Commento su Esodo 24:23

ואל משה אמר AND UNTO MOSES HE SAID — This section was spoken before the Ten Commandments were given (i. e. אמר is the pluperfect); it was the fourth of Sivan when “Come up” was said to him (Shabbat 88a).

AND UNTO MOSES HE SAID: ‘COME UP UNTO THE ETERNAL etc.’ “This section was told to Moses before the giving of the Ten Commandments, on the fourth day of Sivan.” This is Rashi’s language. “And the Eternal said unto Moses: ‘Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there’⁴⁶⁵Verse 12 (further in this section). — this was said to Moses after the Giving of the Torah.” These too are Rashi’s words. But if so, the sections of the Torah are not in chronological order, nor even in their ordinary sense! Moreover, it is written here, And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Eternal, and all the ordinances,⁴⁶⁶Verse 3. which are these ordinances written above, concerning which He said, And these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.⁴⁶⁷Above, 21:1. For it is not correct to interpret the expression: and all the ordinances,⁴⁶⁶Verse 3. to mean [as Rashi wrote], the ordinances which “the sons of Noah”⁴⁶⁸See Vol. I, p. 417, Notes 147-8. were commanded, or the laws which were given to the Israelites in Marah⁴⁶⁹See above, 15:25. which they had already heard and knew, and besides, the word vayesapeir (and he told)⁴⁶⁶Verse 3. always indicates new things which one tells!
But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has already grasped this subject correctly, in explaining the verses to be in their proper order, when he commented:⁴⁷⁰On the preceding Verse (23:33). “Up to here is the Book of the Covenant.” On the basis of this statement it can be seen that all the sections of the Torah are in methodical arrangement. For after the Giving of the Torah immediately on the same day G-d said to Moses, Thus shall you tell the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven,⁴⁷¹Above, 20:19. and He began to warn them again against idolatry, by saying, Ye shall not make with Me etc.,⁴⁷²Ibid., Verse 20. and He continued to command him, Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them,⁴⁶⁷Above, 21:1. and all the commandments following that, and finally He finished with the admonition against the worship of idols which they find in the Land, and against making a covenant with their worshippers. He then said to Moses, “After you have commanded them this, come up unto the Eternal, thou and Aaron.” The section mentions that Moses did according to the command of G-d, and came to the camp and told the people all the words of the Eternal⁴⁶⁶Verse 3. as He had commanded him, Thus shall you tell the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen etc.;⁴⁷¹Above, 20:19. and all the ordinances,⁴⁶⁶Verse 3. as He had commanded him, Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.⁴⁶⁷Above, 21:1. The people received everything with joy and said, All that the Eternal hath spoken will we do,⁴⁷³Above 19:8. See though my Hebrew commentary, p. 447, where it is pointed out that since this verse relates to an event before the Revelation and Ramban is now discussing the events after the Revelation, we must perforce understand his use of that verse, in a stylistic manner, namely, that the people joyfully accepted upon themselves the duty of observing all of G-d’s commandments. meaning that all these things which G-d has told you we will do, for we believe in your words; just as he narrated in the Book of Deuteronomy [that the people said to him], and thou shalt speak unto us all that the Eternal our G-d may speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it,⁴⁷⁴Deuteronomy 5:24. and then Moses wrote them down. Thus on that day he wrote down in a book all that he had been commanded — the statutes, the ordinances, and the laws — and he rose up early in the morning⁴⁷⁵Verse 4. of the following day to make a covenant with them concerning all this. He built the altar and offered the sacrifices,⁴⁷⁵Verse 4. and put half of the blood upon the altar of G-d, and half of it he put in basins⁴⁷⁶Verse 6. [in order to sprinkle upon the people],⁴⁷⁷As explained further in Ramban, (also in Rashi). For the reason of exact division into two equal parts see further in the text of Ramban and also in Note 479. and he took the book which he had written the day before and read it in their hearing,⁴⁷⁸Verse 7. and they accepted upon themselves to make the covenant with Him, saying. All that the Eternal hath spoken will we do, and hearken⁴⁷⁸Verse 7. to you and to whatever you will command in His Name. Then he sprinkled upon them half of the blood [which he had put in the basins], for this is the sign of a covenant, when two things⁴⁷⁹By putting half of the blood upon the altar of G-d and the other half upon the people, Moses indicated that “the two [parties to the covenant] come into equal parts.” See Deuteronomy 26:17-18, and also Vayikra Rabbah 6:5, where the equal division of the blood is explained as signifying that G-d swore to Israel never to exchange it for another nation, and Israel swore eternal fidelity to G-d. come in equal parts. Now after he finished what he did with them, he had to fulfill the word of G-d which He told him, Come up… thou and Aaron, etc. and it is with reference to this that it is said, Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu etc.⁴⁸⁰Verse 9. He completed that which he had been commanded,⁴⁸¹I.e., And Moses alone shall come near unto the Eternal (Verse 2). by coming near alone unto the Eternal. It is with reference to this that it is said, And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud etc.⁴⁸²Further, Verse 18. Thus the act of the covenant took place on the day after the Giving of the Torah, and on that day was the ascent, when Moses went up into the mountain and he stayed from then on for forty days. It is with reference to this that Scripture explains, and on the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud,⁴⁸³Ibid., Verse 16. [i.e., the seventh day of the month Sivan, which was the day after the Giving of the Torah], and it is said, And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud.⁴⁸²Further, Verse 18. All this is correctly and clearly explained.
Now I have seen in the Mechilta⁴⁸⁴Mechilta above, 19:10. That the Rabbis differed on this matter. Some say⁴⁸⁵This is the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael. that the making of the covenant took place before the Giving of the Torah — on the fifth day of Sivan — and Moses said to them: “Now you are bound, held and tied; tomorrow come and accept upon yourselves all the commandments.” But Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Yehudah says: “All these acts were done on one and the same day,” that is to say all these acts were performed on the same day, namely the day after the Torah was given — all that Moses told the people and the writing of the Book of the Covenant — all as we have explained. And to this one [i.e., Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Yehudah] we listen, since he has spoken according to the accepted opinion.⁴⁸⁶See Peah 4:1 for origin of this expression [“to this one we listen etc.”].

ואל משה אמר עלה!, after He had finished telling him כה תאמר אל בני ישראל אתם ראיתם in 20,18. At that time He had explained to the people that they must not try and “reach” Him through intermediaries, but that all that was required was an altar made of earth, coupled with the meticulous observance of His commandments as spelled out in the Ten Commandments. The verse tells us that all of these things were explained to the whole nation. However, ואל משה אמר, to Moses himself G’d had said that he should come up to the mountain just as he had been commanded to do already before the revelation, when G’d had said to him in 19,14 לך רד ועלית אתה ואהרן עמך.

ואל משה אמר, And He had said to Moses (previously), etc. It appears that this paragraph was revealed immediately after the revelation at Mount Sinai but was inserted in the Torah only here. There is no point in citing numerous arguments proving this theory. Ibn Ezra, Nachmanides, and Rashbam are all agreed that the paragraph must have been revealed at the time of the revelation.

ואל משה אמר, from Exodus 20,18 ומשה נגש אל הערפל including the paragraph which the Torah introduces here, all this was communicated to Moses on the same day the Ten Commandments were spoken by G’d. When the Torah here refers to what G’d “had said to Moses,” this refers to what He said to him alone before Moses descended from the mountain on that same day.

ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה' אתה ואהרן נדב ואביהו ושבעים מזקני ישראל, “and He had said to Moses: “ascend, you and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu as well as 70 of the elders of Israel.” I find it puzzling that Eleazar and ittamar, Aaron’s other sons, were not included in this invitation. Surely they were more distinguished than the seventy elders mentioned in our verse. We have a list of the respective rank of Israelite dignitaries at the time in Maimonides ביאת המקדש ה,יג in which he enumerates the following ranks in this order: Aaron, Eleazar, Ittamar, and Pinchas. The above-mentioned all rose to the position of High Priest, and were superior in a variety of ways to the seventy elders. We have a tradition that Nadav and Avihu had already become guilty of death by burning during the episode introduced here (Vayikra Rabbah, 22,10) when they “saw G’d,” i.e. they treated their spiritual high as if it were something ordinary, not even interrupting their eating and drinking during the time they enjoyed this vision. (compare verse 11) Had they not been so highly placed, they might not have been punished in such a salutary manner. At any rate, G’d Who foresees events without necessarily interfering in them, knew that Nadav and Avihu would commit an even greater indiscretion in their enthusiasm to participate in the consecration of the Tabernacle. They were not punished on the occasion described here, as G’d did not want to mar the joy experienced by the people on that day. At the same time, G’d did not want that Aaron would die without a son or grandson who could inherit the office of High Priest. In order not to have all of Aaron’s sons become guilty of the same offence, He did not invite them at the time to accompany Moses part of the way on his ascent to the Mountain. According to Rashi this portion describes events which occurred on the 4th of Sivan, (2 days before the revelation). On the other hand, the instruction to Moses to ascend Mount Sinai (verse 12) occurred after the Ten Commandments had been given. Nachmanides does not agree with this scenario described by Rashi. He supports this by quoting 21,1 claiming that what Moses told the people then were not the 7 Noachide laws, taught to the people at Marah, but laws revealed to him on Mount Sinai. The words ואת כל המשפטים in our verse here (verse 3) as well as the expression ויספר, an expression used only when something new is being revealed, make it plain that this occurred after the giving of the Torah. These were laws mentioned to Moses immediately after the Ten Commandments had been given, laws introduced with the words כה תאמר לבית יעקב, in G’d added there a reference to the people’s visual experience, i.e. אתם ראיתם “you have witnessed, etc.” (at Mount Sinai, i.e. the revelation) Subsequently, G’d commanded the משפטים to the people as described in chapter 21, and the people accepted all of these joyfully, culminating in their declaration כל הדברים אשר דבר ה' נעשה, “we will perform all the instructions G’d has issued.” (24,3) This was a declaration of faith in Moses who had conveyed all these laws to them in the name of Hashem. It was at this point that G’d said to Moses to tell the people to go back to their respective tents. (Deut. 5,27) It is reported there that the people went back to their tents and made a great celebration on that day. They prepared the slaughtering of the animals for the following day as there was not enough time left on the day of the revelation to build a major altar and 12 minor altars known as מצבה. (compare verse 4) Moses had meanwhile written down all that had been revealed on that day orally. It was better to give the people time to prepare properly for the conclusion of the covenant on the following day. On that day the people rose early in readiness for what was to develop. The people stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, the very place where they had stood to receive the Ten Commandments. It was here that Moses built the altar and the 12 pillars representing the 12 tribes of Israel. After the offerings had been presented on the altar, Moses read for the people what he had written down on the previous day. (verse 6) and the people responded with the famous נעשה ונשמע, “we are prepared to carry it out, let’s hear the details.” The words ויעל משה ואהרן concluded the making of the covenant. G’d invited Moses to ascend the Mountain once more and there to receive the Tablets on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments in G’d’s own writing, and to remain on the Mountain for some time, (verse 12) speaks of the day following the giving of the Torah, the 7th day of Sivan, G’d announced to him that at the end of that stay he would receive the Tablets. As to the grammatically strange wording ואל משה אמר עלה, which we would normally translate as “and He had said (previously to all this) to Moses: ‘ascend,’ etc.,” we have to understand this in context. Up until now the commandments Moses had related to the people were applicable to the people, including Moses, of course. Now the Torah refers to a commandment that had been given exclusively to Moses, to be performed only by him. G’d commanded him the details of this commandment after Moses had instructed the people in what they were expected to do, and had concluded the covenant with them. G’d then said to him “ascend to Me,” accompanied by the people enumerated, for a part of the way.

On the 4th of Sivan. . . [Rashi knows this] because afterwards it is written (v. 3), “Moshe came and told the people. . .” and Rashi explains that Moshe told it to them on that same day. [And that verse goes on to say that Moshe told them] “all the words of Adonoy.” And Rashi explains that this is the command to separate from their wives. And Rashi explained earlier, in Parshas Yisro (19:9—10), that the mitzvah of separation was on the 4th of Sivan.

Kap. 24. V. 1. Der erste Akt der Gesetzgebung war vollendet, er bildet den Inhalt der vier Kapitel 20.—23. Er schloss mit der Warnung vor zu großem Selbstvertrauen in die etwa bereits erlangte geistige und sittliche Reife, und dies führt mit Kap. 24 zu der Gegenwart des um den Sinai zum Empfangen des Gesetzes versammelten Volkes zurück, und knüpft unmittelbar an den Schluss des 19. Kap. V. 24 wieder an. Es war dort das Volk in entfernender Umgrenzung von dem Berge gehalten, wiederholt war die Warnung ausgesprochen, nicht hinan zu der Gotteserscheinung zu drängen, nur Mosche und Aaron sollten hinansteigen; während die ersten zehn Gesetze gesprochen wurden, war sogar Mosche unten beim Volke, und nur bei der Erteilung der folgenden Gesetze, — vom Kap. 20, 19 und weiter — war Mosche näher als das Volk zu dem die Gotteserscheinung umhüllenden Gewölke hingetreten, das Volk aber in der Ferne geblieben (das. V. 18). Hierauf blickt nun unser Vers mit dem Satze: ואל משה אמר עלה וגו׳, wo das Praeteritum wie gewöhnlich das Plusquamperfectum ausdrückt, und vervollständigt nur das Kap. 19, 24 Gesagte dadurch, dass auch Aarons beiden ältesten Söhne und siebzig aus den Volkesältesten mit hinansteigen sollen. Oder, wie dies רמב׳׳ן auffasst, es ist die gegensätzliche Konstruktion. Alles Bisherige war an die Gesamtheit gerichtet, ואל משה אמר, Mosche selbst betreffend aber sprach Gott nach Vollendung der Gesamtvorschriften usw. Dem stünde nur entgegen, dass dem Kap. 19, 24 gebotenen Hinangehen Aarons noch nicht genügt worden war. Jedenfalls wird hier V. 1 u.2 selbst nach dem Abschluss dieses ersten Abschnittes der sinaitischen Gesetzoffenbarung wiederholt das Volk ferne gehalten, und nur Mosche und mit ihm Aaron, Nadab und Abihu und eine Auswahl von siebzig aus den Ältesten des Volkes zum Hinantritt auf den Berg zugelassen, und zwar auch diese mit der Unterscheidung, dass Mosche allein ganz hinan sich zu begeben habe, seine Begleiter aber zuerst mit ihm in einer Entfernung ihre Hingebung an Gott durch Niederwerfen ausdrücken, sodann aber in dieser Entfernung beharren sollen, während Mosche allein in die unmittelbare Nähe zu Gott hinanzutreten habe. Also, dass sich die jüdische Gesamtheit in drei Gruppen darstellen sollte: das Volk, völlig getrennt vom Berge; Aaron und eine Elite des Volkes, fern vom Gipfel; Mosche, in der Gipfelnähe.

ואל משה אמר, “and He had said to Moses:” this paragraph up to and including verse 4: 'את כל דברי ה, “all the words of the Lord,” were said to him on the fourth day of Sivan, [two days before the revelation, Ed.] as I have explained at the time. (19,15) According to the plain meaning of the text, an angel had said this to Moses at this time; the text is abbreviated, and is one of many such verses in the Torah.

