Commentaire de citation sur L’Exode 32:17

ויאמר משה אל יהושע, “Moses said to Joshua, etc.” According to Nachmanides it is clear that from this day on when he came to the special attention of Moses, Joshua bore the name Joshua instead of Hoseah. We find him referred to by this name again in Exodus 32,17 when he commented on the sound of the shouting going on in connection with the golden calf. So what do we do with the Torah telling us that prior to dispatching this man as one of the 12 spies, Moses called Hoseah Joshua? (Numbers 13,16) We must assume that the Torah uses that instance to tell us that the man now called Joshua had already experienced this name change in our portion here, as a result of having become Moses’ personal valet. As to the comment by our sages that the additional letters symbolise that his name from now mean ק-ה יושעיך, “may G’d help you!” i.e. that Moses was afraid he might otherwise be influenced by the evil advice of the ten spies, could mean that already at that early stage of the Israelites’ wanderings Moses had feared such a development. It is also possible that as of the time when Joshua became one of the twelve men chosen to spy out the land of Canaan, Moses decreed publicly that he was henceforth to be referred to exclusively as Joshua. The reason why Moses himself did not lead the people in this battle was 1) to enable him to offer the prayers for success on the hilltop, and 2) there was a longstanding tradition that Esau or his descendants would ultimately be vanquished only by a descendant of Rachel. History has born this out, as Amalek was defeated by King Sha-ul, a descendant of Binyamin (son of Rachel). The remnant of Amalek, i.e.. Haman, eventually fell into the hands of Mordechai, also a descendant of Kish, King Sha-ul’s father. Moses relying largely on prayer, was due to the fact that the Israelites were completely ignorant of the art of conducting warfare. He felt that as long as he was a visible symbol for the people they would make up in faith and dedication what they lacked in skill. It is also possible that Moses was deeply concerned that Yitzchok’s blessing that Esau and his descendants would live by the sword would now weigh heavily against the Jewish people. This was the first time that internecine war between the descendants of Yitzchok had broken out, and it would continue at intervals until when the Messiah will come and the remnants of Esau will be resoundingly defeated for the last time. The destruction of the second Temple, the exile we find ourselves in still, are all due to the descendants of Amalek/Esau, and Moses was most aware of the historical implications. [this is why we daily add the relevant verses from the Book of Ovadiah, predicting the defeat of Esau at the end of reciting the victory song by Moses over the Egyptians. Ed.]

AND MOSES SAID TO JOSHUA. It would appear from here that from the day he came before him, Moses called him Joshua, and so it is also written: And Joshua heard the noise of the people.⁴⁴³Further, 32:17. Scripture which states in the case of the spies, And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua,⁴⁴⁴Numbers 13:16. must then be referring to the beginning, [when Joshua first came to minister before him]. The verse informs us that this Hoshea the son of Nun, who was chosen to be among the spies, is the same one that Moses called Joshua. Our Rabbis commented⁴⁴⁵Sotah 34 b, and quoted by Rashi, ibid. [that Moses gave him this name of Yehoshua, which is a compound of Y-ah (G-d) and hoshea (help), because] he in effect prayed for him, “May G-d help thee that thou mayest not follow the [evil] counsel of the spies.” The intent of this comment is to state that because of this event of which Moses knew in advance, i.e., that Joshua was destined to go with the spies, he called him by that name [Yehoshua — Joshua] at the outset. We may also say that at that time [when the spies were chosen], Moses designated that name in front of the assembly, i.e., that his name henceforth be not Hoshea but Joshua.
The reason that Moses commanded Joshua to fight with Amalek was so that he [Moses] might pray with the raising of hands on the top of the hill.⁴⁴⁶Verse 10. He went up there so that he might see the Israelites engage in battle and train his sight on them to bring them blessing. They too, upon seeing him with his hands spread heavenward and saying many prayers, would have trust in him, and they would thus be endowed with additional valor and strength.
In Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer,⁴⁴⁷In the middle of Chapter 44. we find additionally: “All Israel went outside of their tents, and they saw Moses kneeling on his knees, and they did likewise. He fell on his face to the earth and they did likewise. He spread his hands heavenward, and they also did so. [From here, you learn the principle that] as the public reader of prayers⁴⁴⁸Literally: “the deputy of the congregation.” recites, so do all the people respond after him.⁴⁴⁹See Berachoth 49 b: “After the fashion of his benediction, so do the others answer him.” See my Hebrew commentary, p. 371, for further elucidation of this point. And thus the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Amalek and his people to fall by the hand of Joshua.” But if so, [i.e., if Moses’ hands were spread heavenward], the sense of the expression, with the rod of G-d in my hand, must be that when Moses went up to the top of the hill and saw Amalek, he stretched forth his hand with the rod to bring down [upon the Amalekites] strokes of pestilence, the sword and destruction,⁴⁵⁰See Esther 9:5. just as it is said in the case of Joshua: Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thy hand.⁴⁵¹Joshua 8:18. From the moment Moses began to pray and his hands were spread heavenward, he held nothing in his hand.
