And they took their gold and threw it into the fire ... and a goat came out ... and this was a graven image—a great sin. “They have made themselves a G-d of gold.”
Why should G_d not want any graven images? Perhaps because when we quantify G_d we reduce it to something smaller that we are.
So the people were struck with a plague. God was furious.
I'm very uneasy when others are furious, yet I get furious as well. Emotions are supposed to last ninety seconds. Mine seem longer. I only saw my dad angry once. My mom got angry a lot.
Moses stood up to G_d, as one would to a friend. I read something that this may have been his greatest moment. I love that ... a religion where G_d knows it's out of control so it sent an angel down until it could cool off ... and a G_d that encouraged civil disobedience. It could not tolerate us breaking the rules. But it could tolerate us telling it that mass destruction didn't fit the crime.
I put G_d in all my drawings. I guess, knowing that this is a no-no it excites my contrary nature.
I wonder if Mark Rothko made abstract paintings (in his mature period) because of this law about making graven images.
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Thanks for commenting. One cannot study the Torah alone.