Exodus · Chapter 32

The people saw that Moses had delayed in coming down from the mountain, and the people gathered against Aaron and said to him: "Rise up, make for us idols that will go before us, for this man Moses who brought us up from the land of Egypt — we do not know what has become of him."

כי בשש משה [AND WHEN THE PEOPLE SAW] THAT MOSES DELAYED LONG — Understand (בשש as the Targum does, as an expression denoting “lateness”.. Similar are: (Judges 5:28) “[Why is] his chariot so long (בשש) [in coming]?”; (Judges 3:25) “And they waited until it was late (עד בוש)”. For when Moses ascended the mountain he said to them (to the Israelites): at the end of a period of forty days (i. e. on the fortieth day) I shall return during the first six hours of the day (before noon). They thought that the day on which he ascended the mountain (the seventh of Sivan) was to be included in this number (thus — Sivan having 30 days — he was expected back before noon on the sixteenth of Tammuz). In fact, however, he had said to them “after forty days” meaning complete days — forty days, each day together with its night that precedes it — (as is the customary Jewish reckoning; cf. Genesis 1:5: ויהי ערב ויהי בקר). Now, as regards the day of this ascent, its night was not part of it that it can be reckoned as a complete day, for he ascended on the seventh of Sivan early in the morning (cf. Rashi on Exodus 19:3); it follows therefore that the fortieth day really fell on the seventeenth of Tammuz and not as the people had believed on the sixteenth. On the sixteenth of Tammuz Satan came and threw the world into confusion, giving it the appearance of darkness, gloom and disorder that people should say: “Surely Moses is dead, and that is why confusion has come into the world!” He said to them, “Yes, Moses is dead, for six hours (noon) has already come (בשש = בא שש) and he has not returned etc.” — as is related in Treatise Shabbat 89a (cf. Rashi and Tosafot there and Tosafot on Bava Kamma 82a ד"ה כדי). One cannot, however, say that they erred only on account of it being a cloudy day, their mistake consisting in not being able to distinguish between forenoon and afternoon, and that thus they were correct in their supposition that he was to return on the sixteenth of Tammuz; for this assumes that he really returned on the day when they made the calf, but that they were under the impression that noon was past — for, as a matter of fact, Moses did not come down until the following day (the day after they had made the calf), for it is said (v. 6) “And they rose up early in the morrow, and brought up burnt offerings”— and only after wards the Lord said to Moses (v. 7) “Go, go down; for thy people … have corrupted themselves”. אשר ילכו לפנינו [MAKE US GODS] WHICH SHALL GO BEFORE US — They wished to have many gods (the words אלהים is to be taken as plural since the verb ילכו is plural; cf. Sanhedrin 63a). כי זה משה האיש FOR AS FOR THIS MOSES — This Moses implies that Satan showed them something that looked like Moses being carried on a bier in the air high above in the skies (cf. Shabbat 89a). אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים [THAT MAN] THAT BROUGHT US UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, and who used to show us the way we had to go; now that he is dead we need gods which shall go before us.

MAKE US A GOD WHO ‘YEILCHU’ (SHALL GO — in the plural) BEFORE US. “They wished to have many gods. FOR THIS MOSES, THE MAN THAT BROUGHT US UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, and used to show us the way we were to go, WE KNOW NOT WHAT IT BECOME OF HIM. Now we need many gods which shall go before us.” This is Rashi’s language. But his language does not fit [the verse, since Scripture indicates only that they wanted a leader in place of Moses, but not gods]. Rather, this verse is the key to understand the incident of the golden calf, and the thought of those who made it. For it is known that the Israelites did not think that Moses was a god, and that he did for them the signs and wonders through his own power. So what sense is there in their saying, “since Moses is gone from us, we will make ourselves gods?” Moreover, they clearly said, make us, ‘elohim’ who shall go before us — and not a deity who should give them life in this world or in the World to Come. Instead, they wanted another Moses, saying: “Moses, the man who showed us the way from Egypt until now, being in charge of the journeyings at the commandment of the Eternal by the hand of Moses, he is now lost to us; let us make ourselves another Moses who will show us the way at the commandment of the Eternal by his hand.” This is the reason for their mentioning, Moses, the man that brought us up, rather than saying “the G-d who brought them up,” for they needed a man of G-d. You can also understand this matter from Aaron’s answer to Moses our Teacher, when he asked him, What did this people do unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them, to which Aaron replied, And they said unto me: Make us a god etc. And I said unto them: Whosoever hath any gold, let him break it off; so they gave it to me; and I cast it into the fire. Now Aaron was apologizing to Moses and saying to him, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot, and yet here he was speaking as if adding rebellion unto his sin, saying that they asked of him an idol and he made it for them with his hands! So why should Moses’ anger not burn against him! What greater sin than this is there?But the matter is as I have stated, that they did not want the calf to be for them in place of a god who killeth and maketh alive, whom they would take upon themselves to serve as a deity; instead, they wanted to have someone in place of Moses to show them the way. And this was the apology of Aaron. He argued that “they merely told me that I should make them elohim who would go before them in your place, my lord, because they did not know what had happened to you and whether you would return or not. Therefore they needed someone who would show them the way as long as you were not with them, and if perchance you would return they would leave him and follow you as before.” And so indeed it happened, for as soon as the people saw Moses, they immediately left the calf and rejected it, and they allowed him to burn it and scatter its powder upon the water, and...

וירא העם כי בשש משה, The people saw that Moses delayed, etc. The words: "the people 'saw,' refer to their mental eye, of course. Alternatively, we may accept a statement in Shabbat 89 that Satan came and showed them the image of darkness and the picture of Moses lying on a bier, dead. This is why the Torah used the expression וירא העם i.e. that there were circumstances which justified the people thinking Moses had indeed died. Their thinking was reinforced by the arrival of the sixth hour, ב־שש, the hour at which Moses had told them he would return. Had Moses not told them that he would return at noon i.e. "at six hours," no one would have heeded the picture drawn by Satan the swindler. ויקהל העם על אהרון. The people gathered around Aaron. The expression על אהרון needs further analysis. If it had been the people's intention merely to speak to Aaron, the Torah should have written: ויקהל העם ויאמרו אל אהרון, "the people gathered and spoke to Aaron." Perhaps the meaning here is that the people gathered in order to kill Aaron, that they said to him: "get up and make for us a deity or we will kill you." Our sages in Sanhedrin 7 have stated that the people had already killed Chur, and this would reinforce our assumption that the people gathered against Aaron. The reason that the text does not refer explicitly to the killing of Chur is so that this murder should not remain as a permanent memory for all future generations. G'd is protective of the good reputation of the Jewish people, and the only reason He recorded the details of the sin of the golden calf is so that if a community would commit a collective sin in the future they would be encouraged to repent using the fact that G'd forgave the Jewish people the sin of the golden calf as proof that their repentance too would be accepted by Him (compare Avodah Zarah 5). Perhaps the Torah did indeed allude to the killing of Chur in Exodus 24,14 where Chur together with Aaron is reported as having been left in charge of the Jewish people when Moses ascended the Mountain. The fact that Chur's name is not mentioned at this point begs the question of "what has happened to him?" Clearly he had been murdered. This matter is alluded to more forcefully in Jeremiah 2,34: גם בכנפיך נמצאו דם נפשות, אביונים נקיים, "also on your garments is found the life-blood of the innocent poor, etc." as pointed out in Vayikra Rabbah 10,3. According to that Midrash, the people killed Chur because he was unwilling to make an idol for them. The people may have interpreted Chur's unwillingness to comply with their request to make a substitute for Moses as proof that he himself had aspirations to take the place of Moses, i.e. to be the people's intermediary between them and G'd. It is quite possible that Jeremiah 2,35 supports the view that the people who killed Chur considered him guilty of the sin of wanting to take the place of Moses, something that made him guilty of a capital offence in their view. They actually considered a h...