Moses our teacher did all this because Amalek was an enduring nation⁴⁵²See Jeremiah 5:15. and very powerful. The Israelites, on the other hand, were not accustomed to battle and had never seen it, just as Scripture says, lest peradventure the people repent when they see war.⁴⁵³Above, 13:17. In addition they were faint and weary, as it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy.⁴⁵⁴Deuteronomy 25:18. Therefore, he [Moses] feared them, and it became necessary for all this prayer and supplication.
It is possible that Moses feared lest Amalek be victorious with the sword, for he was the nation that inherited the sword by virtue of the blessing of the patriarch [Isaac], who said [to Esau, Amalek’s ancestor], and on thy sword you shall live.⁴⁵⁵Genesis 27:40. The first and final wars against Israel stem from this family, as Amalek is of the descendants of Esau.⁴⁵⁶Ibid., 36:12. It is from him who stood at the head of the nations [in power]⁴⁵⁷Numbers 24:20. Amalek was the first of the nations. See Ramban, ibid., where he interprets it to mean: “Amalek is the ‘mightiest’ of the nations. This was why he dared to come to fight Israel,” it is clear that Ramban’s intent here is similar. that the [first] war came against us. From Esau’s descendants, [namely, Rome],⁴⁵⁸See Vol. I, pp. 445, 568-569. the [present] exile and the last⁴⁵⁹Ramban pointedly uses the word “last” and not “the second” in order to indicate that the Third Sanctuary, for the restitution of which we pray, will never suffer destruction. The second destruction by the hands of the Romans was thus the “last” destruction. destruction of the Sanctuary came upon us, just as our Rabbis have said⁴⁶⁰Gittin 57b. See also above, Note 458. that today we are in the exile of Edom. When he will be vanquished, and he together with the many nations that are with him will be discomfited, we shall be saved out of it [i.e., the exile] forever, just as [the prophet] said, And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Eternal’s.⁴⁶¹Obadiah 1:21. Now whatever Moses and Joshua did with them [the Amalekites] at first, Elijah and Mashiach ben Yoseph⁴⁶²Succah 52b. See Ramban’s Sefer Hag’ulah (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, pp. 255-295) for further elucidation of his views of the process by which the final redemption will come to pass. For the purpose of illuminating his language here, suffice it to say that Mashiach ben Yoseph — or as Ramban calls him there, “Mashiach ben Ephraim,” since Ephraim was a son of Joseph — will first accomplish the ingathering of the exiles and fight their wars. Then Mashiach ben David will come. will do with their descendants. This was why Moses strained himself in this matter.

ETERNAL, WHY DOTH THY WRATH WAX HOT AGAINST THY PEOPLE? Now when Moses prayed about this great sin, it would have been fitting that he do so by way of confession and supplication, similar to what he said later on, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin,³²⁶Further, Verse 31. and just as Ezra prayed and confessed³²⁷Ezra 10:1. because of the faithlessness of them of the captivity,³²⁸Ibid., 9:4. and there is no reason why he should say, why doth the Eternal etc.? Our Rabbis, prompted by this [difficulty], have in various homiletic ways³²⁹See Shemoth Rabbah 43:7-10. tried to mention several reasons for Moses’ minimizing the sin before Him.
By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], Moses is saying: “Why do You give permission to the attribute of justice to hold sway over Your people, for You have taken them out of the land of Egypt for the sake of Your Name with the attribute of mercy ruling over them, and with the attribute of justice upon their enemies.”
