תלמוד על שמות 32:4

So what did Jeroboam do¹²⁹To commit a new kind of sin.? Because he made two golden calves. But did Israel not make many calves¹³⁰The sin is not new; for the Yerushalmi Jeroboam has part in the World to Come.? Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai stated: Thirteen calves did Israel make¹³¹Not a single golden calf but 13.; of these one was common property¹³²Greek δημόσιος, -α, -ον, adj. “belonging to the people”. Also used as noun. to all of them. What is the reason? They said, these are your gods, Israel¹³³Ex. 32:4,8.; this refers to the twelve tribes. This is your god¹³⁴Neh. 9:18., i. e., one common property for all of them.

It is written¹⁵⁸Is. 3:18–24. This paragraph simply explains the difficult words in the text, without connection to the rules of the Sabbath., on that day the Eternal will remove the splendor of the anklets, bark shoes¹⁵⁹Latin corticeus, a, um, “of bark, cork”., as you are saying, with their feet they skid¹⁶⁰Is. 3:16.. The head bands, שלטוניה¹⁶¹The word is unexplained; Arukh reads שרטטיא. Cf. the late Greek σαταρίς, σαταρνίς, -ιδος, ἡ “woman’s headdress” (E. G.)., as you are saying “the head-band of the hair net.¹⁶²Mishnah Negaim 11:11. The Mishnah explains that anything which may become impure by the impurity of a corpse may become impure by skin disease. As explained in Mishnah Kelim 28:10, the שְׁבִיס is a decoration of a hair net which covers the front from ear to ear.” The half-moons, necklaces¹⁶³With G read Greek μανιάκης, -ου, ὁ, “necklace” worn by Persians and Gauls. The word in the Leiden ms. is unexplained., as you are saying, he took the half-moons from the necks of their camels¹⁶⁴Jud. 8:21.. The pendants, Solomonic jewelry¹⁶⁵The translation is very tentative. The dictionaries propose to read Greek σταλαγμία “ear pendant” assuming the γ was elided.. Chains, chains¹⁶⁶The Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew word of the verse.. Veils, silken¹⁶⁷For בלנידייא reading Latin lanicium, -ii, n., “wool, silk, cotton” (E. G.).. Head bands, diadems, as you are saying, your head bands on your heads¹⁶⁸Ez. 24:23.. Foot chains, ποδοψέλλα¹⁵⁴With G one has to read Greek ποδοψέλλιον τό “anklet”.. Tyings, bells. Belly wraps, Aquila translated אסטו מוכריאה¹⁶⁹The word is unexplained. Cf. Greek στόμιον, τό, “opening, bridle, female ornament for the neck” (E. G.)., something which is put on the place of breathing. And incantations, precious stones¹⁷⁰Arabic قديس “precious stone”. put on the larynx. Rings, rings¹⁶⁶The Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew word of the verse.. Nose rings, something put on the nose. Overcoats, περιζόματα¹⁷¹Greek “body wrap”.. Wrappings, tunics¹⁷²Read קולבין for Greek κολόβιον “tunic”. and tunics¹⁷³The same as before in Aramaic.. The shawls, large fine tissues¹⁷⁴Greek σάβανον “fine tissue”.. Handbags, decorated belts¹⁷⁵Greek ζωνάριον “belt”. and decorated pure silk tissues¹⁷⁶Greek τό ὁλοσερικόν “pure silk tissue”.. As you are saying, he took from their hands and tied it in tissue¹⁷⁷Ex. 32:4.. The head covers, head covers¹⁶⁶The Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew word of the verse.. The sheets, the sheets¹⁶⁶The Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew word of the verse.. The turbans, אוֹלָרַייָא¹⁷⁸The meaning of this word is unknown. Cf. Latin velarium, -ii, n. “cover” or velamen, -nis, n., “veil, cover”., as you are saying, he said, put … the pure turban on his head¹⁷⁹Zech. 3:5.. And the veils, fine cloth¹⁸⁰Cf. Chapter 4, Note 45., as you are saying, they took away my veil, the watchmen on the walls¹⁸¹Cant. 5:7..

