Pensée juive sur L’Exode 32:10

In the words of our sages, there are many statements that require evidence and interpretation, such as in Pirkei Avot (3:4) "One who is awake at night" [referring to studying Torah at night], and in Pesachim (111a) "And [he] drank water" [referring to the wisdom of measurements]. And the matter of the letter of the daughter of the voice [the Shekhinah] is derived from the laws of the constellations. And the matter of the moon and its relationship with the sun is derived from the wisdom of the constellations. Similarly, many things in the Scriptures require interpretation, as mentioned by Kohelet regarding the four elements, which are the heavens, the earth, the wind, and the dust. It is written (Kohelet 1:5) "And the sun rises and the sun sets" corresponding to the heavens, (Kohelet 1:4) "And the earth stands forever," (Kohelet 1:6) "And the wind goes round and round," and it does not come to an end, (Kohelet 1:7) "All the rivers flow into the sea," and these four are mentioned in the portion of Bereishit (Genesis 1:1) "The heavens and the earth," (Genesis 1:2) "And the spirit of God hovered over the waters." And similarly, in Isaiah (40:12), "Who measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure," and in Psalms (104:2), "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, He lays the beams of His chambers on the waters," and His angels are the winds that roam over the water. And likewise, in Psalms (33:7), "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He sets the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." And similarly, it is mentioned in Psalms (33:6) regarding the word of God, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth." And similarly (Job 28:25), "To establish a weight for the wind and apportion the waters by measure." For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heavens. And thus it is written (Proverbs 30:4), "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? Surely you know!" And thus it is written elsewhere (Job 38:18), "Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this!" And all is prepared for the understanding one. And many such things are mentioned at the end of the Book of Psalms, as fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling His word. And thus the waters are above the heavens, and how the luminaries and the stars are in one expanse, and all is true. And the sages of the Talmud in our generation are diverse in their approaches. There are those who delve into matters of prohibition and permission, and there are those who possess knowledge of the Midrashim, and they too provide new insights and seek meaning for every word, whether surplus or lacking. And now, let me state a general principle: Know that the prophets do not guard the words themselves in their years; rather, they guard the meanings alone, which are the essence, as in the words of Eliezer (Genesis 24), "The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you." And Isaac said to Esau (Genesis 27), "So that my soul may bless you before I die." And Rebekah said (Genesis 27), "So that I may bless you before the Lord before my death." And in the dream (Genesis 41), "Handsome in appearance and robust in form," and in the interpretation, it is not stated thus, but to Balaam (Numbers 22), it is said, "You shall not curse them at all, and indeed, you shall bless them." And in the words of Moses (Numbers 21), "And he sent messengers to Sihon, saying, 'Let me pass through your land; I will not turn aside into field or vineyard.'" But Moses changed it and said, "We will not pass through the field." And it is written (Exodus 32), "Now, leave Me alone, and let My anger flare up against them, that I may consume them." But Moses changed it and said, "Turn from Your burning anger and relent from this disaster against Your people." And there are many such instances. And behold, in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), "Remember" (Deuteronomy 5), "Observe" (Exodus 20), "You shall not covet" (Deuteronomy 5), "You shall not desire" (Exodus 20), "And any false oath" (Deuteronomy 5), "And any vain oath." The letters 'vav' (ו) in "Avnei" (אבני) are missing, and Moses changed it to have a 'vav' (ו). Also, "You shall not commit adultery" - this is an addition and a rebuke, and the intelligent one will understand.

