“If a bull, a lamb or a goat is born, seven days it should remain with its mother and from the eighth day and onward, it is an acceptable korban to Hashem,” (Vayikra 22:27).
In lashon hakodesh (Hebrew), a full grown bull is called a “shor” and a baby bull is called an “eigel.” The midrash, therefore, asks: Why is it written “if a bull, a shor, is born,” and not more correctly “if an eigel, calf is born,” since bulls are not born, only calves are?
The midrash answers that Hashem didn’t want to mention the word “calf,” because it would be a reminder of the sin of the golden calf. In other words, the Bnei Yisroel’s participation in the incident of the golden calf was something very shameful, and whenever it is mentioned, it causes great embarrassment for the Jewish nation.
Zera Shimshon asks that there actually seems to be another midrash that contradicts this one. The midrash asks: Why in parshas Vayikra is the first animal mentioned that can be used as a korban is the bull and not some other animal, like the goat or lamb? Rabbi Levi answers that the nations of the world would ridicule Am Yisroel, since they had made the golden calf. Hashem, therefore, delved into the subject and Hashem concluded that they really did not do anything substantially wrong. To show us this, the first type of korban mentioned is the bull. From here—writes Zera Shimshon—it seems that the sin of the golden calf wasn’t really so terrible! If it wasn’t so terrible, why then is it written “when a bull is born” and not “when a calf is born?”
He answers in light of a third midrash that implies that Bnei Yisroel really wanted Aharon to make for them a golden bull, and not a golden calf. The Shach on the Torah explains that the reason that Aharon did not fulfill their request was in order to ridicule Bnei Yisroel. They wanted him to build for them an image of a strong mature bull, which would represent a powerful leader and a god. Aharon, however, built a baby cow to show them that their image was really weak and useless. Since, the image that Aharon made contradicted what they asked from him, the golden calf cannot be attributed to them and it is not considered as if they made it.
According to this—concludes Zera Shimshon—we can now reconcile the two midrashim. It is written in the Torah, “if a bull is born” and not “if a calf is born,” because on the surface, it appears that Aharon built for Bnei Yisroel what they asked for and, therefore, if it would have been written “if a calf is born,” it would have been a remembrance of a sin. However, the bull is the first type of korban that is written in the Torah, to allude to the fact that this was what Bnei Yisroel asked for—even though a calf was what was built and, therefore, there was no sin actually committed.
And even more than this… The Gemara says that Hashem forgives a person who is ashamed of what he has done. Therefore, since their request to build a golden bull caused them embarrassment and, therefore, also forgiveness, it was certainly appropriate to be called the first korban!
