Chasidut su Esodo 32:78
Hakhsharat HaAvrekhim
This is the entire matter. When that which transpires within man is hidden and not felt, it serves create a chasm between man and himself. He does not know himself and is not aware of what is going on inside of him. The soul of the ordinary man does not cease to shake, quiver, and cry out over its lowly status, its wounds, and its pains that it suffers due to man’s foolish actions and thoughts. And man does not feel the pain of his own soul because he does not stop to listen to its painful cries that resound within him, because it is the way of man to constantly be drawn to that which is external to him, perceiving things form the outside world, whether necessary or useless. Though man will easily take interest at something that takes place on the other side of the world, he barely pays attention to the uproar within his own soul. It could be that he even feels the pain of his soul, it is just that at the time that he feels it his desires and thoughts are sunk in the rubbish of worldly matters, and therefore the sobbing of his soul is mixed together with the sounds of worldly vanity.49See Shemos 32:18, “it is the voice of those that sing that I hear.” This may be compared to a man who is sleeping, and a mosquito comes and bites him on the forehead. If he is a merchant, he will dream that a bundle of merchandise fell on his forehead and wounded him. If he is a tailor, he will dream that his needle pierced his forehead. Everyone sees his dream in the garment of his own thoughts.
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 24:3, You have begun to show Your servant, etc,” According to Rashi’s commentary on Exodus 32,10 where G’d tried to forestall Moses’ prayer on behalf of his people, this had been an indication that basically G’d is very interested in our prayers. In light of Rashi’s comment there, why did Moses refer to “Your greatness, etc.; at this point?” The answer is that that by having said on that occasion “Leave Me be,” G’d had indicated that He normally longed for the prayers of the righteous, prayers which are capable of reversing potentially harmful decrees into beneficial ones. When Moses referred here to G’d having displayed that very greatness, the occasion had been his own readiness to pray and to reverse His decree. It was therefore appropriate now that he now do the same on his own behalf.
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 9,21. “and (the object of) your sin that you fashioned, the golden calf, and in Taveyrah, and at Massah, and when Hashem sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, etc, .you have repeatedly been defiant toward the Lord. When I lay prostrate before the Lord, etc.; etc,”
It appears difficult to understand why Moses who had begun in verse 18 to describe his prostrating himself before the Lord after the sin of the golden calf, after reciting numerous other sins of the Jewish people, once more continues with recounting his pleas for his people while prostrate before G’d in verse 25.
I believe that in order to understand Moses better, we must revert to the text of the Torah in Exodus 32,7 where G’d tells Moses to descend from the Mountain because the people had made themselves a golden calf as a symbol of G’d. At that time G’d had told Moses not to intervene by pleading for the people in order that He could proceed with annihilating them. (Exodus 32,10) At that time Moses had ignored G’d’s “suggestion,” and had immediately begun pleading for the survival of the Jewish people, the Torah’s report commencing with the words: ויחל משה וגו', “Moses implored, etc.”
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
It appears difficult to understand why Moses who had begun in verse 18 to describe his prostrating himself before the Lord after the sin of the golden calf, after reciting numerous other sins of the Jewish people, once more continues with recounting his pleas for his people while prostrate before G’d in verse 25.
I believe that in order to understand Moses better, we must revert to the text of the Torah in Exodus 32,7 where G’d tells Moses to descend from the Mountain because the people had made themselves a golden calf as a symbol of G’d. At that time G’d had told Moses not to intervene by pleading for the people in order that He could proceed with annihilating them. (Exodus 32,10) At that time Moses had ignored G’d’s “suggestion,” and had immediately begun pleading for the survival of the Jewish people, the Torah’s report commencing with the words: ויחל משה וגו', “Moses implored, etc.”