ויקהל העם, “the people assembled;” whenever the expression ויקהל appears and is followed by the word: על, it means: “against,” i.e. it is the Torah’s way of condemning such an assembly. On the other hand, if the word following the word ויקהל, either in the singular or the plural mode is followed by the word אל, this signifies a positive development. Compare Kings I 8,2 where the people assembled around King Solomon to watch the Holy Ark being transported to the newly erected Temple. ויאמרו אליו קום עשה לנו אלוהים, “they said to him (Aaron) arise and make a visual image of G-d!” According to the plain meaning of the text there can be no question that Aaron had no intention to allow the people to revert to idolatry, G-d forbid, or somehow to replace Hashem or His prophet. Moses, while on earth, had frequently been referred to as elohim, either when compared to the creature issuing commands in the name of Hashem to Pharaoh, or as communicating G-d’s law to the people. If Aaron had intended to make an idol, Moses would have had to execute him as a false prophet! Not only that, but how could that “false” prophet subsequently have been appointed as the foremost instrument of securing Israel’s atonement?! Moreover, how could he have become the first priest and all his male offspring became the priests of the whole people? Not only that; We did not find that the Torah charged Aaron with any sin until the events at מי מריבה where Aaron did not stop Moses from striking the rock to produce water. There is not a single sage that ever suggested that G-d would appoint as a prophet someone who would eventually revert to idolatry. There can therefore be no question that what the people demanded of Aaron was not a return to idolatry. The problem had been that Moses had not announced by what date he would return from the Mountain. The reason that he did not do so was simply that he himself had not known when he would return. G-d had told him that He would give him the Tablets, but had not said when. When the people noticed that Moses took an inordinately long time, far longer than a normal person can go without food or drink, they worried that he might have died, in fact they were convinced that he had. They therefore requested from Aaron that he make for them a replacement whose function would be similar to what had been Moses’ function vis a vis Pharaoh, i.e. elohim. The Torah even spelled out what the assembled people had in mind, i.e. כי זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה היה לו, “for this man Moses, who took us out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” In other words: they wanted to replace the Moses the man, not the deity, or semideity. When David in Psalms 106,20 is quoted as having referred to that episode with the words: וימירו את כבודם בתבנית שור אוכל עשב, “they traded their glory for the image of a bull that feeds on grass,” the people had referred to Moses, not to G-d. G-d had performed so many miracles which had been orchestrated by Moses, that they had been quite prepared to prostrate themselves before such a leader. An alternate interpretation: the people asked for a creature that Hashem would use to imbue with His glory, [similar to how He spoke from between the cherubs on the lid of the Holy Ark, the cherubs and their faces of innocent children not being so much different from the golden calf, the principal difference being that no one ever got to see them. Ed.] אשר ילכו לפנינו, “who shall go before us;” in using the plural mode they mistakenly made Aaron a partner of G-d, assuming that he was as experienced in performing miracles as had been Moses, and remembering that Aaron had actually orchestrated a number of the miracles involving the ten plagues. כי זה משה האיש, “for Moses, this man, etc.;” from the manner in which they referred to Moses with the pronoun “this,” although “HE” was not present, we can form an idea of the urgency haste and confused thinking that dominated the people’s mind at that time. We find the word זה used in inappropriate situations on numerous occasions, such as in Kohelet, 7,27, where the author refers to something intangible when he says: ראה זה מצאתי, “see this is what I found, etc.”

וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר, “when the people saw that Moses was tardy in descending from the mountain, etc.” This occurred on the 16th day of Tammuz. How do we arrive at this date? The Torah (Ten Commandments) had been given on the sixth of Sivan seeing that for six days commencing with the first day of Sivan the mountain had been covered in cloud (compare 24,16). On the sixth of these six days the revelation occurred. On the following day Moses ascended the mountain as the Torah wrote: “He (G’d) called to Moses on the seventh day (24,16). He remained there for forty days as we know from 24,18. “Moses remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.” When did all these days come to an end? On the 17th day of Tammuz, seeing Moses had told the people that he would return at the end of forty days at noon (according to Rashi). The people had made a mistake thinking that the day on which Moses ascended the mountain, i.e. the seventh of Sivan, was one of the forty days of which he had spoken. If that had been so, Moses should indeed have returned on the 16th of Tammuz. When the people noticed that by noon on that day Moses had failed to return they thought that someone had detained him and he would not return altogether. The Midrash (Shabbat 89) says that Satan had brought darkness and confusion on to the globe at that time, and that he showed the Israelites an image of Moses lying on a bier. This accounted for the people saying: “arise let us make gods who will go before us, for this man Moses who brought us out from Egypt-we do not know what became of him.” Moses had spoken of 40 whole days not including the day on which he ascended the mountain. Accordingly, the people should not have expected him before the 17th of Tammuz. When the Torah writes (verse 6): “they rose early in the morning,” this was the 17th of Tammuz. It was ממחרת, “on the day after the 16th of Tammuz.” On that day they offered sacrifices to the golden calf. At noon on that day Moses returned and smashed the Tablets. On the day after that, the eighteenth of Tammuz, he burned the golden calf and convicted the people who had actively participated in the cult of the golden calf and commanded the Levites to execute these people. On the nineteenth of the month he ascended the mountain again pleading for forgiveness for the people, remaining there another forty days. He spent the entire period in prayer and pleading with G’d as he himself testified in Deut. 9,25: ”the forty days during which I threw myself down, etc.” These days came to an end on the first day of Ellul. On that same day, after having briefly returned to the camp, Moses ascended the mountain again after having been invited to do so by G’d, (34,2) and remained for forty days. This was in preparation of receiving the second set of Tablets. These forty days came to an end on the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of Tishrei. On that day the sin of the golden calf was finally forgiven; on the day following the day of Atonement the people began bringing their contributions for the building of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was erected on the first day of Nissan following, i.e. close to a whole year after the Exodus. All of this teaches you that the sin of the golden calf preceded the matters described in Parshat Ki Tissa. [The instruction to make sockets for the Tabernacle from the half-shekel contributions which were to atone for that sin would not make sense if the Tabernacle had preceded the sin of the golden calf. Ed.] This is merely another example of the fact that the Torah did not see itself as obliged to report matters in chronological order (compare Tanchuma Ki Tissa 11).

And the people saw that Moses delayed. I have indeed seen that most commentators who approach to explain every hidden matter in the Torah sought to find words of desire to remove from the holy seed of Abraham defamation of lips and evil rumors that came out against them regarding this disgraceful act. For while the king was at his table, my nard gave forth its fragrance. Most commentators agreed to hang the blame on the neck of the mixed multitude who were accustomed to evil, and they were the troublers of Israel and sinned first, and after them Israel also erred. Therefore, for the honor of the entire house of Israel, I saw fit to write briefly the main understanding from most of the commentators’ words, and I will also include things that I have added of my own to settle the precision of the language. I will not set my heart on difficulties and questions found in the matter of this story, for my intention is only to explain the content of the matter to publicize the purity of Israel, and this is its explanation: And the people saw. These were the mixed multitude [erev rav], for everywhere the term “the people” refers to those of lesser stature, as Rashi explained in Parashat Beha’alotcha on the verse And the people were as complainers. That Moses delayed. This was because they knew that they had not left Egypt by God’s command, but rather Moses had brought them up on his own initiative without asking God’s permission, as it is written, Go down, for your people have become corrupt, not “My people.” In contrast, Moses said, Why, O Lord, should Your anger burn against Your people, not “my people.” The mixed multitude feared that if Moses would not return, God would command to expel them from the congregation lest they cause Israel to sin with the idols of Egypt, for converts are as difficult for Israel as a skin affliction (Yevamot 47b). They thought that the reason they had not been expelled until now was out of respect for Moses. Therefore, they devised a scheme to seek another leader in place of Moses, saying for this man Moses, we do not know what has become of him. That is to say, “We do not know wherein his power is so great, for surely he had the image of some star through whose power he led and performed miracles, and we do not know what to do with these images because we do not know what form he possessed.” [They said to Aaron:] “You, his brother, undoubtedly know what that instrument was, therefore we want you to make for us some image that will serve as an intermediary between us and the stars.” Satan misled them by showing them the image of Moses’ bier [suspended] between heaven and earth, suggesting that he had been like an intermediary between heaven and earth. Therefore, they wanted some other intermediary. Our Sages said (Sanhedrin 63a) that they desired many gods, because they did not know which form to choose.

