Exodus 32:25

And Mosheh saw that the people were naked; for they had been stripped by the hand of Aharon of the holy crown which was upon their head, inscribed and beautified with the great and glorious Name; and that their evil report would go forth among the nations of the earth, and they would get to them an evil name unto their generations.

AND MOSES SAW THAT THE PEOPLE WERE ‘PHARUA’ (BROKEN LOOSE). The meaning of this is that although Aaron defended himself and said that he was not at fault with them, yet Moses knew in his heart that the people were broken loose — For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them. It is similar to the expression, ‘vatiphr’u’ (and ye have set at nought) all my counsel, and similar also to the verse, for ‘hiphria’ (he had cast away restraint) in Judah, and acted treacherously against the Eternal. [Thus the verse is stating that Moses saw] that Aaron had let the people loose, and left them without any counsel and instruction, so that they became like sheep scattered upon the mountains without counsellor and guide. Scripture stated this [especially] because they had thought that the calf would be their guide, but in fact they appeared as if they had no counsel, not knowing the way wherein they must walk, and the deeds they must do, for some of them intended it for the good, according to their way of thinking, and others intended it for real evil [i.e., outright idolatry], and thus each one went his own way.

כי פרוע הוא, had ceased to observe the commandments. We encounter this expression in this sense in Proverbs 1,25 ותפרעו כל עצתי, “You have spurned all My advice.” It appears again in Proverbs 4,15 in a similar sense.

לשמצה, to become a source of ridicule and derision to their enemies. Compare Job 4,12 ותקח אזני שמץ מנהו, “my ear caught a derogatory meaning in it.” A reference to some word of derision.

כי פרוע הוא, they are totally corrupt, committing their sins in public without shame. The public deeds reveal their deep-seated corruption.

כי פרעה אהרן, Aaron had brought to light the fact that there are no righteous people among them. Had there been any righteous people among them, surely they would have come to the assistance of Aaron so that Aaron would not have been forced to have a share in this golden calf at all.

לשמצה בקמיהם.Giving them a bad name among their enemies. Israel’s enemies would say about them that they had breached their covenant with their Lord, and that there was not a single one among them who was a good person, and that they did not even heed the instructions of their prophets. Even though only a small minority had ganged up on Aaron, the entire people’s reputation would now be dragged through the mud.

לשמצה, ”as an object of derision;” every idolater will ridicule the Israelites for having made for themselves such a golden calf. When they do, we have to remind them that they do something similar every day, so how can they have the audacity to fault us for what happened one single time? Let us illustrate the scenario by a simple parable. A King had a beautiful wife; all his servant maids kept provoking her by saying that the day would come when he would divorce her and take one of them as a wife instead. When the queen asked them what prompted them to make such a statement, they said to her that they had observed the king when he came from the market he noticed that the queen’s hand had some speck of dirt clinging to her hand, something that he could not stand. The queen replied that the servant maids were very foolish if they think that on account of a speck of dust that I can wipe off with a flick of my finger he would divorce me and exchange me for someone who is covered with mud sticking to their skin all the time.