Wyjścia 32:20 Komentarz: Rashi, Chizkuni, Da'at Zekenim & Ramban

ויזר AND STREWED IT — The verb זרה denotes scattering about, similar to, (Job 18:15) “Brimstone shall be scattered (יזרה) upon his habitation”; (Proverbs 1:17) “Surely in vain the net is strewn (מזורה) [in the sight of any bird]” where this expression is used because people usually bestrew it (the net) with grain and pulse.

וישרוף באש, “he burned it by fire.” There are materials, which when added to gold, immediately, also burn the gold, i.e. blacken it. Such gold never regains its original colour.

וישק את בני ישראל, “he made the Children of Israel drink;” on this verse Rashi observes that basically we are subject to death for certain sins by one of three types of death, a) as in the case where a woman has been suspected of infidelity by her husband, when there are no eyewitnesses to the supposed infidelity. In such cases death is brought about by Divine interference, the woman who had lied by protesting her innocence having to drink the “bitter” water, as a result of which she will die a painful death. [Compare Numbers 5,27) b) a capital offence was committed by a person who had been duly warned of the consequence of his deed by two legally qualified witnesses. The death penalty will be carried out by the guilty party being killed by the sword. Compare Deuteronomy 13,17, as explained by the Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin, folio 111. c) there are witnesses to the sin having been committed, but the sinner had not been warned immediately prior to committing the sin by qualified witnesses. In that case he will die by a plague at the instigation of G–d. If Rashi were correct in comparing the death of the people worshipping the golden calf were executed by the sword as the people in Deuteronomy 13,17, why was their property not destroyed as is the case there? We would have to answer that they were punished as if they had been gentiles, where destruction of the sinner’s property is not decreed. (Compare Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin folio 56)

וישק את בני ישראל AND HE GAVE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TO DRINK OF IT — He intended to put them to the test as faithless wives were tried (cf. Numbers 5:12—31) (Avodah Zarah 44a). Three different death-penalties were inflicted there: It there were witnesses to the act of idolatry and a legal warning had preceded the deed the offender was put to death by the sword (cf. vv. 27, 28) as was the regulation regarding the inhabitants of an apostate city (Deuteronomy 13:13—18) when there were many (as was the case here; a single idolator, however, was subject to the death by stoning; cf. Deuteronomy 17:2—5). If there were witnesses but there had been no caution, they were destroyed by the plague, as it is said, (v. 35) “And the Lord plagued the people”. In cases where there were neither witnesses nor warning they were punished by dropsy — for the water which Moses gave them to drink put them to the test and if they were guilty their bellies swelled (cf. Yoma 66b).