And unto Moses He said. The reason for this kind of expression [when it should have said, as elsewhere, And the Eternal spoke unto Moses], is that up till now the commandments and the ordinances were addressed to the children of Israel, therefore Scripture said here that this particular commandment was given to Moses, that he alone should do it; thus He commanded him: “After you have set before them the commandments and the ordinances, and have made with them the covenant, come up to Me.” This was why Moses fulfilled the first command [i.e., of telling the people the section beginning with Ye yourselves have seen — above 20:19 — up to for they will be a snare unto thee — 23:33], on the sixth day of Sivan, [following the Revelation which took place on that morning], and on the seventh he rose up early in the morning and made with them the covenant, and after that he went up into the mountain, he and those that were asked to come,⁴⁸⁷I.e., Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel (Verse 1). as they were commanded.⁴⁸⁸I.e., just as at the time of the Giving of the Torah Moses had a place designated for himself, Aaron a place designated for himself, and the people a place designated for themselves (see Ramban above 19:19), so here too Moses approached closer than Aaron, etc.

'עלה אל ה, this command was issued on the day following Moses’ most recent return from the mountain. He was now bidden to ascend the mountain again of the following day.

I have seen an undisputed theory in the Mechilta according to which Moses built an altar on the fifth day of Sivan (a day before the revelation) and that this was the altar mentioned in verse 4, and that he concluded a covenant with the people confirming their adherence to the seven Noachide laws as well as to the statutes he had taught the people at Marah (15,25). Some rabbis hold that the covenant Moses made the people swear to at that time covered all the laws revealed in the Torah till the end of the Book of Leviticus. According to these sages all those laws had to be revealed before the revelation at Mount Sinai. Seeing the people had not been asked to enter into a covenant concernig any of G'd's laws prior to this, we must assume that Moses tested them to see if they were willing to enter into such a covenant of their own free will concerning all of the commandments which had already been revealed even though it had not been G'd Himself who had given them these commandments. Perhaps we find a hint of all this in G'd telling Moses in 19,3:"and tell the children of Israel!" Shabbat 86 understands this directive to mean that Moses was to illustrate the legislation to the people by employing parables and other homiletical material to make these laws appear acceptable in their eyes. As a result of clever presentation of all these laws the people would be prepared to swear an oath obligating themselves to observe all of these commandments. The statement in Shabbat 86 that the Israelites did not say: "we will listen and do," but: "we will do and listen," was the outcome of their each having been "crowned" by 600,000 angels. All these comments prove that our paragraph refers to events prior to the giving of the Torah.

Wir haben schon oben zu Kap. 19. VV. 10. —13, entwickelt, wie durch diese räumliche Abgrenzung des zum Empfangen des Gesetzes versammelten Volkes eine zweifache, dieses Gesetz spezifisch von allen andern unterscheidende Wahrheit dürfte zur faktischen Anschauung haben kommen sollen nämlich: der außermenschliche, überirdische Ursprung dieses Gesetzes, und der zur Zeit dieses Ursprungs geistige und sittliche Abstand des Volkes, das es empfing, von der Höhe, zu welcher es erst durch dies Gesetz im Laufe der Zeit erhoben werden sollte. Es war das Israel der Zukunft, für welches das damalige Geschlecht das Gesetz aus Gottes Händen empfing!

Come up to the Eternal. In line with the simple meaning of Scripture, the reason for this expression [when it should have said: “Come up unto Me”], is because it is the Scriptural style to mention the proper name instead of the pronoun, such as: And Lemech said… Ye wives of Lemech;⁴⁸⁹Genesis 4:23. It should have said: “My wives.” and the Eternal sent Jerubaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel.⁴⁹⁰I Samuel 12:11. Since Samuel was the speaker, he should have said: “and myself.” A similar case is the verse, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy Sanctuary that is desolate, for the Eternal’s sake.⁴⁹¹Daniel 9:17. It should have said: “for Thy sake.” In the Talmud,⁴⁹²Sanhedrin 38b. however, we find that they⁴⁹³“They” — the Rabbis, asked. To understand, however, the following references in Ramban it is necessary to know that the question was addressed by a min [a Jewish infidel], to Rav Idie for sectarian purposes. The answer here quoted was given by Rav Idie. asked, “It should have said, ‘come up to Me,’” and therefore they said, “this refers to Mattatron, whose name is even as the Name of his Master.”⁴⁹⁴See Ramban above, 23:20. That is to say, “And unto Moses He — the Divine Name mentioned at the beginning of this subject, namely, And the Eternal said unto Moses⁴⁹⁵Above, 20:19. — said, come up to Mattatron, for My Name is in him.” The meaning is thus: “Come up to the place of the Glory where the great angel is,” and the intention was that Moses should come into the midst of the cloud⁴⁸²Further, Verse 18. where the Glory of G-d was, but he should not come right up to the Proper Divine Name, for man shall not see Me, and live.⁴⁹⁶Further, 33:20. The intention of our Rabbis is thus not at all as Rashi had written above.⁴⁹⁷23:20. — Ramban refers to what Rashi wrote there, that the verse mentioned further on [after the sin with the golden calf], and I will send an angel before thee (33:2) has reference to Mattatron. That is not correct, for Moses did not consent that the angel mentioned there should go with them (Abusaula). See also Ramban above 23:20 for a full discussion. In Tractate Sanhedrin also the Rabbi [Rashi] turned the subject around.⁴⁹⁸In Sanhedrin 38 b, Rashi commented: “This is Mattatron. It was he who said Come up unto the Eternal.” Ramban’s opinion, as explained above, is that the Eternal said, “Come up to Mattatron.” Now I have already mentioned⁴⁹⁹Above, 23:20, and in Seder Bo 12:12. the Rabbis’ intention concerning this name [Mattatron], and all their words are true. In that homily, however, [related in Tractate Sanhedrin, concerning the infidel’s question to Rav Idie],⁴⁹³“They” — the Rabbis, asked. To understand, however, the following references in Ramban it is necessary to know that the question was addressed by a min [a Jewish infidel], to Rav Idie for sectarian purposes. The answer here quoted was given by Rav Idie. the Sages spoke in an abstract manner, since Rav Idie did not want, Heaven forbid, to reveal to that infidel who asked him the question, the matter of the great Mattatron and its secret! Instead, he mentioned to him that the verse speaks of the angel who is “the guide of the road” of the world below; and hence he told him, that “even as a guide we refused to accept him, for it is written [that Moses said], If ‘panecha’ — [literally: ‘Thy face’ or ‘Thy presence’] go not up, carry us not up hence,”⁵⁰⁰Further, 33:15. for we accepted no messenger, only the Revered G-d. I have already explained⁵⁰¹Above, 20:3. clearly the secret of panim (face) and the whole subject to those learned in the secret lore of the Cabala, in the section of the Giving of the Torah.

אתה ואהרן; immediately after being told this Moses descended. ויספר לעם את כל דברי ה' וגו'. A reference to Exodus 20, 20-21. On the morrow he built an altar, offered sacrifices, and still on the same day he ascended to where the cloud enveloped him for the duration of 6 days (verse 15).

Mit dieser, der Entfernung des Volkes vom Berge und selbst seiner Auserwählten von der Gipfelhöhe zu Grunde liegenden Idee, schließt sich das Kap. 24 der unmittelbar vorangehenden Warnung an, die eben auf der noch erst zu erlangenden Reife des Volkes basiert. Hat ja der Erfolg aus dem verlockenden Zusammenleben mit den Völkern des Heidentums den Abstand des Volkes von der geistigen und sittlichen Höhe des ihm mit dem Empfange des Gesetzes gewordenen Berufes leider nur zu sehr dokumentiert. Zugleich erscheint eben diese Tatsache der erst von der Zukunft zu erwartenden vollen Berufshöhe des Gottesgesetzvolkes als eine der bei dem folgenden leitenden Ideen (siehe zu V. 4).

ואל משה אמר, an angel told Moses,

Indem aber bis zu einer gewissen Grenze Aaron und Auserwählte des Volkes Mosche den Berg hinan begleiten, ist damit zugleich nach anderer Seite hin die Wahrheit veranschaulicht, dass zwischen der Moschehöhe und dem Volke keineswegs eine spezifisch scheidende Kluft liege, dass etwa Mosche einer mehr als menschlichen Natur teilhaftig gewesen wäre, die seine Gott nahe Stufe bedingt hätte. Vielmehr spricht eben diese Abstufung aus: Mosche war ein Mensch wie alle andern; nicht der Art, dem Grade nach war das Göttliche in ihm höher entwickelt, und hinan zu seiner Stufe zu streben, ist jeder so berufen als befähigt. —

'עלה אל ה; seeing the command did not conclude with the word אלי, “to Me,” we must assume that it was issued by an angel speaking in G’d’s name. On the other hand, in verse 12 where G’d Himself invites Moses, He does add the word אלי, “to Me.”

ונגש משה לבדו AND MOSES ALONE SHALL STEP NEAR unto the thick darkness (cf. Exodus 20:18).

AND MOSES ALONE SHALL COME NEAR UNTO THE ETERNAL. In the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra this too is a case where a proper name is used instead of a pronoun, for after the expression, Come up unto the Eternal, it should have said, “and you alone shall come near,” but such is the Scriptural style, as I have mentioned.⁵⁰²Above, Verse 1. Similarly: And the Eternal caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Eternal,⁵⁰³Genesis 19:24. which means “from Him;” And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law,⁵⁰⁴Numbers 10:29. which means “his father-in-law.” Also: And the Eternal sent Jerubaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel,⁴⁹⁰I Samuel 12:11. Since Samuel was the speaker, he should have said: “and myself.” and similarly: Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes… unto King Solomon.⁵⁰⁵I Kings 8:1. The meaning is: he gathered them “to himself.”
The correct interpretation here appears to me to be that this commandment was addressed also to Aaron, and he too heard the Voice of G-d saying to Moses, Come up unto the Eternal, thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.⁵⁰⁶Above, Verse 1. And if so, it was necessary that the name of the one who was to draw near [i.e., Moses] be expressly mentioned, for it was he alone who was to come near [and not Aaron]. And even if [we were to explain that when G-d said, Come up unto the Eternal etc.] He spoke to Moses directly [and Aaron did not hear it], it would still be necessary to explain that “you Moses alone shall come near unto the Eternal,” and the mere pronoun “thou” would not have sufficed.⁵⁰⁷For since Aaron’s name was after all mentioned in the command [in Verse 1], it was already necessary that Moses’ name be designated in Verse 2, so that he would know that it was he who was to come near, otherwise it would have included Aaron as well. Therefore etc. Therefore He said, And Moses alone shall come near; but they shall not come near. This is the reason for the word l’vado (alone), to exclude Aaron who had been included previously with Moses as far as the commandment [to “come up”].

ונגש משה לבדו, “only Moses, alone, is to approach close to Hashem.” Ibn Ezra comments that actually the Torah should have addressed Moses in direct speech, i.e. ונגשת אתה לבדך, “you are to approach alone.” However, the pattern of the Holy Scriptures is to frequently use indirect speech when we nowadays would use direct speech. G’d even refers to Himself in the third person, as in Genesis 19,24 וה' המטיר על סדום ועמורה גפרית ואש, מאת ה' מן השמים, “The Lord made it rain on Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire, from the Lord from heaven.” The Torah does not quote G’d saying: “מאתי,” emanating from Me. Nachmanides writes that G’d’s comments in this case were also addressed to Aaron, who was to hear that G’d wanted only Moses to ascend the Mountain. On a previous occasion Aaron had also heard G’d say that both Moses and he were “to ascend to Me on the Mountain, but that he and the elders were to prostrate themselves from afar. (verse 1).” Seeing that on one occasion Moses was accompanied by his dignitaries, the Torah had to spell out that at some point only Moses could proceed beyond that threshold. Having eliminated the elders by the words ונגש משה, the word לבדו was needed to make plain that also Aaron was prohibited from advancing toward the Mountain any more closely.

ויבא משה ויספר לעם AND MOSES CAME AND RELATED TO THE PEOPLE — on that same day (the 4th of Sivan).

AND MOSES CAME AND TOLD THE PEOPLE ALL THE WORDS OF THE ETERNAL. At the time that this whole commandment mentioned here was given, Moses was at the place where he drew near unto the thick darkness where G-d was,⁵⁰⁸Above, 20:18. and now he came to that “far off” place where the people had been at the time of the Revelation,⁵⁰⁸Above, 20:18. and told them all that he had been commanded [i.e., beginning with Ye yourselves have seen — above 20:19 — up to the end of all the commandments and ordinances, 23:33], and they listened to his voice. Scripture does not say here: “and he came down from the mountain,” for they were all then at the lower part of the mountain,⁵⁰⁹Ibid., 19:17. and not at the top where the Glory of G-d was; [the difference] was only that Moses was near the place of the thick darkness, whilst the people stood from afar at the time of the giving of the commandments, as I have explained.⁵¹⁰Ibid., 19:19, and 20:15. When Moses left his place and began coming towards the people, all the heads of their tribes and their elders came up to the place where the priests that come near to the Eternal⁵¹¹Ibid., 19:22. stood, and said to him, Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us;⁵¹²Deuteronomy 5:22. Go thou near, and hear etc.,⁵¹³Ibid., Verse 24. for they thought that the Revered G-d Himself would tell them all the commandments of the Torah just as He had told them the Ten Commandments. Then Moses came together with the heads of the tribes and the elders to the place where the people were standing and told all of them all the words of G-d, and they said, “We will do all that He has commanded us in the Ten Commandments, and we will hearken⁵¹⁴Verse 7. to your voice in everything that you have commanded, or will command in His Name, exalted be He.” When Moses went back afterwards to the edge of the mountain with the elders, as G-d had commanded him,⁵⁰⁶Above, Verse 1. then G-d said to him again, Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there.⁵¹⁵Verse 12. It was at that time that He informed him, I have heard the voice of the words of the people, which they have spoken unto thee; they have well said all that they have spoken,⁵¹⁶Deuteronomy 5:25. and He commanded him: Go say to them: Return ye to your tents. But as for thee, stand thou here by Me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them.⁵¹⁷Ibid., Verses 27-28. It is with reference to this that He said here, And I will give thee the Tablets of stone, and the law and the commandment,⁵¹⁸Verse 12. See Vol. I, p. 7 for Ramban’s interpretation of each term mentioned. meaning, that to you alone I will give the law and the commandments which you will teach them, and they will keep them as they have undertaken to do.

'ויבא משה ויספר לעם את כל דברי ה, the matters Moses told the people were those reported in the Torah between 20,8 and the beginning of chapter 21.

ויבא משה ויספר לעם את כל דברי ה', “Moses came (back) and told the people all the words of the Lord.” This is a reference to the commandment to separate from their wives in anticipation of G’d’s revelation, as well as the instruction to fence off the mountain. When our verse mentions ואת כל המשפטים the reference is not to all the social legislation which has been in the preceding pages of Parshat Mishpatim. We have already proven that this chapter deals with matters which occurred prior to Matan Torah. The expression המשפטים in our verse refers to the legislation introduced at Marah (i.e. laws about the red heifer, rules about litigation and parts of the Sabbath legislation 15,25).

