Wyjścia 32:10 Komentarz: Rashi, Chizkuni, Ramban & Or HaChaim

הניחה לי LET ME ALONE — So far we have not heard that Moses had prayed on their behalf and yet He says “let Me alone!” which implies a refusal to his entreaty! But by saying this He opened the door to him (offered him a suggestion) intimating to him that if he prayed for them He would not destroy them (Shemot Rabbah 42:9; cf. also Berakhot 32a).

הניחה לי, “Let Me be;” Hashem used this mild form of rebuke, out of respect for Moses. He meant that the fact that the people had chosen an unfit replacement instead of Moses, this alone was enough to punish them severely.

NOW THEREFORE LET ME ALONE, THAT MY WRATH MAY WAX HOT AGAINST THEM. The meaning of this cannot be “let Me alone and I will become angry,” for if His anger had not been aroused yet, why should it wax hot as soon as Moses leaves Him alone? But in line with the plain meaning of Scripture the meaning thereof is: “leave Me, and I will consume them in My burning anger,” similar in thought to the expression, let Me alone, and I will destroy them.³¹⁸Ibid., Verse 14.
By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], the verse means: “My mercy will subside, and My attribute of justice will wax hot against them and I will consume them with it, for with Me [i.e. when the attribute of mercy is before Me], it³¹⁹I.e., the attribute of justice has then no power. — So it is clearly explained in Abusaula’s commentary on the mystic passages in Ramban. See Vol. I, Preface, xii, Note 21. has no power over them.” This is the meaning of the expression, And Moses besought the face of the Eternal his G-d,³²⁰Verse 11. The word pnei (“face of”) alludes to the attribute of justice (Bachya). being similar in usage to the expression, the face of the Lord Eternal G-d, the G-d of Israel.³²¹Further, 34:23. And so Moses mentioned [in his prayer] in the Book of Deuteronomy, O G-d Eternal³²²Deuteronomy 9:26. — first the name of G-d with Aleph Dalet,³²³Ado-noy which alludes to the attribute of justice. followed by the name of Yod Hei.³²⁴The Tetragrammaton which alludes to the attribute of mercy. It is possible that the word vay’chal (and he besought) is of the root t’chilah (beginning).³²⁵“Since Moses prayed that the attribute of justice be withheld from the people, Scripture therefore uses the word vay’chal [of the root t’chilah, meaning “beginning” or “first”], because [in the order of the attributes as they are arranged from lowest to highest, the one of justice] is nearest to us” (Ricanti). See also Bachya, in my edition, Vol. II, p. 332. Understand it and you will know.