מדרש אויף שמות 32:20

Rabbi Simon, in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and Rabbi Ḥama father of Rabbi Hoshaya, in the name of Rav, said: Chronicles was given only for expounding. “His Judahite wife bore Yered father of Gedor, [Ḥever father of Sokho, and Yekutiel father of Zano'aḥ; these are the sons of Bitya daughter of Pharaoh whom Mered took as a wife]” (I Chronicles 4:18). “His Judahite wife” – this is Yokheved. Was she from the tribe of Judah? Was she not from the tribe of Levi? Why was she called Judahite? It is because she brought Jews into the world.⁴Yokheved is identified as Shifra, one of the Israelite midwives in Egypt (Sota 11b).
“Bore Yered” (I Chronicles 4:18) – this is Moses. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa and Rabbi Simon: Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: “Yered” – because he brought down [horid] the Torah from [the heavens] above to [the earth] below. Alternatively: “Yered” – because he brought down the Divine Presence from [the heavens] above to [the earth] below. Rabbi Simon said: Yered is nothing other than an expression of kingship, just as it says: “He will rule [veyerd] from sea to sea” (Psalms 72:8); and it is written: “For he ruled [rodeh] over the entire region beyond the river” (I Kings 5:4).
“Father of Gedor” (I Chronicles 4:18) – Rabbi Huna bar Aḥa said: Many fence builders [goderin] stood for Israel, but [Moses] was the father of them all.⁵The term fence builder is used here to connote one who delineates the boundary of what behavior God deems acceptable, or who establishes decrees to protect against transgression. “Ḥever” (I Chronicles 4:18) – because he connected [ḥiber] the children to their Father in Heaven; alternatively, “Ḥever” – who prevented [he’evir] calamity from coming to the world. “Father of Sokho” (I Chronicles 4:18) – as he was the father of the prophets who see [sokhin] by means of the Divine Spirit. Rabbi Levi said: It is an Arabic expression, as in Arabia they call prophets sakhya. “Yekutiel” (I Chronicles 4:18) – Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Sima said: He rendered the children hopeful [mekavin] toward their Father in Heaven.⁶Thus, Yekutiel is interpreted to mean yekavu el El, they shall hope to God. “Father of Zano’aḥ” (I Chronicles 4:18) – this is Moses, who was the father of those who cause abandonment [mazniḥim], who caused them to abandon idol worship. That is what is written: “[He took the calf which they had made, burnt it with fire, ground it to powder, and] scattered it over the water, [and he made the children of Israel drink from it]” (Exodus 32:20).
“These are the sons of Bitya daughter of Pharaoh” (I Chronicles 4:18) – Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One blessed be He said to Bitya daughter of Pharaoh: ‘Moses was not your son, but you called him your son; you, too, are not My daughter, but I call you My daughter,’ as it is stated: “These are the sons of Bitya,” the daughter of God [bat Yah].
“Whom Mered took” (I Chronicles 4:18) – this is Caleb. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon: One said: He rebelled [marad] against the counsel of the scouts, and she rebelled [mareda] against the counsel of her father; let the rebel come and take the rebel. One said: He rescued the flock,⁷Caleb rescued Israel by contradicting the report of the majority of the scouts and attempting to calm the Israelites. Had he not done so, their sin would have been even worse. and she rescued the shepherd.
