In this week’s parsha we read about the episode of the eigel hazahav, the sin of the Golden Calf, during which Aharon led the Jews to make a Golden Calf that was used by many for idol worship. The Gemara (Maseches Sanhedrin 7a) gives an explanation for Aharon's behavior, in that Aharon saw that Chur was killed for having tried to prevent the people from constructing the Golden Calf and therefore he capitulated and allowed them to build it. Aharon was concerned that if they would kill him too, the sin would be so great that even repentance wouldn’t suffice to atone for such a sin. This is because Aharon was both a prophet and a kohen gadol, and as the verse in Megillas Eichah (2:20) teaches, the compounded sin of killing one who is both a Kohen Gadol and a prophet is almost insurmountable. He therefore allowed himself to build the golden calf, because at least they would be able to later repent for their sin.
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