$NIGHT $JELLYJELLY

When Moses went up to Mount Sinai to see God, the people remained below — without a leader, without answers, and, most importantly, without patience. Days dragged on, thunder from the summit ceased, and the people decided that emptiness was more dangerous than an idol. They then turned to Aaron and demanded a visible god, one that could be seen, touched, and placed in the midst of the camp.

Aaron gathered gold ornaments — earrings, bracelets, rings, all that symbolized abundance and past victories. The gold was melted down into the shape of a calf — powerful, shiny, heavy. It shone in the sun, instilled confidence, and seemed reliable: it would not disappear, it would not leave, it would not make them wait. The people danced around it, feasted, shouted, "Here is the god who brought us out of Egypt." Freedom was replaced by form, the path — by a statue, faith — by the shine of metal.

When Moses returned and saw the calf, he was enraged by the impatience, cowardice, and foolishness of the people. The tablets were shattered, the idol destroyed, and the reckoning was heavy. Not for the gold, but for the willingness to exchange meaning for convenience.

Moral:

The golden calf always looks like a "reliable asset" until it turns out that its value is based only on the collective dance around it.