The command to separate [from their wives] and the setting up of boundaries. [Rashi knows this] because it says afterwards (v. 4), “He arose early in the morning, and built an altar beneath the mountain,” and that must have been on the 5th day, as Rashi explained earlier in Parshas Yisro. Therefore, what he told the people was one day earlier, on the 4th day, as Rashi explained above that the mitzvah of separation was told to them on the 4th day. The Re’m was puzzled by this, for in Gemara Shabbos (86a) it is clear that according to all opinions, Moshe told them the mitzvah of setting up boundaries on the 3rd of the month, and they separated from their wives on the 4th. Yet from Rashi here, we see that both these mitzvos were on the 4th. The Re’m left this unresolved. The Gur Aryeh writes that the Re’m did not analyze this sufficiently. For [these mitzvos] were surely told to them on the 3rd of the month, but the actual separation was only on the 4th of the month. He brought a proof for this; see what he wrote there.

כל הדברים אשר דבר ה' נעשה. The word נעשה, “we will do,” here includes all the commandments of the Lord, negative commandments as well as positive ones, the ones requiring an exertion, an activity. The reason why this is not a misnomer is that if someone refrains from violating a negative commandment he is considered as having “performed” a commandment, i.e the commandment not to violate G’d’s legislation in that matter. We have a complete verse confirming this in Psalms 119,3 אף לא פעלו עולה, בדרכיו הלכו, “they have done no wrong, but have followed His ways.” In other words, not doing evil is considered equivalent to doing good.

V. 3. ויבא משה, von der ערפל-Nähe (Kap. 20, 18), wo er die bisherigen Gesetze empfangen hatte, um sie dem Volke zu überbringen und dann, der Weisung gemäß, mit Aaron und einer Elite des Volkes wieder den Berg hinanzutreten. — ויספר ist nicht der gewöhnliche Ausdruck für die Überbringung von Befehlen, ist vielmehr die Darstellung von Ereignissen. Auf Gesetze angewendet, kann es nur eine über den bloßen Wortlaut hinausgehende Darstellung der durch die Gesetzgebung zu verwirklichenden Verhältnisse bezeichnen, umfasst somit die Gesetzesnorm in ihrer Vollständigkeit für die Praxis, also תשב׳׳ב und תשב׳׳פ, das niedergeschriebene Gesetz und dessen mündliche Erläuterung.

ויבא משה, “Moses arrived, etc;” in the camp of the Israelites, after descending from the Mountain. He proceeded to tell the people all that G-d had told him, commencing with the words: 19,4) אתם ראיתם) up to now.” There follows: 24,4) וישכם בבקר) until ויאכלו וישתו, “they ate and they drank” (verse 11) something that occurred on the fifth day of Sivan as I have explained on the relevant verse in Parshat Yitro. (19,15)

את כל דברי ה׳ ALL THE WORDS OF THE LORD — the commands concerning their keeping apart from women and the setting of bounds at Mount Sinai.

ואת כל המשפטים AND ALL THE JUDGMENTS which had been ordained before the Sinaitic legislation: the seven commands given to the “Sons of Noah” (the non-Israelite world), the law of the Sabbath, of filial respect, of the “red heifer” and regarding the administration of justice, all of which had been given to them already in Marah (cf. Sanhedrin 56b).

ויכתב משה AND MOSES WROTE [ALL THE WORDS OF THE LORD] — from בראשית up to (but not including) the account of the Giving of the Torah and he wrote down the commandments that were given to them in Marah (cf. Mekhilta on Exodus 19:10).

ויכתב משה את כל דברי ה', “Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.” This refers to the conditions spelled out in 19,5: “it will be if you listen to My voice, etc.”
וישכם בבוקר ויבן מזבח תחת ההר, “he arose early in the morning and erected an altar beneath the mountain.” This occurred on the fifth day of Sivan.
כל הדברים אשר דבר ה' נעשה, “all the words the Lord has said we shall do.” Rabbeinu Chananel writes that the word נעשה includes the positive and the negative commandments. The reason for this is simple. Anyone who deliberately refrains from violating a negative commandment thereby performs a positive commandment. There is an explicit verse in Psalms 119,3 making precisely this point. The psalmist says: “they have done no wrong but have followed His ways.”

On the fifth of Sivan. Rashi writes this to inform us that Moshe’s ascent to the mountain with Nadav and Avihu and the elders, to receive the Torah, was on the day following this: the 6th of Sivan. [Thus, Rashi is explaining it] not like R. Yosei, who said that it was on the 7th.

V. 4. ויכתב משה: was wir vor uns haben,ויאמר אתם ראיתם וגו׳ Kap. 20.19 bis כי יהיה לך למוקש, Kap. 23. 33. — מזבח תחת ההר, auf welchem die Hingebung des Volkes an das vernommene und angenommene Gesetz und das freudige Bewusstsein der damit errungenen Bundesnähe Gottes zum Ausdruck kommen soll. — ושתים עשרה מצבה לשנים עשר שבטי ישראל, diese zwölf Stämme Israels waren ja in konkreter Wirklichkeit gegenwärtig, es war somit gar keine Veranlassung, sie noch besonders symbolisch zu vergegenwärtigen. Nicht darum dem damals gegenwärtigen Geschlechte, nicht den dort ja anwesenden zwölf Stämmen Israels, sondern dem ganzen künftigen Israel, dem ewigen Israel, dessen Ideal nur dem Geiste vorschwebte, und dessen Verwirklichung der ganzen Zukunft angehört, ihm, ihm allein konnten diese Denksteine zur Vergegenwärtigung dienen sollen, את אשר ישנו פה ואת אשר איננו פה wie es auch Dewarim 29, 14 heißt. Weit über den engen Kreis seiner Gegenwart schweifte der Blick unseres Mosche hinaus, als er dem durch ihn überbrachten Gesetze Altar und Denksteine errichtete. Wie mit dem Bundesschwure zum Gesetze, כל הדברים אשר דבר ד׳ נעשה, der Eid für alle kommenden Geschlechter mit geleistet war, und ihrer aller Seelen damit den unverlierbaren Stempel ihrer Bestimmung erhielten, so waren auch ihrer aller Seelen dem Geiste Mosches gegenwärtig, als er den Altar errichtete, und den in konkreter Leiblichkeit anwesenden Stämmen Israels fügte er in den zwölf Denksteinen alle künftigen symbolisch hinzu. So nahm auch Elias, als er auf dem Karmel dem einen einzigen Gotte den Altar wiederherstellte (Kön. I. 18, 31), zwölf Steine "nach Anzahl der Stämme der Söhne Jakobs, dem Gott den Namen und die Bestimmung: "Jisrael" erteilt hatte". Dieses "Jisrael", dieses eine einzige Volk, Bannerträger des einen, einzigen Gottes, war ja nicht mehr da. Zerrissen in seiner Einheit, schwankend die kleinere Hälfte, die andere, die größere, die ihn umstand, einem von religionspolitischen Interessen gehegten und gepflegten Baalpfaffentum bereits völlig verfallen. Das "Jisrael", in dessen Namen er dem einen einzigen Gotte den Altar errichtete, das Jisrael umstand ihn nicht. Nur im Geiste, in der Idee war es ihm gegenwärtig, nur symbolisch konnte er es herbeirufen, und sprach mit seinen zwölf Steinen ebenso die Entartung seines damaligen Geschlechtes, wie die gleichwohl auch solche Zeiten überdauernde Ewigkeit des Gottesvolkes nach seiner Bestimmung aus. Wie Mosche hob er dabei seinen Blick über die beschränkte und beschränkende Gegenwart hinaus und baute die Steine dem unsterblichen Israel der Zukunft. —

ושתים עשרה מצבה, “and 12 stone pillars;” this refers to G-d’s commandment to mark off the area at the bottom of Mount Sinai beyond which none of the people were allowed to approach. (19,12) 3 pillars in the east for the three tribes encamped there, three pillars in the south, the west and the north, as they were encamped also while in the desert. Some commentators say that Moses placed 12 stone pillars on the altar as a symbol that all twelve tribes were completely content with maintaining the covenant with Hashem. We find a parallel to this in what the prophet Elijah did on Mount Carmel: ויקחו שתים עשרה אבנים למספר בני ישראל, “they took twelve stones to symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Kings I 18,31.)

וישכם בבקר AND ROSE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING — on the fifth of Sivan (cf. Rashi on Exodus 19:11) (Shabbat 88a).

Mosche entsendet darum auch:

את נערי THE LADS — the first-born sons (Zevachim 115b; Onkelos).

AND HE SENT ‘NA’AREI’ (THE YOUNG MEN OF) THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. These were the firstborns, as Onkelos rendered it, for it was they who used to offer the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings. But I do not know why Scripture designates the firstborns by the term na’arei (the young men)? Perhaps it is because Scripture mentioned the elders who are the nobles of the children of Israel,⁵¹⁹Further, Verse 11. therefore it called the firstborns ne’arim (young men), for in relation to the elders they were young. It thus indicates that Moses sent them to offer the sacrifices not because of their status in wisdom, for they were not yet advanced in age, but only an account of the birthright, through which they were set aside to offer sacrifices.
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, the young men of the children of Israel were the youth of Israel who had not tasted of sin,⁵²⁰Erubin 21b. and had never come near a woman, for they were the most select and holy of the people, in a similar manner to that which the Rabbis have said:⁵²¹Berachoth 43b. “The young men of Israel who have not tasted of sin⁵²²“Who have not tasted of sin” is not found in our Gemara, but it is present in manuscripts of the Talmud and other early works (see Dikdukei Sofrim, ibid., Note 6). are destined to give forth a fragrance like the Lebanon etc.”⁵²³“As it said, His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his fragrance as Lebanon (Hosea 14:7)” (ibid). The word Lebanon [of the root lavan — white] is an allusion here to the Sanctuary which “whitens” [atones for] the sins of Israel. The thought suggested then is that these young men who have not tasted of sin are as beneficial to Israel as the Sanctuary (Maharsha).

את נערי בני ישראל, the firstborns of each family.

את נערי בני ישראל, “the youths of the Children of Israel.” What are meant are the firstborn sons of the respective families. Nachmanides writes: “I do not know why the Torah calls these firstborns נערים, “youths?” Perhaps the reason is that in the previous verses the Torah had specifically mentioned the זקנים, the elders, the ones who had also been characterized as the אצילי בני ישראל, “the great men of Israel,” the ones blessed with a measure of holy spirit. The Torah may have hinted that attainment of spiritual maturity was not something reserved for people who were born as firstborns, even though those were the ones to whom the functions of the priesthood were entrusted. Seeing that they were the ones, he distinguished them as separate from the multitude. According to the plain meaning of the text the reference is to the young men who were still free from sin, had not slept with any woman, so that they were considered the elite of the people.

וישלח את נערי בני ישראל, “He sent the youths of the Children of Israel, etc.” These were the firstborn. The reason the Torah refers to them as נערי, “youths of,” is that they were ritually pure, ready to perform sacrificial service. They had never committed a sin, had not had sexual intercourse with a woman. This is what our sages said in Berachot 43 when they described that in the future these בחורי ישראל, “young men of the Jewish people,” who had never committed any sin would exude a fragrance like that of the Lebanon. They based this on Hoseah 14,7: “His beauty shall be like the olive tree’s, his fragrance like that of the Lebanon.” With the bringing of this sacrifice the covenant signifying the giving of the Torah was concluded. There were three separate occasions when the Israelites were committed through conclusion of a covenant.
One was circumcision; the second was immersion in a ritual bath; the third is the offering of a communal sacrifice. The circumcision occurred prior to the Exodus from Egypt. All of them had first been circumcised as we know from the fact that they could not eat the Passover unless they had been circumcised. We also have a specific verse in Joshua 5,5 stating that all the Israelite males who had departed from Egypt had been circumcised.
Immersion in a ritual bath was part of the process of sanctification commanded by G’d in 19,10. The offering of a communal sacrifice is what is referred to in our verse. When someone wishes to convert to Judaism he must fulfill all these three rituals. This is based on the Torah comparing natural-born Jews to newly converted Jews when it wrote in Numbers 15,15 ככם כגר, “one teaching for you as well as for the proselyte.” The Jewish court is obligated to administer and supervise circumcision and ritual bath of the converts. When the Temple will be rebuilt, each convert will then offer his sacrifice to complete the procedure of his conversion (Maimonides Hilchot Issurey Biah 13,5).
Our sages in Yevamot 47 state that prior to circumcision and ritual bath the proselyte receives instruction in some of the laws of the Torah, especially those dealing with the various tithes imposed by the Torah on the Jewish farmer. One also makes such a proselyte familiar with the penalties he incurs for violating laws of the Torah. The reason is that the mixed multitude who joined the Jewish people as converts at the time of the Exodus were the ones who initiated the sin of the golden calf. They were also the cause of the death of 14,000 Israelites on the occasion when the people had demanded meat after expressing their dissatisfaction with the manna diet (Numbers 11,4). The Torah had described the instigators of that affair as האספסוף, ‘the collection of rabble.” The Talmud Yevamot 43 adds that the absorption of proselytes is a very difficult task for Israel, as difficult to stomach as ספחת, psoriasis, as we know from Isaiah 14,1 ונספחו על בית ישראל, “and strangers shall join them and cleave to the House of Yaakov.” The reason that these proselytes are so hard to absorb is that their inexperience with Jewish laws and customs produces the result that Jews learn from their customs instead of vice versa.

The first-born. The Nachalas Yaakov writes that sacrifices were offered by the first-born [not only now, before the Giving of the Torah, but even afterward,] until the Mishkan was actually constructed. This is true even though the Levites were chosen right after the sin of the Golden Calf [to take their place]. This is different from the Re’m’s approach; see what he wrote there.

He sent the youths [first-born]. The first born had not yet been deprived of the privilege of performing the service. And even if Aharon and his offspring were chosen to be the priests before the sin of the Golden Calf (which is not clear), the first born could have served in the capacity of the Levites.

V. 5. נערי בני ישראל, die Jünglinge, die Jugend, die nächsten Träger der Zukunft; sie bringen עולות: Opfer der gänzlichen Hingebung ( — eigentlich: Steigopfer, Opfer des Hinanklimmens zur Höhe, daher זריקת דם למטה מחוט הסיקרא. Siehe zu Wajikra 1) und זבחי שלמים: Friedensmahlopfer, Opfer des seligen Bewusstseins der Bundesnähe Gottes mitten im irdischen Dasein und Leben ( — man ist gleichsam Gast am Gottestische auf Erden —), und sie brachten diese Höhe- und Friedenopfer in פרים, Stieren, dem Ausdruck der "Arbeit im Dienste Gottes" (siehe das.), in welchen sie so eben durch Übernahme des Gesetzes getreten. (Chagiga 7 b bleibt es jedoch zweifelhaft, ob פרים sich auch auf עולות oder nur auf שלמים bezieht. Es würde sodann in den עולות zuerst die in ihrem Geschicke von Gott geleitete Nation, כבש, als צאן מרעיתו zu ihrem "Hirten" hingetreten sein, und dann in שלמים als פרים, des nunmehrigen Eintrittes in seinen Dienst vor ihrem "Herrn" froh, sich diese Freude zum Ausdruck gebracht haben).