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
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Chovat HaTalmidim
And if you have hatred that has settled inside you against one of your fellows and you want to remove the hatred but are not able: As is well-known, because of the hate you already have towards him, you will see that he has shortcomings and sins. Only if you can remove the hate in your heart can you see if the shortcomings are really anything more than that. However as just mentioned, you want to remove the hatred from your heart but are not able. So then do this - write him a letter. Don't send it to him; just store in your wares. In it, you can deprecate him as much as the snake of hatred in your heart desires. For a few days, read the letter out loud and imagine that he is standing across from you and that you are cursing him with these curses and maledictions. Then after a few days, the anger you have towards him will certainly depart from your heart; and if you are more spiritually refined, you will even want to run to appease him. And do not wonder about this suggestion, and do not say that it is one of two things - either it is untrue or it is sorcery. For is this possible that when I write a letter and curse him and then read it again, I will be satisfied and I will even appease him? It is neither untrue, nor an act of sorcery. Rather it is a law of the psyche, that when one curses and maledicts one's enemies, his anger leaves him somewhat. (Editor's note from the printed edition: As it is stated in Siftei Tzaddikim in the name of R. Moshe Alshich, may his memory be blessed, on the verse, "And the Lord regretted, etc." [Exodus 32:14]) But since his fellow answers him back when he curses him, his hatred for him only grows. But you, who have written the harsh letter according to the great measure of your hate and read it out loud and disparaged him, will experience your anger towards him diminishing once you have cursed him. And when you come to read it again on the second day - when your anger has already lessened - and you are still deprecating him with the depracations of the letter that was written with the level of anger from [the previous day] when your anger was greater, your heart will already begin to rebuke itself a little on its own and say, "Did I really curse him with so many disparagements, maledictions and curses?" It will already be impossible for you to read all of the curses with yesterday's great anger. But have you not taken upon yourself to read it? Moreover not all of your anger has yet subsided. Hence you force yourself to keep reading. But on the third day, your anger is even more subdued than on the second day and it is already impossible for you to read it. You are already regretting that you revealed your feelings with so much deprecation and cursing. You will look for strategies to make up with him; and you will make up with him. One with a good heart will be quickly appeased, whereas the stiff-necked will need to read it more times. But, with God's help, all will be appeased by this. However only use this tactic of the letter on rare occasions. And be very careful not to lose it and not to show it to even your closest friends, so that your fellow not find out that you wrote it about him and his anger wax against you.
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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.
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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.
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Kedushat Levi
It is important to realize that the tribe of Levi who was singled out by G’d to perform special religious duties on behalf of the whole nation, was appointed twice. The male members of this tribe became distinctive at the time they had completed the first month of their lives. (Numbers 3,15) They were included in the census already at that tender age, whereas the other Israelites had to await their 20th birthday before they could be included in the census. (Numbers 1,3).
The concept of 12 tribes [excluding the Levites, Ed.] alluded to the commandments of the Creator handed down in the Torah, and that is why they had been given the collective name מטות, “staffs,” as the commandments by which Israelites guide themselves, and which are their main support during their lifetime on earth serve as their support, [in the sense of a walking cane.] They draw on this support to maintain and reinforce their faith in G’d. Performance of the commandments refines our intellect. The tribe of Levi is a special example of this as pointed out in Bamidbar Rabbah 1,12 where the author of the Midrash draws our attention to the fact that this tribe had to be counted in the proximity of the Tabernacle, as it had proven during the episode of the golden calf that it had absolute faith in G’d, and although a tiny minority (about 5%) of the nation, had risked their lives on behalf of G’d, by executing idol worshipping members of the nation. (Exodus 32,27-28).
We already explained that there are two levels of faith in G’d, and corresponding to that the Levites were counted on two levels. (at 30 days, and again when they reached the age of 30 years, (compare Numbers 4,23 et al) By that time their intellects had matured to the extent that they could be described as their faith in G’d reflecting the higher level. Their duties in and around the Tabernacle made it mandatory that they had spiritually matured enough to carry them out while thinking the appropriate religious thoughts.
Initially, G’d had commanded Moses to teach the Jewish people first about the Tabernacle, i.e. to instruct them in the ways to have faith in G’d on the basic level, i.e. to believe that He is the Creator of all phenomena perceived by the senses. The visible symbol of that faith was the structure called משכן. Only afterwards was Moses to teach them about the furnishings in the Tabernacle, the variety of attributes of the Creator, as symbolized in the Tabernacle by the various vessels and furnishings, or in the Torah by the various commandments. Moses, believing that the Jewish people as a whole had already attained the second and higher level of faith, considered it appropriate to acquaint them immediately with the details of the vessels to be used in the Tabernacle. Betzalel, having a more realistic view of the spiritual level of his peers, considered that they should first become familiar with more basic aspects of faith in the Lord as symbolized by the structure called משכן, Tabernacle.