קום עשה לנו אלוהים, ”rise up and make for us gods, etc.” Nachmanides writes that there is no question that the Israelites did not demand or expect Aaron to make idolatrous images for them, as the people most certainly believed in a living G’d Who had taken them out of Egypt, and Who had performed all the miracles for them which the Torah has recorded. It is clear that the Israelites did not for a moment believe that Moses had performed all these miracles on his own. This is why, when referring to Moses, they described him as someone who had led them, “walked in front of us, etc.” Seeing that apparently Moses would not return from the Mountain, they asked for a substitute who, with the guidance of G’d, would henceforth be their guide through the desert still to be traversed before they would come to the land of Canaan. They did not refer to a power which would enable man to live in the here and now as well as in the world of the future. They were fully aware that all the journeys thus far had been על פי ה' ביד משה, ”at the command of Hashem transmitted by Moses.” All they expected of the substitute was that ילכו לפנינו “walk in front of us.” When they referred to Moses having העלנו מארץ מצרים, “raised us up from the land of Egypt,” this is not to be confused with אשר הוצאתנו מארץ מצרים, “who has taken us out of Egypt,” i.e. “who redeemed us from bondage.” It is quite clear from what Aaron answered Moses who had accused him of making a golden image for them, that he had never for a moment understood the people as reverting to idolatry. Otherwise, instead of repeating what the people had said to him as proof of his innocence he would have had to either misquote them or to confess his guilt. Aaron’s reply to Moses’ accusation is most certainly not an apology! On the contrary, if he had been guilty, he would have added more guilt upon himself by his very words. (verses 22-24) If Moses were to return unexpectedly, the people were most certainly prepared to accept his continued leadership, as they proved when no one opposed either Moses’ burning of the golden calf, or the measures he introduced to punish the few people who actually did dance around the calf and revered it as a deity. If the people, i.e. the multitude, had really believed that this calf possessed any divine powers, they most certainly would have protested Moses destroying their deity. It is true that it was Aaron who had produced this calf, not because the people had demanded this particular image, or any other image for that matter. This is what the sages had in mind when they interpreted the people’s wishes as their wanting multiple images, as they had no idea of what to choose. Aaron’s intention was that seeing the people were at Mount Chorev, in a desolate desert, and waste and destruction have traditionally been perceived as originating in the north, (compare Jeremiah 1,14) and Jeremiah did not only refer to the King of Babylonia who threatened the kingdom of Yehudah from the north, something that is clear to all those who read that chapter, Aaron assumed that the spiritually negative forces are strongest in the north, and that is why they are perceived as attacking from the north. He meant to counter this by specifically addressing the G’d of Israel in a festivity aimed in a northerly direction to counter such forces and to harness the spiritually positive forces, as a counterweight, especially seeing that the people would celebrate a festivity in honour of Hashem. He had hoped, by means of the offerings, to transfer the power associated in people’s minds with the astrological symbol ox to the Master of all oxen, i.e. Hashem, and to set in motion celestial forces against this type of idolatry.

אשר ילכו לפנינו, similar to teraphim which were made by means of witchcraft, their purpose being that they should tell their believers how to act in order to obtain their needs.

עשה לנו אלוהים, “make a new Judge for us!” The people saying this to Aaron did not intend for that symbol to be an idol, but to be a supreme judge in lieu of Moses, who they thought had died on the Mountain. This is quite clear from how they justified their request when they said: כי לא כי זה האיש משה אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה היה לו, “for we do not know what has happened to the man Moses, who has brought us out of Egypt.” As far as the verse in Psalms 106,20 is concerned, i.e. וימירו את כבודם בתבנית שור אכל עשב, “they exchanged their glory for the image of a bull that feeds on grass,” that verse refers to Moses as their glory, not to G–d. They had deified Moses as he had performed so many miracles for them. When some of them prostrated themselves before that image (Exodus 32,8) this also referred to the golden calf as a substitute for Moses, not for G–d. It is not to be understood as idol worship, [although onlookers might have thought so. Ed.]

Aaron said to them: "Remove the golden earrings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."

באזני נשיכם [BREAK OFF THE GOLDEN PENDANTS], WHICH ARE IN THE EARS OF YOUR WIVES — Aaron said to himself: women and children have a love for their ornaments; perhaps the matter will be delayed because they will hesitate to give their ornaments, and in the meantime Moses may arrive. They (the men), however, did not wait until the women and children made up their minds but they took the ornaments off themselves (cf. v. 3: they took off the pendants which were in their ears; there is no reference to the pendants belonging to the women) (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 21). פרקו is an imperative plural derived from פרק which is used for the singular, just as בָּרְכוּ is derived from בָּרֵךְ (פרקו and ברכו are both masculine imperative Piel).

PULL OFF THE GOLDEN RINGS. He selected gold and not silver, because gold indicates the attribute of justice, its appearance being as the appearance of fire, just as the Rabbis have said, “gold of parvayim, gold which is like the blood of bullocks.” It is for this reason that the House where the sacrifices were brought was made wholly of gold, as also the altar of incense and the cherubim, and the Rabbis have interpreted [the verses to mean] that “if they made them of silver [and not of gold] they are like gods of silver and gods of gold.” Even the form for the calf they made of gold rather than of silver.

"And he said, 'Remove' [פָּרְקוּ]." On the pattern of בָּרְכוּ, from the heavy-dagesh [Pi'el] conjugation. It was the custom of Egypt to wear rings in their ears, and so it is written concerning the Midianites, for they were Ishmaelites (Judg. 8:24).

ויאמר, "He said, etc." This means that what Aaron said was not what he meant in his heart. פרקו!, "remove!" Aaron referred to the males, i.e. it was an imperative. נזמי הזהב, golden rings; no other gold. אשר באזני נשיכם, "which are in the ears of your wives." They were only to bring the golden earrings actually being worn by their wives at the time, not any rings lying in a box, etc. They were not even to put on these rings in order for their husbands to remove them. Aaron spoke of both "your wives, your sons and your daughters;" Aaron did not want the men to leave their family members while the latter were wearing any golden jewelry at all. He intended to delay the menfolk bringing him all that gold as he expected the wearers to put up resistance. When Aaron said: והביאו, "and bring it," he meant that they should bring him the gold personally, not by means of messengers. He added: אלי, "to me," i.e. not to anyone else. Aaron's reasoning in all this was to prevent a collection of these gold rings which could be accomplished more rapidly than if everybody had to personally bring all the gold rings of his family members to Aaron personally. The people complied with all that Aaron had told them except that they did not bring the earrings of their wives as the latter refused to part with them. The men brought Aaron their own earrings instead as they did not want to hold up the construction of the golden calf (Tanchuma).

פרקו נזמי זהב, “take off the golden rings, etc.” it is clear from the fact that Aaron asked the men to take the jewelry of their wives, that his intentions were perfectly pure. He thought that if he were to suggest anyone of the leaders of the people to take the place of Moses, such a person would not be willing to give up his promotion on the following day when Moses would return and this would result in dissension and possible civil war amongst the people. On the other hand, if he were not to appear to comply with the people’s wishes by doing nothing, they would choose someone, which would lead to immediate dissension among the people. If he were to suggest that he himself would take over Moses’ position, Moses would find this difficult to accept on his return. He therefore decided to play for time, so that no action would be taken pending Moses’ return on the next day, which is what he expected. The problem would therefore resolve itself without any revolutionary changes having been taken. By suggesting that these people bring him the jewelry of their wives, he thought he would gain enough time, as suggested by Rashi. (Rashi suggested that he was sure the women would not be willing to part with their jewelry for such a purpose as making an inanimate object a replacement for Moses.)

“And he said to them, ‘Remove the gold earrings that are in the ears of your wives.’” For he [Aaron] said, perhaps among them there will be misers or women who are particular about their jewelry and will prevent their husbands from giving, but they deceived Aaron and all the people removed the gold earrings that were in their own ears [of the men] and said that they had taken them from the women. And he [Aaron] formed it with an engraving tool and threw it into the fire to melt it, as Aaron said to Moses, And I cast it into the fire, and this calf emerged. And without a doubt he told him the truth, and Aaron told them that after melting it, he would make a form for them, and his intention was that to produce a finished item, the goldsmith would need to work on it for at least a day or two, and he thought that during this time Moses would return. But the mixed multitude used sorcery to make this calf emerge by itself, and Aaron did not make it. And as for what is written, and he made it into a molten calf, since he was involved in melting the gold, the verse regards him as if he had made it. And the proof is that it says, And he took the calf which they had made, and not which he had made.

פרקו נזמי הזהב, “remove the rings of gold, etc.” Aaron selected gold and no other material,l seeing that the appearance of gold is reminiscent of the Attribute of Justice, something symbolized by fire. This is also the reason why all the furnishings in the Sanctuary were constructed of gold, as well as the altar for incense in the inner Sanctum. The likeness of the calf being made of gold, therefore resembled fire more than silver would have done.

