Since it's Passover time, which historically was and is, the time of year that jews attempt to eliminate paganism from their beliefs and practice; I would like to share a thought that I noticed in the Rambams Moreh that discuss some of the happenings in Chumash Shemot, which we just finished.
The pasukim towards the end of mishpatim say the following-
ט וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה, וְאַהֲרֹן--נָדָב, וַאֲבִיהוּא, וְשִׁבְעִים, מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
י וַיִּרְאוּ, אֵת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו, כְּמַעֲשֵׂה לִבְנַת הַסַּפִּיר, וּכְעֶצֶם הַשָּׁמַיִם, לָטֹהַר
יא וְאֶל-אֲצִילֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ; וַיֶּחֱזוּ, אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים, וַיֹּאכְלוּ, וַיִּשְׁתּוּ
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel;
10 and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand; and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.
On this last pasuk where it mentions "and did eat and drink", unlike his contemporaries,
the Rambam learns this as a criticism of the nobles of the children of Israel.
Here are the words of the Rambam from tbe Moreh-part 1:5
אמנם ׳אצילי בני ישראל׳ הם הרסו ושלחו מחשבותם והשיגו אבל השגה בלתי שלמה; ולזה אמר עליהם ״ויראו את אלהי ישראל ותחת רגליו וכו׳״ – ולא אמר: ׳ויראו את אלהי ישראל׳ לבד כי כלל המאמר אינו רק לדקדק עליהם ראיתם לא לתאר איך ראו. ואמנם, דקדק עליהם תוכן השגתם אשר כללה מן הגשמות מה שכללה – חייב זה הרסם קודם שלמותם. והתחיבו ׳כליה׳ ויעתר להם ע״ה והאריך האלוה להם עד שנשרפו ב׳תבערה׳ ונשרף נדב ואביהוא ב׳אוהל מועד׳ לפי מה שבאה בו הקבלה האמיתית.
But “the nobles of the Children of Israel” were impetuous, and allowed their thoughts to go unrestrained: what they perceived was but imperfect. Therefore it is said of them, “And they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet,” etc. (Exod. 24:10); and not merely, “and they saw the God of Israel”; the purpose of the whole passage is to criticize their act of seeing and not to describe it. They are blamed for the nature of their perception, which was to a certain extent corporeal—a result which necessarily followed, from the fact that they ventured too far before being perfectly prepared. They deserved to perish, but at the intercession of Moses this fate was averted by God for the time. They were afterwards burnt at Taberah, except Nadab and Abihu, who were burnt in the Tabernacle of the congregation, according to what is stated by authentic tradition. (Midr. Rabba ad locum.)
At the end of this chapter the Rambam continues-
ואשוב להשלים מה שנכנסנו לבארו ואומר ש׳אצילי בני ישראל׳ עם המכשולים שארעו להם בהשגתם נתבלבלו גם כן בעבורה פעולותיהם ונטו לענינים הגופיים להשתבש ההשגה. ולזה אמר ״ויחזו את האלהים ויאכלו וישתו״. אמנם סוף המאמר והוא – אמרו: ״ותחת רגליו כמעשה לבנת הספיר וכו׳״ הנה יתבאר בקצת פרקי זה המאמר.
I will now return to complete what I commenced to explain. The nobles of the Children of Israel, besides erring in their perception, were, through this cause, also misled in their actions: for in consequence of their confused perception, they gave way to bodily cravings. This is meant by the words, “Also they saw God and did eat and drink” (Exod. 24:11). The principal part of that passage, viz., “And there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone” (Exod. 24:10), will be further explained in the course of the present treatise (ch. xxviii.).
In other words, the Rambam is explaining that because of their lack of development and preparation, the nobles of Israel perceived God as corporeal. This led to some type of "misleading actions" which the Rambam doesn't specify or explain. It is possible that he could be referring to the consecration of the mishkan where the two sons of Aaron deviated from the avodah; which then led to their demise(as he mentions in the first part of this chapter in the Moreh).
I would like to propose that the golden calf which happens shortly after this event, is one of the actions, if not the action that the Rambam is referring to.
By the golden calf the Torah says -
ד וַיִּקַּח מִיָּדָם, וַיָּצַר אֹתוֹ בַּחֶרֶט, וַיַּעֲשֵׂהוּ, עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה; וַיֹּאמְרוּ--אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלוּךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.
ה וַיַּרְא אַהֲרֹן, וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ לְפָנָיו; וַיִּקְרָא אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמַר, חַג לַיהוָה מָחָר.
ו וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ, מִמָּחֳרָת, וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת, וַיַּגִּשׁוּ שְׁלָמִים; וַיֵּשֶׁב הָעָם לֶאֱכֹל וְשָׁתוֹ, וַיָּקֻמוּ לְצַחֵק.
And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said: 'This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'
And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said: 'To-morrow shall be a feast to the LORD
And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to make merry.
Notice the words "eat and drink" that is mentioned in this parsha. The torah is also very vague about "they said". Who said? Was it Aaron and the people around him? Was it all of the jewish people? If thats the case, then who are they saying this to?
Here to, it is possible that the very same "nobles of Israel" declared to the Jewish people "This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Once one perceives God in physical terms, then it's not impossible that the golden calf that came out of the fire can also represent God. This is the meaning of the "eating and drinking" that was done by the golden calf. The torah wants to connect the eating and drinking of the golden calf to the eating and drinking of the nobles of Israel. When one eats and drinks, it is done to satisfy and fulfill one's physical needs and desires. When one views God as corporeal, then he can be manipulated to fulfill one's needs. It's no longer about imitation of God's ways but instead about God serving oneself...
Something to think about this time of year, where judaism has become about buying pants of leaders, visiting cemeteries, praying by the dead and many other rituals that are designed to have God serve our needs vs our attempt to imitate the ways of God...
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