מדרש אויף שמות 32:10

Rabbi Menaḥem bar Avin interpreted the verse as referring to Moses. “And Yokim” (I Chronicles 4:22) – on the basis of: “Rise [kuma] Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered” (Numbers 10:35). “And the people of Kozeva” (I Chronicles 4:22) – as he rendered the word of the Holy One blessed be He like falsehoods [kazav], as it is stated: “Why, Lord, is Your wrath enflamed at Your people?” (Exodus 32:11).⁷⁵God had said that He would consume the Israelites (Exodus 32:10), but after Moses’ prayer, He relented and did not destroy them. “Yoash” (I Chronicles 4:22) – as he despaired [nitya’ash] of living,” as it is stated: “And if not, please expunge me” (Exodus 32:32). “And Saraf” (I Chronicles 4:22) - as he mentioned the act of those who were burned [serufim], “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants” (Exodus 32:13).⁷⁶See footnote 18. “Who had dominion [ba’alu] over Moav” (I Chronicles 4:22) – as his pleasant actions ascended [alu] and came before his Father [aviv] in Heaven. “And Yashuvi Laḥem” (I Chronicles 4:22) – as he ascended on high and captured the Torah, on the basis of what is stated: “You ascended on high and you took a captive [shevi]” (Psalms 68:19).
“And the matters are ancient [atikim]” (I Chronicles 4:22) – Rabbi Aivu and Rabbi Yehuda ben Simon, Rabbi Aivu said: Even items that were taken [nitatku] from them, [Moses] returned, as it is stated: “Hew for yourself [two tablets of stone like the first]” (Exodus 34:1). These matters⁷⁷On the tablets. were stated by He who will [ultimately] remove [ma’atik] the world, as it is said: “He removed from there” (Genesis 12:8).⁷⁸Thus, the term atikim in the verse in I Chronicles is interpreted to refer to the tablets broken by Moses and then replaced, which contained the word of God. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: These matters are vague here, but explicit elsewhere. He restored [the tablets] to them, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Write these matters for yourself, as on the basis of these matters [I have established a covenant with you and with Israel]’” (Exodus 34:27). “They are the yotzerim” (I Chronicles 4:23) – on the basis of: “The Lord God formed [vayitzer]” (Genesis 2:19).⁷⁹The midrash interprets the word yotzerim in the sense of yetzurim, creations. The subject is the words of Torah, because God’s intent in creating the world was in order to give the Torah (Etz Yosef).
Another matter, “they are the yotzerim” (I Chronicles 4:23) – these are the souls of the righteous with whom the Holy One blessed be He consulted when creating the world. “And the dwellers among the plants” (I Chronicles 4:23) – on the basis of: “And the Lord God planted” (Genesis 2:8). “And a fence” (I Chronicles 4:23) – on the basis of what is stated: “Who placed the sand for the bound of the sea” (Jeremiah 5:22). “With the king in his service” (I Chronicles 4:23) – the souls of the righteous sat there with the King who is the king of kings, the Holy One blessed be He, and He consulted them and created His world.