!פקרקו, “break off!” Aaron gave this instruction with noble intent; he had reasoned that if he suggested that they should appoint either Calev or Nachshon as Moses’ successor, and the people would proceed to crown either one of the two men, as soon as Moses would return they would demote the new King and there would likely be a civil war. If he were to refuse outright to take any action, they would most likely choose their own new leader, this would certainly lead to great strife among the people. If he himself would offer himself as Moses’ substitute, this would not find favour in the eyes of Moses, who, he was sure, would return. He therefore temporised, playing for time, hoping that before any permanent damage could be done Moses would have returned. He was certain in his own mind that the Israelite women would refuse to part with their personal jewelry for the scheme he appeared to have suggested.

All the people removed the golden earrings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

ויתפרקו AND [ALL THE PEOPLE] BRAKE OFF — פרק is a term denoting “unloading a burden”. Being a transitive verb one would expect ויפרקו instead of the reflexive form ויפרקו but when they took them (the pendants) off their ears they themselves became unloaded from their pendants and therefore ויתפרקו “they unloaded themselves”, is the appropriate word to use; décharger in old French, English discharge. את נזמי is the same as מנזמי, (they unloaded themselves from their pendants), (את having the same meaning as מן), similar to (Exodus 9:29) “As soon as I am gone out את העיר”, which means מן העיר, from the city.

"And they removed, which were in their ears" — the ears of the sons and daughters and wives mentioned above.

And their wives denied themselves to give their ornaments to their husbands; and all the people at once delivered up the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aharon.

He took them from their hands, fashioned it with a stylus, and made it into a molten calf. They said: "These are your idols, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

ויצר אתו בחרט — One can translate this in two ways. The one is: to take ויצר in the sense of “tying up” (Hiphil of צרר) and בחרט in the sense of “a garment”, similar to (Isaiah 3:22) “and the mantles and the scarfs (והחריטים)”; (2 Kings 5:23) “and bound (ויצר) two talents of silver in two cloths (חריטים)”. The other way is: to take ויצר in the sense of “forming figures” (Hiphil of צור) and חרם as denoting goldsmiths’ tool with which they engrave and cut figures into gold, like a writer’s stylus that incises letters on boards and tablets, as we find it in, (Isaiah 8:1) ‘‘[Take a great roll] and write on it with a man’s pen (חרט)”. This (the second explanation) is what Onkelos means when he renders the passage by וצר יתיה בזיפא and he formed it with a “זיפא”, a term which is connected with the word זיוף “forgery”. It is a tool with which letters and modelled figures are engraved in gold — a kind of work which they term niel in old French (cf. Rashi and our Note on Exodus 25:33), and by means of which seals are forged (מזיפין). עגל מסכה A MOLTEN CALF — As soon as he (Aaron) had thrown it (the gold) into the fire in a melting pot the magicians amongst the mixed multitude who had come up with them from Egypt came and made it (the golden calf) by their magic art. There are some who say that Micah the idolator mentioned in Judges ch. 17, was there, who had been drawn forth from the foundations of a building in Egypt where he was nearly crushed. He had in his possession a “supernatural name” (שם) and a plate upon which Moses had written: “Come up, ox, come up, ox!” in order to raise the coffin of Joseph who is compared to an ox (cf. Deuteronomy 33:17) out of the Nile, and he cast it (the plate) into the melting pot and the calf (the young ox) came out (ויצא העגל הזה) (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 19). מסכה MOLTEN is a term connected with מתכת, molten metal (ס and ת being interchanged in these words). Another explanation is: there were used in it (for making the golden calf) 125 talents of gold, corresponding to the numerical value of מסכה, which is 125 (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 19). אלה אלהיך THESE ARE THY GODS, [O ISRAEL] — It does not state that they said “these are our gods, [O Israel]”; hence we may learn that it was the mixed multitude which came up from Egypt that gathered themselves together against Aaron, and it was they who made it and afterwards led Israel astray after it (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 19).

AND THEY SAID, THESE ARE THY GODS, O ISRAEL, WHICH BROUGHT THEE UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT. This verse also will teach you [that they had no intention of worshipping it as an idol], for there is no fool in the world who would think that this gold which was in their ears is that which brought them up out of the land of Egypt. Rather, they said that the power of that figure brought them up out of there. Thus you will find that in no place does it say of the calf, “which brought us ‘out’ of Egypt,” for they acknowledged Him Who said, I am the Eternal thy G-d, who brought thee ‘out’ of the land of Egypt, and that it was by His Great Name that He delivered them from there. Instead, they said in many places who brought thee ‘up,’ for they took it to be in place of the great hand — that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over. It is with this intention that Scripture says, Thus they exchanged their Glory for the likeness of an ox that eateth grass, and there it is said, They forgot G-d Who had delivered them, Who had done great things in Egypt; wondrous works in the land of Ham, terrible things by the Red Sea. They forgot His word which He commanded them. Thus they transgressed the prohibition, Thou shalt have no other gods before Me, as I have hinted there, and you will understand this.

"And he took from their hands, and fashioned it" [וַיָּצַר]. This is from the root meaning 'form/shape,' as in 'and he fashioned the two pillars' (1 Kgs. 7:15). The word בְּחֶרֶט means 'likeness' or 'image,' and similarly בְּחֶרֶט אֱנוֹשׁ (Isa. 8:1) means 'in the form of a man.' There is no reason to derive it from הַחֲרִיטִים [the purses/satchels] (Isa. 3:22). "A molten image" [מַסֵּכָה] — a casting, as in 'the craftsman melts the idol' (Isa. 40:19).

אלה אלוהיך ישראל, these will serve henceforth as your elohim, for you to address in your prayers for all your needs; you will serve them in order to obtain your needs.

ויעשהו עגל, "he made it into a calf." The calf is described as the work of Aaron not because he meant to make it but because he was the instrument which caused the calf to emerge. We hear about this clearly in verse 24 where Aaron describes what happened with the words: "this calf emerged (from the crucible)." It is also possible that the making of the calf was attributed to Aaron because he accepted the gold from the contributors in his hands without first depositing it on the ground which would have deprived it of the magical quality which resulted in it emerging in the shape of a calf (Zohar volume 2 page 192). ויאמרו אלה אלוהיך ישראל אשר העלוך מארץ מצרים, They said: "these are your gods Israel which brought you up from the land of Egypt." At first glance the foolishness of this statement is so colossal that one cannot perceive of anyone taking it seriously. How can our sages who characterised this generation of Israelites as the דור דעה, "the generation endowed with superior knowledge," reconcile such a characterisation with the statement in front of us? Even if we accept a comment in Tanchuma according to which the calf was perceived as able to speak through some magic formula employed by the sorcerers amongst the mixed multitude, how could anyone fall for such a blatant lie as "these are the gods which have brought you up out of Egypt?" We are therefore forced to conclude that the makers (initiators) of this golden calf did not mean for the Israelites to worship and prostrate themselves to anyone but the one who had truly taken them out of Egypt; the statement reported here only prepared the ground for making a deity out of the calf. The initiators indicated that they worshiped an all-embracing G'd and that the calf was merely part of that greater "whole." It was the part which would "walk in front of them," i.e. be the visible reminder of the Power which had delivered them from bondage. They did not consider making an inert golden calf into such a symbol as anything strange at all. On the contrary, inasmuch as even the "ideal" intermediary Moses had proved to be transient, mortal (according to their perception at the time), they decided to use the most precious and enduring symbol in the future, i.e. the golden calf. According to their reasoning every human being is composed of both matter and spirit, the spirit returning to its Maker at some time or other. In order not to risk losing such a go-between once more, they thought that the golden calf was a superior intermediary between them and their G'd. They actually believed that by means of the enduring nature of gold they could attract G'd's Presence on a permanent and enduring basis. The last thing they had on their minds was to uproot the first of the Ten Commandments in which the G'd in Heaven proclaimed Himself as their G'd and Redeemer. When they spoke about אלה, "These," they made sure that they did not exclude G'd in Heaven. Possibly, they used the expression העלוך "they brought...