Having said this we can also solve the problem raised by Nachmanides in connection with Exodus 19,4 where the Torah writes: אתם ראיתם אשר עשיתי למצרים....ואביא אתכם אלי, “you have seen what I have done to Egypt……. and I have brought you to Me.” Nachmanides questions the wording there as at that point the Jewish people had not yet experienced the revelation at Mount Sinai and had not yet been given the Torah. We may best understand this by remembering that while in Egypt the Jewish people (the generation experiencing the redemption, not the Israelites who had come to Egypt with Yaakov and their children) had not believed in the G’d of Avraham at all, -to wit their failure to circumcise their male children- so that the redemption was the starting point from which their faith in G’d as the Creator and as the G’d of Israel must be counted. True faith of the whole people did not commence until the first day of the month of Sivan, when for the first time, the Torah describes the Jewish people as united, i.e. ויחן ישראל , “Israel encamped,” (singular mode) as opposed to all previous encampments when the Torah always writes: ויחנו ישראל, Israel encamped, (plural mode). At that time they did not know yet how to serve the G’d Whom they all believed in as the Creator and as the G’d of their forefathers. This nuance is also evident in Onkelos’ rendering the end of Exodus 19,4 ואביא אתכם אלי, usually translated as “I have brought you to Me,” as: וקרבית יתכון לפולחני, “I have brought you near to perform service for Me.”
The concept of 12 tribes [excluding the Levites, Ed.] alluded to the commandments of the Creator handed down in the Torah, and that is why they had been given the collective name מטות, “staffs,” as the commandments by which Israelites guide themselves, and which are their main support during their lifetime on earth serve as their support, [in the sense of a walking cane.] They draw on this support to maintain and reinforce their faith in G’d. Performance of the commandments refines our intellect. The tribe of Levi is a special example of this as pointed out in Bamidbar Rabbah 1,12 where the author of the Midrash draws our attention to the fact that this tribe had to be counted in the proximity of the Tabernacle, as it had proven during the episode of the golden calf that it had absolute faith in G’d, and although a tiny minority (about 5%) of the nation, had risked their lives on behalf of G’d, by executing idol worshipping members of the nation. (Exodus 32,27-28).
We already explained that there are two levels of faith in G’d, and corresponding to that the Levites were counted on two levels. (at 30 days, and again when they reached the age of 30 years, (compare Numbers 4,23 et al) By that time their intellects had matured to the extent that they could be described as their faith in G’d reflecting the higher level. Their duties in and around the Tabernacle made it mandatory that they had spiritually matured enough to carry them out while thinking the appropriate religious thoughts.
Initially, G’d had commanded Moses to teach the Jewish people first about the Tabernacle, i.e. to instruct them in the ways to have faith in G’d on the basic level, i.e. to believe that He is the Creator of all phenomena perceived by the senses. The visible symbol of that faith was the structure called משכן. Only afterwards was Moses to teach them about the furnishings in the Tabernacle, the variety of attributes of the Creator, as symbolized in the Tabernacle by the various vessels and furnishings, or in the Torah by the various commandments. Moses, believing that the Jewish people as a whole had already attained the second and higher level of faith, considered it appropriate to acquaint them immediately with the details of the vessels to be used in the Tabernacle. Betzalel, having a more realistic view of the spiritual level of his peers, considered that they should first become familiar with more basic aspects of faith in the Lord as symbolized by the structure called משכן, Tabernacle.
