Sin of the Golden Calf in Art/0/he

חטא העגל באמנות

הקדמה

חטא עגל הזהב מייצג את אחת מנקודות השפל בתולדות עם ישראל.  שלושת הציורים המוצגים כאן, "פולחן עגל הזהב" של פרנקן,¹ "הערצת עגל הזהב" של רפאל,² ו"עגל הזהב" של טיסו,³ all portray the infamous scene.  Each of the artists depict the story's characters (the calf, Aharon, and the sinning nation) in unique ways, allowing for different understandings of both the nature of the nation's sin and Aharon's role therein.

השוואת התמונות

פרנס פרנקן השני

התמונה של פרנקן מחולק לשתי סצנות. In the forefront, Aharon, dressed in high-priestly garb, sits on a throne-like chair as the Israelites deposit gold vessels and jewelry at his feet. In the distance, a group of men and women dance around a tall pillar bearing the golden calf. Others lounge nearby, eating and chatting. On the mountain to the viewer's left, one can faintly make out the figures of Moshe and Yehoshua.

רפאל

Raphael's rendering focuses on but one scene, the worship of the calf itself. A small group of Israelites kneel on the floor around it. Several point to the calf while others raise their arms in prayer. The assembly contains men, women, and children, but Aharon himself appears to be absent. The calf itself is small, just slightly larger than the worshipers' heads. On the left, Moshe and Yehoshua are descending the mountain, with Moshe poised to smash the tablets.

טיסו

כמו רפאל, גם טיסו, chooses to portray the moment of worship. He depicts a crowded assembly of men, many of which bow their heads and raise their arms to the large calf. The atmosphere is somber, as the joyous frivolity and dancing of Francken's worshipers is replaced here by awe and supplication. Aharon is highlighted on the left, donning what appears to be a white prayer shawl, apparently leading the others in worship.

יחס לטקסט המקראי

בחירותיהם של האמנים מעידות על ערפול מסויים בטקסט המקראי, ומשקפות דרכים שונות לפרש את הפסוקים:

מי עבד את העגל?

בעוד שטיסו depicts a full assembly of people worshiping the calf, פרנקן ורפאל have only a small portion of the nation participating.  In addition, whereas Tissot includes only men, the other artists portray also women. Which depiction more closely adheres to what actually happened?  What percentage of the people actually worshiped the calf?⁴  Were males and females equally involved?⁵

תפקידו של אהרן

בציור של טיסו Aharon actively worships the calf, whereas in the other renditions he is absent from the devotional service. What does the Biblical text say about his participation? The Torah is surprisingly silent, and never explicitly vindicates Aharon. On the other hand, the only sin he is consistently blamed for is making the calf, not worshiping it. As Aharon not only avoids punishment, but assumes the role of High Priest, most commentators assume his guilt was less than that of the worshiping nation and look for ways to defend him.⁶  ראו חטא העגל for a variety of ways to explain Aharon's actions.

אופי הפולחן

בציור של פרנקן, the Israelites worship the calf through revelry, as they dance and eat in its presence. בתמונות של רפאל וטיסו, in contrast, the people kneel and pray. שמות ל״ב:ו' supports both depictions, as it has the people engage in both laughter and sacrifice, suggesting that the worship had elements of both somber devotion and frivolity.

Nonetheless, the different tones of the works might also reflect conflicting understandings of the people's intentions.  Did the people view the calf as an alternative deity, worshiping it in the manner of idolaters replete with "צחוק" and food?⁷  Or, did they think of it as a vehicle through which to serve Hashem himself,⁸ in which case frivolity might have played a lesser role.  להרחבה, ראו חטא העגל.

גודל העגל

The three artists depict calves of varying sizes. As the Biblical text provides no measurements, it cannot be determined which is most historically accurate. However, the issue raises important questions about Aharon's motives in building the calf. Did he really agree to make an alternative deity for the people, or, as several commentators suggest, were all his actions aimed at procrastinating until Moshe arrived?⁹ If the former, any sized idol should have sufficed. If the latter, however, he might have attempted to make as big a calf as possible so as to prolong the process.

תכשיטים או כלים?