נערי בני ישראל, “young men of the Children of Israel.” They were young lads on the threshold of becoming of age when they would be eligible to observe the commandments. According to a different view, these were all firstborns of their respective families.

OXEN UNTO THE ETERNAL. The reason they brought oxen is that as long as Israel was in the wilderness they feared the attribute of justice, this being indeed the source of their mistake at the incident of the golden calf — as I will mention there.⁵²⁴See Ramban further, 32:1. And so they now offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed peace-offerings all of oxen, for a similar reason to that of the bullock brought by the anointed priest [for a sin-offering],⁵²⁵Leviticus 4:3. and the bullock which the court brings for an erroneous decision [which contradicts in part what the Torah enjoins],⁵²⁶Ibid., Verse 14. and the bullock for idolatry,⁵²⁷Numbers 15:24. as well as the Red Heifer.⁵²⁸Ibid., 19:2. See Ramban there: “Its redness alludes to the attribute of justice, etc.”

ויעלו עולות, “they presented burntofferings.” They meant to fulfill what G-d had told Moses at the burning bush that the Israelites would in due course worship him at that Mountain. (Exodus 3,12)

זבחים שלמים לה' פרים, “as feast peace-offerings for Hashem, bulls.” As long as the Israelites were in the desert they always experienced some fear of the attribute of Justice seeing they found themselves in a part of the earth which was desolate, reflected destruction of nature, etc. This is why they slaughtered bulls as their offerings [the standard sin-offering of High Priests, or the communal sin-offering for the whole people when the occasion demanded it. Ed.].

ויקח משה חצי הדם AND MOSES TOOK THE HALF OF THE BLOOD — Who divided it into halves? An angel came down and divided it (Leviticus Rabbah 6:5).

AND MOSES TOOK HALF OF THE BLOOD AND HE PLACED IT ‘BA’AGANOTH.’ These are vessels made unlike the shape of the regular basins of the altar. Hence Scripture states that half of the blood of the sacrifices which Moses intended to sprinkle on the people, he put into these vessels, and the other half he sprinkled upon the altar from the regular basins in which he had received the blood, as is the customary way with all offerings. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that ba’aganoth served for both halves, [and thus the word signifies the regular basins of the altar]. Such is also the opinion of Onkelos, who translated ba’aganoth as b’mizr’kaya [a term referring to the regular basins].

וחצי הדם זרק על המזבח, he converted the altar into being G’d’s intermediary, messenger; for the concluding of the covenant. Half the blood was sprinkled on the altar, the other half on the people.

וישם באגנות, “he put it in the basins.” These vessels were made in a manner that did not resemble the ones that were part of the regular Temple service, or the regular appurtenances of the altar. The reason for this was that Moses intended to sprinkle half of the animal’s blood on to the people who would become active participants of the covenant through this. The other half of the blood Moses sprinkled on to the altar According to Ibn Ezra the basins, אגנות, were used by Moses both to sprinkle blood on the people and on the altar.

An angel came and divided it. [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, it should first say that Moshe divided it, and then say that he took half of it.

V. 6. אגן und עגן bedeuten beide eine anderes umschlingende, festhaltende Biegung, daher auch chaldäisch עכנא: die Schlange. Hier אגן ein Becken, und zwar vielleicht mit völlig rundgebogenem Boden, בלי שולים (Peßachim 64 a) ohne Basis, so dass man es nicht ruhig hinstellen konnte, um das Gerinnen des zum Sprengen bestimmten Blutes zu verhindern.

וישם באגנות, “he placed it in basins.” Rashi explains that we learn from this verse that it requires three steps to convert to Judaism fully: circumcision, immersion in a ritual bath, and expressing one’s willingness to become Jewish by a verbal declaration. This explains a statement in the Talmud tractate Yevamot folio 46, that our forefathers, i.e. Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov, were circumcised and immersed themselves in a ritual bath, but did not make a verbal declaration of accepting Judaism. [How could they have done so since the Torah had not been given in their time as yet? Ed.]

באגנת IN BASONS — There were two basons, one for holding the half of the blood of the burnt offering and the other for holding the half of the blood of the peace offerings, in order to sprinkle it (both bloods) on the people. From here have our Rabbis inferred (Keritot 9a) that our ancestors entered into the covenant with God by means of circumcision, immersion and sprinkling of blood — and although immersion is not mentioned in this paragraph it must have taken place, for no sprinkling is effective without immersion preceding it (cf. Tosafot Yevamot 46b ד"ה דאין הזאה בלא טבילה).‎

זרק על המזבח, “he sprinkled on the altar.” He did so before reading out the declaration for the people to recite after him. After having read out the declaration he sprinkled the other half of the sacrificial blood on the people.

ספר הברית THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT — the book which we have said contained the part of the Torah from בראשית till the “Giving of the Torah” including the Commandments that were given to them at Marah (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:10:2; cf. Rashi on v. 4).

ספר הברית. The book in which G’d’s words had been recorded as well as the laws concerning which the covenant was concluded. Reference has to be made to this book in verse four of our chapter.

ספר הברית, the book mentioned in verse four where Moses is reported as recording in writing.

The Book of the Covenant (bris). Bereishis is called the Book of the Covenant because it contains all the covenants made with Noach and the Patriarchs. Alternatively, the word bris is a variant of the word bri’ah—“creation,” in which case Bereishis is actually called the Book of Creation.

From Bereishis till the Giving of the Torah. . . Therefore it is called [“the Book,”] with ה"א הידיעה , because it is referring to what was mentioned before (v. 4), “Moshe wrote down. . .”

V. 7. ספר הברית: das V. 4 niedergeschriebene Gesetz, das ihnen bereits V. 3 mündlich vollständig mitgeteilt und durch ihr Erfüllungsgelöbnis zur Bundesverpflichtung erwachsen war. — נעשה ונשמע, oben (V. 3) nach der mündlichen Darstellung der Gesetze, genügte das Gelöbnis: נעשה. Es waren ihnen ja die Gesetze vollständig detailliert zum Bewusstsein gebracht. Demgegenüber war nur "Erfüllung" anzugeloben. Die Schrift enthielt aber nur die Gesetze in ihren kurz gefaßten Grundnormen, wie wir sie in der Schrift vor uns haben, die Detaildarstellung verblieb der mündlichen Belehrung und der Auffassung im Geiste durchs Gehör. Dem zu lesenden, geschriebenen Gesetze gegenüber würde sich das נעשה-Gelöbnis nur auf den, ohne mündliche Überlieferung unvollständigen, Wortlaut beziehen. Sie fügten hier daher: "ונשמע" hinzu, und sagten damit: alles, was Gott gesprochen, nicht nur die uns hier vorgelesenen Grundzüge, wollen wir vollbringen, und zu diesem Ende auch "hören", d. h.: uns durch Kennenlernen und Beachten des Mündlichverbliebenen in den Stand setzen, den göttlichen Willen wirklich und vollkommen zu erfüllen.

ויקח ספר הברית, “He took hold of the Book of the Covenant;” It is well known that the Torah was not written in chronological sequential order. The Mechilta of Rabbi Yishmael, on the 19th chapter of the Book of Exodus, has proven this beyond any question. Among other proofs the author has cited is Leviticus 25,2, where the Torah wrote: ושבתה הארץ, that the soil of the land of Israel is to observe a year of lying fallow, (immediately after the Israelites entering that land) and the Torah proceeds to lists the laws pertaining to the sh’mittah cycles followed by the Jubilee cycles, concluding with 26,46: “these are the statutes and social laws that G-d has given as applying to the Jewish people all of which He had revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai.” The Jewish people heard and accepted all the laws including the blessings and curses applying to those who observed them and those who would disobey them, after which Moses took the remainder of the blood and sprinkled it upon them, as the seal of the covenant. He told the people to listen to detailed instructions of these laws starting on the day following. [In other words, the Jews had already bound themselves to be obedient to the Torah’s laws even though they had not yet been written down. There is considerable discussion about the term ספר הברית, here whether what was already written in there at the time Moses read from it was subsequently written in the Torah out of context or not. According to our author’s interpretation of the Mechilta when the Israelites said their famous: נעשה ונשמע generally understood as their giving G-d a blank cheque, this was not so, they simply expressed the wish to learn the details of what Moses had already read out to them. Ed.]

ויקרא באזני העם, Moses read out the contents so that the people would know what they had committed themselves to. Only by knowing the contents would they be prevented from violating the commandments inadvertently.

נעשה ונשמע, “we will carry out what G’d has said already, and we are also prepared to listen (obey) to what He will command from here on in.

נעשה ונשמע, a reference to action designed to ensure that they could obey G’d’s directives without thought of any reward that might be in store for them by doing this. We find a similar construction in Psalms 103,20 עושי דברו לשמוע בקולו, “who do His bidding, ever obedient to His bidding.”

ויזרק means sprinkling — he sprinkled it on the people (not he threw it against the people, as this word might imply; cf. e. g., Exodus 9:8: וזרקו משה השמימה). The Targum, however, renders it by: and he poured it (the blood) upon the altar as atonement for (על) the people, adding the words “upon the altar”, and taking על העם to denote “on behalf of the people”, i. e. he poured it out to atone for the people.

ויזרוק על העם, “he sprinkled on the people.” Some commentators understand the word על here to mean בעד, “on behalf of.” We have a parallel to this in Numbers 17,12 ויכפר על העם “Aaron atoned on behalf of the people.”

The meaning of sprinkling. The word זרק is an expression meaning the same as as in, “And I will sprinkle ( וזרקתי ) purifying water upon you” (Yechezkel 36:25). But it does have the meaning as in, “And let Moshe cast ( ויזרוק ) it heavenward” (Shemos 9:8), which means actual throwing.

ויקח משה את הדם ויזרוק על העם, he sprinkled the blood on them as a symbolic act signifying their entering the covenant with G’d, a covenant that requires blood to seal it. In fact, the blood stain on the garments of the Israelites as a result of this sprinkling was afterwards called עדי [from עד “witness.” Ed.] as it was testimony to the fact that the wearer had become a member of this covenant. This is why after the people had sinned with the golden calf the Torah demands that they remove this sign of such a covenant seeing that they had breached the covenant (Exodus 33,5). The Israelites are also reported to have divested themselves of these blood-stained garments in Exodus 33,6. The reason why G’d had chosen blood to be the symbol of this covenant was to warn the people that if they would prove loyal to the covenant everything would be fine, whereas if they would violate it, G’d on His part would also make the Israelites’ blood something anyone could spill without fear of Divine reprisal.

V. 8. ויזרק על העם. Aus Jebamot 56 b, Keritot 9a ist ersichtlich, dass dies ein Sprengen des Blutes zu dem Volke hin, nicht aber wie Onkelos übersetzt: וזרק על מדבחא לכפרא על עמא, ein Sprengen an den Altar zur Sühne für das Volk, gewesen ist. Vielmehr war die eine Hälfte des Blutes bereits (V. 6) an den Altar hingegossen, und nun goss Mosche die andere Hälfte dem Volke zu. Damit war wohl ausgesprochen, dass jeder Blutstropfen, jede Kraft unseres Wesens, die wir der Erfüllung des göttlichen Willens auf Erden hingeben, unverlierbar uns selber wieder zurückgegeben wird, in dem Maße wie wir Gott hingeben, wir von Gott empfangen, und wir uns erst selber gewinnen, indem wir uns Gott opfern. Damit ist denn sofort die Gegenseitigkeit des Bundesverhältnisses geschlossen, und erklärt sich darin das Wort, mit welchem Mosche die Bluthingabe an das Volk begleitete: הנה דם הברית וגו׳. Das ספר הברית enthielt die Forderungen, die Gott an uns gestellt, das zurückempfangene דם הברית drückt die Gewährungen aus, die wir, der Hingebung an das ספר הברית gegenüber, von Gott zu erwarten haben.

הנה דם הברית, “here is the blood, the symbol of the covenant;”The blood of the covenant is divided into two halves, as always when a covenant is made between two parties. We know this already from the first covenant made between G-d and Avraham in Genesis chapter 15, when Avraham divided all the slaughtered animals except for the bird.[Nowadays when two parties conclude an agreement each receives a copy of the text, and each signs both copies. Ed.] The prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 34,18, refers to העגל אשר כרתו לשנים ויעברו בין בתריו, “the calf which they cut in two so as to pass between the halves.” The reason why in Genesis15,17, G-d is not described as passing between the pieces Avraham had cut, was His way of indicating to Avraham that there would be a price to pay in blood for violating this covenant. This idea has also been referred to again in Leviticus 26,25 in the tochachah, the chapter of dire warnings, where G-d describes His reaction to when the Jewish people become guilty of violating this covenant.

Onkelos translates it [literally]: “He cast it on the altar . . . And not actually on the people, for it is written, (24, 6) “sprinkled on the altar.”

ויעל משה ואהרן, after he had carried out the tasks entrusted to him by G’d. telling the people what he had been told to in 20,18. Now he carried out the instructions recorded in verse 1 of our chapter.

ויראו את אלהי ישראל NOW THEY SAW THE GOD OF ISRAEL — They gazed intently and failing in this they peeped in their attempt to catch a glimpse of the Supreme Being, and thereby made themselves liable to death. But it was only because God did not wish to disturb the joy caused by the Giving of the Torah, that He did not punish them instantly, but waited (postponed the punishment) for Nadab and Abihu until the day when the Tabernacle was dedicated, when they were stricken with death, and for the elders until the event of which the text relates, (Numbers 11:16) “And when the people complained …. and the fire of the Lord burned among them and destroyed בקצה המחנה” — those who were the קצינים “nobles” of the camp (Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 16).

AND THEY SAW THE G-D OF ISRAEL. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained: “They saw Him in a prophetic vision, this being similar to the verse: I saw the Eternal standing beside the altar.⁵²⁹Amos 9:1. — And there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone.⁵³⁰Continuing Verse 10 before us. This is identical with what the prophet Ezekiel saw: as the appearance of a sapphire stone was the likeness of a throne.⁵³¹Ezekiel 1:26. — And the like of the very heaven for clearness,⁵³⁰Continuing Verse 10 before us. means that they saw under the paved work of sapphire stone the likeness of the very heaven for clearness, which is identical with the firmament, like the color of the terrible ice, stretched forth⁵³²Ibid., Verse 22. over the heads of the living creatures [that Ezekiel saw]. Now here it is written, And they saw the G-d of Israel, and there it is written, This is the living creature that I saw under the G-d of Israel.⁵³³Ibid., 10:20. [In saying that he saw the living creature under the G-d of Israel, the prophet Ezekiel] used a shortened expression, for the living creature was under the firmament which was under the throne, and all this was under the Glorious Name.” [Thus far is Ibn Ezra’s language.]
In line with the simple meaning of Scripture the expression the G-d of Israel is used here to indicate that the merit of their father Israel [Jacob] was with them, and it was through his merit that they beheld this vision. And by the way of the Truth, [the mystic doctrine of the Cabala], it is because Scripture mentioned at the Giving of the Torah, and G-d spoke,⁵³⁴Genesis 1:3. this being identical with the verse, Behold, the Eternal our G-d hath shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire,⁵³⁵Deuteronomy 5:21. therefore Scripture explained here that they saw the G-d of Israel. It does not say as it does in all other places, the Eternal, the G-d of Israel,⁵³⁶Above, 5:1, etc. but mentioned this [the G-d of Israel] in order to say that the seventy elders perceived in this vision more than the rest of the people who saw upon the earth His great fire,⁵³⁷Deuteronomy 4:36. because the people saw through a partition of cloud and thick darkness.⁵³⁸Ibid., 5:19. Onkelos hinted at this, for he translated here, “and they saw the Glory of the G-d of Israel,” but did not render it, “and the Glory of G-d revealed itself to them,” as is his way of translating in other places.⁵³⁹E.g., in Numbers 16:19, where it states, And the Glory of the Eternal appeared unto all the congregation, Onkelos translated: “and the Glory of the Eternal revealed itself…” Here, however, he wrote “and they saw,” in order to indicate that they achieved a greater insight in this vision than the rest of the people.

