Комментарий о цитате к Шмот 32:4

בחרט In the form of.²A. V. With a man’s pen.²A. V. With a man’s pen. Comp. Exod. 32:4. בחרט אנוש. In the form of a man. That is, in a form cast in the same way as the figure of a man is cast.^2*According to this explanation we have to imagine the גליוז as a cylindric pillar, on the top of which the words Maher Shalal, etc., were cast in metal. Others³This seems to be the opinion adopted by Ibn Ezra, chap. 3:23. take גליון as the singular to גליונים (3:23) a cloth to which the writing was affixed by embroidery. Maher-shalal-hash-baz.^3*The meaning of these four words is: Quick is the spoil, swift the prey, viz. of Samaria, to pass into the conqueror’s hand. The prophet is told to indicate by these words the fall of Samaria.

Between Paran and between Tophel. The phrase between… and between gives me room to add my own hand and explain it about that which occurs between the 17th of Tammuz and the ninth of Av. For “Paran” refers to the incident of the spies, where they cried needlessly, and crying was established for generations on the night of the ninth of Av. And “Tophel” refers to the golden calf that they made. For what Rashi explained, that they complained about [made “taflu”] the manna, has no parallel in Scripture. It would have been more appropriate if Rashi had explained it from the language Can that which is tasteless [tafeil] be eaten without salt? (Job 6:6), for anything without taste is called “tafeil,” and this would have agreed with Rashi’s words.
But according to our approach, it makes more sense that “tophel” alludes to the incident of the golden calf, because we find this term used for idolatry in several places. In Jeremiah (23:13) it is written: And in the prophets of Samaria I have seen folly [tiflah]; they prophesied by Baal, etc. And it is written (Lamentations 2:14): Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive [tafeil] visions, etc. And similarly, Ezekiel called them plasterers of folly [tafeil] (13:11). And so said the makers of the golden calf, These are your gods, O Israel (Exodus 32:4). With this, they attributed falsehood [tiflah] to God, and this occurred on the 17th of Tammuz, and on that same day the tablets were broken. And the breaking of these stones was established for generations, for on the 17th of Tammuz the wall of the city and its stones were breached.
And between these two boundaries, Israel lies crouching between the borders, and this is the meaning of between… and between mentioned here, as it is written (Lamentations 1:3): All her pursuers overtook her between the straits. For between the sin of the golden calf and the sin of the spies, [Israel] crouched and bowed down, and they could not rise, because naturally there is no salvation from the distress of the enemy except in one of two ways, or both together: Either through the providence of God, who saves all who cling to Him, even if they are not naturally strong, nevertheless when they fulfill you shall love the Lord your God, which causes attachment to God, then He saves all who cling to Him; or naturally, when they fulfill love your neighbor as yourself. Then each person helps his fellow, even if they are sinners and God has departed from them. Still, they have some hope naturally if the heavenly orchestration does not oppose them.

קדש לי כל בכור פטר כל רחם, “sanctify for Me every firstborn, the first issue of every womb.” The wording we would have expected here is קדש לי כל בכור בבני ישראל באדם ובבהמה, “sanctify for Me every Jewish firstborn amongst humans and domestic beast,” seeing this would be the logical way of thanking G’d for sparing the firstborn Jews and their livestock. After all, the Egyptian firstborn killed included firstborn of father and mother. Why then does the Torah restrict this legislation to the first issue of a womb, i.e. the firstborn of the mother? In fact, in Egypt not only biological firstborns were smitten but, in the absence of an actual firstborn, the oldest in the house. Why else would there not have been a single house without a dead body on that night?
The reason the Torah did not command sanctification of the firstborn of the father is simply that there always exists some slight degree of doubt about the paternity of a child whereas no such doubt exists concerning its maternity. The same rule applies to the firstborn of the livestock as we read in verse 12: “you shall set apart every first issue of the womb to G’d and of every first issue that is dropped by the livestock that belong to you, the males to Hashem.” As a result of this legislation we find that Isaiah 49,15 draws a comparison between G’d’s love for Israel to a father’s love for his son when he said: “can a woman forget her baby or disown the child in her womb?” The prophet suggests that it is impossible for a mother not to have pity on her child. He did not say: “can a father forget his son?”
My teacher Rabbi Shlomoh (Rashba) of blessed memory commented that this verse in Isaiah wants to teach us two things. 1) Contrary to the doubt about paternity we mentioned earlier, there is no doubt about G’d considering Himself the father of the Jewish people [Hoseah 2,1 describing the Jewish people as the children of the living G’d. Ed.] seeing the prophet continues “even if the mother might forget her child G’d would never forget Israel.” This thought is confirmed by Eytan in Psalms 89, 27-28 “You are my Father, my G’d, the Rock of my deliverance;” (G’d responds) “I too will appoint him first-born.” 2) just as it is impossible for a mother to exchange her son for another so it is impossible for G’d to exchange the Jewish nation for another. The prophet (G’d) promised: “also these will not be forgotten.” Whereas G’d may “forget” the sin of the golden calf which the Israelites had addressed as “these are your gods O Israel” (Exodus 32,4), G’d will nonetheless not forget the Jewish people as His own as He would not forget their attitude at Mount Sinai when He had introduced Himself to the Jewish people with the words: “I am the Lord your G’d” (20,2).

That I collected: That I gathered, to lust after many gods - as it is written (Exodus 32:4), "These are your gods. O Israel."