Commentary on the Torah

by Richard Elliott Friedman

32:8. They’ve turned quickly. How could they have committed the golden calf sin so soon after the revelation—within forty days after actually hearing God speak from the sky? It is when God is closest that humans commit the greatest sin. Similarly in the story of Eden, where God walks among humans, they violate a direct command. Similarly through the wilderness period to come, in which the people see miracles daily (manna, column of cloud and fire), they are repeatedly rebellious. It appears that close proximity to divinity—to an all-seeing, all-knowing divine parent who is always watching, commanding, and judging—is barely tolerable for human beings. Like adolescents who love and need their parents but who long for independence, humankind is pictured as longing to be out of the divine shadow. Note that at the end of the Tanak, in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, there are no miracles, angels, or appearances of God. The words “And God spoke to” never occur. And in these books, where God is the least visible, humans are pictured as relatively good, listening to their leaders, changing their ways when criticized, and observing the commandments.