Having said this we can also solve the problem raised by Nachmanides in connection with Exodus 19,4 where the Torah writes: אתם ראיתם אשר עשיתי למצרים....ואביא אתכם אלי, “you have seen what I have done to Egypt……. and I have brought you to Me.” Nachmanides questions the wording there as at that point the Jewish people had not yet experienced the revelation at Mount Sinai and had not yet been given the Torah. We may best understand this by remembering that while in Egypt the Jewish people (the generation experiencing the redemption, not the Israelites who had come to Egypt with Yaakov and their children) had not believed in the G’d of Avraham at all, -to wit their failure to circumcise their male children- so that the redemption was the starting point from which their faith in G’d as the Creator and as the G’d of Israel must be counted. True faith of the whole people did not commence until the first day of the month of Sivan, when for the first time, the Torah describes the Jewish people as united, i.e. ויחן ישראל , “Israel encamped,” (singular mode) as opposed to all previous encampments when the Torah always writes: ויחנו ישראל, Israel encamped, (plural mode). At that time they did not know yet how to serve the G’d Whom they all believed in as the Creator and as the G’d of their forefathers. This nuance is also evident in Onkelos’ rendering the end of Exodus 19,4 ואביא אתכם אלי, usually translated as “I have brought you to Me,” as: וקרבית יתכון לפולחני, “I have brought you near to perform service for Me.”
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Kedushat Levi
When someone is convinced of the truth of something on account of miracles he has seen performed by G’d he is referred to as having witnessed on the basis of כה, “thus.” He had not actually seen the truth with his eyes, but had experienced an indirect proof. The word כה implies that the essence is similar to what one had been shown. The word זה, on the other hand, suggests that one had seen the actual essence of something, therefore knowing it to be a truth. In retrospect he will always refer to “this matter which I have seen.” At Mount Sinai Moses had attained the level of spirituality that enabled G’d to speak to him פנים אל פנים, usually translated as “face to face,” i.e. visually, so that the term זה, “this,” for the type of prophecy Moses engaged in became appropriate. When Moses prophesied under the “heading” of כה this had always been before the revelation at Mount Sinai. [The only exception is in Exodus 32,27 when he charged the Levites with the task of executing Israelites who had worshipped the golden calf. This was not a prophetic pronouncement. Ed.]
If Pharaoh had not artificially strengthened his willpower to resist his impulses thus delaying the Exodus by bringing upon himself the Ten Plagues, we would have stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah much sooner so that all the instances in which the Torah had reported Moses as introducing his prophecies with the words: כה אמר ה' would not have been necessary.
In His great mercy, extended to all His creatures, G’d warned Pharaoh to release the Children of Israel immediately in order that He would not have to subject him to the plagues; had He not done this the Jewish people would have stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah much sooner. This is what Moses referred to when he said to Pharaoh: “so far you have not listened to G’d’s warnings.” As a result of his obstinacy he became the victim of prophecies introduced with the word כה.
If Pharaoh had not artificially strengthened his willpower to resist his impulses thus delaying the Exodus by bringing upon himself the Ten Plagues, we would have stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah much sooner so that all the instances in which the Torah had reported Moses as introducing his prophecies with the words: כה אמר ה' would not have been necessary.
In His great mercy, extended to all His creatures, G’d warned Pharaoh to release the Children of Israel immediately in order that He would not have to subject him to the plagues; had He not done this the Jewish people would have stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah much sooner. This is what Moses referred to when he said to Pharaoh: “so far you have not listened to G’d’s warnings.” As a result of his obstinacy he became the victim of prophecies introduced with the word כה.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 7,1 “For I have seen you being righteous before Me in this generation;” these words must be understood according to the Zohar I, 67. The author of the Zohar contrasts Moses’ reaction to G’d’s threat to annihilate the Jewish people and to substitute him for the Jewish people (Exodus 32,10) with Noach’s silence. Moses, had immediately responded to this threat by saying: “erase me from Your Book, rather than make me the founder of a new Jewish people. Moses was willing to give up his life if he could thereby save his people”. When G’d (7,4) used the same expression ומחיתי את כל היקום, “I will erase all breathing living creatures,” He elicited no response from Noach, just as He had not elicited a response from him in 6,13, or in 6,17. Moses, by offering his own life on behalf of his people during the episode of the golden calf, atoned for Noach’s insensitivity at this time. Moses is viewed by the Zohar as possessing a soul composed of all the souls destroyed in the deluge. This is why our prophets refer to the deluge as מי נח, “the waters of Noach,” since Noach had not intervened on behalf of his contemporaries. (Isaiah 54,9). The prophet appears to imply that Noach had been remiss by associating the deluge with Noach (himself) instead of with the sinners.