ותחת רגליו, on the earth, the lowest point. We have G’d on record as describing “earth” in such terms in Isaiah 66,1 והארץ הדם רגליו, “the earth is My footstool.”

ויראו את אלו-הי ישראל, just as the Torah described “G’d’s “back” becoming visible to Moses in Exodus 33,23 so the meaning of the elders “seeing” means that the manifestations of G’d’s attributes they had experienced made Him as real to them as if they had seen Him with their physical eyes.

ויראו את א-לוהי ישראל, “they experienced a vision of the G’d of Israel.” Ibn Ezra explains that the word ויראו here describes a prophetic vision, not perception with their physical eyes. This vision would be similar to that seen by the prophet Ezekiel when he described the appearance of G’d’s throne. (Ezekiel 1,26) He described it as made of אבן ספיר, whereas here the Israelites due to their familiarity with bricks, described it as לבנת ספיר, as a brick made of sapphire. In verse 28 in that chapter in Ezekiel, the prophet spells out that what he saw was not the actual throne but a דמות, an image of such a throne. Nachmanides writes that according to the plain meaning of the text the words א-לוהי ישראל mean that the merit of the patriarch Israel was the catalyst that enabled them to be granted such a vision.

ויראו את אלו-הי ישראל, “and they ‘saw’ the G’d of Israel, etc.” The Torah refers to the attribute כבוד which we have discussed at length earlier saying that according to Pessikta Zutrata this is another name for what is popularly known as Shechinah. We know that it is impossible to experience a vision of the attribute of Hashem, as Hashem told Moses specifically that His attribute of Hashem cannot be seen by any living human being (Exodus 33,20). This is why Onkelos translates these words as וחזו ית יקר אלהא דישראל. This is the same attribute כבוד which the prophet Ezekiel experienced in a vision in Ezekiel 1,26 as the appearance of a human being above (the other chayot). First he had seen the חיות הקודש, and the אופנים beneath next to the חיות. When he looked again he saw the sky suspended above the heads of the חיות. Then he saw the throne of the Lord above the sky. Above that he saw a likeness resembling that of a human being, still higher above the throne.

They intentionally looked and intently gazed. . . This means that they intellectually perceived, as Rashi explains on the next verse: [ היו מסתכלין בו בלב גס ]. But it cannot mean actually looking, because it is written (33:20), “For no man can see My Presence and live.” And they became liable for death because [through this “looking”], they entered past their designated area.

V. 10. Wer wäre so vermessen, dieses Geschaute präzisieren zu wollen! An der Hand des Wortlauts wagen wir zu bemerken: Da es ausdrücklich heißt (Kap. 33, 20): "du kannst mein Angesicht nicht sehen, denn mich sieht kein Mensch und lebt!" und ebenso ausdrücklich (Dewarim 4, 12 u. 15) mit Hinblick auf diese Offenbarung am Sinai wiederholt gesagt und warnend zum Bewusstsein gesprochen wird, dass keinerlei Gestalt geschaut worden, als Gott zu uns zu Horeb aus dem Feuer sprach: so kann das ויראו את אלקי ישראל sich nur auf die Erscheinung beziehen, durch welche Gott seine Gegenwart ankündigte. Oder, und dies ist uns das Wahrscheinlichere, es ist eine Konstruktion wie: ראיתי את העם הזה והנה עם קשה ערף הוא (Kap.32, 9) ראיתי את הארץ והנה תהו ובהו ואל השמים ואין אורם (Jirmija 4, 23). "Ich sah das Volk und siehe, es ist hartnäckig, ich sah die Erde und siehe, sie ist öde, zu den Himmeln, und ihr Licht ist geschwunden", wo überall nicht das Volk, die Erde, der Himmel, sondern deren Zustände das Objekt des Sehens bilden, und diese Sätze nicht anders heißen, als: ich sah, dass das Volk hartnäckig, die Erde öde, der Himmel Licht geschwunden war. So kann auch ויראו את אלקי ישראל ותחת רגליו וגו׳ vielleicht nur heißen: sie sahen zu Füßen des Gottes Israels wie das Schaffen eines saphirenen Ziegels usw.

ויראו את אלוקי ישראל, “they saw a vision of the Lord, G-d of Israel.” This was a prophetic vision.

כמעשה לבנת הספיר AS IT WERE THE BRICKWORK OF SAPPHIRE — This had been before Him during the period of Egyptian slavery as a symbol of Israel’s woes — for they were subjected to do brick-work (cf. Jerusalem Talmud Succah 6:3; Leviticus Rabbah 23:8).

כמעשה לבנת ספיר, an essence, totally transparent, devoid of colours and permanent contours so that it is almost completely abstract, capable of absorbing spiritual input from spiritual domains at will. An allegorical description of the human נפש, “life-force.”

לבנת, the whiteness of

אלקי ישראל, in den Büchern des Propheten so häufig, kommt im Pentateuch dieser Ausdruck nur einigemal und immer bei besonderer Veranlassung mit Emphase vor, und zwar wie hier absolut, nicht attributiv zu ה׳, nur noch zweimal: Bereschit 33, 20, als Jakob zum erstenmale auf dem Boden seiner Heimat als selbständiger Familienvater ein Haus, erbaute, und, einen "Altar zum Denkmal" setzend, sich damit Gott als "Jisraels Gott" verkündete: ויקרא לו אל אלקי ישראל, und das zweitemal (Bamidbar 16, 9), wo Mosche Korach und seine Anhänger mit den Worten: המעט מכם כי הבדיל אלקי ישראל אתכם וגו׳ daran erinnert, wie der, dem Israel im ganzen als Werkzeug und Diener für seine Zwecke angehört, allein befugt ist, sich auch innerhalb dieser Ihm gehörigen Gesamtheit die besonderen Werkzeuge und Diener seines Willens zu erwählen. So auch hier. Durch das eben eingegangene Bundesverhältnis war erst Israel zu Gott in die wahrhafte Beziehung seiner Bestimmung getreten, war Gott erst wahrhaft אלקי ישראל geworden, und nun sahen sie "Ihm zu Füßen": כמעשה לבנת הספיר. Aus mehreren Gründen kann לבנת הספיר wohl nicht: die "Weiße" des Saphirs heißen. Es kommt sonst nicht die weiße Farbe kemin., sondern לָבָן vor, מחשף הלבן (Bereschit 30, 37) so dass wir לְבֶן הספיר hätten erwarten dürfen. Dann bezeichnet מעשה bei Beschreibungen von Gegenständen nie die Farbe, sondern die Art der Bereitung oder die dadurch dem Gegenstande gegebene Form: כמעשה אופן ,מעשה שושן ,מעשה רשת ,מעשה חשב u. a. m. Endlich ist der Saphir nicht weiß, sondern blau und zwar himmelblau: רקיע דומה לאבן ספיר Chulin 89 a). Es kann demnach) לִבְנָת auch stat. constr. von לְבֵנָה , Ziegel, sein. Die Bereitung von Ziegeln wird Schmot 5, 16 ולבנים אומרים לנו עשור, durch עשה ausgedrückt. כמעשה לבנת הספיר hieße demnach entweder: wie die Bereitung oder: wie die Form eines saphirnen Ziegels. "Ihm zu Füßen", also: zum Bau seines Thrones, sahen sie, war mit diesem Bündnis ein Ziegel getragen. Wie sie als עבדי פרעה im Pharaonendienst Ziegel zum Bau der Pharaonenmacht zu bereiten hatten, so schaffen sie jetzt als עבדי ד׳ im Dienste Gottes "Ziegel" für den Bau des Gottesreichs auf Erden, und ihr נעשה ונשמע war der erste Ziegel zu diesem Bund. "Saphiren" aber, sahen sie, ist ein solcher Ziegel. Alles Irdische, das im treuen Dienste zu diesem Gottesbau getragen wird, vermählt sich mit dem Himmlischen, wird vom Himmlischen durchdrungen, wird himmlisch und "steht dem Himmlischen an Reine nicht nach" וכעצם השמים לטהר. —

כמעשה לבנת ספיר, “like a brick make of sapphire.” There are two kinds of sapphire, the white kind and the black kind. The “white, (bright)” kind is similar in colour to azureblue; seeing that the majority of people have never seen a sapphire in their lives, the Torah has to describe it by comparing it to a phenomenon familiar to everyone, i.e. a cloudless sky in which the sun shines brightly. We find such a description also in Job 37,21: ורוח עברה ותטהרם, “until the wind comes and clears the sky from the clouds.”Rabbi Akiva is quoted as referring to when Pharaoh forced the Israelites to deliver twice the normal amount of bricks, by thus interpreting the word תוכן in Exodus 5,18. They had refused to continue to supply the Israelites with the straw that served as reinforcement for mud bricks, so that the Israelites had to forage for them in the fields. They gathered straw full of thorns and thistles and the skins of their feet were pierced by that straw, blood streaming from their wounds, and was mixed with the loam. (The raw material of the bricks.) According to this Midrash, the source of which is not known, a descendant of Metushelach, called Rachel in that Midrash, experienced extreme difficulty and pain while about to give birth, her birthstool, מלבן, a rectangular mouldlike contraption, becoming mired in loam and thistles and she being bloodied all over. When the archangel Michael became aware of this result of the barbaric treatment of the Israelites by the decree of Pharaoh, he took a brick, לבנה, same root in Hebrew, and deposited this brick made of sapphire beneath the throne of G-d to remind Him of how His people were being treated. It remained there until the destruction of the Temple due to the people’s sins when G-d or one of His angels flung it back down to earth, as G-d had no further use for such reminders.[I had debated with myself if to translate and explain the author’s insertion of part of this Midrash, but decided in favour, as it illustrates better than prose how our sages view both the angels, and G-d’s reaction to excessive torture of His people, but also excessive disloyalty by His people to their covenant with G-d. Ed.] (In his commentary on our verse by Rabbi Menachem Kasher of sainted memory, in his Torah shleymah, the interested reader can read up on this under the heading #88. (With the help of this Midrash, the line: ותחת רגליו כמעשה לבנת הספיר וכעצם השמים לטוהר, “and underneath His feet the mould of a brick pure as the finest sapphire, like a cloudless pure sky,” becomes more meaningful.)

וכעצם השמים לטהר AND AS IT WERE AS THE BODY OF HEAVEN FOR PURITY — This implies that as soon as they (the Israelites) were delivered there was radiance and rejoicing before Him.

וכעצם השמים לטוהר, they perceived that this לבנת הספיר, “essence,” is totally independent of the raw material man is made of; just as what we perceive as the essence of heaven in the sky is totally devoid of tangible matter. It is the essence of what we consider the celestial regions, “heaven,” for lack of a better word. It is not connected to the solid physical planets etc., which form the “inhabitants” of these celestial domains. The fact that the “sky,” “heaven,” has no physical dimensions makes it appear as if it is the spiritual dimension of “Heaven” itself.

וכעצם, the appearance. The construction is similar to Lamentations 4,7 אדמו עצם מפנינים, “their bodies were like sapphires.”

וכעצם — Translate it as the Targum does: “as the appearance”.

לטהר, as when the sky is clear without clouds.

לטהר means FOR BRIGHTNESS AND CLEARNESS.

ואל אצילי AND UPON THE NOBLES — these were Nadab and Abihu and the elders —

AND TO ‘ATZILEI’ (THE NOBLES OF) THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. These are Nadab, and Abihu, and the elders mentioned above.⁵⁴⁰Verse 1. They are called atzilim [of the root atzal, to emanate] because the spirit of G-d emanated upon them. Similarly, I have called thee ‘mei’atzilehah’⁵⁴¹Isaiah 41:9. — from those upon whom His spirit has emanated, or the great people upon whom honor has descended from royalty.

ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו, G’d, did not extend His helping hand to enable these nobles and elders to grant them the level of prophetic status while they were oblivious to their five senses with which they perceived while merely human beings. We encounter such a concept in Ezekiel 8,1 when the prophet describes an inspiration received with the words: ותפול עלי יד ה', “and the “hand” of G’d “fell” upon me there.” The use of this phraseology describes the separation of the “normal” senses used for perception employed by the prophet, and his transformation into a super terrestrial dimension. [It is probably impossible to really “translate” this line into the vernacular in any language. The main point our author makes, as opposed to other commentators, is that this “hand of G’d” is not perceived by him as one that is retributive in character, but, on the contrary, as one that elevates the human being to a spiritually higher dimension.” In our context the Torah says that the “visions” achieved by these אצילי בני ישראל, were not further helped along by G’d. Ed.] Examples of people who divest themselves of human senses, or human garb, (a simile for their senses?) are King Saul in Samuel I 19,24 “then he too stripped off his clothes and he too spoke in ecstasy before Samuel, and he lay naked all day and night. This is why people say: “Is Saul too among the prophets?”

ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו, And G'd did not lay a hand on the nobles of the children of Israel; Why did the Torah have to make mention of ואל אצילי בני ישראל? If the Torah had merely written: "He did not lay a hand on them," I would have known already that the subject of the verse are the elders who were mentioned in the previous verse. Perhaps the Torah wanted us to know that the reason why G'd did not lay a hand on these people at that time was that they were "the nobles of the children of Israel." Alternatively, G'd did not want to spoil the prevailing spiritual high and joy of the people by killing so many of their leaders at that time and causing them to be mourned (compare Bamidbar Rabbah 15).

ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו. Even though these people had deliberately lingered over a vision of G’d, feasting their eyes on it, something forbidden as we know from Numbers 4,20, that glimpsing something sacred inside the temple is forbidden on pain of death, at this time G’d did not punish tem. We know of a similar occurrence in Samuel I 6,19 when the subject was the Holy Ark. On the other hand, when afforded a similar opportunity to “see” G’d, Moses was afraid to do so (Exodus 3,6 at the burning bush). Here the nobles and elders were being honoured by G’d with visions, this being due to the covenant being concluded with them at this time. I explained in connection with the covenant of the pieces G’d concluded with Avraham in Genesis 15,17 that Avraham observed G’d as if passing between the pieces of the animals Avraham had cut up. [I could not find this exegesis of our author where it is supposed to be. Ed.] This report of “seeing” a manifestation of G’d resurfaces when the new covenant is made after the sin of the golden calf has been forgiven in Exodus 34,3 where only Moses is allowed to be present, i.e. to look at the mountain before he ascends. Having outlawed visual contact by others, G’d proceeds to announce that He will make a new covenant (Exodus 34,10) replacing the one the Israelites had breached at the golden calf episode.