ויצר אותו, “he shaped it,” the expression יצר, used by the Torah here to describe what Aaron did with the golden jewelry he had received, is based on the word: צרר, “to make a bundle of something, to treat it indiscriminately, or to compress it.” The author uses Proverbs 7,20 and Kings II 5,23 as parallels and bases himself on the commentary of Rash’bam. ויעשהו, “he made it into the shape of a calf.” He did not select a different creature, seeing that the mixed multitude that had joined the Jewish bandwagon at the Exodus had been the first to gang up on him, demanding a replacement for Moses. They had heard Moses sing after the splitting of the sea: זה אלי ואנוהו, “this is My G-d and I will enshrine Him!” They had only seen the feet of the angels surrounding G-d’s throne, feet which looked like the feet of a calf. They had mistakenly assumed that what they had seen were the footprints of G-d which had the appearance of calves’ feet. This is also why the psalmist in Psalms 77,20 writes: “Your way was through the sea, Your path through the mighty waters; Your tracks could be seen.” They had mistaken the footprints of the angels for the footprints of G-d Himself. ויאמרו אלה אלוהיך ישראל, they said: “these are your gods o Israel;” is it conceivable that these fellow travelers were so foolish as to credit a newly cast golden calf as having orchestrated the Exodus which had occurred 3 months before that calf had been cast in gold? The sorcerers among the mixed multitude were able to create the illusion that some deity is speaking from their mouth. They now created the illusion that this calf had addressed them from its mouth, and that it was far superior to any Egyptian deity as it was made of pure gold, so that what came forth from such a mouth must be sacred. The fact that they did not say: “these are our gods who have taken us out of Egypt, is evidence that the Israelites had never become guilty of worshipping the calf with words such as these. Nonetheless, the whole people at this point were being tested by G-d as to their sincere belief in a G-d Who is and remains unseen and devoid of tangible dimensions. In the Book of Deuteronomy, 40 years later, Moses still warns the people of such tests by G-d when he refers to prophets who try to legitimize themselves by working miracles and predicting matters which will come true though no one else had even dreamt of such things. (Deut. 13,26)

ויעשהו עגל מסכה, “he made it into a calf cast of gold.” Nachmanides writes that the fact that the mass of gold emerged in the shape of a calf was Aaron’s doing as the people had merely demanded: ”arise, make for us a deity, etc.” They had neither stipulated that the cast symbol be an ox, a sheep, or a goat. Aaron’s considerations in deciding to make a calf were based on the fact that the Israelites were in a desolate desert, and desolation and disaster are always perceived as emanating from the north (compare Jeremiah 1,14: ‘for from the north disaster will break loose’). When Jeremiah made this statement he did not only have in mind the impending invasion by the Babylonians who were situated north of the land of Yehudah. That this is true is evident from the text of that chapter seeing that in verse 15 G’d speaks about “summoning all the peoples from all the kingdoms of the north.” This is merely a symbolic way of telling us that the attribute of Justice always comes from the north to bring retribution upon the peoples of the earth in proportion to their wickedness. When you consider the visions Ezekiel saw when he portrayed for us the מעשה מרכבה in the first chapter of his book, you will find described that the face of the ox was on the left of the four chayot he saw (Ezekiel 1,10). Aaron believed that seeing that destructive forces emanate from the north and the calf symbolizes destructive forces, if, on the morrow, as he suggested, the people would declare a holiday dedicated to Hashem (verse 5), this would be a way to ward off evil and harmful influences. He hoped, as described in Isaiah 32,15 where the prophet describes a desolate place turning into a beautiful mountain like Mount Carmel, that spiritually negative forces could be sublimated into spiritually positive forces. After all, at this very Mount Chorev, his brother Moses had first become imbued with prophetic insights and had developed into the outstanding personality he had become. Our sages in Shemot Rabbah 3,3-42,8-and 15,9 have taught us the mystical dimension of all this when they commented on Exodus 3,7 where G’d told Moses ראה ראיתי את-עני עמי, “I have most certainly seen the afflictions suffered by My people in Egypt.” The Midrash quotes G’d as saying to Moses: “you Moses see only one single instance of such an affliction of the Jewish people; I, G’d see two such “afflictions” (this is why the words ראה ראיתי were repeated). “You, Moses, see the people arriving at Mount Sinai and accepting My Torah, I on the other hand, can see how when I am about to give them this Torah they have many thoughts so that they even upset one of the four supports of My מרכבה, “My carriage,” so that they cause Me to become angry at them. (The Midrash quotes Ezekiel 1,10 and Psalms 68,18 in support of its illustrations). The word טטרא used there in the Midrash when it speaks about מטטרראמולין to describe a carriage drawn by four animals, (mules) means “four.” It is a reference to the four animals which Ezekiel saw in his vision, i.e. the מרכבה, the carriage transporting the glory of the Lord. Thus far the Midrash. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra claims that the word אלוהים in this instance (the one in verses 5 and 1) means that they wanted the attribute כבוד of G’d to rest in a stationary position in the form of a body, as a symbol of G’d’s Presence amongst them. If you will reflect on the first journey of the people in chapter 14,19 where the Torah describes the מלאך האלוהים which traveled first in front of the camp of the Israelites and afterwards behind them, you will understand the true nature of the people’s request. The stationary columns of cloud or fire were described as מלאך אלהים. [I have found this Ibn Ezra in his introduction to the episode of the golden calf. Ed.] Nachmanides disagrees with the Ibn Ezra he just quoted, seeing that none of the other reproductions of zodiac signs portrayed the golden calf as reposing. Thus far Nachmanides. The truth is that the whole point of making the golden calf was not to duplicate what the idolaters who construct a lifeless form do when they hope to imbue this lifeless stature or hewn image with some spirit and powers of prophecy. These idolaters expect the creation of their hands to have some form of life breathed into them by their counterparts in the cosmos, much as they imagined the first man to have had life breathed into him. When Aaron constructed the golden calf he intended for it to be a body which would receive divine input from the angel Mattatron, the one in charge of the universe and the powers assigned to the planets and their constellations in the sky. He thought in terms of the ox which is one of the four “animal-like faces” (concepts) supporting the throne (carriage) of G’d. He assumed that such insights would be provided by the ox seeing it is on the left side of the מרכבה, and it would show the Israelites the way so that it would counteract the negative northern influences. [The journey of the Israelites towards the Holy Land took them straight north. Ed.] At that time the Israelites found themselves within the domain of the planet Mars (as Pharaoh had already warned them about, see Exodus 10,10 compare Rashi). That planet derives all its celestial input from the attribute of Justice. Aaron hoped that just as the Israelites had been guided under the leadership of Moses by the attribute of Justice, so now, under the auspices of that attribute the Israelites would continue to receive celestial guidance. The calf merely symbolized which attribute of the מרכבה would guide the people. He misunderstood such verses as על פי ה’ ביד משה at the command of G’d by means of Moses (Numbers 9,23), as being something that could also apply to על פי ה’ ביד העגל, “at the command of the Lord by means of the ox.”. Aaron’s fatal error was to build an altar in front of this calf. Seeing he announced that the celebration on the following day would be in honor of Hashem (only), he had not become guilty of an act of idolatry by building this altar. You have to realise that when the Israelites said: “these are your gods O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt,” there would have been nothing wrong with this if what they had in mind had been the same as what Aaron had in mind when making the calf. After all, we have already explained that Exodus 14,19 accorded the title “elohim” to a column of cloud and a column of fire; there was therefore nothing inherently wrong in the use of the word אלוהים or אלוהיך. The sin was prostrating oneself in front of such a symbol and in offering sacrifices to it (verse 8). Aaron’s intention had been that the calf, while representing the attribute of Justice, would not be removed from the domain of Hashem at all. The Israelites reversed what he had had in mind and turned the “body” of the calf into an independent deity by offering sacrifices to it and prostrating themselves in front of it. This is what the psalmist Psalms 106,20 had in mind when he wrote: “they exchanged their glory (G’d’s attribute כבוד) for the image of a bull that feeds on grass.” Aaron also explained to Moses in answer to his question that when he said: “I told them that whoever has gold?” “They removed it from themselves and I threw it into the crucible and there emerged this calf.” Aaron implied that his intention had been to address the attribute of Justice. Only in retrospect did it become clear that the people’s intention had been to idolise this calf, to prostrate themselves in front of it, and to offer sacrifices to it (based on 32,24). All of this was the reverse of what my intentions had been, i.e. to assure their continued support by the attribute of Justice.” Keeping this in mind there is no room for the question why Aaron chose gold rather than silver as the metal the people were supposed to bring him. Gold represents the attribute of Justice [compare author’s comments on 25,24 my translation page 1253] as its appearance resembles that of fire. Our sages (Yuma 45) said that the word Parvayim in Chronicles II 3,6 means that the gold came from a place called Parvayim, so called as its gold was similar in colour to the blood of bulls. The house in which the sacrifices were prepared (Solomon’s Temple) was all of gold as well as the altar of incense and the cherubs. The Mechilta Bachodesh, section 10 explains that if they had made parts of the Temple out of silver, this would have looked too similar to making deities of silver and gold, something prohibited expressly (see our author’s comment on 25,24.) A Midrashic approach of the words ויעשהו עגל מסכה, (based on Tanchuma Ki Tissa 19): as soon as Aaron threw the gold into the crucible, the sorcerers amongst the recent converts came and used their tricks to ensure that what would emerge from the crucible would be a calf. Others say that a certain Michah who had been saved at Moses’s insistence as a baby when he was already in the form of a mud brick intended to substitute for a shortfall in the number of bricks produced by the Israelites on that day was to blame for the emergence of the calf. According to the Talmud, when Moses complained about the injustice of an innocent baby being killed, G’d taught him a lesson no to second-guess His wisdom. After sparing the baby’s life, Moses adopted him and he followed him everywhere. At the time of the Exodus when Moses could not find the coffin of Joseph and he threw a parchment with the holy name of G’d plus the words “arise ox” (a name applied to Joseph by his father) inscribed upon it into the river Nile, the coffin floated up. The boy [he must have been at least 60 by then] Michah dived into the river and retrieved this parchment. Now, after Aaron had thrown the gold into the furnace, this Michah threw in the parchment with the words עלה שור, signed with the tetragram into he crucible; thereupon the golden calf emerged from the crucible. After seeing this miracle, the Israelites who had observed it began to chant: “these are your gods O Israel.” I have found in Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 45 that Aaron found amongst the golden jewelry contributed by the people a headband on which the tetragrammaton had been inscribed. It also had engraved on it the likeness of a calf. According to Rabbi Eliezer this was the only piece of gold Aaron threw into the crucible. He based himself on the fact that the Torah did not quote Aaron as saying ואשליכם באש, “and I threw them (the contributions of golden jewelry) into the fire, but he said: ואשליכהו באש, I threw it into the fire (verse 24). When the Israelites witnessed a golden calf emerging, this was perceived as a miracle especially since the calf was heard to low, to moo, and this is why they mistakenly ascribed prophetic or divine powers to this golden calf. Rabbi Yehudah said that Samael entered the calf and lowed, making the Israelites think that the calf itself was capable of mooing and therefore was alive. He bases himself on the verse in Isaiah 1,3 that “every ox knows its owner,” i.e. that every creature acknowledges its Creator by its mouth. Thus far Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer. אלה אלוהיך ישראל, “these are your gods O Israel” Our sages in Sanhedrin 63 derive from this that these Israelites strove to have many deities. They derive this from the word אלה “these,” instead of זה, “this,” if they had referred only to the golden calf. We do indeed find the latter expression in Nechemyah 9,18: זה אלוהיך אשר העלוך ממצרים, “this is your god who took you out of Egypt.”

