Truth vs. Peace

Every leadership team needs a mix of truth and peace. This is true in marriage and in business. It is rare to have both these traits in one person. There are times when a group needs one trait expressed more than the other. 

Moshe and Aaron were such a leadership team.  And it was Aaron's leadership that carried the people through the Golden Calf.  Seeking peace, Aaron tried to delay it, despite causing later the worship of the Calf. Seeking peace, Aaron didn't let them "kill a high priest," despite the fact that putting off a murder acknowledged that the Calf would be worshipped. And seeking peace, Aaron made them worship HaShem, knowing others would worship incorrectly.

In short, Aaron's peace saved 99.9% of the Jewish people from falling into the wrong path, but Aaron felt you cannot save everyone and in the end 3,000 people were executed. Perhaps this is what he meant when Aaron answered, "I took the gold, threw it in the fire and this Calf came out": I took to the gold, threw it in the fire (and fashioned a calf for serving HaShem) and an unstoppable thing happened for this crowd of 3,000, what came out for them was this Calf for idol worship.

"Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this Calf." Exodus 32:24.

*Thanks to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks for his ideas on truth and peace in leadership and Aaron's relationship with them.