ואל אצילי בני ישראל, “and against the nobility of the people of Israel, etc.” This is a reference to Nadav, Avihu, and the elders of Israel. The reason why they are described as אצילים is that they had been granted a prophetic vision, the holy spirit had descended upon them. Compare ומאציליה קראתיך, “and from its spiritual elite I have called you forth.” (Isaiah 41,9) Ibn Ezra says the Torah uses the appellation אצילי so as to make a qualitative distinction between Moses on the one hand, and the elders. The reason this was called for was that Moses, at the age of 80, could also have been perceived as one of the ”elders.” The new term אצילי was thus coined here to describe the stature of Nadav and Avihu.

ואל אצילי בני ישראל, “and against the ‘nobles’ of the Children of Israel, etc.” The reason they are referred to as אצילי is that the word is connected to אצילות, “emanation.” Some of the holy spirit had been emanated to them while they were standing at this holy site. The people so referred to were Nadav and Avihu as well as the seventy elders.

V. 11. Im feindlichen Sinne Hand an jemanden legen, heißt in der Regel: שלח יד ב־ (es kommt allerdings in diesem Sinne zweimal auch שלח יד אל־ vor: Bereschit 22, 12 u. Job 1, 12). Es dürfte auch schwerlich hier gesagt sein, es seien die V. 9 genannten Erlesenen Israels von Gott nicht feindlich berührt worden, obgleich sie zu seiner Erscheinung hinangetreten waren. Es war ja gar keine Veranlassung dazu, da sie auf ausdrückliches Geheiß Gottes hinangegangen waren. Dagegen heißt יד ה׳ auch die Gewalt des Gottesgeistes, die den Propheten fasst und ihn in das Bereich der Prophetie emporhebt. — אצל, wovon אֵצֶל: neben, heißt zunächst eine räumliche Absonderung, und Jesaias 41, 9, wo אצילם noch einmal vorkommt, ומאציליה קראתיך, scheint es, synonym mit dem vorangehenden אשר החזקתיך מקצות הארץ, die räumlich Gesonderten, Entfernten zu bedeuten. Wir vermuten daher, daß mit אצילי בני ישראל auch hier die in der Entfernung Stehenden, aus der Nähe des Berges und der Gotteserscheinung Ferngehaltenen, somit das in seiner Umgrenzung verharrende Volk bezeichnet sei. Die den Berg hinan in die Gottesnähe Berufenen (V. 9) wurden von der יד ד׳ ergriffen, und darum ויראו, sahen sie את אלקי ישראל usw. Bis zu den ferner Stehenden sendete aber Gott את ידו nicht, vielmehr ויחזו ( — im Verhältnis zu ראה, dem mehr konkreten und nahen Sehen, heißt חזה [wovon חָוֶה Brust] ein inneres oder ein Fernsehen —) "sie schauten Gott innerlich im Geiste" oder: "sie schauten zu der fernen Gotteserscheinung hinan", ויאכלו וישתו, ohne dass sie dem gewöhnlichen, normalen, von Sinnlichkeit umschränkten irdischen Standpunkte enthoben worden wären. Die von der Prophetie Ergriffenen wurden zu Gott emporgehoben, den zu dieser Stufe nicht emporgehobenen Israelssöhnen trat Gott im Bewusstsein nahe, sie fühlten die Nähe Gottes in ihrem Innern beim Opfermahle (V. 5), sie genossen die Seligkeit der Gottesnähe mitten im irdischen Leben, jene höchste, normale Blüte des jüdischen Lebens und Strebens vor Gott, die ja auch Dewarim 27, 7 bei dem erneueten Ausdruck des am Sinai geschlossenen nationalen Bundes mit dem Gesetze (vergl. das. 5—7 mit unserm Kap. V. 4 u. 5) also lautet: וזבחת שלמים ואכלת שם ושמחת לפני ד׳ אלדיך. — Megilla 9 a wird das אצילי בני ישראל nicht auf das ganze Volk, sondern auf die נערי בני ישראל V. 5) bezogen, die als die für die gottesdienstliche Familienrepräsentanz geweihten Erstgeborenen אצילים, die "Ausgesonderten" genannt werden. Auch dann dürfte das לא שלח ידו und das ויחזו וגו׳ in dem von uns geglaubten Sinne zu verstehen sein.

לא שלח ידו, “He did not raise His hand;” G-d had reason to punish the people who had been granted this vision because they carried on as if this was nothing extraordinary, by eating and drinking. [According to this interpretation, at this time, immediately before the giving of the Torah, G-d did not wish to spoil the joyous mood of the people. An alternate approach to these lines: all the Torah tells us is that in spite of having been granted such visions, and one could have expected that this would have made them temporarily like angels, like Moses who on Mount Sinai went for 40 days and nights without food or drink, these “nobles” of the people had not attained that level of prophecy. They could continue to eat and drink without thereby harming themselves.

לא שלח ידו HE LAID NOT HIS HAND — This implies that they well deserved that God should stretch forth His hand against them (Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 16).

The meaning of the expression He laid not His hand, is that since He had said, But let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Eternal, lest He break forth upon them,⁵⁴²Above, 19:24. therefore He let it be known here that they had been careful to observe that command and that He did not break forth upon them, and that the nobles of the children of Israel were worthy of that which they saw in this vision; thus the meaning of the verse is that they beheld G-d but they did not break through to come up unto the Eternal.⁵⁴²Above, 19:24.

ויחזו את האלוקים, they achieved a vision of their concept of G’d similar to a prophetic vision.

ויאכלו וישתו, the burnt-offerings, עולות, were consumed by the altar, whereas the peace-offerings, שלמים, described as “meat-offerings, זבחים, were eaten by the people mentioned here. (compare verse 5)

לא שלח ידו, “He did not stretch out His hand (punitively).” Nachmanides writes that seeing that the Torah had warned both the priests and people not to ascend the Mountain as this would constitute a breach of the protective fence around the Mountain, (19,24) the Torah refers to the fact that these people had not committed any breach of the rules and therefore did not deserve punishment. Had they done so, they would not have been found worthy to experience a prophetic vision. The whole line of ויחזו וגו' must be understood as what these people did do or experience, meaning that they did not disregard the prohibition of approaching too closely to the Mountain. Some commentators contrast what did not happen here with what happened when G’d did stretch out His hand to Moses to give him the Tablets. This would mean that the people experiencing these visions at this time did not receive encouragement from G’d .

לא שלח ידו, “He did not stretch out His hand.” This wording proves that they deserved to experience disciplining or worse by G’d.
ויחזו את האלו-הים, “they gazed at G’d.” This is a repetition of what had been described earlier with the words ויראו את האלו-הים (24,10). The principal meaning of these verses is that the nobles were content to gaze at G’d from afar and not breach the security fence around the mountain.
ויאכלו וישתו, “they ate and they drank, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text they considered the day a festival in view of their having been granted such insights and having survived the experience. This would be comparable to Yaakov who had said after his struggle with the protective guardian of Esau (Genesis 32,31) “for I have seen G’d face to face and my life has been spared.” This is also why the High Priest used to make a feast at the end of Yom Kippur every time after he had come out of the Holy of Holies without having been harmed in body or spirit by the experience (compare Yuma 70).

לא שלח ידו…ויאכלו, He did not lay a hand;…they ate, etc. Why did the Torah mention once more ויחזו and was not content with the words ויראו? Our sages in Vayikra Rabbah 20,10 claim that these people feasted by means of their vision of G'd, ויחזו. Their very visual experience provided the kind of satisfaction for them that ordinary people under normal circumstances experience as the result of consuming food and drink. This still does not provide an adequate explanation for the fact that the verse reports what G'd did not do as a consequence of an activity by these people which had not even been described. The Torah should have mentioned the eating and drinking before mentioning G'd's reaction or apparent lack of reaction, i.e. His patience in deferring punishment. At any rate, the word ויחזו is quite superfluous even after the explanation of the Midrash.

ויחזו את האלוהים, according to Rabbi Tanchuma, (Vayikra Rabbah 20,10) they had behaved arrogantly craning their necks, etc., acting inappropriately and trying to translate their vision into something terrestrial, such as physically enjoying food and drink.

ויחזו את האלהים AND THEY BEHELD GOD [AND DID EAT AND DRINK] — They gazed at him intimately as though their association with Him were a matter of eating and drinking. Thus does the Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 16 explain it. Onkelos, however, does not translate the passage this way (i. e. he does not take it in a depreciative sense that Nadab and Abihu and the elders acted improperly. His translation is: they beheld God’s Glory and rejoiced in their offerings which were accepted as though they were eating and drinking). —

And they did eat and drink. This means that they ate there the peace-offerings at the lower part of the mountain before G-d previous to their returning to their tents, for peace-offerings have to be eaten within an enclosure; in Jerusalem they were eaten within the wall of the city,⁵⁴³Zebachim 112b. in Shiloh⁵⁴⁴The Tabernacle stood in Shiloh, in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim, for three hundred and sixty-nine years. After Shiloh was destroyed by the Philistines, the Tabernacle stood in Nob and then in Gibeon — a period of fifty-seven years — and then finally the Sanctuary was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem. they could be eaten within sight of Shiloh,⁵⁴³Zebachim 112b. and here they were eaten before the altar at the lower part of the mountain, and not in the camp.

ויאכלו וישתו, afterwards they made a festive meal which they consumed without their normal senses having been in any way transformed or temporarily become neutralised. They prepared this festive meal congratulating themselves on a higher spiritual dimension which they felt they had achieved.

ויאכלו, “they ate, etc.” they consumed the part of the peace-offerings that all Israelites may consume, at the foot of the Mountain, They did not take the meat back to their tents.

Perhaps we must understand the Torah's intention by referring to Exodus 33,23 where G'd speaks about removing his "palm" in order for Moses to see His "back" instead of His "face." At that point G'd made it clear that even someone on Moses' spiritual level who had experienced G'd's presence revealing Himself as no other mortal before or after him, had to be prevented from beholding G'd's face. G'd inserted a divider between Himself and His face. In our verse the Torah reveals that G'd did not insert such a divider between Himself and the vision of these אצילי בני ישראל, "nobles of the children of Israel," because they were אצילים. He permitted them to feast their eyes on this vision.

ויאכלו וישתו, “they ate and drank,” just as we know from Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov, that when they made a pact with human beings, they invariably sealed it by having a festive meal with their partner. (Ibn Ezra) This whole verse was inserted in the Torah in honour of Moses who, when experiencing prophetic visions did not need to sustain his body by food and drink, as he had attained the level of disembodied beings who do not depend on such means to renew energy they had spent.

אצילי means “the great men”, as, (Isaiah 41:9) “I called thee from the chief men (אציליה) thereof”; (Numbers 11:17) “And he increased (ויאצל) some of the spirit” (cf. Rashi on Numbers 11:17 and Onkelos on 11:25); (Ezekiel 41:8) “six cubits in its size (largeness) (אצילה‎)”.

The meaning of the expression and they drank, is that they made it an occasion for rejoicing and festival, for such is one’s duty to rejoice at the receiving of the Torah, just as He commanded when they finished writing all the words of the Torah upon the stones, And thou shalt sacrifice peace-offerings, and shalt eat there; and thou shalt rejoice before the Eternal thy G-d.⁵⁴⁵Deuteronomy 27:7. And with reference to Solomon it is written, Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee etc.,⁵⁴⁶II Chronicles 1:12. and immediately after that, he came to Jerusalem… and made a feast for all his servants.⁵⁴⁷I Kings 3:15. “Said Rabbi Eleazar:⁵⁴⁸Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1:9. From here you learn that we make a feast at the finishing of the Torah.” With reference to David, Solomon’s father, it is likewise said that when the people gave of their free-will towards the building of the Sanctuary, And they offered sacrifices unto the Eternal, and offered burnt-offerings unto the Eternal etc., and they did eat and drink before the Eternal on that day with great gladness.⁵⁴⁹I Chronicles 29:21-22. Similarly, here too on the day of the “wedding” of the Torah,⁵⁵⁰Taanith 26b. they did likewise.

וישתו, “they drank;” they used the occasion of receiving the Torah for organizing a great feast on that day to express their happiness at having received the Torah. We find that a similar festivity took place when the Torah, at the end of 40 years, was engraved on the stones taken from the river Jordan. (Deut. 27,7) Some commentators understand the Torah’s mentioning that the elders ate and drank as the Torah’s way of drawing attention to the contrast with Moses who, forthwith, ascended the Mountain and remained there for 40 days neither eating nor drinking. Moses most certainly did not have lesser visions than the elders, and yet he did not feel the need to eat for supplying his body with food on such an occasion.

We have to understand the whole verse as follows: "They saw the G'd of Israel," i.e. they saw a great light symbolising the G'd of Israel, but they only looked at what was beneath His feet. Seeing that G'd had not laid a hand on them for doing so, i.e. He had not taken measures to deny them this vision, they now indulged in ויחזו, an intensified look, something which provided them with the kind of satisfaction ordinary people get through the intake of food and drink.

ויאכלו, “they ate;” they ate of the peace offerings mentioned in verse 5 of our chapter.

You must not wonder why these people were allowed a vision which was even denied to Moses. When G'd placed His palm before the eyes of Moses this was not to prevent him from having the intellectual/spiritual vision enjoyed by the nobles of Israel. The kind of intellectual/spiritual vision the nobles enjoyed as an exception was something Moses enjoyed on a year round basis. G'd merely wanted to prevent Moses's eyes from attaining a far greater vision, a revelation of a far more exalted vision of G'd. Whereas G'd has words which he employs to convey such concepts, I would not even attempt to record such ideas in print for fear some unworthy person will get to read them, someone who does not deserve the spiritual illumination such words provide.

ויאמר ה’ אל משה AND THE LORD SAID TO MOSES — after the Giving of the Law,

AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO MOSES: ‘COME UP TO ME INTO THE MOUNTAIN.’ This is the same command which He had said to him on the preceeding day [i.e., on the sixth of Sivan], Come up unto the Eternal;⁵⁵¹Verse 1. and Moses alone shall come near unto the Eternal,⁵⁵²Verse 2. and now on the seventh day of Sivan He said additionally to him, and be there, and I will give thee the Tablets of stone etc., for Moses was to stay on the mountain until He would give him the Tablets of stone, and the law and the commandment. The expression which I have written refers back to the Tablets of stone; that thou mayest teach them relates to the law and the commandment. Thus the meaning of the verse is: “and I will give thee the Tablets of stone which I have written, and the law and the commandment that thou mayest teach them.” This is identical with what He said in the Book of Deuteronomy, And I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them.⁵⁵³Deuteronomy 5:28.
Rashi wrote: “Which I have written in the Tablets of stone.⁵⁵⁴This sentence is not found in our Rashi. That thou mayest teach them, for all the six hundred and thirteen commandments are implicit in the Ten Commandments.”⁵⁵⁵Our Rashi adds: “And Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon listed in his ‘Azharoth’ [Exhortations — liturgical poems treating of the Divine Commandments] the commandments which may be associated with each of the Ten Commandments.” — See further in my Foreword to “The Commandments,” Vol. I, pp. VIII-X. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented: “The law, this refers to the first and second commandments; and the commandment refers to the other eight mentioned.” It is a comment of no value, since the verse in Deuteronomy mentioned above, And I will speak unto thee, etc.⁵⁵³Deuteronomy 5:28. testifies that He is speaking about all the commandments. In accordance with the opinion of our Rabbis it is possible that the expression which I have written is a hint that the whole Torah was written before Him before the creation of the world, as I have mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Genesis.⁵⁵⁶Vol. I, pp. 8, 14-15.

