Myśl Żydowska do Wyjścia 33:3

(1) Moses argues, that after confession of the sin and an advocate such as himself of whom G-d had said "I have known you by name," no further lack of grace should exist. Nevertheless, You have said "I will send an angel before you," i.e. not like the angel mentioned in Parshat Mishpatim. When talking about the function of this angel, no mention was made by You, that he would be like the angel that accompanied us up to now. Of the previous angel, the Torah had said "and the Lord was walking ahead of them by day and by night in a pillar of cloud...and during the night in a column of fire." (Exodus 13,21) (2) Now however, Moses argues "You state for I will not go up in your midst." (33,3) All this points to the fact that You are still angry, and that You are entrusting the supervision of my people to someone who is equivalent to those who supervise the fate of all other nations. Therefore, Moses asks "let me know Your ways, so that I will know You and be able to find favour in Your eyes, and this will demonstrate that this people is really YOUR people." G-d responds "My face, i.e. My personal hashgachah will lead you." Moses continues that G-d should not think that he was unaware that without "YOUR Presence we cannot even progress one step on the way," but I wanted You to assure me that by teaching me Your ways we qualify for the superior type of hashgachah reserved for the tzaddikim. How else would I know that not only I, personally, but also Your people have found favour in Your eyes? This could only be by means of veniflinu ani ve-amcha that both I and Your people will be granted miraculous distinctions! (3) G-d responded by saying that He would perform miracles in the presence of both Moses and His people, the like of which had never been performed. (34, 10) This would prove that all the Jewish people are under the protection of the third and most exclusive type of hashgachah peratit the most personalised supervision by G-d. This is also the meaning of "I will be gracious to whomever I choose to be gracious to;" (33, 19) it will be an act of grace, not entitlement or automatic response by Me. Since G-d had explained His response to the needs of the people already twice, Moses asks for a personal favour, an act of grace for himself, when he says "please show ME Your glory." He wanted to be shown this at once, not to have to wait until some future national crisis would trigger the need for that kind of revelation of G-d’s Majesty. The word na, is frequently used as prefacing a request for immediate fulfilment. Examples are Numbers 12, 13, "heal her now!," or Exodus 11,2, "speak now!" (4) G-d responds by saying "I will let all My goodness pass before you." You will then understand the relationship of all the things that exist, and how they are all traced back to Me, the original Cause of all existence and all happenings. I will proclaim the four lettered name before you" i.e. I will use the four lettered name of which I once said to you "this is My name and this is My memorial." (Exodus 3, 15) "I will reveal the significance of this name so that you will know that whosoever knows it and calls upon it, I will respond to such a person by performing miracles in this (otherwise) orderly world. In this manner I will demonstrate that I will bestow grace on those I decide to grant grace to." When G-d says "you cannot see My face," this is not to be construed as a denial of Moses’s request, but as a teaching and an instruction. The ultimate wisdom of the sage is to know what element of theology needs to remain beyond his understanding. This is the difference between a chacham, a wise man and someone who is still wiser than a chacham. The latter can add to his knowledge of "causes" without getting to know the essence. This is why G-d tells Moses that the highest level of his perception is to know that one cannot see "MY FACE," i.e. understand "My" attributes in a manner that would form a composite picture of "My" essence. As long as a human being is alive, i.e. ha-adam vechay, such perceptions are not possible. The nature of your life, Moses is told is the combination of matter and spirit. This precludes the comprehension of the essence of the pure spirit. Once you are no longer part of an earthly shell, part of a primitive form of life, you would be able to realise some of My positive attributes. Berachot 17, phrases it "In the world of the future, the righteous will sit with their crowns on their heads, and enjoy the outpourings of the Divine Presence." Put another way: as long as man has a normal intellect, cognition of My essence is beyond him, as we find in Numbers 21, 9, "when he would look at the copper snake he would live." When looking at the copper snake, some people were under the illusion that they had seen G-d. A blind man who has never seen light, sometimes imagines himself as competetnt to define light because he is not satisfied with his state of blindness and longs to advance beyond that stage. This may be what the prophet Isaiah 6,5, refers to when he said "woe unto me: I thought I was a person of unclean lips, dwelling amongst a people that are impure, for I have seen the Lord of hosts with my eyes." What is described here is a reference to this vision of the Divine entourage, merkavah which the prophet had experienced, in which he saw the throne of G-d. As Maimonides comments, the power of the prophet is that he can make relevant comparisons between the form and the Creator, between exterior form and inner content. (5) "He said, here there is a place near Me, stand there on the rock etc." Afterwards G-d said "you cannot see." G-d now explains how these matters relate to one another. "I can elevate you to a place from which you can look down on earth, then when My majesty passes, you will stand in this highest place that it is possible for man to achieve, and I will cover you with My hand." This will act as a lid to protect you from that part of Me that is not given to mortal man to understand. But afterwards, "I will remove My hand, and you will see My rear, "meaning the negative aspects of Me. This is the most any human can do. (33,22-23) In chapter 60 of his "Moreh," Maimonides explains this in the famous parable with the ship. The nikrat hatzur, is understood as the summit of the rock. Moses’s vantage point will be above the earth, so to speak. Since things created by G-d directly have no lasting existence, i.e. are by (6) their very nature created only for the brief moment they are needed, such as the manna in the desert, and since the second set of tablets needed to endure, they had to be constructed by human hands. As long as G-d contributed only the writing, the continued existence of these tablets was assured. The reason no one was to accompany Moses to the mountain was, that since the first time the objective had been to let the people hear "so that the people will hear when I speak with you," Aaron and the elders were to accompany Moses part of the way. The fact that Moses would be addressed directly by G-d had been demonstrated already, there was therefore no need for Aaron or elders to accompany Moses again. Animals also were not allowed on the mountain, to underline the sanctity of the site. After this, the Torah says "Moses rose early and ascended the mountain," conclusive proof of Rashi's opinion that conversation between G-d and people up to that time had taken place within his tent. Now Moses took with him the tablets which had as yet not been inscribed. G-d descended on the mountain, that is to the place previously defined as "there is this place with Me." Moses stood on the rock. "He proclaimed in the name of G-d," i.e. G-d now proceeded to instruct him in the thirteen attributes." G-d passed in front of him." This is the fulfilment of "I will let all My goodness pass before you." Normally, Moses would have experienced a transient revelation to be immediately forgotten, dreamlike; however, because G-d had added the words "I will remove My hand," He granted Moses a much longer lasting impression of the revelation that was to follow. Had G-d only stated "I will cover you with My hand," this would not have been the case. The whole revelation would be an indirect (negative) revelation, not a direct (positive) one, as would have been the case had there been a vision of G-d’s "face." At any rate, the comment "I will grant grace to whomsoever I shall decide to grant grace to," is the reference to the instruction in the thirteen attributes as outlined in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 17. Rabbi Yonathan comments there that if it had not been for that verse, I would not have been permitted to explain it in that vein. G-d instructed Moses how to pray, wore a tallit and showed Moses that whenever Israel sinned, he should likewise drape himself in such a prayer shawl and G-d would be willing to forgive Israel. Rabbi Yehudah says that G-d made a contract with Moses that he would not return empty handed from any entreaty incorporating mention of G-d’s thirteen attributes. This is the meaning of "Here I conclude a covenant in the presence of the people." (34, 10)