“And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, etc.’” From here is proof that the mixed multitude said this to Israel, for how could one Israelite say to another These are your gods, O Israel — is he himself not an Israelite? Rather, it is certain that the mixed multitude said this to Israel. And their desire to mislead them specifically with the image of a bull — we have already explained that it was because they saw that the Israelites loved silver and gold, which they knew from the spoils of Egypt and the spoils of the sea. Therefore, they said that Israel would choose this form because from it come the wellsprings of gold, as explained above. This explains what is written here: who brought you up from the land of Egypt, whereas Moses said, Why, O Lord, does Your anger burn against Your people whom You brought out from the land of Egypt. This is because brought you up can also mean elevation and greatness, as they were saying that all the elevation of Israel, who became wealthy with silver and gold, was all from Egypt, and from Egypt’s wealth they made all this glory. The mixed multitude claimed that it was through the power of the bull constellation that “you achieved all this wealth, that you were elevated from the possessions of the land of Egypt.”According to what we wrote above, that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, Go down, for your people have become corrupt — referring to the mixed multitude — it seems appropriate to explain why He said whom you brought up from the land of Egypt. It was because through this journey they were elevated above the rest of the Egyptians. But for Israel, this was not an elevation. Therefore, Moses said, Why, O Lord, does Your anger burn against Your people whom You brought out from the land of Egypt. Furthermore, since the Israelites were like prisoners in Egypt, the term “bringing out” is appropriate for them, unlike for the mixed multitude. And some say that this error came to them, because Israel could not leave Egypt unless Joseph’s ark went with them because of the oath, and Moses took a plate and engraved on it Rise up, ox! Rise up, ox! and threw it into the Nile. Therefore, the mixed multitude thought that their ascent from Egypt was dependent on Joseph, who is called firstborn ox, and he is called firstborn ox because all his power was drawn from the constellation of Taurus. They thought that this was why Moses took Joseph’s bones with him, because he brought them up from Egypt through the power of the Taurus constellation combined with Moses’ power, and this is [the meaning of] who brought you up in plural form.

אלה אלוהיך ישראל אשר העלוך, “these are your leaders o Israel that have led you out of Egypt.” These words of the onlookers are further proof that the golden calf was not intended to serve as a deity, as there could not have been any person foolish enough to credit the gold from their earrings with having orchestrated the Exodus from Egypt. What the people meant was that the mystical power represented by gold in the present shape was the major factor which had enabled Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Never, in connection with the golden calf, did any part of the people ever say the words אשר הוציאוך ממצרים, “who have initiated your departure from Egypt,” a formulation which would have credited the golden calf with divine powers. They only credited the power inherent in this gold as facilitating the auxiliary aspects of the Exodus, such as drying out the bed of the sea through which the Israelites walked when crossing the Sea of Reeds.

ויצר אותו בחרט. Aaron took the gold from someone else, tied it all together in a cloth where he squeezed it together until they made a mould such as used to shape wax or soft clay. The makers of the mould recessed the shape of a calf in the bottom of the mould. Afterwards, the gold was thrown into this mould. Once it had melted in the crucible into which the mould was placed, the gold had assumed the shape of a calf when retrieved from the crucible after it had cooled. (verse 24) A similar procedure is described in Kings II 5,23 [this interpretation of that verse by our author is most unusual. Ed.] אלה אלוהיך ישראל אשר העלוך, were the Israelites all idiots that they would accept such a statement? Had they not all experienced the miracles performed by the G’d of Israel only less than 3 months ago? The declaration is to be understood as based on the premise subscribed to by most idolaters that while it is true that there is a G’d in heaven Who had created the universe, the teraphim were held to possess divine powers, exercising same just as did the prophets who performed miracles. The former were agents of spiritually negative forces, known in our parlance as רוח הטומאה, the prophets performed their miracles by invoking the spiritually positive forces, G’d in heaven. The people who had made the golden calf, or who had seen it emerge from the mould, proclaimed that the same force which had produced the golden calf had also been instrumental in freeing the Jewish people from the enslavement by the Egyptians. They implied that such teraphim may sometimes be the embodiment of holy spirit, other times of Satan’s spirit. They insisted that seeing that the calf had materialised at the time when the Jewish people were in need of a replacement for Moses, this was proof that it was a replacement for Moses, and if they would now carry the golden calf in front of them, or have it walk in front of them, this would be equivalent having the holy spirit walking ahead of them. [I fleshed out the author’s words. Ed.] We know that Lavan (Genesis 31,30) accused Yaakov of having stolen his “gods” which was the description he gave to his “teraphim.” He himself had admitted that Yaakov’s G’d had enriched him, and yet for himself he paid heed to these teraphim. If G’d allowed the spiritually negative forces to appear as possessing divine powers, He did so in order to test the loyalty of the Jewish people who had been warned not to have any truck with witchcraft or those who practiced this art. Moses spells all this out in Deuteronomy 13,4. The prohibition against אוב, ידעוני, and a variety of different demonic and other sorcery performing spirits has been repeated in the Torah several times. Loyalty of the people to their G’d can be proven only when alternative sources of what one desires are offered or appear as being offered.