Rabbi Hananya, deputy of the priests, would say: Anyone who takes words of Torah to heart is no longer troubled by thoughts of destruction, thoughts of hunger, foolish thoughts, lustful thoughts, thoughts of temptation, thoughts of another man’s wife, thoughts of meaningless things, or thoughts of human burden. So it was written in the book of Psalms by King David (Psalms 19:9), “The precepts of the Eternal are true, bringing joy to the heart. The commandments of the Eternal are clear, illuminating the eyes.” But anyone who does not take words of Torah to heart is troubled by thoughts of destruction, thoughts of hunger, foolish thoughts, lustful thoughts, thoughts of temptation, thoughts of another man’s wife, thoughts of meaningless things, and thoughts of human burden. So it was written in Deuteronomy (28:46–48) by Moses our teacher, “They will be a sign and a proof against you and your offspring for all time. Because you would not serve the Eternal your God with joy and gladness over the abundance of everything. You will have to serve, in hunger and in thirst, naked and lacking everything.” “In hunger.” How so? (When a person wishes) to eat even barley bread, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for wheat bread and fatty meat. “In thirst.” How so? When a person wishes he could drink just a drop of vinegar, or beer, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for the finest wine in the land. “Naked.” How so? When a person wants to wear a wool or linen shirt, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for the finest silk in the land. “Lacking everything.” Without a candle, without a knife, and without a table. Another interpretation of “lacking everything”: Without vinegar and without salt. For this is a curse that people often give: May there be no vinegar or salt in your house!
He would also say (with regard to Song of Songs 1:6): “Do not look at me, for I am blackened, scorched by the sun.” These are all the Jewish girls who cast off the yolk of the Holy Blessed One, and accepted human kingship upon themselves.
[The verse continues:] “My mother’s children were angry with me.” This is Moses, who killed the Egyptian, as it says (Exodus 2:11–12), “Sometime after that, when Moses had grown older, he went out among his brothers and saw what they were enduring…and he turned this way and that, and saw that there was no one there.” What do we learn from “there was no one there”? This teaches that Moses brought the question before the council of angels who serve God, and asked them: Shall I kill this man? They said to him: Yes, kill him. And did Moses kill him with a sword? No, he killed him with words, as it says (Exodus 2:14), “Are you saying you will kill me, just as you killed the Egyptian?” This teaches that Moses killed him by saying the [Ineffable] Name of God.
(Another interpretation of) “My mother’s children are angry with me”: this is Moses, who fled to Midian, as it says (Exodus 2:15,17), “Pharaoh heard what happened, and sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh. He arrived in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well…And some shepherds came and tried to drive [Jethro’s daughters] away. And Moses got up and saved them, and gave water to their flocks.” Then Moses came and sat among them to render judgment. He said: The general practice in the world is for men to fill the buckets and women to give water to the animals. Here, women draw the water and men give the water to the animals. There is a perversion of justice in this place! (They are guilty by law, and have become guilty through this incident.) Some say that the whole time Moses was standing near the mouth of the well, the water was bubbling up to meet him, and when he left, the water went back down. Then Moses said: Woe is me! For I have left my people and come to live among these heathens.
Another interpretation of “My mother’s children are angry with me”: This is Israel, who made the Golden Calf. At first, they said (Exodus 24:7), “Everything the Eternal has said, we will do and we will understand.” And then they went back and said (Exodus 32:4), “These are your gods, Israel!”
Another interpretation of “My mother’s children are angry with me”: These are the spies, who slandered the land and caused Israel to die in the desert, as it says (Numbers 14:29), “In this desert your carcasses will fall.”
“They made me guard the vineyards” (Song of Songs 1:6). The Holy Blessed One said: Who is it that caused Me to favor the heathens? Israel! (For while) the heathens live well, [Israel] are oppressed, scorned, and scattered about.
Another interpretation of “They made me guard the vineyards”: This is Israel, who were exiled to Babylon. And prophets rose among them and told them to separate their donations and tithes. The people said to them: We were exiled because we did not separate our donations and tithes, and now you tell us we should separate them? [And that is why it says, “They made me guard the vineyards.”]