Commentary for Exodus 34:32

ואחרי כן נגשו AND AFTERWARDS [THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] STEPPED NIGH — After he (Moses) had taught the elders he used again to teach the section or the single Halacha in question to the Israelites. The Rabbis have taught: How was the system of teaching? Moses used to learn the law from the mouth of the Almighty; Aaron entered and Moses taught him his lesson. Now Aaron moved away and took his seat to the left of Moses. Then his (Aaron’s) sons entered and Moses taught them their lesson. They moved away and Eleazar took his seat to the right of Moses, whilst Ithamar sat down at Aaron’s left. The elders then entered and Moses taught them their lesson. The elders moved away and took their seat at the side. Finally the whole people entered and Moses taught them their lesson. Consequently what was taught came into the possession of the whole people once, into the possession of the elders twice, into the possession of Aaron’s sons thrice and into Aaron’s possession four times etc. — as it is stated in Eruvin 54b.

ויצום את כל אשר דבר ה' אתו, the construction of the Tabernacle, the garments of the priests, the mandatory contribution of the males from 20 to 60 years of age amounting to a half shekel per head.

את כל אשר דבר ה' אתו, prior to the sin of the golden calf. Everything which has been written in the Torah, commencing with Exodus 25,2 until 32,1 as well as everything recorded in this paragraph.

ואחרי כן נגשו, “after that they approached.” This was after Moses had taught the Torah to the elders. Nachmanides writes that this is not correct, but that the words ואחר כן refer to what happened after the people had scattered, being afraid to approach Moses until he had placed the scarf around his forehead which prevented the rays of light emanating from his face. He then called upon them to approach, whereupon Aaron and all the princes did approach and speak to Moses. Moses welcomed them with the good news that the people’s sin had been forgiven, and he showed them the second set of Tablets to prove it. At that point the ordinary Israelites realized that when Moses spoke to the princes everything appeared normal, and they too approached Moses unafraid. Moses then told them that G’d had commanded him the second version of the Ten Commandments, the ones which He had inscribed on the second set of Tablets which he had brought down with him. Moses told the people everything from שמר לך in verse 11 onwards until the end of the whole Parshah for He told the people that G’d had commanded a new covenant. The Torah only summarises here, giving us a synopsis of all that G’d had told Moses to tell the people at that time. Having realized from the people’s retreat that it was caused because of the rays his forehead emitted, he proceeded to cover his forehead with the מסוה, his mask-like scarf. It is also possible that the people had told him that they could not face him on account of the rays his forehead emitted, so that Moss made it a practice to be without that mask only when he went to communicate with G’d or be communicated with by G’d.

את כל אשר דבר ה' אתו בהר סיני, “all the commandments that G-d had spoken to him about while he had been on Mount Sinai on his first and third stay on the Mountain, as well as all the commandments that He had communicated to him from Nissan when they had left Egypt until the twentieth of Iyar in the second year when they broke camp around the Mountain. However, according to the Talmud in tractate Gittin folio 60, the written Torah, i.e. in scroll form, he wrote down personally, one parchment at a time. When Moses made ready to leave this earth, he arranged these parchments in the order in which we read them nowadays according to the order he considered appropriate.