They will not take the time or the risk to meditate on God. One sees this clearly in Schoenberg s opera. The Hebrews see Moses as a symbol of God s presence, and they must rely on their new faith during Moses absence on Mount Sinai. They rely on materialism, therefore, to put meaning into their lives. Our society is quite similar to the Hebrews in the desert worshipping the golden calf.
Few people seem to practice religion, or if they do, it is often for the wrong reasons.
They care too much about their materialism, and not enough about the spiritual side of life. The Hebrews in the desert, like society today, could not express a true faith. There are many differences between the Bible story of Moses and Schoenberg s opera Moses und Aron. The following offers some possibilities. An interesting difference right at the beginning is that God speaks and sings with various solo voices.