It is known that Moses was considered a tzaddik, righteous person. When our sages state that all the prophets’ prophecies began with the word כה, whereas Moses’ prophecy on occasion commenced with the word זה, “this,” they meant to compare Moses to Noach of whom G’d had said אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה, “I have seen you that you are a tzaddik before Me in this generation”. G’d implied that Noach would be restored posthumously to this stature when Moses, a reincarnation of his soul, would make up for his omission at this time. The words בדור הזה, are understood as a hint that in Moses’ time another tzaddik would compensate for the sin of omission in Noach’s generation.
It is known that Moses was considered a tzaddik, righteous person. When our sages state that all the prophets’ prophecies began with the word כה, whereas Moses’ prophecy on occasion commenced with the word זה, “this,” they meant to compare Moses to Noach of whom G’d had said אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה, “I have seen you that you are a tzaddik before Me in this generation”. G’d implied that Noach would be restored posthumously to this stature when Moses, a reincarnation of his soul, would make up for his omission at this time. The words בדור הזה, are understood as a hint that in Moses’ time another tzaddik would compensate for the sin of omission in Noach’s generation.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 7,1 “For I have seen you being righteous before Me in this generation;” these words must be understood according to the Zohar I, 67. The author of the Zohar contrasts Moses’ reaction to G’d’s threat to annihilate the Jewish people and to substitute him for the Jewish people (Exodus 32,10) with Noach’s silence. Moses, had immediately responded to this threat by saying: “erase me from Your Book, rather than make me the founder of a new Jewish people. Moses was willing to give up his life if he could thereby save his people”. When G’d (7,4) used the same expression ומחיתי את כל היקום, “I will erase all breathing living creatures,” He elicited no response from Noach, just as He had not elicited a response from him in 6,13, or in 6,17. Moses, by offering his own life on behalf of his people during the episode of the golden calf, atoned for Noach’s insensitivity at this time. Moses is viewed by the Zohar as possessing a soul composed of all the souls destroyed in the deluge. This is why our prophets refer to the deluge as מי נח, “the waters of Noach,” since Noach had not intervened on behalf of his contemporaries. (Isaiah 54,9). The prophet appears to imply that Noach had been remiss by associating the deluge with Noach (himself) instead of with the sinners.
It is known that Moses was considered a tzaddik, righteous person. When our sages state that all the prophets’ prophecies began with the word כה, whereas Moses’ prophecy on occasion commenced with the word זה, “this,” they meant to compare Moses to Noach of whom G’d had said אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה, “I have seen you that you are a tzaddik before Me in this generation”. G’d implied that Noach would be restored posthumously to this stature when Moses, a reincarnation of his soul, would make up for his omission at this time. The words בדור הזה, are understood as a hint that in Moses’ time another tzaddik would compensate for the sin of omission in Noach’s generation.
It is known that Moses was considered a tzaddik, righteous person. When our sages state that all the prophets’ prophecies began with the word כה, whereas Moses’ prophecy on occasion commenced with the word זה, “this,” they meant to compare Moses to Noach of whom G’d had said אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה, “I have seen you that you are a tzaddik before Me in this generation”. G’d implied that Noach would be restored posthumously to this stature when Moses, a reincarnation of his soul, would make up for his omission at this time. The words בדור הזה, are understood as a hint that in Moses’ time another tzaddik would compensate for the sin of omission in Noach’s generation.
