Midrasch zu Schemot 33:5

(Numb. 14:11:)¹This supplement comes from Codex Vaticanus, Ebr. 34. It is found neither in Buber’s primary Oxford manuscript nor in the traditional version of the Tanhuma. THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME, AND HOW LONG WILL THEY HAVE NO FAITH IN ME …? This text is related (to Prov. 1:25, 30): BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN AND WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY REBUKE [….] THEY HAVE DESPISED ALL MY REBUKE. What is the implication of BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN? Simply that all the good which I planned for you, you have spoiled and spurned.²Numb. R. 16:24. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 1:25): BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED (rt.: PR') ALL MY PLAN? At the beginning I said to Moses (in Exod. 3:8): I HAVE COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM OUT OF THE HAND OF THE EGYPTIANS AND TO BRING THEM UP <OUT OF THAT LAND UNTO A GOOD AND SPACIOUS LAND>…. But you did not act in the way <I intended>. Instead you came to the sea and immediately spoiled my plan, as stated (in Ps. 106:7): THEY REBELLED AT THE SEA, AT THE REED SEA. When you came to Mount Sinai, I descended and spoke with you. I brought down on your behalf thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels, and I passed on two angels to each and every person in Israel. R. Johanan said: One to gird him with his weapons³Gk.: zone (“girdle”). and one to put a crown on his head.⁴Above, Exod. 2:9 and 8:7 (with the notes in those sections); also Lam. R. 2:13 (17); Cant. R. 4:4:1 PRK 16:3; PR 21:7; 33:10; M. Ps. 103:8. R. Huna of Sepphoris said: He bound their weapons to them, while R. Simoy said: He clothed them in purple, as stated (in Ezek. 16:10): I CLOTHED YOU WITH EMBROIDERED GARMENTS. R. Simeon b. Johay says: He clothed them with an instrument of weaponry with the Ineffable Name written upon it. Moreover, as long as it was in their hand, nothing evil had power against them, neither the angel of death nor anything else.⁵See above, Exod. 9:12; Exod. R. 32:1; 41:7; 51:8; Lev. R. 18:3; cf. ‘AZ 5a. But when they sinned, Moses had said to them (in Exod. 33:5): NOW THEN, REMOVE YOUR ORNAMENTS (i.e., your weapons) FROM YOURSELVES, THAT I MAY KNOW WHAT TO DO TO YOU. At that time (according to vs. 4): WHEN THE PEOPLE HEARD THIS BAD NEWS, THEY WENT INTO MOURNING, <AND NO ONE PUT HIS ORNAMENTS ON HIMSELF>. And what is written (in vs. 6)? SO [THE CHILDREN OF] ISRAEL STRIPPED THEMSELVES OF ORNAMENTS…. What had the Holy One done (at the giving of Torah)?⁶See Exod. R. 32:1. He had brought the angel of death and said to him: All the world is under your authority, except this people whom I have chosen for myself. R. Eleazar the Son of R. Jose the Galilean said: The angel of death said to the Holy One: Have I been created in the world for nothing?⁷Exod. R. 27. The Holy One said to him: I created you so that you would destroy <all> the peoples of the world except this people, over whom you have no authority to take a single one of them. Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised concerning them for them to live and endure! Thus it is stated (in Deut. 4:4): BUT YOU WHO CLUNG TO THE LORD YOUR GOD ARE ALL ALIVE TODAY. So also it says (in Exod. 32:16): AND THE WRITING WAS THE WRITING OF GOD INSCRIBED (harut) ON THE TABLETS. What is the meaning of harut? R. Judah says: FREEDOM (herut) from the empires; but R. Nehemiah says: FREEDOM (herut) from the angel of death; and our masters say: FREEDOM from afflictions. Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised for them! Then they immediately spoiled this plan after <only> forty days. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 1:25): BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN.