So far then Jacob's efforts provided him with useful information about how to approach Esau when he would meet him. Jacob's fear did not concern his own death at the hands of Esau, but he was concerned about the possible death of members of his family, concerning whom no promise from G-d had been received. The wording of the promise at Bet El in the dream of the ladder, had been directed only at Jacob alone. (3) Jacob divided the camp so that he could not be faulted for having neglected a chance to ensure partial survival. No doubt, the camp mentioned last, was positioned in such a way that Esau would encounter it first. Should Esau want to vent his rage by destroying Jacob's camp, and his anger could be assuaged by such a pogrom, Jacob's stratagem would have worked since that camp contained no one especially dear to him. If there had been only one camp and that had been attacked, all might have been lost. Jacob's prayer at that point acknowledged both the assistance received thus far and the promises made; it made the point however that all G-d’s promises made to Abraham and Isaac would come to nought if he and his family were not saved at this time. Jacob indicated that he did not think that he personally had any merit to entitle him to ask for favors for himself, seeing that when he had first set out on his quest he had only had a walking staff to call his own, and he had received so many favors from G-d that he was a wealthy man by now. He appealed for help, since, though assured of victory, in a battle involving so many, even victory might involve heavy casualties. G-d had not yet promised that no harm would come to any of them. Jacob was certainly entitled to feel alarmed at that point in his life. At the conclusion of his prayer, he looked for a sign that his prayer had received a favorable hearing. This is why he chose to spend the night at the site where he had offered his prayer. Since Jacob's efforts to save himself had not yet included a financial sacrifice, G-d withheld reassurance until he had done his share in that respect. It was the absence of a response from G-d then that galvanized Jacob into rising early on the following morning to arrange for the gifts to be sent to Esau. There are times when preoccupation with worldly matters-- which are after all only our second most important concerns-- exceeds what is reasonable and is apt to be misinterpreted. Jacob's encounter with the spiritual counterpart of Esau is an example of this. Since Jacob had risen during the night in order to carry insignificant belongings across the river Yabbok, this had been misinterpreted by Esau's guardian angel as evidence that Jacob was excessively concerned with worldly goods. This provided said angel with the opportunity to challenge Jaob's moral superiority over Esau (Chullin 91). Jacob recovered quickly enough from this momentary lapse, and the angel had to acknowledge Jacob's claim to morally high standards, by revealing to him that he would henceforth be known as "Israel." Nonetheless, the momentary weakness displayed and referred to by the Torah euphemistically as "dislocation of the hip joint," is frequently found among Jacob's descendants, and gives Esau/Amalek opportunities to attack the Jewish people's claim to moral leadership. Already Isaac had warned against this weakness in his blessing to Esau, when he told the latter, that he, Esau, would be able to shake off the yoke of his younger brother whenever the latter would fail to live up to his standards (Genesis 27,41). (7) The angel's request to let him go, is simply another way of saying to Jacob, "Why do you waste your time detaining me, when you should be busy preparing gifts for Esau."

(1) We have to understand this whole story as a continuation of the previously reported incident, in which G'd had criticised Moses openly for having appeared to doubt His ability to supply the people with large quantities of meat. Under the circumstances, Miriam and Aaron also found reason to criticise Moses. They believed that Moses, having married a woman belonging to another nation, had now become ashamed of this, and that this was the reason he had separated from her. They were convinced that his status as a prophet had nothing to do with this separation, since they too were prophets, and this did not interfere with their family life. If Moses were to use the argument of his being a prophet, they considered that this would be showing off his piety. This was their second sin, in fact. G'd heard all this, and decided to reprimand them more severely than He would have done, had their criticism been more factual, and if they had not chosen a point in time when they believed Moses to be out of favour with G'd. First of all, by testifying to Moses' humility, the Torah squelches the thought that he could have been showing off his piety. Secondly, it states that the separation had nothing to do with Moses having developed a dislike for his wife. Matters which would be considered private by other couples who conduct their sex life in the confines of their bedrooms, would assume a quasi public character in the case of Moses, since he had to be available for communication from G'd on a seven day, twenty four hour basis. He could therefore not afford to be found tamey, ritually impure due to the emission of seminal fluid at any moment. Even the brief space of time it would require to immerse himself in a ritual bath, would mean that he would keep G'd waiting, on occasion. Because Miriam and Aaron did not appreciate the different level of Moses' prophetic powers and stature, they had arrived at an opposite conclusion regarding Moses' motivation. By addressing them suddenly, G'd wanted to demonstrate to Miriam and Aaron that whereas they had not been tuned in to this communication and had been totally unprepared for it, their brother was perfectly at ease, comfortable with this "sudden" communication. Miriam and Aaron were forced to remain outside the tabernacle, whereas Moses was inside it. Only through Moses being in the presence of the shechinah, did they receive any communication at all. (2) G'd then proceeded to outline the qualitative difference between Moses' prophetic powers, and those of Miriam and Aaron respectively. Im yihye nevi-achem, "if he were a prophet according to your definition of the term," G'd would speak to him in a dream or through a reflection. (verses 6-8) Other prophets receive their communications in one of four ways. A) In a dream. B) Through a reflected image, while remaining awake but in a state of trembling. C) In a parable, through a riddle, by means of an angel. D) After having prepared themselves spiritually to a state necessary to receive a communication. In chapter seven of his sefer hamada, Maimonides has elaborated on the Talmudic statement in Yevamot 49, explaining that the prophecy of Moses was in the nature of a "clear vision," whereas all other prophets received only "clouded visions." Our Parshah explains some of the aspects of prophecy discussed by Maimonides, as well as others not dealt with in his sefer hamada. Mar-ah, is the mirror which is the means by which the prophet receives his message while awake or asleep. There are four basic deficiencies when one receives a communication by means of a mirror. They leave the recipient unable to comprehend the message in its entirety. 