The Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew, picks up the story after the tumultuous events at Sinai. In Bamidbar Rabbah 15, a Midrash, or interpretive commentary, delves into a seemingly simple instruction from God to Moses: "Gather to Me seventy men" (Numbers 11:16). The question the Midrash poses is deceptively simple: Where were the initial seventy men?
To answer this, the Midrash takes us back to Egypt. Remember, even in the throes of slavery, the Israelites had a structured community. Exodus 3:16 tells us God instructed Moses to "Go and assemble the elders of Israel." These weren't just any elders; these were seventy leaders who, according to the Midrash, accompanied the Israelites out of Egypt. They were with Moses on Mount Sinai when he received the Torah, as Exodus 24:1, 9, and 14 recounts: “Moses and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended."
But here’s where the story takes a dark turn. Remember the Golden Calf incident? The Midrash connects the dots, revealing a heartbreaking truth.
Moses, as you'll recall, ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. He told the people he would return in forty days. But when he was delayed – the Hebrew word used is boshesh, meaning "tarried" – panic set in. The people, feeling lost and abandoned, went to the seventy elders. "Moses stipulated that he would descend at the end of forty days," they cried, "It is now six hours later and he has not descended and we do not know what became of him. Rise, craft for us a god that will go before us, as this [ki zeh] man, Moses, who took us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him" (Exodus 32:1).
The elders, horrified, tried to reason with them. "Why are you provoking the One who performed all those miracles and wonders on your behalf?" they pleaded. But the people wouldn't listen. Tragically, according to Bamidbar Rabbah, the people turned on the elders and killed them. Ḥur, who also stood against the idolatry, met the same fate.
Then they turned to Aaron. "Rise, craft for us a god," they demanded, "and if not ki zeh, we will do to you like this [kazeh]. Just as we stood against Ḥur and killed him, so we will do to you.” Faced with the same violent mob that murdered the elders and Ḥur, Aaron, fearing for his life, relented and fashioned the Golden Calf.
Rabbi Yitzchak's comment on this situation is striking. He states: "The Divine Spirit is screaming: 'I abhor the assembly of evildoers [and will not sit with the wicked]'" (Psalms 26:5).
The Midrash even finds echoes of this tragedy in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who rebukes Israel: "Moreover, on the edge of your garments [biknnafekha] the blood of the lives of the blameless poor is found; you did not find them clandestinely; rather on all these" (Jeremiah 2:34). The Midrash explains that "on all these [eleh]" refers to "This is [eleh] your god" (Exodus 32:4), linking the idolatry directly to the bloodshed.
So what was the retribution? "The Lord afflicted the people, because they crafted the calf" (Exodus 32:35). And after forgiveness was granted, God commanded Moses to gather seventy new elders, replacing those who had been murdered for upholding God's name. As the Midrash concludes, this fulfills the verse in Job 34:24: "He shatters the powerful without number and sets others in their place.”
It’s a sobering reminder of the fragility of faith and the cost of leadership. These seventy elders, chosen for their wisdom and standing, ultimately sacrificed their lives trying to keep the Israelites on the right path. Their story, though not explicitly detailed in the Torah itself, adds a layer of depth and tragedy to the Golden Calf narrative. It makes us wonder about the unsung heroes of our traditions, those who stood firm in their beliefs, even in the face of unimaginable pressure and violence. What does it mean to be a leader when your community is facing a crisis? And what are we willing to sacrifice for our principles? These are questions that this Midrash leaves us to ponder, long after the story is told.