(Numbers 14:11:) “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will this people spurn Me.’” This text is related (to Proverbs 1:25), “You subverted all my counsel.” All the good that I counseled about you, you spoiled and negated. At first (in Exod. 3:8), “I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians”: I came down with thousands of thousands and multitudes of multitudes of angels for your sake, and I gave over to each one [of you] two angels. R. Johanan said, “One to strap on his armor and the other to place a crown upon his head.” Rav Huna said, “He clothed them with a regal tunic and the explicit name [of God] was engraved upon them.” All the days that it was in their hand, no bad thing could touch them, not an angel and not anything else. But when they sinned, Moses said to them (in Exod. 33:5), “Remove your adornment.” At that time (in Exod. 33:4), “The people heard this bad thing.” And it is written (in Exod. 33:6), “And the Children of Israel were stripped of their adornment from Mount Horev.” What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He brought the angel of death and said to him, “The whole world is in your power except for this nation that I have chosen.” The angel of death said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “I was created for nought in this world.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “I have created you so that you shall discern in every nation except for this nation, over which you do not have power.” He saw the advice that the Holy One, blessed be He, advised about them, that they should be alive and flourish, as stated (Deut. 4:4), “But you who cling to the Lord your God are all alive today.” And so too does it say (in Exod. 32:16), “The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God that was inscribed (harut) upon the tablets.” What is the meaning of harut? R. Judah says, “Freedom (herut) from the kingdoms.” R. Nehemiah says, “Freedom (herut) from the angel of death.” And they saw the counsel that the Holy One, blessed be He, counseled about them. Immediately after forty days, they spoiled the counsel. Therefore it is stated (in Proverbs 1:25), “You subverted all my counsel.” And about this is it said, (in Numb. 14:11), “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will this people spurn Me.’” Moses said (in Numb. 14:14), “They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people….” What [would] the nations of the world say? “The gods of Canaan are stronger than the gods of Egypt: The gods of Egypt are falsehood, but those of Canaan are powerful.” (Numb. 14:14, 16), “And they will say to the inhabitants of this land…, ‘The Lord does not have the ability.’” As the nations will not say about these that He called My firstborn son, that He would destroy them; so “The Lord does not have the ability to bring them.” You say (in Numb. 4:12), “I will strike them with pestilence and disown them,” and I say (in Numb 4:19), “Please pardon.” (Numb. 14:12:) “I will strike them with pestilence and disown them.” Moses said, “Master of the world, look at the covenant with their ancestors, to whom You swore that You would raise up from them kings, prophets, and priests!”⁴⁹-Numb. R. 16:22, cont.; see below, Numb. 4a:14. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “But are you not one of their children?” (Ibid., cont.:) “Then I will make you into a nation that is greater [and more numerous than they].’” When Moses saw [how things were], he took a different course (in Numb. 14:13-14): “But Moses said unto the Lord, ‘When the Egyptians hear [what happened]…, they will say unto the inhabitants of this land.’” They will say, “He had no power to sustain them.”⁵⁰Cf. below, Numb. 4a:5. He said to him, “But have they not seen the miracles and the mighty deeds which I did for them in Egypt and by the sea? So how will they say (in Numb. 14:16), ‘The Lord does not have the ability to bring this people [into the land]?’” They will say, “He was able to stand against one king, [but] He was not able to stand against thirty one kings.