Moses was called ten names: Yered, Ḥever, Yekutiel, Avi Gedor, Avi Sokho, Avi Zano’aḥ.⁸Literally, father of Gedor, father of Sokho, father of Zano’aḥ. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: Toviya is also his name. That is what is written: “She saw him that he was good [tov]” (Exodus 2:2) – that he was Toviya. Rabbi Yishmael bar Ami said: Shemaya is also his name. Rabbi Yehoshua bar Neḥemya came and explained this verse: “Shemaya son of Netanel the scribe [from the Levites] recorded them [before the king, the princes, Tzadok the priest, Aḥimelekh son of Evyatar, and the heads of the patrilineal houses of the priests and of the Levites]” (I Chronicles 24:6): “Shemaya” – because the Lord heard [shama Yah] his prayer. “Son of Netanel” – a son to whom the Torah was given [shenitena] from hand to hand. “The scribe” – because he was the scribe of Israel. “Levite” – because he was from the tribe of Levi. “Before the king and the princes” – before the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He, and [before] His court. “Tzadok” – this is Aaron the priest. “Aḥimelekh” – because he was the brother [aḥ] of the king [melekh]. “Son of Evyatar” – because through him, the Holy One blessed be He overlooked [viter] for them the incident of the calf.⁹The midrash (Vayikra Rabba 10:3) asserts that Aaron’s involvement in the sin of the Golden Calf was undertaken so that the masses would not be directly involved, and that had they done so, their sin could not have been forgiven. Rabbi Tanḥuma said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa: Levite was also his name after the forebear of his family: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother?” (Exodus 4:14).¹⁰Just as Aaron was called Levite after the founder of the tribe, Moses could also be called Levite (Etz Yosef). And Moses, that is ten. The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: As you live, from all the names that you were called, I will call you only by the name that Bitya daughter of Pharaoh called you: “She called his name Moses” (Exodus 2:10). “He called to Moses.”

“The priest shall take sacred water in an earthenware vessel, and from the dirt that is on the floor of the Tabernacle the priest shall take, and he shall place it into the water” (Numbers 5:17).
“The priest shall take” – this is Moses. “Sacred water” – for the sanctity of the Name of the Holy One blessed be He, as he went down “to the brook that descends from the mountain” (Deuteronomy 9:21). “In an earthenware vessel” – just as an earthenware vessel has no purification after it was impurified, so too, they, all those who strayed after the calf, have no remedy, as they were all eliminated. “And from the dirt” – this is the gold dust that he ground, just as it says: “He ground it into a powder” (Exodus 32:20). “That is on the floor of [karka] the Tabernacle [hamishkan]” – as by means of the calf, the Israelites who worshipped it descended to the ground [lakarka] and were taken as collateral [nitmashkenu] in the hands of death. “The priest shall take” – this is Moses. “And he shall place it into the water” – just as it says: “I cast its dust into the brook that descends from the mountain” (Deuteronomy 9:21).
“The priest shall have the woman stand before the Lord, and he shall expose the woman’s head, and he shall place on her palms the meal offering of remembrance – it is a meal offering of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest shall be the water of bitterness that causes curse” (Numbers 5:18).
“The priest shall have [the woman] stand” – this is Moses. “The woman…before the Lord” – just as it says: “Moses stood at the gate of the camp and said: Whoever is for the Lord, join me…” (Exodus 32:26). “And he shall expose [ufara] the woman's head” – “Moses saw the people, that they were exposed [farua], as Aaron had exposed them [ferao]” (Exodus 32:25). At that moment, leprosy overcame them, just as it says: “And his head shall be unshorn [farua]” (Leviticus 13:45). “And he shall place on her palms the meal offering of remembrance” – he reprimanded them because of the Torah that they received. If they merit, they will have a [positive] remembrance of their name, but because they violated it, it was “a meal offering of jealousy.” “And in the hand of the priest” – this is Moses. “Shall be the water of bitterness that causes curse” – the verse teaches you that by means of Moses, the brook turned into bad water.¹⁷³This was water that examined the Israelites like the water of a sota. Those who were guilty suffered a fate similar to that of a sota.

“The priest shall write these curses in a scroll, and erase it in the water of bitterness” (Numbers 5:23).
“The priest shall write these curses in a scroll” – this is Moses. “In a scroll” – this is the tablet on which it was written, “Who reckons the iniquity of the fathers [against the children]” (Exodus 20:5). But, did he write them? Was it not the Holy One blessed be He who wrote them? It is, rather, because Israel strayed, the Holy One blessed be He gave them only to Moses, just as it says: “He gave to Moses” (Exodus 31:18). That is why they are called by his name, as though he had written them. Why does it call the tablet a scroll? It is because it was a scroll.¹⁸⁰Miraculously, like a scroll, the tablet could be furled and unfurled. “And erase it in the water of bitterness” – it is because, due to Israel’s iniquity, he shattered the tablets, and the script flew off of them, and with that erasure of the script, Israel drank their punishment in the water.
