Commento su Deuteronomio 9:18

ואתנפל לפני ה׳ כראשנה ארבעים יום AND I FELL DOWN BEFORE THE LORD, AS AT THE FIRST, FORTY DAYS, as it is said (Exodus 32:30) “And now I will go up to the Lord, perhaps I may atone [for your sin]”. At that ascent, which was the second I made, I tarried there forty days — consequently these terminated on the twenty-ninth of Ab, since he had ascended on the eighteenth of Tammuz. On that same day in Ab He became reconciled with Israel and said to Moses (Exodus 34:1) “Hew thee out two tablets”. He stayed there another forty days; consequently these terminated on the Day of Atonement (the tenth of Tishri). On that same day, the Holy One, blessed be He, was gladly reconciled (i.e. completely reconciled) with Israel and said to Moses, I have forgiven according to thy word. On this account it was appointed for pardon and forgiveness. And whence do we know that He was reconciled with them with complete goodwill? Because it is stated in respect to the forty days of the last tablets (in respect to third period of forty days) (Deuteronomy 10:10), “And I stayed in the mountain according to the first days”! What was the case with the first days? They were passed in God’s goodwill! (for they had not yet committed the sin of worshipping the golden calf). So, too, the last forty days were in God’s goodwill! You must now say (admit) that the intervening forty days were passed in God’s anger (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 31; cf. Rashi on Exodus 18:13).

As it is said, “I will now ascend to Adonoy, etc.” Rashi is explaining: You should not say that Moshe ascended at this time to receive the second Tablets after which he descended on Yom Kippur. For below it is written (10:1), “At that time, Adonoy said to me, ‘Hew for yourself, etc.,’” and Rashi explains there, “At the end of forty days He granted me favor,” which is referring to the same forty days written here. This implies that he did not ascend here in order to accept the second Tablets. Therefore Rashi explains: These forty days are the middle ones when Moshe ascended to pray (for forgiveness), as it says (Shmos 32:30), “I will now ascend, etc.”

V. 18. ואתנפל וגו׳ (siehe zu V. 9). כראשנה bezieht sich wohl nicht auf ואתנפל, sondern auf ארבעים יום. Von den ersten heißt es ja oben ׳ואשב בהר וגו, und ebenso von den letzten Kap. 10, 10. Nur den mittleren, כפרה für die große Versündigung erstrebenden, entspricht das ׳על כל חטאתכם — .התנפל לפני ה, es enthielt ja der Vorgang mannigfaltige Seiten der Verirrung, von den Anstiftern, den bewusst und unbewusst Mithingerissenen, bis zu denen, die zu dem Abfall geschwiegen und nicht für die Gottessache abwehrend eingetreten. — להכעיסו dürfte sich wohl nicht auf לעשות beziehen, sondern auf ׳הרע וגו, das zu tun, was so sehr das Schlechte ist in Gottes Augen, dass, wo es geschieht, es ihm, menschlich gesprochen, schweren Kummer bereitet. Man müsste es denn auf die Gesinnung der Anstifter, des ערב רב, beziehen, die allerdings einen Abfall von Gott beabsichtigten, und das ganze Volk trifft der Vorwurf, dass sie sich an etwas tätig oder schweigend beteiligten, was in erster Absicht geradezu eine Empörung gegen Gott im Sinne hatte.

ואתנפל לפני ה' כראשונה, “I threw myself down before the Lord as I had done the first time;” Moses refers to the first time he had thrown himself down after G–d had told him to desist from pleading so that He could proceed with wiping out the Jewish nation; (Deut. 9,14) He remained in that position until G–d had conceded that He would not wipe out the nation. This was reported as having taken place in Exodus 32,14, where we read וינחם ה' על הרעה, “the Lord renounced the evil,” i.e. punishment He had intended to subject the people to. He had not, at that stage, forgiven, any part of their sin. Now, Moses explains that he faced the problem of obtaining forgiveness for his people. He did so out of fear and dread. (verse 19) As a result of his persistence, G–d decided to pardon the sin which He had originally meant to punish with destruction of the people.

ואתנפל לפני ה' כראשונה ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה .prostrated myself before the Lord, as previously, for forty days and forty nights. This verse does not refer to Rashi’s commentary here that G-d responded to Moses with the words: סלחתי כדבריך, “I have forgiven, in accordance with your words,” alludes to Moses’ second ascent to obtain forgiveness after the sin of the golden calf.(Exodus 32,30.) That quote is Rashi’s own words, for on the seventeenth of Tammus during the first year of the Exodus Moses returned up to the Mountain in order to obtain forgiveness for the sin of the golden calf. The spies had not been dispatched until the twenty ninth day of Sivan in the second year of their wanderings.

As he ascended on the eighteenth of Tammuz, etc. See what I wrote above in Parshas Ki Sisa (Shmos 33:11).

כראשונה, “as originally;” this word does not refer to the word: “I prostrated myself;” it could not have done, as he had not previously asked G-d to forgive the sin of the golden calf. It simply refers to a period of forty days and forty nights. Moses makes the point that he had had to stay on the Mountain without food or drink twice on two separate occasions. This had occurred the first time when he had ascended the Mountain of the seventh day of Sivan in order to obtain the first set of commandments. The ascent in order to secure the forgiveness for the sin of the golden calf commenced on the eighteenth day of Tammus, a Thursday, and he returned at the beginning of the night of the twenty ninth day of the month of Av. During those 40 days he had prayed in his own tent, the one he had erected outside the camp, as G-d had made Himself inaccessible to prayer inside the confines of the camp, as I have explained in my commentary on Exodus 32,11.

That day, the Hashem, granted favor to the Israelites joyfully etc. However, on the first day of Elul, Hashem granted favor only regarding the Tablets, but not regarding the golden calf. But on Yom Kippur Hashem said, “I have forgiven, just as you spoke,” which also refers to the golden calf. Therefore, Yom Kippur was designated for atonement and forgiveness rather than the first day of Elul when Hashem showed favor and said, “Carve two stones for yourself.” Rashi’s question, “From where is it derived that He granted complete favor?” means to say: From where is it derived that the second Tablets were given with favor? [Perhaps they were given] out of necessity, for the Jewish People already had accepted the yoke of Torah and mitzvos and entered the covenant, which would be impossible for them to keep [without receiving] the Torah and mitzvos, etc. (Re”m)

And said to Moshe, ‘I have forgiven, just as you spoke,’ etc. Chizkuni explains as follows: Rashi’s commentary, “I have forgiven, just as you spoke,” is not quoting the verse written in Parshas Shelach Lecha (Bamidbar 14:20) regarding the spies. Rather, it is Rashi’s own explanation. For note that the Jewish People made the calf on the seventeenth of Tamuz right after leaving Egypt, and the spies were not sent until the twenty-ninth of Sivan of the second year [after leaving Egypt]. This seems so also from Rashi’s words. For note in Parshas Ki Sisa (Shmos 33:11) Rashi did not quote the verse, “I have forgiven, just as you spoke.” Instead he writes there, “On the tenth of Tishrei Hashem granted favor to the Israelites joyfully and wholeheartedly and He said to Moshe, ‘I have forgiven,’ and then He gave him, etc.”

From where is it derived that He granted complete favor?, etc. For it is possible to think: “Carve for yourself,” was only out of necessity. For the Jewish People already accepted the yoke of Torah and had converted, and it was impossible for them to retract. Therefore, [you could think that] Hashem did not grant them complete favor until Yom Kippur. And Rashi adds, “You may thus say that the interim days, etc,” only for the sake of completing the thought.