⁵¹See Josh. 12:9-14. Master of the universe, act on Your behalf. (Numb. 14:17:) “So now please let the power of the Lord increase,” and let the principle of mercy overcome the principle of justice. (Ibid., cont.:) “As you have promised, saying.” I said to You, “With what principle do You judge Your world,” as stated (in Exod. 33:13) “Please make Your ways known to me.” So you removed (rt.: 'br) the principle of justice from me (according to Exod. 34:6), “And the Lord passed by (rt.: 'br) [before] him, and proclaimed, [‘The Lord, the Lord is a merciful and gracious God’].” Fulfill that principle of which You told me; (according to Numb. 14:17-19) “please let the power of the Lord increase…. The Lord [is of long patience, of great kindness…] (the Lord is a merciful and gracious God…) Please pardon the sin of this people.” The Holy One, blessed be He, accepted his words and conceded to him, as stated (Numb. 14:20), “Then the Lord said, ‘I have pardoned like your words.’” As truly in the future, the nations of the world would say like your words. (Numb. 14:21, 23:) “Nevertheless, as I live […], Surely they shall not see [the land which I promised on oath to their ancestors.” It is also written (in Numb. 32:11), “Surely none of] the people who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and up, [shall see the land].”⁵²Numb. R. 16:23. Whether one was in agreement or was not in agreement (with the spies), he did not enter [the land]. Of the people who came up from Egypt, if one had gotten two [pubic] hairs but was less than twenty,⁵³On the concept that moral responsibility comes at twenty, see Rashi on Gen. 23:1. [only] if he was in agreement with them, he did not enter [the land]. But nonetheless, not one of them died at less than sixty.⁵⁴I.e., the Holy One subsequently had compassion on all under twenty, so that they outlived the forty wilderness years to die in the land of Israel. So Enoch Zundel in his commentary, ‘Ets Yosef, on Numb. R. 16:23(14). Come and see the difference between righteous and wicked, [even as it is stated (in Mal. 3:18), “Then you shall again see [the difference] between [righteous and wicked].” It is comparable to a certain matron⁵⁵Lat.: matrona. who had a bondmaid. Now her husband went to a country overseas. All night the bondmaid said to the matron, “I am fairer than you and the king loves me more than you.” That matron said to her, “When the morning comes, you shall know who is fairer and whom the king loves.” Similarly do the nations of the world say to Israel, “As for us, our deeds are more beautiful, and us does the Holy One, blessed be He, desire.” Therefore Isaiah has said, “When the morning comes, we shall know whom the Holy One, blessed be He, desires,” as stated (in Is. 21:12), “The watchman said, ‘The morning comes […].’” When the world to come arrives, which is called morning,⁵⁶See Targum Pss. 90:14; 101:8. we shall know, as stated (according to Mal. 3:18), “Then you shall again see [the difference] between righteous and wicked.” It is written (in Ps. 62:10), “But humans are mere vanity […].” R Hiyya⁵⁷Since the authority generally cited as R. Hiyya lived sometime before R. Levi, the R. Hiyya cited here could not be he. This Hiyya may well be R. Hiyya the father of R. Berekhiah the Priest. said in the name of R. Levi, “All vanities which Israel does all the days of the year are (ibid., cont.) to go up (i.e., vanish) on the scales (mozenayim).” The Holy One, blessed be He, pardons them in the constellation Libra (Mozenayim), in the month of Tishri. It is so stated (in Lev. 16:30), “For on this day atonement shall be made for you [to cleanse you]….”

(Exod. 33:12:) AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE LORD. To what is the matter comparable? To a cavern which was located on the edge of the sea, and <the sea> filled it.⁵⁸Exod. R. 45:3. From then on the sea was flowing into the cave, and the cave making a return to the sea. (Exod. 33:1:) AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES. (Exod. 33:5:) AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES. (Exod. 33:12:) AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE LORD.⁵⁹In other words, conversation between the Holy One and Moses flowed back and forth like tidal waters flowing in and out of a cavern.

[(Exod. 33:12:) AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE LORD.] What is written above on the matter (in vs. 5)? AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES: SAY UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: YOU ARE A STIFF-NECKED PEOPLE…. NOW THEN, REMOVE YOUR ORNAMENTS. What is the meaning of YOUR ORNAMENTS? R. Simeon said: The weaponry which the Holy One gave them with the Ineffable Name inscribed upon it.⁶⁰Above, Exod. 8:7. Immediately (in vs. 6), SO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL STRIPPED THEMSELVES OF ORNAMENTS (i.e., their weapons). When Moses saw that they had lost the good gift, he became angry with them.

