בְּהִלּ֣וֹ נֵ֭רוֹ עֲלֵ֣י רֹאשִׁ֑י לְ֝אוֹרוֹ אֵ֣לֶךְ חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃
quando a sua lâmpada luzia sobre o minha cabeça, e eu com a sua luz caminhava através das trevas;
Rabbeinu Bahya
According to the interpretation of our sages that the jewelry referred to was the holy name of the Lord (compare Midrash Tehillim 103) the meaning of these verses is as follows [starting with verse 4, Ed.] “they did not put on their jewelry (their clothing).” In response to the command to remove their jewelry they removed the item bearing the holy name of the Lord. This is the reason the Torah did not use the customary word for stripping one’s clothing off, i.e. הפשט מעליך, but it used the expression הורד, “lower!” When they removed the item in question their spiritual distinction disappeared simultaneously.
Our sages in Shemot Rabbah 45,2 describe this as זינאות שחגר עליהם, “ a reference to some kind of weapon upon which the holy name of G’d had been engraved.” This is also the meaning of the saying in the Midrash Rabbah in 41,9 that חרות על הלוחות, that on the Tablets was engraved the motto “freedom from the angel of death.” In other words, the weapon the sages speak about was the weapon designed to neutralize the angel of death. Seeing the people had been equipped with knowledge of the various names of the Lord, they had an effective antidote against the angel of death as normally such knowledge can be obtained by man only after death. This is also what Onkelos had in mind when he translated the words ויתנצלו את עדים as ואעידו. He meant to convey that the spiritual accomplishments the people had worn proudly ever since the revelation at Mount Sinai, something which had put them on a par with the ministering angels, were now lost to them, disappeared. It was Moses who removed these symbols of their accomplishments from them. This is why the Torah continues ומשה יקח את האוהל, “that Moses would take the Tent (Tabernacle) and pitch it outside the camp.” The word אעדי refers to the loss of some power. It is therefore an appropriate rendering of the Hebrew word ויתנצלו. The word אוהל in this instance is derived from בהלו נרו, another word for “light becoming frightened.” the meaning of Moses taking the “Tent” is therefore to be understood as something allegorical, not that he literally moved the entire Tabernacle. Moses removed the spiritual light which had been part of the Tabernacle to a place outside the camp to indicate that the people had now forfeited this dimension of their relationship with G’d. The word אוהל should be understood in a similar manner in Numbers 24,8 where Bileam praises the Jewish people describing מה טובו אוהליך יעקב something normally translated as “how goodly are your tents O Yaakov.” The meaning would be “how goodly are your spiritual lights O Yaakov.” I will explain this in due course when discussing that verse in detail.
Our sages in Shemot Rabbah 45,2 describe this as זינאות שחגר עליהם, “ a reference to some kind of weapon upon which the holy name of G’d had been engraved.” This is also the meaning of the saying in the Midrash Rabbah in 41,9 that חרות על הלוחות, that on the Tablets was engraved the motto “freedom from the angel of death.” In other words, the weapon the sages speak about was the weapon designed to neutralize the angel of death. Seeing the people had been equipped with knowledge of the various names of the Lord, they had an effective antidote against the angel of death as normally such knowledge can be obtained by man only after death. This is also what Onkelos had in mind when he translated the words ויתנצלו את עדים as ואעידו. He meant to convey that the spiritual accomplishments the people had worn proudly ever since the revelation at Mount Sinai, something which had put them on a par with the ministering angels, were now lost to them, disappeared. It was Moses who removed these symbols of their accomplishments from them. This is why the Torah continues ומשה יקח את האוהל, “that Moses would take the Tent (Tabernacle) and pitch it outside the camp.” The word אעדי refers to the loss of some power. It is therefore an appropriate rendering of the Hebrew word ויתנצלו. The word אוהל in this instance is derived from בהלו נרו, another word for “light becoming frightened.” the meaning of Moses taking the “Tent” is therefore to be understood as something allegorical, not that he literally moved the entire Tabernacle. Moses removed the spiritual light which had been part of the Tabernacle to a place outside the camp to indicate that the people had now forfeited this dimension of their relationship with G’d. The word אוהל should be understood in a similar manner in Numbers 24,8 where Bileam praises the Jewish people describing מה טובו אוהליך יעקב something normally translated as “how goodly are your tents O Yaakov.” The meaning would be “how goodly are your spiritual lights O Yaakov.” I will explain this in due course when discussing that verse in detail.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A kabbalistic approach: the words אהליך are a reference to the tents of the Jewish people in the celestial regions, whereas the word משכנותיך refers to their terrestrial dwellings. The former is a reference to the name of Yaakov being engraved on G’d’s throne (Bereshit Rabbah 68,18 ). The word טובו is understood as meaning the same as בהטיבו את הנרות, “purifying, cleaning” the lamps of the Menorah (Exodus 30,7). The word אהליך is a composite of בהלו נרו, “when His lamp shone” (Job 29,3), the latter א having been added. It symbolises the word אור, light. Bileam perceives the משכנות, “terrestrial dwellings of the Israelites,” as deriving their input from the purity of the celestial light this nation commands in those regions. Note how the verse is constructed in such a way that the word טוב we referred to covers both the term אהליך and משכנותיך. Immediately following is כנחלים נטיו; “stretching like brooks;” the word נטיה is always applied to manifestations in our terrestrial world; in this instance it refers to the משכנות mentioned in the previous verse.
Da'at Zekenim
ומשה יקח את האהל, “meanwhile Moses took his own tent far beyond the limits of the camp of the Israelites;” according to our author the word אהל here is a reference to the ornaments-jewelry that had been removed from the male Israelites, and which Moses merited as pointed out in the Talmud tractate Shabbat folio 88, where Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish is quoted as proving from Scripture that at some time in the future this jewelry will be restored to their original owners. He based this on Isaiah 35,10. This is also why we read after Moses’ return from the Mountain that his face was shining so brilliantly that the people were blinded until he covered his forehead with a kind of veil. (Exodus 34,9) An alternate interpretation: the word אהל here is closely related to אור, light, where we find the word בהלו נרו עלי ראשי, “when His lamp shone over my head;” (Job 29.3)
Rashi
"And Moshe would take": That ornament. A different thing (another explanation) - "the tent" (ohel) is an expression [related to], "When His lamp shone (hilo)" (Job 29:3). And that was the shining of the skin of his face.
Rashi
flash forth as in (above 29:3), “when He lit (בהלו) His candle.”
Rashi
illuminate Heb. יָהֵלּוּ. They shall illuminate, and so (Job 29:3), “When his lamp shone,” (בְּהִלּוֹ)” (ibid. 31:26). The light when it shone brightly (יָהֵל).