עלה אלי ההרה, to the top of the mountain. This was after he had already approached more closely than the people with him, as we have read in verse 2, ונגש משה לבדו “only Moses alone is to approach any closer.” Nonetheless, at that point he had not ascended the summit of the mountain. It was on this occasion, while they looked after Moses disappearing into the cloud forming a shroud around the mountain, that the “nobles” and the elders had the vision just described. This is what was meant in verse 17 with the words ומראה כבוד ה' כאש אוכלת בראש ההר, “and the manifestation of the glory of the Lord was similar to a consuming fire at the top of the mountain.” We find this formulation (ראש ההר) again during the giving of the Ten Commandments in 19,20.

אשר כתבתי, the tablets inscribed by G’d at the end of 40 days.

ויאמר ה' אל משה עלה אלי ההרה, “The Lord said to Moses: “ascend to Me on the Mountain.” According to Nachmanides this is the same commandment he had been given on the previous day when G’d had said to him (verse 2) ונגש משה לבדו, “Moses alone is to come close.” Now, on the seventh day of Sivan, G’d added that Moses was to remain o the Mountain for forty days.

עלה אלי ההרה, “ascend to Me, to the mountain!” This paragraph also speaks of matters prior to the giving of the Torah. The wording proves it as otherwise it would not make sense for G’d to say: “I will give you there the Torah and the commandments.”
והיה שם, “and remain there.” Rashi explains that G’d meant “for forty days.”

All 613 commandments are . . . in the Ten Commandments. [Rashi knows this] because it says, “[The Torah and the commandment] which I have written in order to teach them.” This cannot refer to the Torah scroll, because that was written by Moshe, not Hashem, as it says (Devarim 31:24): “When Moshe finished writing the words of this Torah in a book, till they were completed.” Thus we must say that this verse speaks of [God’s writing] the Ten Commandments, [which contain all the 613 mitzvos].

V. 12. Da Mosche bereits (V. 9) mit den Ältesten und Aaron auf dem Berge war, so kann diese Aufforderung sich nur auf ein weiteres Hinansteigen bis zur Gipfelhöhe beziehen. אשר כתבתי, wie es Kap. 31, 18 am Schlusse des Aufenthaltes Mosche auf dem Berge heißt: אשר כתבתי להורתם — .ויתן וגו׳ ככלתו וגו׳ שני לחת העדת וגו׳ כתובים וגו׳: das niedergeschriebene Gesetz ist nur ein didaktisches Mittel, um die eigentliche Gesetzeslehre, die der mündlichen Belehrung verblieb, daran anzuknüpfen und festzuhalten.

עלה אלי ההרה והיה שם COME UP TO ME INTO THE MOUNTAIN AND REMAIN THERE forty days.

והיה שם, stay there for an extended period. The root היה appears in this sense in Deuteronomy 10,5 ויהיו שם כאשר צוני, “they have remained there as G’d had commanded me.”

ואתנה לך את לוחות האבן והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורותם, “I shall give you there the stone tablets as well as the Torah and the mitzvah which I have written down in order to teach it to them.” According to Nachmanides the words: “which I have written,” refer to what is inscribed on the Tablets, whereas the word להורותם, “to teach them,” refers to the Torah and the Mitzvah. Moses is to teach the words on the Tablets to the people. Rashi understands the words אשר כתבתי to mean that when closely examined, we would find that the entire Torah is included in the Text of the Ten Commandments. Ibn Ezra understands the word התורה as referring to the written Torah, whereas the word המצוה is supposed to refer to the oral Torah. The correct interpretation is that both words refer only to the Tablets. The proof is in the words אשר כתבתי להורותם, “which I (G’d) have written to teach them.” G’d never wrote the Torah, only Moses did. Some commentators claim that the word התורה refers to the first of the Ten Commandments, whereas the word המצוה refers to the remaining nine Commandments. Still other commentators understand the word התורה as referring to the negative commandments, whereas the word המצוה refers to the positive commandments, as in זכור ושמור that refer to the two aspects of the Sabbath. I believe the message in our verse is that both negative and positive commandments form an integral part of Torah legislation, and it is the purpose of each group of commandments to teach us the right way to conduct our lives. This is why G’d added the words אשר כתבתי להורותם, “which I wrote down in order to teach them.”

את לחת האבן והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורתם [AND I WILL GIVE THEE] THE TABLETS OF STONE, AND THE LAW, AND THE COMMANDMENT WHICH I HAVE WRITTEN TO TEACH THEM — All the six hundred and thirteen commandments are implicitly contained in the Ten Commandments and may therefore be regarded as having been written on the tablets. Rabbi Saadia specified in the אזהרות which he has composed those commandments which may be associated with each of the Ten Commandments.

והתורה, “and the part which requires profound study,”

והמצוה, and the part of the Torah which primarily requires action in order to fulfill it.

אשר כתבתי, “which I (the Lord) have written.” If it had not been for the sin of the golden calf, the entire Torah would have been handed to the Jewish people (Moses) as a signed and sealed document just like the Tablets with the Ten Commandments. Moses alluded to this when he described the approach of G’d to Mount Sinai in Deuteronomy 33,2 ואתה מרבבות קודש מימינו אש דת למו , G’d was ready to hand us the whole Torah but the sin of the golden calf prevented this at that that time. Instead, Moses wrote down the Torah at G’d’s command (dictation). Moses is on record as having done this in Deuteronomy 34,27. In fact, Moses only brought the Tablets to within sight of the people in order to smash them before their eyes, so that they would understand what they had forfeited due to their disloyalty to G’d. This demonstration of Moses having smashed the Tablets was designed to shock the people into penitence.

להורותם, to teach them. Although everything was available in the form of a written text, as we know from our sages in Taanit 9 “is there then anything which has not either been spelled out or alluded to in the text of the Torah that Moses handed down to us?” And, the Talmud Gittin 60 adds that most is spelled out in the written text and only a relatively small part was reserved for what we call the “oral Torah,” the allusions in the Torah which require profound study and most ordinary Israelites would not understand them unless they had the guidance of scholars. Knowing this, a statement by the sages which appears to conflict with the statement we quoted from Gittin 60, and which states that most of the legislation of the Torah is derived from the “oral Torah,” is not in conflict with that at all. The former statement refers to people studying under the guidance of a competent Torah scholar.

ויקם משה ויהושע משרתו AND MOSES ROSE AND HIS MINISTER JOSHUA — I am not sure in what capacity Joshua appears here, but I think that as a disciple he was accompanying the teacher as far as the place where the bounds of the mountain were marked out, whence onward he was not permitted to proceed. From that point ויעל משה MOSES alone ASCENDED אל הר האלהים THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD, whilst Joshua pitched his tent there and stayed there during the whole forty days which Moses spent on the mountain. For thus we find that when Moses came down from the mountain it states, (Exodus 32:17) “and Joshua heard the voice of the people that they shouted” — from which we may infer that he was not with them in the camp.

AND MOSES ROSE UP, AND JOSHUA HIS MINISTER. “I do not know in what capacity Joshua was serving here. But it appears to me that the disciple was accompanying the master as far as the place where the limits of the mountain were marked out, for beyond them Joshua was not permitted to go, and from there Moses went up alone into the mountain of G-d, while Joshua pitched his tent there for the whole of the forty days. Thus we find that when Moses came down from the mountain it is written, And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted,⁵⁵⁷Further, 32:17. from which we learn that Joshua was not with them in the camp” [at the time of the making of the golden calf]. Thus far is Rashi’s language.
In my opinion, Joshua was one of the seventy elders [who were asked to ascend the mountain], for there was nobody more worthy amongst the seventy elders of Israel to approach G-d than he, and when Moses separated from them [to ascend higher], Joshua accompanied his master up to the border [beyond which he was not permitted to go]. Now do not object to my explanation on this point from what the Rabbis have said⁵⁵⁸Tanchuma Beha’alothcha, 16. Rashi in Verse 10 here brings part of the Midrash with reference to Nadab and Abihu. concerning the punishment of these elders at Taberah,⁵⁵⁹Numbers 11:3. The place was called Taberah (which means “burning”) because the Eternal burnt among them — that is, among the most distinguished and prominent ones among them, namely the elders (see Rashi ibid., Verse 1). Now the reason why the elders were singled out for punishment at that time is stated by the Rabbis as follows: Since at the time of the Giving of the Torah they gazed more intently than they were permitted to, behaving as if they were eating and drinking (see here Verse 11), they were liable to death. But since G-d did not wish to disturb the joy caused by the Giving of the Torah, He waited with their punishment till Taberah. — Now on the basis of this Midrash you might think that Joshua, too, was like the elders and unworthy of seeing Divine visions. But, concludes Ramban, this was not the case with Joshua. for they said so concerning all of them except Joshua, for he was indeed worthy to see visions of G-d and to receive prophecy.

ויהושע משרתו, “whereas his personal valet, Joshua, etc.;” he remained seated at the bottom of the Mountain until his master would return; in the meantime he was fed daily by a portion of manna.

ויעל משה אל הר האלוהים, “Moses ascended to the Mountain of G’d.” This teaches that all the time Moses was on the mountain Joshua waited for him at the bottom of the mountain. Proof for this can be found in 32,17 where we read that as soon as Moses descended the Torah reports Joshua as “hearing the sound of the people in shouting.” Had he remained inside the camp, this verse would not make sense.

ואל הזקנים אמר BUT UNTO THE ELDERS HE SAID when he left the camp (אמר in the sequence of verbs which we find here denotes the pluperfect; the translation therefore is: and to the elders he had said).

That is that He commanded us to make tzitzit (fringes). And that is His, may He be exalted, saying, "to make for themselves fringes [...] let them attach to the fringe at each corner" (Numbers 15:38). And [the two colors of strings are] not counted as two commandments, even though the main understanding for us is that the blue-purple does not impede the white and the white does not impede the blue-purple. For it is said in the Sifrei, "It is possible that they are two commandments, the commandment of the white and the commandment of the blue-purple. [Hence] we learn to say (Numbers 15:39), 'That shall be your tzitzit' - it is one commandment and not two commandments." And women are not obligated in it, as is explained in the first [chapter] of Kiddushin (Kiddushin 33b). And the regulations of this commandment were already explained in the fourth chapter of Menachot. (See Parashat Shelach; Mishneh Torah, Fringes 1.)

AND UNTO THE ELDERS HE SAID: ‘TARRY YE HERE FOR US.’ The meaning of this is that when Moses parted from them with his minister, he commanded them that they should tarry there. It does not mean that they were to stay there day and night until their return, for he said, and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them, and it is in the camp that parties to a dispute would be found, since that was where the seat of justice was, and he had already told everybody, Return ye to your tents.⁵⁶⁰Deuteronomy 5:27. But the meaning of tarry ye here is that they should stay at that place, and should not break through to come up to them, even to the place where Joshua was, until he [Moses] would come back to them.
In my opinion it is possible that the explanation of the verse is as follows: “Sit⁵⁶¹Ramban thus takes the Hebrew word sh’vu [translated as “tarry”] in its literal meaning: “sit” — sit in court in our place and act as a substitute for us. in our place and serve as a substitute for us in the camp; Aaron and Hur are with you, and whosoever hath a cause — one of those hard causes that they would bring to me⁵⁶²See Deuteronomy 1:17. — let him come near unto them in my place.” He said unto them as a special recognition to Aaron and Hur, for they were to come before all the elders and they would all be assembled at one place, just as he said Aaron and Hur are with you. Thus Moses commanded that the elders together with Aaron and Hur should sit as a court, just as he himself did, over the officers of thousands and hundreds, until he returns, since he knew that he would tarry in the mountain. He said: for us [tarry ye here ‘for us’] as a mark of honor to his disciple, just as he said to Joshua, Choose us out men.⁵⁶³Above, 17:9. This is a correct interpretation. But Rashi wrote: “And unto the elders he said — when he left the camp, Tarry ye here for us — stay you with the rest of the people so as to be ready to judge each man’s dispute.” But this is impossible, for they were not at that moment in the camp, and what sense would there be for him to tell them so when they were in the camp and had already been appointed as judges!
Terumah

ואל הזקנים אמר, when he departed from them in order to ascend to the top of the mountain as G’d had commanded him in verse 12.

ואל הזקנים אמר שבו לנו בזה, “and he said to the elders: ‘wait for us here.’” According to Rashi Moses said this when he was about to leave the camp, [not at the foot of the Mountain. Ed.] They were to spend the time he was absent judging the people and filling in the void whenever the need would arise. Nachmanides questions how this was possible, seeing that the previous verse had both the elders and Moses at the bottom of the Mountain, not in the camp. He therefore explains what happened as follows. When Moses and Joshua took their leave of them, they both said to the elders to go back to their respective tents. However, they added that under no circumstances were they to come back to this location or beyond, not even to the place where Joshua remained during all the forty days Moses would be on the Mountain. It is possible to understand the words שבו לנו as meaning “remain in lieu of us and be our deputies.” During our absence, you will be ably assisted by Aaron and Chur.

When he left the camp. [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, how were the elders here [outside the camp]? Only Moshe and Yehoshua left the camp as it is written (v. 13), “Moshe and Yehoshua, his attendant, set out.”

V. 14. שב׳ לנו wie: ימים רבים תשבי לי (Hoschea 3, 3). — בזה: hier, in der Nähe des Berges; ziehet inzwischen nicht weiter. — בעל דברים ,מי בעל דברים וגו׳, wörtlich: der Besitzer von Worten, im Gegensatz zum Sachbesitzer, also: derjenige, der einen Anspruch an den faktischen Besitz eines andern erhebt, der יגש, der hat zum Gerichte hinzutreten, nicht aber der Sachbesitzer. Darin liegt der Kanon: המוציא מחברו עליו הראי׳, derjenige, der ein Eigentumsrecht auf den Besitz eines andern beansprucht, hat den Anspruch zu beweisen, und so lange dieser Beweis nicht erbracht ist, liegt dem Besitzer nicht die Rechtsverteidigung seines Besitzes ob. Es heißt ferner nicht יבא אליהם, wie oben Kap. 18. 15 u. 16 בא אלי ,בא אלי, sondern יגש אליהם, und liegt in diesem Ausdruck ein im Verhältnis zu einem andern näheres Hintreten. Daher zugleich der Kanon: נזקקין לתובע תחלה, d.h. das Gericht hat sich auf die Sache des Klägers zuerst einzulassen, eine Regel, die eine vielseitige Anwendung findet, z. B. in gewissen Fällen, wo der Angeklagte eine Gegenklage hat, oder: dass der Verklagte in der Regel nicht ein Urteil provozieren kann, wenn der Kläger eine Sistierung des Urteils beantragt, oder allgemein: dass in der Regel der Kläger zuerst angehört werden muss, damit der Verklagte nicht ihm mit einem Teilzugeständnis zuvorkommt und damit die ihm sonst als מודה במקצת zukommende Eidespflicht illudiert (B. K. 46 b, Ch. M. 24. ש׳׳ך daselbst).

