agree that he did not worship the calf as an alternative deity, they differ in how they understand and mitigate his wrongdoing:  [For a full discussion of the episode, see Sin of the Golden Calf.]

• Delay tactics / test –  According to Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer and Rashi, though the people themselves viewed the calf as alternative god, Aharon himself did not.  All of his actions were aimed simply at delaying the people, hoping that Moshe would arrive before they sinned. R. Saadia, instead, defends Aharon by  comparing him to Yehu,¹ who similarly pretended to promote idolatry, but only in order to discover and eliminate those who were guilty of Baal worship.
• Inappropriate worship of Hashem – The Kuzari portrays Aharon as having positive, albeit misguided, intentions. The nation desired not an alternative god, but a tangible object which could represent Hashem and to whom they could direct their worship. Aharon erred only in not recognizing that all graven images are prohibited, even of Hashem Himself.
• Replacing of Moshe – According to R"Y Bekhor Shor, the calf was not connected to idolatry at all. Bereft of Moshe's leadership and his connection to the Divine, the people searched for an alternative to guide them in the wilderness.  Aharon tried to placate them by providing a powerless leader whom they would abandon as soon as Moshe returned. Hashem's anger was aimed at avenging Moshe's honor, not His own.

Slandering Moshe

Bemidbar 12 describes Miryam and Aharon's criticizing of Moshe's marriage to the Cushite woman, and Miryam's ensuing punishment.  What led Miryam and Aharon to criticize their brother and how we to evaluate their infraction? Was this malicious slander, idle chatter or simply poor judgment?  [For elaboration, see Miryam's Critique of Moshe and his Cushite Marriage.]

• An attempt to help - The Sifre is perhaps the most extreme in its defense of Miryam and Aharon, viewing the siblings as simply trying to encourage the resumption of normal marital life between Moshe and Zipporah and having no spiteful intent whatsoever.
• Objection to perceived wrongdoing –  R. Yosef Bekhor Shor maintains that the siblings were bothered by the fact that Moshe married a foreign woman of an uncircumcised nation and incorrectly assumed he was being vain and thinking that the women of Israel were not good enough for him.
• Challenge to authority – Several modern commentators² cast Miryam and Aharon in a a much more negative light, presenting them as actively challenging their brother's authority, questioning his worthiness to lead and viewing themselves as his equal.

Sin at Mei Merivah For many readers, of all of Aharon's possible wrongdoings, his role in Mei Merivah appears to be the least problematic. After all, it is Moshe, not he, who plays the lead role in the episode. Nonetheless, it is this deed for which he is punished most severely,³ losing the opportunity to make it to the Promised Land.

Family

¹ See Melakhim II 10:18-28.

² Various aspects of this position may be found in: C. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 3, (Edinburgh, 1865): 75-81, M. Margaliyot, "אופייה של נבואת משה", Beit Mikra 25:2 (1980): 132-149, J. Milgrom, The JPS Commentary, Numbers (Philadelphia, 1989):70, J. Licht, פירוש על ספר במדבר יא-כא, (Jerusalem, 1991):35, R. Yaakov Medan, "פרשת בהעלתך",‎ מקור ראשון מוסף שבת ‎(5770), R. Amnon Bazak, "פרשת האישה הכושית" ‎(5771).

³ In fact, it does not appear that he gets punished at all for his role in the Sin of the Golden Calf or in slandering Moshe.