Another matter, “carve for you” – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is written: “It will be when he shall sin and is guilty, he shall restore the robbed item that he robbed, or the proceeds of the exploitation that he exploited, or the deposit that was deposited with him, or the lost item that he found” (Leviticus 5:23). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Were the Tablets not deposited with you? You shattered them, you replace them.’
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: With the second Tablets, Moses reconciled the Holy One blessed be He with Israel. What did he do? He ascended to the Holy One blessed be He, who was angry. He said to Him: ‘Your children are sinning, and You are imposing a penalty upon me?’ [Moses] presented himself as though he was angry at Israel.²⁷He allowed himself to actually get angry, rather than conquering his anger in order to pray on their behalf (see Etz Yosef; Maharzu). From where is this derived? As it is stated: “Moses returned to the Lord and he said: Please; this people has sinned a great sin, and they made themselves a god of gold. Now, if You would, forgive their sin; but if not, erase me please from Your book that You have written” (Exodus 32:31–32).²⁸Rather than pleading with God to forgive the Israelites, Moses asked God that, if He would not forgive them, He would erase Moses from His book as well. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that it was so, He said to him: ‘There are two beings who are angry; you and I are angry at them.’²⁹If we are both angry at the Israelites, they are doomed. Immediately: “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, and he would return to the camp. But his servant, Joshua, son of Nun, a lad, would not move from within the tent” (Exodus 33:11). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘There shall not be two beings angry, instead, when you see Me pouring boiling water, you pour cold; and when you see Me pouring cold water, you pour boiling.’ Moses said to him: ‘Master of the universe, how shall it be?’ He said to him: ‘You implore for mercy.’ What did he do? Immediately, “Moses implored [vayḥal] the Lord his God and he said: Lord, why shall Your wrath be enflamed against Your people that You took out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying: He took them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from upon the face of the earth? Relent from Your enflamed wrath and reconsider regarding the evil for Your people” (Exodus 32:11–12). He said to Him: ‘Your children are bitter, sweeten [ḥaleh] them.’³⁰They sinned, forgive them.
Another matter, he said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, I know that You love Your children, and You seek only someone to advocate on their behalf.’ Rabbi Simon said: To what is the matter comparable? To a king and his son who were located in an inner chamber, and his son’s tutor was in the hall. The king was shouting: ‘Let me be so I will kill my son!’ He was seeking only that someone advocate on his behalf. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “Now, let Me be, and My wrath will be enflamed against them and I will destroy them and I will make you into a great nation” (Exodus 32:10). Moses said: Am I, as it were, grasping the hand of the Holy One blessed be He?³¹Am I holding Him back, such that He says “Let me be”? He seeks only someone to advocate on their behalf. Immediately, “Moses implored.”
Another matter, “now, let Me be” – Moses said: ‘Master of the universe, do You seek to eradicate them? Uproot the upper worlds and the lower worlds, and then uproot them.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “Lift your eyes to the heavens and look to the earth below, as the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth will be tattered like a garment, and its inhabitants, likewise, will die, but My salvation will be forever and My righteousness will not be daunted” (Isaiah 51:6). First, the heavens will be eroded like smoke…and then: “Its inhabitants, likewise, will die.” Moses said to Him: ‘Even if You uproot the heavens and the earth, it is impossible for You to uproot Israel, as You took an oath to their patriarchs, and You did not take an oath to them by the heavens or by the earth, but by Your great Name.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “To whom You took an oath by Yourself” (Exodus 32:13). [Moses said:] ‘Could You, perhaps void Your great Name?’
Moses said before Him: ‘Consider them like Sodom. What did You say to Abraham? “The Lord said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous people within the city, I will tolerate the entire place for their sake” (Genesis 18:26), and You were willing to concede to him until ten.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “He said: Please, let my Lord not be incensed, and I will speak only this time. Perhaps ten shall be found there. He said: I will not destroy for the ten” (Genesis 18:32). [Moses said before Him:] ‘I will produce for You eighty righteous men.’ He said to him: ‘Produce them.’ He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, there are seventy elders,’ as it is written: “The Lord said to Moses: Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and its officers, and you shall take them to the Tent of Meeting, and they will stand there with you. I will descend and speak with you there and I will draw from the spirit that is upon you, and I will place it upon them, and they will bear with you the burden of the people, and you will not bear alone” (Numbers 11:16–17). ‘[And] Aaron, Nadav, Avihu, Elazar, Itamar, Pinḥas, and Caleb – that is seventy-seven.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘But Moses, where are three more righteous men?’ [Moses] did not find them. He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, if those who are alive cannot stand in the breach on their behalf, let the dead stand.’ He said before Him: ‘Do it by the merit of the three patriarchs, and that is eighty – “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants” (Exodus 32:13).’ Once Moses mentioned the merit of the patriarchs, He immediately said to him: “I have pardoned in accordance with your word” (Numbers 14:20).
When Solomon arose and saw that Moses mentioned seventy-seven living righteous men and it would have been of no avail had he not mentioned the merit of the three patriarchs, he began saying: “I praise the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still alive. Better than both of them is one who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil action that is performed under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 4:2–3).
Another matter, “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself and said to them: I will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and this entire land that I said I will give to your descendants, they shall inherit it forever. The Lord reconsidered the evil that He had spoken of doing to His people” (Exodus 32:13–14). Rabbi Levi said: Moses said to Him: ‘Master of the universe, will the dead live?’ He said to him: ‘Are you, too, mistaken? Did I not say to you: “I will kill and I will resurrect”?’ (Deuteronomy 32:39). Moses said to Him: ‘If the dead will live, consider it as though the patriarchs are standing and beseeching on behalf of their descendants; what would You answer them?’ When Moses said this matter to Him, immediately, the Lord reconsidered the evil.

[3] And another explanation: The son Ephraim is dear to me [said God]. All of Israel is called by the name of Ephraim, as it is said, "For I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn" (Jeremiah 31:9). And so in many places, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, "Ephraim is dear to me; they are held in high esteem before me." Our Rabbis said that even if Pharaoh had demanded a hundred talents of silver for every Jewish soul, the Holy One, blessed be He, would have given it to him, and if He had not, He would have taken vengeance on their behalf, as it is said, "Lest you try to purchase [protection from the nations]" (Deuteronomy 7:2). And when they made the Golden Calf, the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to do to them what He had done to the generation of the Flood, as it is said, "Let me alone [so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven]" (Exodus 32:10). And in the generation of the Flood, it is written, "I will blot out man [whom I have created] from the face of the earth" (Genesis 6:7). And He was speaking to Moses about how to destroy them, but once Moses said to Him, "Remember Abraham" (Exodus 32:13), the Holy One, blessed be He, remembered and said, "If so, then I will return." Immediately, "the Lord relented [from the evil that He had planned to do to His people]" (Exodus 32:14), and the ministers of the nations came close to Him and said, "If you disappoint [us], You have said that You would blot out their name from under heaven like the generation of the Flood who corrupted their ways," as it is said, "And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt" (Genesis 6:12). And [the ministers of the nations said], "They did the same thing; You told Moses to go down, for Your people have become corrupt" (Exodus 32:7), yet You do not do what You say. He [God] said to them, "No." And Moses said, "The Lord also listened to me at that time" (Deuteronomy 9:19), even though I said that I would return to You, from whom do I have anything to fear and who will absolve [me]? As it is said, "I will not execute the fierceness of My anger" (Hosea 11:9). And why is Ephraim called "my son, my firstborn" (Jeremiah 31:9)? Because I said to Moses, "Let Me alone," but I remembered him and remembered his ancestors and forgave [Israel] for their sake. Therefore, Habakkuk said, "I have heard Your report and am awed, O Lord" (Habakkuk 3:2).