“He shall give the woman to drink the water of bitterness that causes curse, and the water that causes curse will enter her for bitterness” (Numbers 5:24).
“He shall give the woman to drink” – just as it says: “He gave the children of Israel to drink” (Exodus 32:20) – he examined them like sotot.
“The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the meal offering before the Lord and bring it near to the altar” (Numbers 5:25).
“The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy from the woman's hand” – these are the tablets that the Holy One blessed be He was sending to them; he took them [the tablets] from them, as He did not wish to give it to them. “And he shall wave the meal offering before the Lord” – he¹⁸¹Moses restored the script of the tablets to its place. “And bring it near to the altar” – these are the tablets that he shattered at the foot of the mountain, just as it says: “He cast the tablets from his hands and he shattered them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19), in the place of the altar that Moses built at the foot of the mountain to receive the Torah, just as it says: “He built an altar at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 24:4).
“The priest shall take a handful from the meal offering, its memorial portion, and burn it upon the altar, and then he shall give the woman the water to drink” (Numbers 5:26).
“The priest shall take a handful from the meal offering…” – as Moses advocated on behalf of Israel from what was written on the tablets: “Who performs kindness for the thousands [of generations], for those who love Me” (Exodus 20:6). Moses said: The patriarchs loved You, perform kindness for them and save their descendants. That is what is written: “Remember Abraham, [Isaac, and Israel]” (Exodus 32:13). “Then he shall give [the woman]…to drink” – after he implored on their behalf and caused the countenance of fury to pass, just as it says: “Moses turned and descended from the mountain” (Exodus 32:15),¹⁸²The previous verse states: “The Lord reconsidered the evil that He had spoken of doing to His people” (Exodus 32:14). then he examined them like sotot.
“He shall give her the water to drink, and it will be, if she was defiled and committed trespass against her husband, the water that causes curse will enter her for bitterness, and her belly will distend, and her thigh will fall, and the woman will become a curse among her people” (Numbers 5:27).
“He shall give her the water to drink, and it will be, if she was defiled and committed trespass against her husband, [the water that causes curse] will enter [her]” – when they drank from them, all the sinners died an unnatural death. A noblewoman asked Rabbi Eliezer: ‘Why for one sin of the calf did they die three deaths?’ He told her: ‘The only wisdom for a woman is with her spindle, as it is written: “Every woman who was wise hearted spun with her hands”’ (Exodus 35:25). Horkanus said to him: ‘In order not to answer her, you caused us a loss of three hundred kor of tithes each year.’ He said to him: ‘Let matters of Torah be burned and not transmitted to women.’ When she departed, his students said to him: ‘Rabbi, that one you rebuffed with a reed;¹⁸³You did not address her question. what do you respond to us?’ Rabbi Berekhya bar Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Anyone for whom there were witnesses and forewarning would be executed by the court; witnesses but no forewarning, would be examined like the sota; no witnesses and no forewarning, would die in the plague. Rav and Levi bar Sisi, both of them said: One who sacrificed, burned incense, or poured libations would be executed by the court. One who clapped, danced, or frolicked would be examined like a sota. One who rejoiced in his heart would die in the plague. “The woman will become a curse among her people” – but her people are well, as they were stricken and the rest were spared.
“And if the woman was not defiled, and she is pure, she will be absolved and will conceive offspring” (Numbers 5:28).
“And if the woman was not defiled” – these were the upright people who drank. “And she is pure” – this is the tribe of Levi. “She will be absolved” – these are the Levites, who merited the sacred service for this, as all their actions were in purity. “And she will conceive offspring [venizre’a zera]” – these are the upright Israelites, whose offspring entered the land, just as it says: “I will sow her [uzratiha] in the land for Me” (Hosea 2:25). The Holy One blessed be He did for them what he said to Abraham: “And this entire land that I said I will give to your descendants, [they shall inherit it forever]” (Exodus 32:13), as it is written after the act of the calf: “The Lord said to Moses: Go, ascend from here […to the land regarding which I swore to Abraham…saying: I will give it to your descendants]” (Exodus 33:1).