ויצר אותו, “he fashioned it with a graving tool.” He kept experimenting with different shapes, hoping all the time that Moses would come back. Everything he did was motivated by an attempt to preserve the glory of the Lord. This is clearly hinted at in the remarks of the last of the prophets, Malachi, who in Malachi 2,7 refers to Aaron in the following words: כי שפתי כהן ישמרו דעת ותורה יבקשו מפיהו כי מלאך ה' צבא-ות הוא, “for the lips of the priest guard knowledge, and men seek rulings from his mouth, for he is a Messenger of the Lord of Hosts.” It is also written there in verse 6: ורבים השיב מעון, “and he prevented many from becoming guilty of trespasses." [At the beginning of that chapter the prophet had referred to the person he was describing as the model Levite, clearly none other than Aaron who was appointed High priest seven months after the episode described in our portion. Ed.] If the Israelites had killed Aaron there would have been no possible way for them to become rehabilitated as they would have been guilty of what is described in Lamentations 2,20: אם יהרג במקדש כהן ונביא, ”alas priest and prophet are slain in the Sanctuary of the Lord.”

Aaron saw and built an altar before it, and Aaron called out and said: "A feast before Hashem tomorrow."

וירא אהרן AND WHEN AARON SAW that there was the breath of life in it — as it is said with reference to the golden calf, (Psalms 106:20) “[They changed their glory] into a similitude of an ox that ate grass” — and he realized that Satan’s work had succeeded and that he had no argument (lit., mouth) to put them (the people) entirely off. ויבן מזבח HE BUILDED AN ALTAR to put them off. ויקרא חג לה׳ מחר AND CALLED OUT … TO-MORROW IS A FESTIVAL TO THE LORD — to-morrow, not to-day, for he hoped that Moses might return before they would worship it (the calf). This is the plain meaning of the verse. The Midrashic explanation of it in Leviticus Rabbah 10:3 (— it supplies an object to the verb וירא —) is: Aaron saw many things; he saw Hur, his sister’s son, who had reprimanded them, and whom they had killed. This is the meaning of ויבן מזבח, viz., וַיָבֶן, he realized (taking the word as from the root בון, to understand, to realize) מִזָּבוּחַ לפניו from him who lay slaughtered before him (מזבח is vowelled to be read as מִזָּבוּחַ) what would happen to him if he offered resistance. A further explanation of וירא אהרן in the Midrash is: He saw what the situation was and said: It is better that the offence should attach itself to me than to them. And yet a further Midrashic explanation of וירא is: He looked into the matter and said: If they build this altar themselves, one will bring a clod and another a stone and the result will be that their work will be accomplished all at once; through myself building it and being dilatory in my work, in the meantime Moses may come. חג לה׳ A FESTIVAL TO THE LORD — not to the golden calf. In his heart it (the feast) was for Heaven (the Lord). He felt confident that Moses would return by the morrow and that they would worship the Omnipresent (Leviticus Rabbah 10:3).

AND AARON SAW. The meaning of this verse is that Aaron saw them set on evil, intent upon making the calf, and he arose and built an altar and proclaimed, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Eternal, so that they should bring offerings to the Proper Name of G-d upon the altar which he built to His Name, and that they should not build altars to the shameful thing, and that their intent in the offerings should be [to none] save unto the Eternal only. It is possible that Aaron said, Tomorrow [shall be a feast], in order to delay them, thinking that perhaps Moses would come in the meantime and they would abandon the calf. But they rose up early in the morning and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings. Now Scripture does not say “and they offered burnt-offerings to it, and brought peace-offerings to it.” The reason for that is that there were some people amongst them who intended them to be for the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, as Aaron had said, but some of them became corrupted and sacrificed them to the calf. It is with reference to this latter group that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, they have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, for it is they who were the sinners. And even if it was perhaps Aaron who performed the sacrifical rites, Scripture used an indefinite expression — saying, they offered burnt-offerings and brought peace-offerings — in order to suggest that Aaron’s intention was directed towards the Name of the Eternal, whilst they set their mind towards the calf which they had made, and thus the owners [of the sacrifices] invalidated them.

"And Aaron saw" — inwardly, as in 'and I myself saw' (Eccl. 2:13), meaning in my heart; likewise, 'and Jacob saw that there was grain' (Gen. 42:1).

חג לה' מחר. So that you will not mix the joy of serving the Lord with any other kind of joy.

וירא אהרון, And Aaron saw, etc. He "saw" something amazing; although he had only thrown gold into the fire, a calf emerged. ויבן מזבח לפניו, he erected an altar in front of it, etc. It is noteworthy that the Torah did not write: ויבן לפניו מזבח. Had the Torah used the sequence of words we just mentioned this would have indicated that Aaron built the altar in the golden calf's honour. As it is the proximity of the golden calf to the altar Aaron built was purely incidental. Aaron's intention was totally Heaven-oriented. According to the Zohar volume 2 page 193, Aaron erected the altar in order to hold on to it so that the people should not be able to drag him away from there and execute him. The Torah legislated that [normally, when the crime of the accused had not been murder, Ed] the altar serves as a refuge for someone who is guilty of legal execution. While the guilty person holds on to it the messengers of the court cannot violate the sanctity of the altar in order to carry out the court's verdict. חג לה׳ מחר, "To-morrow shall be a feast for the Lord." Aaron's intention was simply to stall the people and to gain time until Moses would return and control the situation. By using the Ineffable Name, Aaron had made it plain that he meant for the feast to be in honour of the One and Only G'd. He did not expect the Israelites to disagree as we pointed out already that no one had dared to deny the primacy of the G'd who had introduced Himself at the revelation at Mount Sinai as "I am the Lord Who has has taken you out of Egypt." All the people wanted was to take "part" of that G'd and look at it as a symbol of the invisible Lord in Heaven.

וירא אהרן, “Aaron saw;” Aaron now realised the error the people had made and became afraid that as soon as they would realise that this golden calf could never be of any help to them, so that they would insist on appointing one of their midst as Moses’ successor; this spelled potential disaster. Therefore he proceeded to build an altar, ostensibly before that calf, in order to make the people believe that he was taking steps to worship the golden calf. חג לה' מחר, “there will be a feast for Hashem tomorrow!” He meant that on the following day they would celebrate the new leader that G-d had given them. In the meantime, he stalled the people with words.

וירא אהרן, “Aaron saw.” The reason the Torah does not specify what he saw is that he saw many things. One of the things he saw was that Chur, the son of Miriam had already been murdered (for trying to stop the people from worshipping the calf). ויבן מזבח לפניו, “he built an altar in front of it.” He realised that someone had already been slaughtered before this calf (Chur). Perhaps Aaron was afraid that if he too were to allow himself to become a martyr, all of the Israelites would become guilty of death. We have a verse in Lamentations 2,2 אם יהרוג במקדש ה’ כהן ונביא, “if a priest and (or) prophet were to be killed in the Sanctuary,” which suggests that this is the ultimate crime. He preferred to personally shoulder the guilt than have all the people become guilty. Another consideration which might have accounted for Aaron’s conduct is that during the time it would take to build the altar, each Israelite bringing a stone, this would be accomplished very quickly. By undertaking to do the building himself he was stalling for time hoping that Moses would show up before too much spiritual damage had been done (compare Rashi). Still another reason prompting Aaron to act as he did was the fact that legally speaking the building of the altar was not something forbidden on pain of death requiring one to become a martyr rather than to respond to pressure. The prohibition to build such an altar per se is only in the order of the average negative commandment, possibly carrying a penalty of 39 lashes if performed with negative intent. The operative verse in the Torah is only “do not make for yourself a hewn image;” Aaron certainly did not make it for himself nor with intent to sacrifice to an idol.

And Aaron saw. Because the work of Satan had succeeded, he thought to delay them with the building of an altar, for he said that it would not be appropriate to sacrifice to it without an altar. And he proclaimed a festival to the Lord tomorrow, not to the calf, but rather to the Lord, because he thought that Moses would certainly come tomorrow. But Satan hastened them, so that they rose early the next day and did not wait a few hours into the day, and they offered burnt offerings and arose to make merry [letzachek]. Our Sages of blessed memory expounded (Tanchuma Ki Tisa 20) that this alludes to sexual immorality and bloodshed. But it seems to me that since it says letzachek [to make merry/joke], and not “vayitzachaku” [and they made merry/joked], we can infer that there was not actual sexual immorality and bloodshed, but rather, because they transgressed I am [the Lord your God] and You shall have no [other gods], it was as if they had transgressed You shall not murder and You shall not commit adultery. For the commandments were five opposite five: You shall not murder corresponding to I am, and You shall not commit adultery corresponding to You shall have no [other gods]. Therefore it says letzachek, because they transgressed I am and You shall have no [other gods], which also lead to the “amusement” of sexual immorality and bloodshed, for whoever does this [idolatry] will fall into those [sins].

