Midrash for Exodus 33:3
אֶל־אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָ֑שׁ כִּי֩ לֹ֨א אֶֽעֱלֶ֜ה בְּקִרְבְּךָ֗ כִּ֤י עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹ֙רֶף֙ אַ֔תָּה פֶּן־אֲכֶלְךָ֖ בַּדָּֽרֶךְ׃
unto a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people; lest I consume thee in the way.’
Shir HaShirim Rabbah
Rabbi Yoḥanan, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and the Rabbis,158They said in their exposition of the verse: “Draw me [moshkheni]; we will run after you.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Because You took us into a good and expansive land, we will run after You to a good land that is called a dwelling place [mashkenuta].159Because You took us to the good and extensive lands of Siḥon and Og on the eastern side of the Jordan, we desired to follow You further, to the Land of Israel proper, which is called God’s dwelling place (Etz Yosef).
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Because You took us to a good, expansive land that is called a dwelling place [mashkenuta], we will run after You.
The Rabbis say: Because You rested Your Divine Presence [shekhina] in our midst, as it is written: “They shall make for Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell [veshakhanti] among them” (Exodus 25:8), we will run after You. The Rabbis say another matter: Because You removed Your Divine Presence from our midst, we will run after You. Know that this is so, for with all the troubles that befell them for the incident of the Golden Calf they did not mourn, but when Moses said to them [on behalf of God]: “For I will not ascend in your midst” (Exodus 33:3), immediately, “When the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned” (Exodus 33:4). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: [It was] a weapon that He gave to the Israelites at Ḥorev with the ineffable name engraved upon it.160This is stated in explanation of the adornment mentioned in the verse: “The children of Israel were stripped of their adornment from Mount Ḥorev” (Exodus 33:6). When they sinned in the incident of the Calf, it was taken from them. How was it taken from them? Rabbi Aivu and the Rabbis, Rabbi Aivu said: It was peeled off them by itself, and the Rabbis say: An angel would descend and peel it off them. The Israelites said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, does a wife not adorn herself only for her husband?’161If You will not be ascending with us, what is the point of the ornaments? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The Israelites yearned for the Divine Presence, as it is stated: “Let my beloved come to his garden [legano]” (Song of Songs 4:16) – to his wedding canopy [leginuno].
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Because You took us to a good, expansive land that is called a dwelling place [mashkenuta], we will run after You.
The Rabbis say: Because You rested Your Divine Presence [shekhina] in our midst, as it is written: “They shall make for Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell [veshakhanti] among them” (Exodus 25:8), we will run after You. The Rabbis say another matter: Because You removed Your Divine Presence from our midst, we will run after You. Know that this is so, for with all the troubles that befell them for the incident of the Golden Calf they did not mourn, but when Moses said to them [on behalf of God]: “For I will not ascend in your midst” (Exodus 33:3), immediately, “When the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned” (Exodus 33:4). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: [It was] a weapon that He gave to the Israelites at Ḥorev with the ineffable name engraved upon it.160This is stated in explanation of the adornment mentioned in the verse: “The children of Israel were stripped of their adornment from Mount Ḥorev” (Exodus 33:6). When they sinned in the incident of the Calf, it was taken from them. How was it taken from them? Rabbi Aivu and the Rabbis, Rabbi Aivu said: It was peeled off them by itself, and the Rabbis say: An angel would descend and peel it off them. The Israelites said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, does a wife not adorn herself only for her husband?’161If You will not be ascending with us, what is the point of the ornaments? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The Israelites yearned for the Divine Presence, as it is stated: “Let my beloved come to his garden [legano]” (Song of Songs 4:16) – to his wedding canopy [leginuno].
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