פירוש על שמות 33:14

ויאמר פני ילכו AND HE SAID, MY FACE SHALL GO WITH THEE Understand this as the Targum renders it: My Shechinah will go — I will no more send an angel with you, but I Myself will go. פנים here has the sense of “Self” as in (II Samuel 17:11) “and that thou go in the battle in thine own person (פניך)”.

PANAI’ (MY PRESENCE) SHALL GO. In the opinion of all commentators this means, “I myself will go.” And they brought a parallel expression to this from the verse, ‘upanecha’ (and thine own person) shalt go to battle.⁴⁷⁸II Samuel 17:11.

פני ילכו, when you are moving toward the Holy Land My presence will walk before you. The emphasis here is on the word “before” instead of G’d saying “among you” [the author is reading this into the text as G’d left the definition of where His presence would be wide open. Ed.]

ויאמר פני ילכו, "He said: 'My presence will go with you.'" Many commentators have addressed themselves to these verses. I believe the correct approach to these verses must be based on a comment in Tikkunim 18 that the Torah refers to the שכינה as פני ה׳, seeing this is the aspect of G'd visible to the Celestial Beings. This is also the allusion contained in the words of Exodus 23,15 ולא יראו פני ריקם, "they shall not see My Face (while) empty-handed." In our verse G'd is responding to Moses' arguments and informs him that He Himself will go with him as His attribute פני השם, i.e. the שכינה. Concerning the matter of Moses having reservations about such an arrangement, G'd added: והניחותי לך, "I will give you rest."

פני ילכו, I, Myself, will go, as you have requested. Compare Samuel II 17,11 where we encounter the identical expression ופניך הולכים בקרב, “You G’d personally will be along during the battle.”

פני ילכו והנחותי לך, “My Presence will go and put your mind at rest.” Nachmanides writes that the commentators agree that G’d agreed that His essence would go with the people. We find similar words with the same meaning in Samuel II 17,11 פניך הולכים בקרב, when Chushai advises Avshalom to personally lead his troops against his father David. [the word פניך, meaning that Avshalom would prove that he was serious in his rebellion, that his innermost self was involved, and knowing this his supporters would not need to fear that he might change his mind at the last moment, leaving them to appear as the rebels and having no longer a cause to fight for. Ed.]

V. 14. פני ילכו wie: ופניך הלכים בקרב (Sam. II. 17, 11): mein Angesicht wird selbst wieder mit euch gehen, d. h. den dir gewordenen Auftrag, allein, kraft der dir innewohnenden Einsicht, das Volk weiter zu führen, wirst du nicht lange mehr zu erfüllen haben. Das durch die Ankündigung: לא אעלה בקרבך hervorgetretene tiefe Trauergefühl hat bereits den Zweck dieser Ankündigung zur Hälfte erreicht, hat bereits das Volk einen Schritt über die Gesunkenheit emporgehoben, die die angekündigte Veränderung in der Führung Gottes notwendig gemacht haben würde. Dass das פני ילכו mit אעלה בקרבך, oder mindestens mit dem vielleicht eine Mittelstufe bezeichnenden אלך עמכם identisch sei, beweist die Bitte V. 15: אם אין פניך הולכים וגו׳, die V. 16 also motiviert wird: ובמה יודע וגו׳ הלא בלכתך עמנו וגו׳, wo offenbar לכתך עמנו ונפלינו וגו׳ das פניך הולכים kommentiert. Also: פני ילכו und doch: והנחתי לך. Obgleich die Voraussetzung, die du deiner Bitte zu Grunde gelegt hast, nicht dauernd eintreten wird, indem ich selber in unmittelbarer Leitung wieder walten werde, so werde ich doch deiner Bitte willfahren und dir die erbetene Einsicht gewähren.

והניחותי לך, “and I will give you rest.” I will go with you until the conquest and give you rest from all your enemies.” Moses had quoted G-d to this effect when discussing the commandment to wipe out Amalek utterly In Deuteronomy 25,19. (Rash’bam)

והניחותי לך; will give you rest from your enemies around you, so that you will bring the people into the land in safety.

והניחותי לך, My presence will remain with you until I have brought you to settlement after you have conquered the land of Canaan and you have rest from all your enemies. Moses had confirmed this promise in Deuteronomy 3,20 as well as in Deuteronomy 25,19, the wording being unmistakable והיה בהניח ה' לכם מכל אויביך מסביב, “it will be when the Lord will give you rest from all your enemies surrounding you, etc.” Anyone who translates the words והניחותי לך as G’d telling Moses that He will put his mind at rest by agreeing to his request is in error. If that could be the meaning, we would have to ask why only in this instance did G’d use such language when on the many other occasions G’d agreed to a request by Moses He never added the words: “so as to put your mind at rest?”

G'd also meant that He would allow an extra-terrestrial light to rest on Moses, one that would not fade; at the same time whatever degree of spiritual light Moses had enjoyed thus far would continue, although seen from Israel's vantage point the Divine Presence שכינה would be perceived as preceding the people on their journeys. This was an aspect of G'd's attribute of דין, Justice, as is evident from the name with which G'd identified Himself here. [I believe that having said that the expression פני השם referred to the way G'd is manifest in Heaven, the author concludes that this is an aspect of דין, seeing there is no need for the attribute of Mercy in the Celestial Regions. Ed.] Moses responded to this offer by saying: "If Your presence will not go with me," in verse 15.