And the Ramban questions here (Exodus 33:12) as to why Moses did not pray in this instance that they not be governed by an angel, as he did after they had made the golden calf, when the Blessed One said to him: "And I will send an angel before you," and Moses prayed before Him and said: "If Your presence does not go, do not take us up from here." And after he accepted this here, how did he think to profit through the incident of the golden calf and to nullify it? But this is not at all difficult to me. For the Blessed One did not tell Moses here that He would go up from them as He did in the incident of the golden calf, viz. (Ibid 33:3): "for I will not go up in your midst…" And though He told him "I will send an angel," it does not follow from this that the L-rd would not be there. For Scripture likewise states (Ibid 12:12): "And I will pass through the land of Egypt…," which our sages of blessed memory expounded (Mechilta, Bo 7): "I and not an angel…" And even so, angels destroyed along with Him, as they expounded (Ibid 11): "'And you, let no man go out from the door of his house until morning' (Exodus 12:22) — this indicates that when the angel has been authorized to destroy he does not discriminate [between the good and the wicked]…, as it is written (Isaiah 26:20): 'Go my people, come into your chambers…'" It is clear, then, that though the Holy One Blessed be He in Himself and in His majesty passed through Egypt, with all this, the angels destroyed along with Him, as it is written (Zechariah 14:5): "And the L-rd my G-d shall come, all the holy ones with You." Therefore, it does not follow from "And I will send an angel before you" that the Blessed One in Himself and in His majesty not also be there. Why should "And I will send an angel before you" present any more of a difficulty than (Exodus 23:28): "And I will send hornets before you"? But just as the hornets were to serve as the L-rd's mace, so would the angel serve as His instrument of destruction. And for this reason neither the Jews nor Moses were distressed by this at all. But later, when He told them explicitly "for I will not go up in your midst…," they were fully cognizant of what this imported, as it is written (Ibid 33:4): "And the people heard this evil thing, and they mourned, and no man put his ornaments upon him." That is, when the people heard this evil thing, the departure of G-d's providence form them, they mourned for what they had lost and did not put on their ornaments.

Chapter thirty-seven proves that punishment should in strict justice be eternal from the statement made to Moses, Exodus 33, 3, and from the complaint that Moses makes of this ruling in Psalm ninety. This and the following Psalm are explained as indicated.