Commentaire sur L’Exode 25:22

ונועדתי AND [THERE] I WILL BE MET [BY THEE] — When I shall appoint you a place of meeting to speak to you that place will I appoint as the place of meeting whither I will come to speak to you.

ונועדתי לך שם ודברתי אתך, G’d assures Moses that this is the site where He will communicate with him and become as familiar to him as it is possible for G’d to become familiar to man. This is where the Shechinah’s presence will become “stationed,” as already spelled out in the opening verses of our chapter (8-9) with the words ושכנתי בתוכם ככל אשר אני מראה אותך, “I will dwell among them in accordance with the blueprint which I have shown you.” The meaning of the words וכן תעשו at the end of verse 9, is that once the Jewish people or their elite engage in study of the relationship of physics to metaphysics, something known in the parlance of the Talmud as מעשה מרכבה, and they will do so motivated by the acceptable purpose, i.e. to become better servants of the Lord, not only will the Shechinah assist us but the ministering angels will also be of help in furthering such study. (Chagigah 14)

I will set My meetings with you there. The Divine light radiated outward from the ark affecting everything around it. Thus the Sages say that it actually bore those who appeared to bear it. This is a hint that those who support Torah scholars are actually supported by them.

The letter ו' here is superfluous. . . Although [in our Torah scrolls] it is not written ואת , in Rashi’s Torah scroll it was written with a ו , according to [his] Masoretic tradition.

V. 22. ונועדתי, von יעד, verwandt mit יחד, Ort und Zeit zu einer Zusammenkunft bestimmen. Nicht in Folge einer besonderen individuellen Beziehung Mosche zu Gott spricht Gott mit Mosche, sondern nur in Folge der göttlichen Bundesnähe mit Israel, in Folge der göttlichen Gegenwart in Mitte des sein Gesetz bewahrenden Volkes — מעל הכפרת מבין שני הכרבים אשר על ארון העדות — gelangt das Wort Gottes an Mosche. Wie sehr die Offenbarung an Mosche durch die Würdigkeit des Volkes bedingt war, wird in der Mechilta בא (anfangs zum Worte לאמר) und ebenso Sifra (zum ersten לאמר) in dem Umstande nachgewiesen, dass כל ל'ח שנה שהיה כועס על ישראל לא היה מדבר עמו שני ויהי כאשר תמו כל אנשי המלחמה למות וידבר ד׳ אלי dass während der achtunddreißig Jahre, in welchen Gott Israel ungewogen (דברים ב׳ י׳׳ה) war (von der מרגלים-Versündigung bis zum vierzigsten Jahre), das offenbarende Wort Gottes an Mosche nicht geworden, denn es heißt: als das ganze Geschlecht ausgestorben war, sprach Gott zu mir usw. (So auch B. B. 121 a u. b, wo der fünfzehnte Ab. noch als festliches Andenken an diese Wiederkehr des Offenbarungswortes an Mosche erklärt wird).

ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת, “when I speak to you it will be from above the lid;” you may ask that we read in Leviticus that “G-d spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting,” not from above the lid of the Ark which was inside the Holy of Holies? We must understand the Torah as follows: whenever Moses was standing outside the Tabernacle, he perceived the voice of G-d as emanating from inside the Tabernacle. When he was being addressed by G-d while he was inside the Tabernacle G-d’s voice emanated from above the lid of the Ark. This is the meaning of (Numbers 7,89) “when Moses had entered the Tent of Meeting he heard the voice speaking to him from above the lid of the Ark.”

ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת AND I SHALL SPEAK WITH THEE FROM ABOVE THE COVER — In another passage, however, it says, (Leviticus 1:1) “And God spake unto him out of the appointed tent, saying” — this is that part of the Tabernacle outside the partition veil whilst the ark and the cover were on the other tide of the veil — consequently we have two verses contradicting each other! But there comes a third verse and reconciles them: (Numbers 7:89) “And when Moses came into the appointed tent to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking unto him from off the covering etc.” This verse explains exactly what happened. Moses came into the Tabernacle and as soon as he had passed the entrance a voice fell from heaven to the place on the cover which was between the cherubim, and from there it issued and was heard by Moses in the tent of meeting (outside the Holy of Holies; cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 58 and Rashi on Numbers 7:89).

ואת כל אשר אצוה, “and all that I shall command;” in other words: all that G-d plans to command He will communicate to Moses from there.

ואת כל אשר אצוה אותך אל בני ישראל AND OF ALL WHICH I SHALL COMMAND THEE CONCERNING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — This ו of the word ואת is redundant and without import; there are many sentences similar to this in Scripture. However if you wish to explain this ו the verse must be interpreted as follows: [I shall speak with thee from above the cover] and that which (ואת) I shall speak to you will be everything I shall command thee concerning the children of Israel.