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Kedushat Levi
Another way of understanding the words ונתתם חמשית לפרעה, “if you give one fifth to Pharaoh,” is based on the well known interpretation of psalms 145,19 by my sainted teacher Rabbi Dov Baer. On the words: רצון יראיו יעשה, “He fulfills the wishes of those who fear Him,” my teacher explained that the subject here is first and foremost G’d. He does things for the tzaddikim that they appreciate, (רצון) so that they in turn are encouraged to request further favours from Him. When G’d feels that the time is appropriate for Him to shower His people with His largesse, He first gives some indication to those who fear Him that He is well disposed to His people at that time. This will trigger the appropriate prayers requesting G’d’s largesse. Bearing this in mind, we are dealing here with two separate aspects, בחינות, of how G’d deals with His creatures. 1) An initiative by G’d; 2) a response by G’d to an initiative by His people. This is hinted at by the Talmud in Yevamot 34 where it is stated that a woman does not become pregnant from the first time she has marital relations with her husband as the Hebrew word ביאה for such relations is derived from התחברות, a mutual joining together. The Jewish people, by definition are similar to the wife, i.e. they are at the receiving end, do not initiate. In their relations to G’d, the Jewish people is similarly always perceived as female, i.e. as a כלה, bride, or similarly in the parlance of our prophets, a “wife”. G’d’s שפע, “largesse,” is similarly perceived as female, seeing that it is a gift, something received. When G’d is desirous of canceling an unwelcome decree, He must be placed in the position of responding to an appropriate request originating from the victims. He cannot do more than allude to this by a hint, else He will be perceived as initiating rather than responding. As an example of G’d “hinting” that He wished a tzaddik to intervene on behalf of the Jewish people by prayer, the author quotes Exodus 32,10 when immediately after informing Moses that the people had made a golden calf and had worshipped it, G’d says to Moses: ועתה הניחה לי ויחר אפי בהם ואכלם ואעשה אותך לגוי גדול “and now, Leave Me be, so that I can get angry and destroy them and make you into a great nation.” According to Rashi this whole line was a broad hint to Moses to intervene on behalf of the people by praying for their survival. We find this same interpretation of that verse (earlier) in Midrash Tanchuma as well as in Targum Yonatan ben Uzziel.
The two בחינות of the G’d-Israel, or Israel-G’d relationship we have mentioned on page 239, are known respectively as the יראה or אהבה relationship. Each of these relationships consists of two elements. We have explained earlier that the largesse when it comes also comes in two different ways, depending on whether the recipients are the gentiles or the Jewish people. When it is granted to the gentiles it is immediately recognizable as such, whereas when it is bestowed on the Jewish people it is not always recognisable as such immediately. When Joseph speaks of ארבע הידות [instead of ידות without the letter ה alluding to G’d. Ed.] he alludes to these four different manifestations of G’d’s largesse. The word לאכלכם in the same verse (page 239,23) is an alternate for the word לטובה, i.e. beneficially.
The two בחינות of the G’d-Israel, or Israel-G’d relationship we have mentioned on page 239, are known respectively as the יראה or אהבה relationship. Each of these relationships consists of two elements. We have explained earlier that the largesse when it comes also comes in two different ways, depending on whether the recipients are the gentiles or the Jewish people. When it is granted to the gentiles it is immediately recognizable as such, whereas when it is bestowed on the Jewish people it is not always recognisable as such immediately. When Joseph speaks of ארבע הידות [instead of ידות without the letter ה alluding to G’d. Ed.] he alludes to these four different manifestations of G’d’s largesse. The word לאכלכם in the same verse (page 239,23) is an alternate for the word לטובה, i.e. beneficially.
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Kedushat Levi
In the portion of וזאת הברכה, where Moses bestows his final blessing on the people before his death, the blessing for Shimon is included in his blessing for Yehudah, seeing that Yaakov had not seen fit to bless him on account of his part in the sale of Joseph as mentioned in parshat Vayechi by Yaakov.
The reason that Shimon and Levi were singled out for not receiving their share of the blessings was their share in the sale of Joseph. Actually they became involved in that unfortunate occurrence because Joseph had singled them out to tell them (boastfully) of his dreams, especially his aspirations to become king.
Shimon and Levi had not opposed the idea of the tribes needing a king, but had preferred that the king should be Yehudah, i.e. a descendant of his. History proved them quite correct as the dynasty of David became the Royal dynasty, whereas kings from the tribe of Joseph ruled only in Egypt, over Egyptians primarily, and even King Sha’ul, though descended from Rachel, was not a descendant of Joseph. [The kingdom under Jerobam, a descendant of Joseph from Ephrayim, over the ten tribes does not count, as he had split the nation. Ed.]
