וַיִּנָּ֖חֶם יְהוָ֑ה עַל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לְעַמּֽוֹ׃ (פ)
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Kedushat Levi
In order to understand the words of Nachmanides properly we must remember that up until the time of the sin of the golden calf, G’d had dealt with the Jewish people on the basis of the attribute of Mercy, i.e. even when they committed sins, He had kept in mind that this was the people who represented the emanation of תפארת, usually translated as “harmony,” but perhaps here more appropriately as “glory,” i.e. they were the people that enabled G’d to be glorified as they had accepted His rule voluntarily. The moment this people had become guilty of constructing a golden calf and deifying it, they had ceased to be G’d’s people and had become Moses’ people, as G’d said to Moses in Exodus 32,7 when G’d told Moses: שחת עמך אשר העלית מארץ מצרים, “your people whom you have brought up from Egypt has become corrupt.”
Moses was now (second stay of 40 days on Mount Sinai) concerned to reverse this demotion of the Jewish people from being G’d’s people and having become his people. He was anxious that G’d would once more deal with the Jewish people on the basis He had dealt with them prior to this colossal error on their part. He was afraid that even if G’d were to forgive the people the sin committed at Mount Sinai, this was no guarantee that at a future time they would not again commit a sin as a result of which their existence as a nation would be jeopardized. If at such a time the people, basically, were his people instead of G’d’s people, this could prove an insurmountable barrier to G’d’s forgiveness, [especially if it were to occur when they no longer had a leader such as Moses. Ed.] It was this second part of G’d’s forgiveness that it took Moses 40 days to secure.
While pardon for the sin itself occurred even before Moses descended from the Mountain the first time, i.e. וינחם ה' על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו, “G’d reconsidered the harm He had said He would do to His people,” (Exodus 32,14) Israel’s status as G’d’s people had not been reinstated. [Seeing that in verse 14 Israel is again referred to as “His people,” the presumption that the whole nation had been disowned by G’d when He accused Moses of the sinners being his people, is difficult to accept. Ed.]
Moses foresaw that the Israelites would become guilty of other sins in the future. Moses reminds the people that their obstinate defiance of G’d had started long before the sin of the golden calf, i.e. ממרים הייתם מיום דעתי אתכם, “you were defiant from the day I became acquainted with you.” If Moses would not succeed in restoring Israel’s former status of תפארת, being the people with whom G’d could “glorify Himself,” their entire future would be jeopardized. This is why on the day after Moses shattered the Tablets, burned the golden calf, and executed the active idol worshippers, and ritually cleansed the survivors by sprinkling them with water containing gold dust of the calf, he ascended the Mountain again, unbidden this time. (Exodus 32, 30-31) The mention of the various sins listed above in 9,22-24 are Moses’ way of explaining why he had to ascend Mount Sinai again immediately as if he would not obtain rehabilitation of the people’s status in the G’d’s eyes, any one of these sins that he knew they would commit in the future might have spelled their doom.
When Moses recalls to the people in 9,26 that he appealed to G’d with the words: אל תשחת עמך, ”do not annihilate Your people,” these were the words he had used the first time after G’d told him to descend as his people had become corrupted. He had immediately wanted to reject the notion that the Israelites had become his people instead of G’d’s people.
We can now understand the sequence in which Moses recalls past events while not sticking to the chronological order.
Moses was now (second stay of 40 days on Mount Sinai) concerned to reverse this demotion of the Jewish people from being G’d’s people and having become his people. He was anxious that G’d would once more deal with the Jewish people on the basis He had dealt with them prior to this colossal error on their part. He was afraid that even if G’d were to forgive the people the sin committed at Mount Sinai, this was no guarantee that at a future time they would not again commit a sin as a result of which their existence as a nation would be jeopardized. If at such a time the people, basically, were his people instead of G’d’s people, this could prove an insurmountable barrier to G’d’s forgiveness, [especially if it were to occur when they no longer had a leader such as Moses. Ed.] It was this second part of G’d’s forgiveness that it took Moses 40 days to secure.
While pardon for the sin itself occurred even before Moses descended from the Mountain the first time, i.e. וינחם ה' על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו, “G’d reconsidered the harm He had said He would do to His people,” (Exodus 32,14) Israel’s status as G’d’s people had not been reinstated. [Seeing that in verse 14 Israel is again referred to as “His people,” the presumption that the whole nation had been disowned by G’d when He accused Moses of the sinners being his people, is difficult to accept. Ed.]
Moses foresaw that the Israelites would become guilty of other sins in the future. Moses reminds the people that their obstinate defiance of G’d had started long before the sin of the golden calf, i.e. ממרים הייתם מיום דעתי אתכם, “you were defiant from the day I became acquainted with you.” If Moses would not succeed in restoring Israel’s former status of תפארת, being the people with whom G’d could “glorify Himself,” their entire future would be jeopardized. This is why on the day after Moses shattered the Tablets, burned the golden calf, and executed the active idol worshippers, and ritually cleansed the survivors by sprinkling them with water containing gold dust of the calf, he ascended the Mountain again, unbidden this time. (Exodus 32, 30-31) The mention of the various sins listed above in 9,22-24 are Moses’ way of explaining why he had to ascend Mount Sinai again immediately as if he would not obtain rehabilitation of the people’s status in the G’d’s eyes, any one of these sins that he knew they would commit in the future might have spelled their doom.
When Moses recalls to the people in 9,26 that he appealed to G’d with the words: אל תשחת עמך, ”do not annihilate Your people,” these were the words he had used the first time after G’d told him to descend as his people had become corrupted. He had immediately wanted to reject the notion that the Israelites had become his people instead of G’d’s people.
We can now understand the sequence in which Moses recalls past events while not sticking to the chronological order.