1) The viewer sees only what is immediately opposite him, anything behind a curtain, for instance, would not be seen, since only the curtain itself is reflected by the mirror. In this way, prophets receive an external view of things, without comprehending its substance. Abraham's belief that Isaac was to be sacrificed is an example of this. Although it appeared as if G'd had changed His mind, lack of comprehension of the true nature of G'ds command, only affected the viewer. Similarly, Samuel erred thinking G'd had wanted him to appoint Yishai's eldest son, until G'd told him not to be guided by the "exterior." i.e. mar-eyhoo. Even at the beginning of his career, he had mistaken the call of Eli, the High Priest, his mentor, no less than three times. (Samuel I chapter 3) This kind of communication is described by Solomon in his Song of Songs as "behold, He was standing behind our wall, observing through the windows, peering through the lattices." (chapter 2,9) Concerning all this, G'd says "not so My servant Moses; he is at home in any part of My house." The second deficiciency when perceiving by means of a mirror, is that all communication is only visual; the viewer cannot hear anything that may be spoken by the figure appearing in the mirror. Consequently, understanding is liable to be fragmentary, the whole picture is not communicated. Gestures may be observed, but no sound is audible. Zacharyah 4, and Daniel 10, are examples of the inadequacy to the prophet of this kind of revelation, unless there is further assistance. Concerning this flaw which other prophets have to put up with when they receive G'ds communications, G'd says about Moses "I speak to him mouth to mouth." His ears, not only his eyes are part of his prophetic visions. The third disadvantage in perceiving by means of a mirror, is that one does not behold the actual form or shape of the object shown, but only its two dimensional reproduction, i.e. reflection. This is like making the recipient of the vision guess at the real essence of something. It is as if asking him to piece together parts of a puzzle, chidot. Mar-eh, spelled with the vowel segal, means a true image, not the reflected one. Moses receives mar-eh, not mar-ah. The fourth disadvantage of viewing by means of a mirror is that whoever wants to view things in a mirror, must first assume a position opposite, directly in front of the mirror. Whatever is seen however, appears inverted. What is right in reality and parallel to the viewer, appears as on the left of the viewer. The viewer must employ his brain to compensate for the distortion inherent in viewing things in a mirror. Moses, on the other hand, sees temunat hashem, the true image, not something distorted in a mirror. After G'd had outlined to Miriam and Aaron how different Moses' level of prophetic perceptions was from theirs, He challenges them "why have you not had enough reverence for him to talk about My servant etc." i.e. "about ME?" Here G'd makes the point that Moses is indeed the spiritual father of all prophets, and as such, a special reverence is required in our attitude towards him. When the Mishnah Avot 4, 15, says "may the reverence for your teacher equal the reverence for Heaven," our Parshah is its source. The sin of Miriam and Aaron was twofold, since in making derogatory remarks about Moses, they had actually criticised G'd by implication. Moses was G'ds chosen instrument, after all. Secondly, Moses' character was so perfect, that they had no right to impute base motives to any of his actions. When G'd had finished explaining to Miriam and Aaron how they had erred, He withdrew, and Miriam was struck by the skin disease, since it had only been she who had actually done the talking. Aaron had been included in the accusation, since by remaining a silent listener, he had become an accessory to the travesty committed. Proof that Aaron had kept silent, is the fact that the Torah does not say "Miriam and Aaron spoke," using the plural form, or the masculine form, which would have included Aaron. (3) The plea "do not lay sin upon us," means "since we have already admitted our guilt, do not reprimand us any further for this sin, but pray for us." In answer to Moses' prayer to heal Miriam of her affliction, G'd says "since even Aaron had not suggested that she go completely free, only that she should not die, her punishment would be temporary banishment. Her sin being also against her father in Heaven, said father would ban her from His presence temporarily." (4) The fact that the people did not continue their journey during Miriam's quarantine, was not an unmixed blessing for her. Though it reflected the fact that they held Miriam in high esteem, it was also the surest way of publicising what had happened to her, since the delay in travelling would lead to questions concerning the reason for the delay. All of this would result in increased respect for Moses and his prophetic powers. The Parshah teaches the lesson that one must be exceedingly careful when criticising one's leaders. Solomon, in Proverbs 18,12-14, summarizes the lesson to be learned from this Parshah. Moses, who enjoyed tremendous prestige and honour was exemplified by his humility, whereas Miriam the greatest prophetess, had let her pride cause her to slander her brother. The principal error to be avoided when criticising one's leaders, is not to apply one's own low standards of conduct to those of one's leaders.