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character traits gradually, one after the other, merits ascending the # 26347-EYAL-6
mountain of Hashem and dwelling there.
“It was on the eighth day, Moshe called to
Aharon and his sons, and to the elders of Israel.
He said to Aharon: Take yourself a calf, a
young male of cattle, for a sin-offering and a
ram, for an olah-offering – unblemished; and
offer [them] before Hashem”
(Vayikra 9:1-2)
On the day of the Chanukat Hamishkan, Aharon was required to sacrifice
a calf in order to atone for the “matter” ( ) of the Golden Calf. The
Ateret Tzvi questions that if Aharon really did sin, why was he not
required to sacrifice a he-goat as a sin-offering? Also, why does Rashi say
that it atoned for the (matter) of the Golden Calf and not the “sin”
of the Golden Calf?
Actually, Aharon did not sin. He observed that Bnei Yisrael had killed
Chur, who admonished them. Therefore, he made it seem as if he was