Now this prayer — Why doth the Eternal… Wherefore should the Egyptians speak³³⁰Verses 11-12. — appears really to be the very same prayer he mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy, And I prayed unto G-d and I said: O Eternal G-d, destroy not Thy people,³³¹Deuteronomy 9:26. for the purport of the prayer is alike in both cases, the difference being only that here Scripture mentioned the prayer before it told us that he came down from the mountain, and there Moses mentioned it after it tells us that he came down from the mountain. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s opinion is that Moses did not pray for Israel as long as the idol was among them;³³²Hence the prayer recorded in Verses 11-13 was really not recited by Moses until after his descent from the mount and his cleansing the camp of the idolatrous worship, mentioned in Verses 15-29. — Ramban will differ with this interpretation of Ibn Ezra. but only when G-d told him, Let me alone, that I may destroy them,³¹⁸Ibid., Verse 14. and he realized that the fate [of the people] was dependent upon him, did he go down the mountain and destroy the calf, and then he returned to pray for forty days, there being no strict chronological order in the narrative of the Torah. But I do not agree with this opinion. For the prayer he recited upon his return to the mountain [after he had cleansed the camp of the idol] is the one which he mentions, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin.³²⁶Further, Verse 31. And if it is all one prayer³³³I.e., if the prayer mentioned in Verses 11-13, and the one in Verses 31-32, were both said at the same time, as Ibn Ezra would have it, namely during the forty days after he returned to the mountain, then why etc. which Moses said during the forty days after he returned to the mountain, why does Scripture divide it, mentioning here [in Verses 11-13] part of it, and after he had come down, mentioning the other part [in Verses 31-32]? Rather, these are two separate prayers. Therefore it appears that when G-d told him Let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them,³³⁴Verse 10 here. Moses immediately besought the face of the Eternal and did not delay at all, for he was afraid lest the wrath go out from G-d and the plague would begin³³⁵See Numbers 17:11. and consume them in a moment,³³⁶Ibid., Verse 10. therefore at once he said, Eternal, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people? Similarly I found it in Eileh Shemoth Rabbah:³³⁷Shemoth Rabbah 42:1. “Said Moses: ‘If I leave Israel [to their fate] and go down the mountain, they will never have a restoration again. Instead I will not move from here until I seek mercy for them.’ Immediately Moses began pleading on their behalf etc.” Thus he prayed for them and G-d repented of the evil which He said³³⁸Verse 14. to kill them and destroy them. That does not mean that He was [completely] reconciled with them, but at least He said, “I have repented, I will not destroy them.” And now that Moses had time, he went down the mountain and burnt the calf, and punished its worshippers, and afterwards he said to the people, I will go up unto the Eternal, perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin,³³⁹Verse 30. so that He should entirely forgive you. However, in the Book of Deuteronomy Moses narrated the account in another order, stating that after G-d had told him, Let Me alone, that I may destroy them,³⁴⁰Deuteronomy 9:14. he said, So I turned and came down.³⁴¹Ibid., Verse 15. The reason [for this change in the account of the narrative] is that Moses was listing to them there all their transgressions, and the pains he took for them. Thus he told them of the golden calf they had made in Horeb,³⁴²Ibid., Verse 8. on account of which he had to break the Tablets of the Law and to pray for them forty days and forty nights, and also for Aaron,³⁴³Ibid., Verse 20. and how he was put to the trouble of burning the calf. Then he continued to tell what they had done at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah,³⁴⁴Ibid., Verse 22. And when the Eternal sent them from Kadesh-barnea;³⁴⁵Ibid., Verse 23. and after he finished, Ye have been rebellious against the Eternal from the day that I knew you,³⁴⁶Ibid., Verse 24. he went back to the matter of his prayers which he had mentioned, and set down in order the two prayers, saying, So I fell down before the Eternal the forty days and forty nights that I fell down; because the Eternal had said He would destroy you³⁴⁷Ibid., Verse 25. — until I prayed, destroy not Thy people.³⁴⁸Ibid., Verse 26. It was not necessary for him to mention the second prayer³⁴⁹I.e., the prayer mentioned here in Verses 31-32: Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, etc. because he had already said there that he prayed for them forty days, and even here it does not mention [all the prayers he recited], for who can write down the many supplications and entreaties that he prayed for them during the forty days. And if you will understand what I have explained, then you will really comprehend that there were [here] two prayers, for at first he besought the face of the Eternal his G-d, and at the end [i.e., after he came down the mountain and burnt the golden calf etc. and then returned to the mountain], he fell down before the Eternal for forty days,³⁴⁷Ibid., Verse 25. as it is explained in the section, and Moses returned unto the Eternal.³⁵⁰Verse 31 here.
Now in the Book of Deuteronomy he mentioned, Moreover the Eternal was very angry with Aaron… and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.³⁵¹Deuteronomy 9:20. This he did not mention here at all for the sake of Aaron’s honor, for Moses did not want to mention in Aaron’s lifetime that he had been dependent upon his prayer, in order that he should not feel ashamed.³⁵²Of the grief he had caused (Abusaula). But there [in the Book of Deuteronomy] after Aaron’s death, he informed us of the truth. This is the correct order in these Scriptural sections.

ויקם משה ויהושע משרתו AND MOSES ROSE AND HIS MINISTER JOSHUA — I am not sure in what capacity Joshua appears here, but I think that as a disciple he was accompanying the teacher as far as the place where the bounds of the mountain were marked out, whence onward he was not permitted to proceed. From that point ויעל משה MOSES alone ASCENDED אל הר האלהים THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD, whilst Joshua pitched his tent there and stayed there during the whole forty days which Moses spent on the mountain. For thus we find that when Moses came down from the mountain it states, (Exodus 32:17) “and Joshua heard the voice of the people that they shouted” — from which we may infer that he was not with them in the camp.