Commentary for Avodah Zarah 86:20

R. Yose uses the case of the golden calf to prove his ruling that one may destroy idols by grinding them up. The other rabbis respond that Moses ground up the calf not in order to destroy it, but because he wanted the Israelites to drink it, the same way that the suspected adulteress has to drink the bitter waters. Idolatry is, according to many of the prophets, similar to adultery, showing lack of faithfulness to one’s god.