24 (Numb. 14:11) “Then the Lord said unto Moses, ‘How long will this people scorn Me?’”: This text is related (to Prov. 1:25, 30), “But you have spurned all My plan and would not accept My rebuke [….] they have despised all My rebuke.” What is the implication of “But you have spurned?” Simply that all the good which I planned for you, you have spoiled and spurned. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 1:25), “But you have spurned (rt.: pr') all My plan.” At the beginning (in Exod. 3:8), “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.” But you did not act [in the way I intended]. Instead you came to the sea and immediately spoiled My plan, as stated (in Ps. 106:7), “they rebelled at the sea, at the Reed Sea.” I brought down on your behalf thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels, and I passed on two angels to each and every person in Israel: One to gird him with his weapons³⁹Gk.: zone (“girdle”). and one to put a crown on his head.⁴⁰See Lam. R. 2:13 (17); Cant. R. 4:4:1 PRK 16:3; PR 21:7; 33:10; M. Ps. 103:8. R. Judah of Sepphoris said, “He bound their weapons to them,” while R. Simoy said, “He clothed them in purple, with the Ineffable Name written upon it. As long as it was in their hand, nothing evil had power against them, neither the angel of death nor anything else.”⁴¹See Exod. R. 32:1; cf. ‘AZ 5a. But when they sinned, Moses had said to them (in Exod. 33:5), “Now then, remove your ornaments (i.e., your weapons).” At that time (according to vs. 4), ‘When the people heard this bad news.” And what is written (in vs. 6)? “So the Children of Israel stripped themselves of ornaments.” What had the Holy One done at the giving of Torah?⁴²See Exod. R. 32:1. He had brought the angel of death and said to him, “All the world is under your authority, except this people whom I have chosen for Myself.” R. Eleazar the Son of R. Jose the Galilean said, “The angel of death said to the Holy One, ‘Have I been created in the world for nothing?’⁴³Exod. R. 27. The Holy One said to him, ‘I created you so that you would destroy the peoples of the world except this people, over whom you have no authority over them.’” Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised concerning them for them to live and endure! Thus it is stated (in Deut. 4:4), “But you who clung to the Lord your God are all alive today.” So also it says (in Exod. 32:16), ‘and the writing was the writing of God inscribed (harut) on the tablets.” What is the meaning of harut? R. Judah says, “Freedom (herut) from the empires”; but R. Nehemiah says, “From the angel of death”; and Rabbi says, “From afflictions.” Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised for them! Then they immediately spoiled this plan [after only] forty days. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 1:25), “But you have spurned all My plan.” The Holy One said to them, “I had said that you would not sin. Instead you would live and endure like Me, just as I live and endure forever and forevermore." (According to Ps. 82:6), “I said, ‘You are masters; even all of you are children of the Most High.’” Like the ministering angels who never die. Yet after this greatness you wanted to die (according to vs. 7), “Indeed you shall die like a human (Adam),” i.e. like the first Adam, to whom I decreed one commandment which he was to do, that he might live and endure forever, as stated (in Gen. 3:22), “Behold, the human (Adam) has become like one of Us.” Similarly also (in Gen. 1:27), “And God created the human (Adam) in His own image”, so that he would live and endure like Himself. Yet he corrupted his works and nullified His decree, and he ate of the tree. Then I said to him (in Gen. 3:19), “For dust you are .” So also in your case (in Ps. 82:6), “I said, ‘You are masters.’” But you corrupted yourselves as did Adam. Surely you shall die like Adam! And who made this happen to them? (According to Prov. 1:25) “But you have spurned all my plan.” The Holy One said, “With the very good that I made for you, you provoked Me. When they came to the desert, I brought the manna down to you for forty years.” Moreover, none of them had to ease nature for those forty years. Rather when they ate the manna, it simply became flesh for them, as stated (in Ps. 78:25) “Each one ate the bread of the mighty (rt.: 'br)”;⁴⁴Numb. R. 7:4; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 4 (on Exod. 16:15); Sifre to Numb. 11:4 (88); Yoma 74b. and they provoked Him with it." They began saying to each other, “Do you not know that we have had several days, without easing nature? And a person who does not ease nature for four or five days, dies; (according to Numb. 21:5), ‘our soul loathes this miserable (rt.: QLL) food.’” Because it was light (rt.: QLL) within their bowels. The Holy One said, “In whatever way I did well for them, in