Комментарий о цитате к Шмот 34:3

ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו. Even though these people had deliberately lingered over a vision of G’d, feasting their eyes on it, something forbidden as we know from Numbers 4,20, that glimpsing something sacred inside the temple is forbidden on pain of death, at this time G’d did not punish tem. We know of a similar occurrence in Samuel I 6,19 when the subject was the Holy Ark. On the other hand, when afforded a similar opportunity to “see” G’d, Moses was afraid to do so (Exodus 3,6 at the burning bush). Here the nobles and elders were being honoured by G’d with visions, this being due to the covenant being concluded with them at this time. I explained in connection with the covenant of the pieces G’d concluded with Avraham in Genesis 15,17 that Avraham observed G’d as if passing between the pieces of the animals Avraham had cut up. [I could not find this exegesis of our author where it is supposed to be. Ed.] This report of “seeing” a manifestation of G’d resurfaces when the new covenant is made after the sin of the golden calf has been forgiven in Exodus 34,3 where only Moses is allowed to be present, i.e. to look at the mountain before he ascends. Having outlawed visual contact by others, G’d proceeds to announce that He will make a new covenant (Exodus 34,10) replacing the one the Israelites had breached at the golden calf episode.

והנה קרן עור פניו, “and behold! the skin of his face had become radiant.” We know of the light which represents wisdom and we know light which emerges out of darkness. The former kind of light is the light G’d employed to create the universe. Concerning that light our sages have said that it preceded the first directive of G’d in the Book of Genesis, i.e. “let there be light.” This light which was employed as a tool in G’d’s work of creation is known as ראשית. Moses attained this light in his heart, and it was this light which separated him from all other prophets making him superior to all of them.
The light which emerges out of darkness is the essence of fire, it is known as אור מוגרש, ”light which has been expelled.” This is the light which was applied to Moses, the light which is here called as radiating from the face of Moses. He acquired this ability to radiate light as a result of obtaining the second set of Tablets whereas he had not achieved this ability when he received the first set of Tablets when he was described as “turning and descending from the mountain” (32,15). During the period when the first set of Tablets was being prepared the people had still been under the spiritually uplifting experience of the revelation, everyone of them having been a party to insights never before granted to man. Now that they were no longer on that spiritual level and G’d had even warned them that “no one will ascend (spiritually) with you” (34,3), they would not have credited Moses with continuing to be on such a level had there not been some visible evidence of that. G’d provided this when he made Moses’ skin emit rays of light.
Another way of looking at the absence of this phenomenon when Moses received the first set of Tablets is that seeing his stature of G’d’s prophet had been established beyond all doubt he had not had any need to provide the Israelites with visible evidence of that. Seeing that in His wisdom G’d had been aware that Moses was going to smash the first Tablets, He had delayed equipping him with this power to emit rays of light until he had been given the second set of Tablets.

Do not question how it is possible that the power of the evil eye is so great that it can even interfere with miracles! We find that the birth of Yaakov’s children was influenced by the power of the evil eye. Leah had made a single comment in that she thanked the Lord for allowing her to have born a fourth son, i.e. more than the three sons out of twelve which she could expect to bear by right, and as a result of this comment she became subject to the power of the evil eye. Immediately after she had made this comment we read ותעמוד מלדת “she stopped giving birth.” The mere fact that she had said herself that she had received more than she was entitled to exposed her to the envy of others. Furthermore, we find in connection with the tribe of Joseph who had been favoured by miraculous increases in numbers due to the special blessing of their patriarch Yaakov who had said בן פורת יוסף בן פורת עלי עין, that Joseph’s descendants would prove especially fruitful. When these people told Joshua (Joshua 17,14) that G’d had made them inordinately numerous and the land allocated to them was inadequate for their needs, Joshua answered them that they would be best of to move to a wooded region . Our sages in Sotah 36 comment on this that Joshua (who was also of the tribe of Ephrayim) meant that they should hide in the forests so as not to arouse other people’s evil eye, envy.
Furthermore, you will agree that there never was a greater miracle than occurred at the revelation at Mount Sinai, and we find that even on that occasion the evil eye was very much in evidence. In searching for a reason why the first set of Tablets were smashed, Tanchuma Ki Tissa 31 claims that it was because they were given to the Jewish people in public, [I am sure this refers to the text, and not the actual Tablets as the former was announced at the revelation. Ed.] an area where the evil eye is rampant. This is why the second set of Tablets was given in secret, i.e. Moses was told that (Exodus 34,3) ואיש לא יעלה עמך וגם איש אל ירא בכל ההר, “no one is to go up the mountain with you, nor is anyone to be seen at the mountain.” When the second Tablets were given the evil eye as not present, hence they were not smashed [even though the Jews repeatedly served idols after they had lived in the land of Israel for a while. Ed.] Yaakov therefore had good reason not to arouse the envy of Lavan and his sons.