פרנקן presents the people as giving Aharon not only earrings, but also golden vessels.  There is no hint to this in the text which explicitly speaks of "נִזְמֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר בְּאׇזְנֵי נְשֵׁיכֶם", but the rendition makes the viewer wonder, why didn't Aharon ask also for vessels? Would it not have made more sense to ask for articles containing greater amounts of gold, rather than for a measly earring?

This could support the possibility mentioned above, that this, too, was a delaying tactic of Aharon, who was intentionally not being efficient.  Alternatively, Aharon had no choice, since the people might not have had other gold.  This depends on how one understands what was נכלל ב"כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב" ש"שאלו" מן המצרים.  ראו ביאור רשב"םשמות ג':כ"באודות ר' שמואל בן מאיר המובא בפיצויים לעבדות וניצול מצרים המציע that the terms refer not to vessels but rather to jewelry.

אהרן ככהן גדול

בעוד שפרנס פרנקן השני dresses Aharon in the breast plate of the high priest, טיסו clothes him as an ordinary Israelite.  The contrasting portraits reflect a controversy regarding when Aharon was selected to be high priest: לפני או אחרי חטא עגל הזהב.  להרחבה, ראו בחירת הכהנים והלויים.

הבסיס של העגל

Each of the artists depicts the calf on top of some sort of pedestal, be it a pillar or a more simple platform. No evidence for such a base is found in the description בספר שמות. מ"ד קאסוטושמות ל"ב:א'אודות פרופ' משה דוד קאסוטו suggests that this is because, in reality, the nation had meant the calf itself to serve as a pedestal, or throne, for Hashem's glory. In the Ancient Near East, deities were often depicted as standing on bases of beasts. Aharon imitated the standard artistic convention, with the important difference of not adding any image of Hashem Himself atop the pedestal.¹⁰

¹ פרנס פרנקן השני (1581-1642) was a Flemish painter, most known for his small-scale pictures of religious, historical and allegorical scenes.  This painting can be found in Rockox House, Antwerp.

² Raphael (1483-1529), born Raffaello Sanzio, is one of the most famous artists of the Italian High Renaissance. This fresco is housed in the Vatican, Rome.

³ ג'יימס טיסו (1836-1902) was a French painter who spent the later part of his career painting Biblical scenes. In the last years of his life he focused on material from the Old Testament, many of which were exhibited in Paris in the year before his death.  This work is currently housed in The Jewish Museum, New York.

⁴ The verses are ambiguous. On one hand, Hashem initially tells Moshe that He desires to wipe out the nation (שמות ל"ב:י'), suggesting that all were culpable. Yet when the Levites kill the offenders, they smite only 3,000 people (שמות ל"ב:כ"ח). Moreover, the chapter ends by stating that "וַיִּגֹּף י"י אֶת הָעָם", again implicating the people at large.  Commentators understand the verses in different ways, with רש"ישמות ל"ב:כ'אודות ר' שלמה יצחקי concluding that many sinned, and כוזריא':צ"זאודות ר' יהודה הלוי claiming that only 3,000 did.

⁵ The text shares that Aharon told the men to gather their wives' earrings, yet the next verse states that "the nation [not the women] took off their earrings". This leads פרקי דרבי אליעזרמ"האודות פרקי דרבי אליעזר to suggest that the women refused to participate, forcing the men to provide their own jewelry.

⁶ ראו למשל, ר' סעדיה גאוןפירוש שמות ל"ב:א'-ו'אודות ר' סעדיה גאון, who suggests that Aharon pretended to promote idolatry and agreed to the nation's request only in order to determine who was guilty of idolatry.

⁷ ראו רש"ישמות ל"ב:א'-ו'אודות ר' שלמה יצחקי הנוקט עמדה זו.

⁸ ראו בכוזריא':צ"זאודות ר' יהודה הלוי המבין את מהות החטא באופן זה.

⁹ ראו רש"ישמות ל"ב:א'-ו'שמות ל"ב:כ'דברים י':ח'אודות ר' שלמה יצחקי, פרקי דרבי אליעזרמ"האודות פרקי דרבי אליעזר, ורלב"גשמות ביאור הפרשה ל"באודות ר' לוי בן גרשום המסנגרים על אהרן בדרך זו.

¹⁰ להרחבה, ראו חטא העגל באמנות.