that way they provoked Me.” It is so stated (in Is. 5:4), “What else is there to do for My vineyard.” The spies went and looked at the land. Now you find that wherever Israel goes they are recognized. It is so stated (in Is. 61:9), “all who see them shall recognize them.” However (in the case of the spies), the Holy One said, “If they see them, they will recognize that they are Israelites and they will kill them. So what shall I do?” In the case of each and every province into which the spies entered, the head of a province was afflicted with plague, or its king was smitten with plague, in order that they would be occupied with bringing out their dead and not pay attention to the spies. Thus they would not kill them. Yet by this they provoked Me. When they came to Moses and to Israel, they said, “What is this land?” In every place they entered, they saw dead bodies. “And what is the benefit; (according to Numb. 13:32) ‘it is a land that eats up its inhabitants….’” The Holy One said, “I thought that you would become like the ancestors, [of whom it is written] (in Hos. 9:10), ‘Like grapes in the desert.’ I did not think that you would become like Sodom.” Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:32), “For their vine is from the vine of Sodom.” (Is. 5:4) “When I hoped for it to produce grapes, why did it produce sour grapes?” It is therefore stated (in Numb. 14:11), “How long will this people scorn me?”

... Teach us o teacher: toward where should one who prays orient his heart? This is what our Rabbis taught: one should orient his heart toward the place of the Holy of Holies (Berachot 4:5). R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: if one is praying outside of the land, he should orient his heart to the land of Israel. If one is praying within the land of Israel, he should orient his heart to Jerusalem. If one is praying in Jerusalem, he should orient his heart to the Holy Temple. If one is praying in the Holy Temple, he should orient his heart to the Holy of Holies. R’ Avin the Levi said: “our neck is like the Tower of David, built as a model (talpiyot)…” (Song of Songs 4:4) What does talpiyot mean? The hill (tel) toward which all turns (peniyot) are directed. And after all this praise, it is written “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.” (Zechariah 11:1) And so too they said “He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) Israel said to Him: Master of the World! How long will it be like this? Did You not write in Your Torah “…the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay” (Exodus 22:5)? And You are the one who ignited the fire, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) You need to rebuild it and to console us, not at the hands of an angel but You in Your glory. The Holy One said to them: by your life, so I will do! As it says “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) And I am the one who consoles you. From where do we learn this? From that which they read in the prophets “I, yea I am He Who consoles you…” (Isaiah 51:12)

THE ZEAL OF PHINEAS
RABBI ELAzAR, son of 'Arakh, said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, descended upon Mount Sinai to give the Torah to Israel, sixty myriads of the ministering angels descended with Him, corresponding to the sixty myriads of the mighty men of Israel, and in their hands were swords and crowns, and they crowned the Israelites with the Ineffable Name. All those days, whilst they had not done that deed, they were as good as the ministering angels before the Holy One, blessed be He. The Angel of Death did not hold sway over them, and they did not discharge any excretions like the children of man; but when they did that deed the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry with them, and He said to them: I thought that ye would be like the ministering angels, as it is said, "I said, Ye are angels, and all of you sons of the Most High" (Ps. 82:6). But now, "Nevertheless, ye shall die like men" (Ps. 82:7).

Rabbi Jehudah said: As long as a man is dressed in his garments of glory, he is beautiful in his appearance and in his honour; so were the Israelites when they apparelled themselves with that Name—they were good before the Holy One, blessed be He, like the ministering angels. But when they did that deed (of the golden calf), the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry with them. || In that night the same sixty myriads of ministering angels descended, and they severally took from each one of them what they had put upon them, and they became bare, not according to their own wish, as it is said, "And the children of Israel stripped themselves" (Ex. 33:6). It is not written here, "the children of Israel took away," but "the children of Israel stripped themselves." Some say by itself (their adornment) was stripped off.