Considering this, Moses included the blessing of Shimon as a sub-heading under the general heading of Yehudah’s blessing. By doing so he enabled the descendants of Shimon not to feel embarrassed, as their purpose in selling Joseph had been to ensure that Yehudah would be able to assume the role G’d had intended for him, i.e. (his) and Levi’s actions had been well intentioned. Moses did bless the tribe of Levi independently, specifically, -although Yaakov had not blessed that tribe- on account of the characteristic described in Moses’ blessing of his not “recognizing his father or his mother or even his brothers.” (Deut. 33,9) This somewhat enigmatic statement referred to the tribe of Levi having demonstrated a superior loyalty to G’d during the episode of the golden calf, when, if even the closest family member would have been found guilty of worshipping that idol they would not have hesitated executing him. (Exodus 32,28 as interpreted in Sotah 8) We are told there that a person is accorded treatment commensurate with the treatment he meted out to others. This means that the tribe of Levi had to be given recognition for their loyalty to G’d by being blessed by Moses outright and not only indirectly as was his brother Shimon. [After all, had it not been for Moses’ having converted the mixed multitude without first obtaining G’d’s consent, the whole debacle of the golden calf might have been avoided. Ed.]
At this point our author continues with Moses’ blessing of the tribes in Deut. 33, explaining the introductory word וזאת used by Moses in Deut. 33,7.
[I do not understand why the publishers of these volumes have not seen fit to append what follows in its appropriate place, i.e. the commentary on וזאת הברכה. Perhaps the reason is that after the presentation of the author’s commentary on Parshat Nitzavim, no systematic commentary on the final 3 portions of the Torah follows; for reasons I am not familiar with; the publisher may therefore have decided to append these Deut. 33,7 וזאת, “and this, etc.” Ed.]
The reason that Shimon and Levi were singled out for not receiving their share of the blessings was their share in the sale of Joseph. Actually they became involved in that unfortunate occurrence because Joseph had singled them out to tell them (boastfully) of his dreams, especially his aspirations to become king.
Shimon and Levi had not opposed the idea of the tribes needing a king, but had preferred that the king should be Yehudah, i.e. a descendant of his. History proved them quite correct as the dynasty of David became the Royal dynasty, whereas kings from the tribe of Joseph ruled only in Egypt, over Egyptians primarily, and even King Sha’ul, though descended from Rachel, was not a descendant of Joseph. [The kingdom under Jerobam, a descendant of Joseph from Ephrayim, over the ten tribes does not count, as he had split the nation. Ed.]
Considering this, Moses included the blessing of Shimon as a sub-heading under the general heading of Yehudah’s blessing. By doing so he enabled the descendants of Shimon not to feel embarrassed, as their purpose in selling Joseph had been to ensure that Yehudah would be able to assume the role G’d had intended for him, i.e. (his) and Levi’s actions had been well intentioned. Moses did bless the tribe of Levi independently, specifically, -although Yaakov had not blessed that tribe- on account of the characteristic described in Moses’ blessing of his not “recognizing his father or his mother or even his brothers.” (Deut. 33,9) This somewhat enigmatic statement referred to the tribe of Levi having demonstrated a superior loyalty to G’d during the episode of the golden calf, when, if even the closest family member would have been found guilty of worshipping that idol they would not have hesitated executing him. (Exodus 32,28 as interpreted in Sotah 8) We are told there that a person is accorded treatment commensurate with the treatment he meted out to others. This means that the tribe of Levi had to be given recognition for their loyalty to G’d by being blessed by Moses outright and not only indirectly as was his brother Shimon. [After all, had it not been for Moses’ having converted the mixed multitude without first obtaining G’d’s consent, the whole debacle of the golden calf might have been avoided. Ed.]
At this point our author continues with Moses’ blessing of the tribes in Deut. 33, explaining the introductory word וזאת used by Moses in Deut. 33,7.
[I do not understand why the publishers of these volumes have not seen fit to append what follows in its appropriate place, i.e. the commentary on וזאת הברכה. Perhaps the reason is that after the presentation of the author’s commentary on Parshat Nitzavim, no systematic commentary on the final 3 portions of the Torah follows; for reasons I am not familiar with; the publisher may therefore have decided to append these Deut. 33,7 וזאת, “and this, etc.” Ed.]
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