Midrash su Salmi 82:7

Another matter, “who is like the wise man” – this is Israel, in whose regard it is written: “It is a particularly wise and understanding people” (Deuteronomy 4:6). “And who knows the meaning of a matter” – as they knew how to expound the Torah, forty-nine interpretations for ritual purity and a corresponding number for ritual impurity.⁵They could analyze from all angles a question regarding ritual purity, such that they could provide forty-nine rationales for each side of the argument. You find that when the Israelites stood at Mount Sinai and said: “We will perform and we will hearken” (Exodus 24:7), the aura of the supernal Divine Presence was placed upon them. When they sinned,⁶With the sin of the Golden Calf. they became the enemies of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is written: “And the boldness of his face is changed.”⁷The word changed [yeshuneh] is interpreted here to mean hated [yesuneh]. The Holy One blessed be He, too, changed matters for them, as it is written: “Indeed, you will die like man” (Psalms 82:7).⁸By contrast to the status they had before the sin: “I had said: You are divine, like celestial beings, all of you” (Psalms 82:6), but now they will die.

At that time, the Lord said to me, "Carve out two tablets of stone like the first ones" (Deuteronomy 10:1): This is what the verse stated (Jeremiah 2:20), "For long ago you broke your yoke, tore off your yoke-bands, and yousaid, 'I shall not pass.'" Which is the yoke? The yoke of the angel of death, as stated (Exodus 32:16), "The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing, incised (charut) upon the tablets," [meaning] freedom (cherut) from the angel of death. And Rabbi Nechemiah says, "Freedom (cherut) from the exiles." And Rav said, "Freedom (cherut) from the afflictions, which were like the ministering angels, as it is stated (Psalms 82:6), 'I said that you were all powers and children of the Most High.'" But at the time that they did that act [of the golden calf], it is stated (Psalms 82:7), "Yet you will die like a mortal." "And you said, 'I shall not pass.'" Even subjugated, we do what we desire. [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, "You are the hardest among them. Subjugate yourself first, as it is stated, 'Carve out two tablets of stone.'"

Graven upon the tablets (ibid.). What is meant by harut (“graven”)? R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and the sages discussed it. R. Judah said it means freedom (herut)²⁴A play on the words harut (graven) and herut (freedom). from domination by foreign kingdoms. R. Nehemiah was of the opinion that it means freedom from the angel of death. While the sages contended that it means freedom from suffering. R. Eliezer the son of R. Yosé the Galilean stated: If the angel of death should come to the Holy One, blessed be He, and say: “You created me for naught in this world,” the Holy One, blessed be he would answer him: I have given you dominion over all the nations of the world except this one, to which I have granted freedom (herut) because of the tablets. How do we know that this is so? Because it is written: I said: Ye are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High, but since you have behaved evilly you shall die like men (Ps. 82:6–7).

24 (Numb. 14:11) “Then the Lord said unto Moses, ‘How long will this people scorn Me?’”: This text is related (to Prov. 1:25, 30), “But you have spurned all My plan and would not accept My rebuke [….] they have despised all My rebuke.” What is the implication of “But you have spurned?” Simply that all the good which I planned for you, you have spoiled and spurned. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 1:25), “But you have spurned (rt.: pr') all My plan.” At the beginning (in Exod. 3:8), “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.” But you did not act [in the way I intended]. Instead you came to the sea and immediately spoiled My plan, as stated (in Ps. 106:7), “they rebelled at the sea, at the Reed Sea.” I brought down on your behalf thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels, and I passed on two angels to each and every person in Israel: One to gird him with his weapons³⁹Gk.: zone (“girdle”). and one to put a crown on his head.⁴⁰See Lam. R. 2:13 (17); Cant. R. 4:4:1 PRK 16:3; PR 21:7; 33:10; M. Ps. 103:8. R. Judah of Sepphoris said, “He bound their weapons to them,” while R. Simoy said, “He clothed them in purple, with the Ineffable Name written upon it. As long as it was in their hand, nothing evil had power against them, neither the angel of death nor anything else.”⁴¹See Exod. R. 32:1; cf. ‘AZ 5a. But when they sinned, Moses had said to them (in Exod. 33:5), “Now then, remove your ornaments (i.e., your weapons).” At that time (according to vs. 4), ‘When the people heard this bad news.” And what is written (in vs. 6)? “So the Children of Israel stripped themselves of ornaments.” What had the Holy One done at the giving of Torah?⁴²See Exod. R. 32:1. He had brought the angel of death and said to him, “All the world is under your authority, except this people whom I have chosen for Myself.” R. Eleazar the Son of R. Jose the Galilean said, “The angel of death said to the Holy One, ‘Have I been created in the world for nothing?’⁴³Exod. R. 27. The Holy One said to him, ‘I created you so that you would destroy the peoples of the world except this people, over whom you have no authority over them.’” Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised concerning them for them to live and endure! Thus it is stated (in Deut. 4:4), “But you who clung to the Lord your God are all alive today.” So also it says (in Exod. 32:16), ‘and the writing was the writing of God inscribed (harut) on the tablets.” What is the meaning of harut? R. Judah says, “Freedom (herut) from the empires”; but R. Nehemiah says, “From the angel of death”; and Rabbi says, “From afflictions.” Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised for them! Then they immediately spoiled this plan [after only] forty days. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 1:25), “But you have spurned all My plan.” The Holy One said to them, “I had said that you would not sin. Instead you would live and endure like Me, just as I live and endure forever and forevermore." (According to Ps. 82:6), “I said, ‘You are masters; even all of you are children of the Most High.’” Like the ministering angels who never die. Yet after this greatness you wanted to die (according to vs. 7), “Indeed you shall die like a human (Adam),” i.e. like the first Adam, to whom I decreed one commandment which he was to do, that he might live and endure forever, as stated (in Gen. 3:22), “Behold, the human (Adam) has become like one of Us.” Similarly also (in Gen. 1:27), “And God created the human (Adam) in His own image”, so that he would live and endure like Himself. Yet he corrupted his works and nullified His decree, and he ate of the tree. Then I said to him (in Gen. 3:19), “For dust you are .” So also in your case (in Ps. 82:6), “I said, ‘You are masters.’” But you corrupted yourselves as did Adam. Surely you shall die like Adam! And who made this happen to them? (According to Prov. 1:25) “But you have spurned all my plan.” The Holy One said, “With the very good that I made for you, you provoked Me. When they came to the desert, I brought the manna down to you for forty years.” Moreover, none of them had to ease nature for those forty years. Rather when they ate the manna, it simply became flesh for them, as stated (in Ps. 78:25) “Each one ate the bread of the mighty (rt.: 'br)”;⁴⁴Numb. R. 7:4; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 4 (on Exod. 16:15); Sifre to Numb. 11:4 (88); Yoma 74b. and they provoked Him with it." They began saying to each other, “Do you not know that we have had several days, without easing nature? And a person who does not ease nature for four or five days, dies; (according to Numb. 21:5), ‘our soul loathes this miserable (rt.: QLL) food.’” Because it was light (rt.: QLL) within their bowels. The Holy One said, “In whatever way I did well for them, in that way they provoked Me.” It is so stated (in Is. 5:4), “What else is there to do for My vineyard.” The spies went and looked at the land. Now you find that wherever Israel goes they are recognized. It is so stated (in Is. 61:9), “all who see them shall recognize them.” However (in the case of the spies), the Holy One said, “If they see them, they will recognize that they are Israelites and they will kill them. So what shall I do?” In the case of each and every province into which the spies entered, the head of a province was afflicted with plague, or its king was smitten with plague, in order that they would be occupied with bringing out their dead and not pay attention to the spies. Thus they would not kill them. Yet by this they provoked Me. When they came to Moses and to Israel, they said, “What is this land?” In every place they entered, they saw dead bodies. “And what is the benefit; (according to Numb. 13:32) ‘it is a land that eats up its inhabitants….’” The Holy One said, “I thought that you would become like the ancestors, [of whom it is written] (in Hos. 9:10), ‘Like grapes in the desert.’ I did not think that you would become like Sodom.” Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:32), “For their vine is from the vine of Sodom.” (Is. 5:4) “When I hoped for it to produce grapes, why did it produce sour grapes?” It is therefore stated (in Numb. 14:11), “How long will this people scorn me?”