ואל הזקנים, “and to the elders, the ones who had enjoyed the vision of the Divine,’אמר, “he had already said;” שבו לנו, “remain seated here for us;” the “us” refers to Moses and Joshua. בזה, “inside the camp;” Joshua had been permitted to approach more closely to the bottom of the Mountain than either Aaron, Chur, and the seventy elders. This is why Joshua had been unaware of what had transpired with the golden calf until he returned together with Moses.

שבו לנו בזה ABIDE YE HERE FOR US and stay ye with all the other people in the camp so as to be ready to decide his dispute for each man.

מי בעל דברים, “if someone has a grievance, etc.” Moses meant that if there would arise a problem beyond the ability of the elders to solve they should turn to Aaron or Chur for a definitive ruling. By saying this to the elders, Moses added stature to both Aaron and Chur, seeing that he publicly appointed them as final arbiters during his absence. The turn of phrase שבו לנו, is also to be understood as a compliment to the elders to whom Moses delegated most of his authority during that period. Moses had used the word לנו once before in a complimentary manner when he authorized Joshua to select fighting man to resist the attack by Amalek, at the end of Parshat Beshalach.

And remain here with the rest of the people in the camp. . . With this, Rashi resolves many issues [that could arise with the verse]. He explains that the word שבו does not mean literally [“to sit”]; rather it means “to remain.” Also, he explains that בזה refers to a place (the camp) rather than to a certain object that [the verse] hints to. Also, he explains that the elders should not remain by themselves but with the rest of the people, since the elders did not leave the camp [as explained previously]. And Rashi also informs us that they remained in camp in order to render decisions for the people. Otherwise, [Moshe’s order to the elders to remain] in the camp would be no different from [the order given to] all of Yisrael [who also remained in the camp].

מי בעל דברים, “anyone who wishes to get back money or chattels from his neighbour;” the reason the singular mode is used here when discussing litigation, is that the party in possession of disputed property will always remain silent.

חור [AND] HUR — He was the son of Miriam and his father was Caleb the son of Jephunneh, as it is said, (1 Chr. 2:9) “Caleb took unto him Ephrath, who bare him Hur”; and Ephrath is identical with Miriam, as it is stated in Treatise Sotah 11b.

He was Miriam’s son. . . Rashi is answering the question: How could Moshe say that Aharon and Chur will be with them [to render decisions, but they are only two and a court of law needs three judges]? If two render a decision, their judgment is invalid. And even according to the opinion that holds that their judgment is valid, such a court would be called insolent. Therefore Rashi explained that Chur was Miriam’s son. This forces us to say that the two would not judge together, since they were relatives. For according to all views, a first generation relative and a second generation relative are unfit to judge together. Rather, it must be that each one rendered decisions on his own, acting as an expert judge who is permitted to render decisions alone.

מי בעל דברים HE WHO HAS ANY MATTER TO DO — i. e. he who has any law-suit.

Whoever has a lawsuit. [Rashi is explaining that] the word מי is not implying a question. Also, [he is explaining that] בעל דברים does not mean בעל לשון (man of speech). Accordingly, we need to add the word שהוא (who is) in between מי and בעל , [in order to complete the verse] so it will say: “ מי שהוא בעל דברים (whoever has a lawsuit).” Rashi hints to this by adding the word שיש (whoever has).

ויכס הענן את ההר, "The cloud covered the Mountain.”

ויכסהו הענן AND THE CLOUD COVERED IT (lit., “him”) [SIX DAYS] — Our Rabbis are of different opinions as to what this passage means. Some of them hold that these were the six days from the first of Sivan (until the Feast of Weeks, the day of the Giving of the Law) —

וישכון כבוד ה' על הר סיני, “the attribute כבוד of Hashem rested on Mount Sinai.” This is in line with what had been mentioned in connection with 20,1: “G’d said all these words.” I have elaborated on this subject there. When the Torah writes here that the cloud covered the mountain this means that during the six days from the first of Sivan until the time of Matan Torah the cloud enveloped the mountain.

The mountain. [If the six days that are referred to in the verse took place before the giving of the Ten Commandments, we must say that the cloud covered the mountain] but not Moshe. For right afterward it says, “He called to Moshe” to proclaim the Ten Commandments. And it cannot be that Moshe was covered in the cloud all six days, because Moshe was going up and down the mountain each day as it says in Parshas Yisro. But according to the opinion [that Rashi mentions later,] that holds that “He called to Moshe” took place after the Ten Commandments were given, at the beginning of the forty days, then ויכסהו הענן refers to Moshe — because “whoever intends to enter the camp of the Shechinah. . .”

'וישכון כבוד ה, “the glory of the Lord abode;” actually it had already settled on the Mountain, as we know from Exodus 19,20: וירד ה׳ על הר סיני, “the Lord descended onto Mount Sinai;” it had also stated that “Moses had approached the thick cloud which enveloped the higher regions of the Mountain beyond which was G-d’s presence.” (Exodus 20,18).

and that the word ויכסהו in the phrase ויכסהו הענן “the cloud covered him” or covered “it” means that it covered the mountain.

To proclaim the Ten Commandments. All agree that “Come up to Me to the mountain” (v. 12) took place after the Giving of the Torah, as Rashi wrote previously. Nevertheless, the Torah then went back to relate [the events] according to the order [in which they happened]. First it writes the story of the Ten Commandments, and afterward the story of [Moshe going up to receive] the Tablets (v. 18): “. . .Moshe remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.”

ויקרא אל משה ביום השביעי AND HE CALLED UNTO MOSES ON THE SEVENTH DAY of Sivan to utter the Ten Commandments. It is true that Moses and all Israel were standing there but the text states, “He called unto Moses” merely to give special honour to Moses calling him by name. Others, however, say that the passage means: AND THE CLOUD COVERED HIM — Moses, FOR SIX DAYS after the Ten Commandments had been given. These were at the beginning of the forty days which Moses spent on Mount Sinai when he went up to receive the Tablets, and Scripture teaches you that whosoever enters the camp of the Divine Majesty (here the mountain and later on the Holy of Holies) requires separation from others (must live in seclusion) for six days (Yoma 4a).

Requires seclusion for six days. This is like the Kohein Gadol who requires seclusion for seven days before Yom Kippur, since he enters the Kodesh HaKodoshim. Surely this [need for seclusion] applies as well to one who enters the camp of the Shechinah.

מתוך הענן, “out of the cloud.” Seeing that during the preceding six days Moses had been covered by the cloud and had not proceeded further, the Torah now has to tell us that on the seventh day G’d called to him out of the cloud and instructed him to come inside it. This is why the Torah continues: “Moses entered the cloud.” Our sages in Yuma 4 said that G’d made a path for Moses inside the cloud. They based this on the same expression בתוך being used when the Israelites entered the Sea of Reeds and G’d made separate paths for each tribe, as the expression בתוך in our verse here.

ומראה כבוד ה' The words 'ומראה כבוד ה are an expression for the Shechinah. Our sages refer to the phenomenon as שכינה, whereas the Torah calls it 'כבוד ה'. When we read in Psalms 85,10 לשכון כבוד בארצנו, “to make His glory dwell in our land,” the reference is to the Shechinah, which is also another name for the attribute of Justice known as יד, the attribute (tool) used by G’d to create the universe. This is what Isaiah 45,7 had in mind when he said ואת כל אלה ידי עשתה, “My hand has made all these (phenomena).” All the phenomena which between them make up the universe were described by the prophet simply as אלה, “these.” All of these are creations of the attribute of Justice. This is why Isaiah 66,2 refers to them as ויהיו כל אלה “all of these (phenomena) came into existence.” We find similar expressions in connection with the creation of the universe in Genesis. The word אלה appears in Genesis 2,4 אלה תולדות השמים והארץ, “these are the products of the heavens and the earth.” The word אלה in that verse includes all that had been created both in the celestial spheres as well as what had been created in the terrestrial spheres. Even when enumerating these phenomena in detail we find the expression אלה describing them. These are the phenomena in question in detail: “light, darkness, the Torah, Justice, the in-gathering of the exiles, Israel, the earth’s produce, rainfall. There is a verse describing each phenomenon as a product of G’d’s creative activity, Isaiah 45,7 writing: “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things." The verse describing G’d as creating the Torah is found in Exodus 20,1 וידבר אלו-הים את כל הדברים האלה, “G’d said all these things.” Justice is referred to in 21,1 ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם “and these are the judgments you are to set before them.” The word אלה appears in conjunction with Israel in Genesis 49,28 כל אלה שבטי ישראל שנים עשר, “all these are the tribes of Israel, twelve in number.” The word אלה occurs in connection with the in-gathering of the exiles in Isaiah 49,12: הנה אלה מרחוק יבואו והנה אלה מצפון ומים ואלה מארץ סינים, “here: ‘Look these are coming from afar, these from the north and the west; all these from the land of Sinim.’” We have another verse on this subject in Zecharyah 8,12: ואמרת בלבבך מי ילד לי את אלה ואני שכולה וגלמודה גולה וסורה ואלה מי גדל הן אני נשארתי לבדי, אלה איפה הם? “And you will say to yourself, ‘who bore these for me when I was bereaved and barren, exiled and disdained; by whom then were these reared? I was left all alone- and where have these been?’” We have a verse in which the word אלה also appears in connection with the earth’s produce, i.e. Zecharyah 8,12: כי זרע השלום הגפן תתן פריה והארץ תתן את יבולה והשמים יתנו טלם והנחלתי את שארית העם הזה את כל אלה, “but what it sows shall prosper; the vine shall produce its fruit, the ground shall produce its yield, and the skies shall provide their dew. I will bestow all these things upon the remnant of this people.” The rain too is mentioned in a verse containing the word אלה in Jeremiah 14,22: היש הבלי הגוים מגשימים ואם השמים יתנו רביבים הלא אתה ה' אלו-הינו ונקוה לך כי אה עשית את כל אלה, “Can any of the false gods of the nations give rain? Can the skies of themselves give showers? Only You can, O Lord our G’d! So we hope in You for only You made all these things.”

בתוך הענן INTO THE MIDST OF THE CLOUD — This cloud was thick like smoke and God made a path for Moses through it (Yoma 4b).

ויהי משה בהר, each time Moses ascended the mountain from this point on he remained on it for a period of 40 days and forty nights. This period corresponds to the time it takes for a fertilised egg in a woman’s womb to achieve a critical status that permits us to refer to it as a fetus. Moses’ stay on the mountain for such periods of time effected his spiritual progress in a similar manner, elevating him to higher spiritual dimensions. The evidence lies in the fact that eventually Moses’ face radiated so much spiritual illumination that the people were frightened by this phenomenon and Moses had to veil his head. (Exodus 34,29) Moses had been meant to achieve this stature already at the end of his first 40 days’ stay on the mountain, but the people’s making the golden calf and worshipping it, foiled this plan. G’d Himself told Moses to descend due to his people having become corrupt (Exodus 32,7). According to our tradition, Moses’ second stay of forty days on the mountain was a period when G’d’s anger at the people had not yet abated, so that he could not be rewarded with the distinction G’d had in mind for him. He attained that distinction only during his third stay on the mountain when he was also instructed concerning the construction of the Tabernacle seeing that he was told to place the second set of Tablets in the Holy Ark (Exodus 25,21). This did not refer to an ark within which to place the shattered first set of Tablets. In fact, according to tradition, seeing that the letters written by G’d on the first set of Tablets had “flown” away, the remnants of those Tablets which were eventually placed in another ark are not referred to as “The testimony,” seeing they did not contain any writing anymore at that point. (compare Pesachim 87) Commencing with 25,8 where G’d says to Moses that He will take up permanent residence in the Tabernacle to be built, the first 2500 years of mankind’s history where G’d was equally accessible anywhere has come to an end, and there would be a centralised form of worship as part of the Jewish religion. Instead of G’d permitting the erection of altars anywhere it pleased man, and His coming to meet man at such sites, (Exodus 20,20) now the roles are reversed and He will be in residence in His palace on earth, and anyone who wishes to pray to Him effectively will have to do this at that Temple. There will be groups of people charged with the sacrificial service in the Temple, the priests, and laymen will not be allowed into the inner sanctum of this Temple at all. This, in short, is the message of Exodus 28,1 “and you (Moses) bring close (To Me) your brother Aaron.” Actually, the tribe of Levi had not yet been selected until after the affair of the golden calf. Moses recalls that event in Deuteronomy 10,8 and the events that had led up to it. In light of all this the fact that Moses spent 40 days and nights on the mountain each time he ascended there is very significant. The stage at which Moses‘ face radiated these rays of light was not achieved until the end of Moses’ third stay on the mountain after he had been commanded to erect the Tabernacle. After the building of the Tabernacle had been completed, as well as the making of the priestly garments, and the incense and oil anointing, Moses revealed the stages that preceded it, telling the people that at the end of the first forty days on the mountains he received the first set of Tablets. Any delay in the carrying out of G’d’s original timetable for these events was not due to G’d delaying His plan but to the conduct of the people in the interval that had forced Him to revise His timetable. Had the episode of the golden calf not intervened, Moses’ second and third stay on the mountain would have been totally superfluous. The episodes described in Exodus 32,7, 33,12 and 34,1 until 34 28-29 were only caused by the repercussions of the sin of the golden calf.

And Moshe came into the midst of the cloud. According to one view in Yoma This means that Moshe did not ascend on foot but merely entered into the cloud and was transported by it to the summit of the mountain.

ויעל אל ההר, “he ascended towards the Mountain.” He ascended all the way to the top of the Mountain. As soon as he had completed his ascent he was told Parshat B’har, the portion dealing primarily with laws applicable only in the Holy Land. If the people were to hear these laws first, their desire to get to that land would become reinforced. After all, taking possession of that land was the reward for observing the laws of the Torah.

ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה, “forty days and forty nights.” These days commenced with the morning of the seventh day of Sivan, and ended with the morning of the seventeenth day of Tammuz.

And that is that He commanded us to redeem the firstborn man, that we should give the money to the priest. And that is His saying, "you shall give me your firstborn sons" (Exodus 22:28). And He explained to us how this giving should be: And it is that we redeem him from the priest; and it is as if [the priest] already acquired him, and we purchase him from him for five sela - and that is His saying, "but surely redeem the firstborn man" (Numbers 18:15). And this commandment is the commandment of redeeming the son. And women are not obligated in it - indeed it is one of the commandments of the son that is upon the father, as it is explained in Kiddushin (Kiddushin 29a). And all of the laws of this commandment have already been explained in Bekhorot. However Levites are not obligated in it. (See Parashat Mishpatim; Mishneh Torah, Firstlings.)