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of speaking with him (Exod. 31:18). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive. Thou hast received gifts among men (Ps. 68:19). Normally a man accepts gifts of silver and gold and garments from his neighbor in the hope that he might win his neighbor’s affection, but you Moses have taken captivity captive, that is, you have captured the Torah, which is in the midst of My heart.²⁵Moses did not simply receive a gift from God but captured it, that is took the Torah himself. Hence, Thou hast led captivity captive. Thou hast received gifts among men.

[Another interpretation (of Eccl. 8:1): WHO IS LIKE THE WISE PERSON? This is Israel, of whom it is written (in Deut. 4:6): SURELY THIS GREAT NATION IS A WISE AND UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE.¹⁰¹Eccl. R. 8:1:3. (Eccl. 8:1, cont.:) AND WHO KNOWS THE INTERPRETATION OF A SAYING? <These are> the ones who know how to interpret the Torah with forty-nine reasons for declaring an object clean and forty-nine reasons for declaring an object unclean.¹⁰²See above, Numb. 6:7, and the parallels listed there. (Eccl. 8:1, cont.:) A PERSON'S WISDOM LIGHTS UP HIS FACE. R. Zakkay of Sha'av <said> in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman: You find that, when Israel stood before Mount Sinai and said (in Exod. 24:7): <ALL THAT THE LORD HAS SPOKEN> WE WILL CARRY OUT AND OBEY, the Holy One gave them some of the glory of the Divine Presence. This is what is written (in Ezek. 16:14): AND YOUR NAME SPREAD AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOUR BEAUTY. Then when they said in the incident of that calf (in Exod. 32:4): THIS IS YOUR GOD, O ISRAEL. They became enemies (rt.: SN') of the Omnipresent. This is what is written (in Eccl. 8:1, cont.): AND THE RADIANCE OF HIS (i.e., Israel's) FACE IS CHANGED (rt.: ShNH).¹⁰³The Hebrew roots, SN’ and ShNH, are closer than would appear in transliteration. The S in SN’ is a sin and would be indistinguishable from the Sh of ShNH in an unvoweled text. As for the final letters, alef and he are often confused in the Hebrew of this period. So the Holy One also changed (rt.: ShNH) the promises concerning them, as stated (in Ps. 82:7): INDEED YOU SHALL DIE LIKE A HUMAN.]¹⁰⁴As Adam was expelled from Eden, so the generation of the golden calf was kept from the promised land.

THE ZEAL OF PHINEAS
RABBI ELAzAR, son of 'Arakh, said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, descended upon Mount Sinai to give the Torah to Israel, sixty myriads of the ministering angels descended with Him, corresponding to the sixty myriads of the mighty men of Israel, and in their hands were swords and crowns, and they crowned the Israelites with the Ineffable Name. All those days, whilst they had not done that deed, they were as good as the ministering angels before the Holy One, blessed be He. The Angel of Death did not hold sway over them, and they did not discharge any excretions like the children of man; but when they did that deed the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry with them, and He said to them: I thought that ye would be like the ministering angels, as it is said, "I said, Ye are angels, and all of you sons of the Most High" (Ps. 82:6). But now, "Nevertheless, ye shall die like men" (Ps. 82:7).