וירא אהרן, “now Aaron realized, etc.” The Torah did not complete the sentence about what it was that Aaron “saw,” i.e. that the people were bent on crediting the golden calf with much more than he had thought at first. In order to head off a major spiritual and subsequently physical disaster, Aaron now proclaimed the following day as a festival in honour of Hashem, and he proceeded to build an altar to accommodate the offerings to Hashem which he intended to sacrifice at that feast. By doing this he felt he would forestall people building altars on which they would offer sacrifices to this golden image of a calf. By temporizing he felt and hoped that Moses would return from the Mountain before a calamity would occur. However, seeing the people on whose behalf he was going to offer these sacrifices intended them for the golden calf, they would have turned them into פיגול unacceptable sacrifices. At any rate, the people preempted Aaron early on the following morning.

וירא אהרן, “when Aaron saw, (realised), etc.” the people had misinterpreted the apparent ability of this golden calf to speak; he was afraid that they might kill him (for having made an idol) and he built an altar for the Lord on which offerings would be offered on the morrow, by which time he thought Moses would surely have returned. According to our author, we find that the prophet Samuel when pressured to anoint a king for the people resorted to a similar stratagem in Samuel I 11,14, when he suggested that he would meet their request on the following day. [This comparison is invalid, as the prophet Samuel had consulted with G–d about how to deal with the people’s demand. Ed.]

They rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices, and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to revel.

וישכימו AND THEY ROSE UP EARLY [IN THE MORNING] — Satan made them zealous in order that they might sin, for later on in the forenoon Moses actually came down from the mountain. לצחק TO PLAY — There is implied in this term besides idolatry also sexual immorality, — as we find the word used in, (Genesis 39:17) “to mock (לצחק) me” where unchastity is meant as is evident from the context — and blood-shed, as it is said, (II Samuel 2:14) “Let the young men arise and play (וישחקו) before me; [and they caught every one his fellow by the head and thrust his sword in his fellows side]”— here, too, Hur was assassinated (Midrash Tanchuma 3:9:20).

AND THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND TO DRINK. This means that they all sat down together to eat and drink inordinately, as they would do at feasts and on festivals, and afterwards they rose up to make merry with their idols and indulge in revelry. Scripture tells us this on account of what Moses [later] said, the noise of them that sing do I hear, for Moses found them acting riotously in front of him and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Eternal, to take it from before them and to burn it in their presence [and scatter its powder upon the water] and make them drink of it. Now Scripture first completed the account of everything they had done with the calf, and afterwards told of what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, Go, get thee down. This communication, however, was given to Moses early that morning, when they worshipped the calf and sacrificed to it. When Moses came down from the mountain they had sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to make merry, and he found them in revelry. This also is proof to what I have explained [that at first their intent was not to worship idols], since it was not said to Moses, Go, get thee down, for thy people have dealt corruptly on the day that Aaron made the [golden] calf and the altar, [for had they been made for the purpose of idolatry, Moses] would have come down immediately. Instead, it was only when the people sacrificed to it and worshipped it that He told Moses to go down.

"And they rose early the next morning" — the day on which the altar had been built.

וישכימו ממחרת, They rose up early on the morrow, etc. It is difficult to understand why G'd did not tell Moses to descend from the Mountain as soon as the golden calf emerged from the crucible instead of waiting until the following morning after the people began to worship it by offering sacrifices in its honour. If G'd had told Moses to descend as soon as the calf emerged the people would not have had a chance commit the sin of offering sacrifices to a man-made idol. We cannot assume that the Torah did not report this in chronological order and that G'd did indeed tell Moses to descend at once but that Moses delayed his descent in order to try and diminish G'd's anger at His people. The report of the Torah spoke first about the people offering sacrificing to the calf before it mentions G'd as having become angry and telling Moses to descend. [Verse seven only supplies the reason for what is written in verses eight and nine. It does not represent the order in which things happened. Ed.] While we are aware of the statement by Rabbi Joshua ben Levi in Avodah Zarah 4 that "the children of Israel were not on a low enough spiritual level at the time to make the golden calf, and that the only reason this was allowed to occur was to teach future generations of Jews the power of repentance," this statement would not have lost any of its validity if G'd had interfered before it came to the point when the people actually offered sacrifices to that calf. G'd could have told Moses to descend as soon as some of the people had said: "these are your gods, O Israel, who have brought you up from Egypt." All this occurred on the day before they offered the sacrifices. The people's passive attitude to the idolatrous provocation by the mixed multitude had already made them sufficiently culpable. In fact we can be certain that there were only a few dissidents amongst the natural-born Israelites for if they had indeed been the majority their passive acceptance of such a provocation to sin is totally beyond imagination! If a majority who were physically able to prevent this sin had stood by idly, they would have become guilty as accessories. Why did G'd have to wait until after offerings had been made to the golden calf? We may have to look for the answer to our question in Exodus 24, 12-18 when G'd had invited Moses to come up on the Mountain and to remain there (for 40 days) until G'd would give him the Torah, the commandments which He had written down in order for Moses to teach to the people. After the 40 days Moses was to give the people the Tablets (compare Shabbat 89 on this sequence). The word בשש which alluded to the time of Moses' return made it difficult for G'd to have Moses return earlier. I will explain the expression רד which the Torah uses in verse seven when we deal with that verse. Even though G'd was aware of what was going to occur already from the demands made by the people on Aaron, He would not go back on His instruction to Moses to remain on ...

וישכימו ממחרת, “They arose prematurely early on the following day;” the date was the seventeenth of Tammuz. ויעלו עולות, “they offered burnt offerings.” These burnt offerings were offered quite innocently in honour of Hashem. [We find something similar in Samuel I 11,15, on the occasion of the first Jewish King, King Shaul being crowned at Gilgal, though at that time the offerings were meat offerings most of which could be eaten by the people present at the celebration. Ed.]

ויעלו עולות ויגישו שלמים, “they burned up burnt offerings, and they presented peace-offerings. It is noteworthy that the Torah does not mention in whose honour these offerings were presented, i.e. we would have expected the Torah to write ויעלו לו עולות, “they burned up burnt offerings in its honour.” The absence of the word לו, shows that some people did indeed offer their sacrifices to Hashem, whereas others meant to honour the golden calf when presenting their offerings. The offering of any sacrifice, which even though technically corresponding to halachah in all its visible details, would become פיגול, totally rejected, and the owner guilty of death at the hands of heaven, merely because it had not been addressed to Hashem. וישב העם לאכול ושתו, ”the people sat down in order to eat and drink, etc..” They all sat down to eat in order to still their hunger, and to drink in order to become inebriated as they were in the habit of doing on festivals. The reason that the Torah bothered to record these details is to show that although Moses, upon his return from the Mountain, found the people in such a state of mind that they danced around the image of the golden calf, he summoned the spiritual fortitude that enabled him even in such circumstances to act as a true servant of Hashem to seize this very calf in front of their eyes and to utterly destroy it by burning it. The Torah now completes recording the entire episode involving the golden calf, before resuming with recording what had transpired between G’d and Moses after G’d had informed him of what was going on down below, and Moses had descended hurriedly to rejoin his people. Chronologically speaking, we must presume that the conversation between G’d and Moses on the Mountain took place early in the morning, when he was told by G’d that the people had become corrupt and had even made for themselves a cast image in the shape of a golden calf, an image before which they had prostrated themselves. By the time Moses reached the camp the people had already sat down to eat and drink. G’d had waited with telling him to descend until after some people had already actively worshipped the calf as a deity.

Hashem spoke with Moses: "Go, descend, for your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly."

וידבר AND [THE LORD] SAID — This term דבר when not followed by a word of the root אמר implies censorious speech, as (Genesis 42:7) “And he spake (וידבר) roughly (קשות) unto them”. לך רד GO, GO DOWN from your high position; I have given you distinction only for their sake! (Berakhot 32a). At that moment Moses was excommunicated by a decree of the heavenly court (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 22). שחת עמך THY PEOPLE HAVE CORRUPTED THEMSELVES — It does not say the people have corrupted but “thy” people — the mixed multitude whom you received of your own accord and accepted as proselytes without consulting Me. You thought it a good thing that proselytes should be attached to the Shechina — now they have corrupted themselves and have corrupted others (Exodus Rabbah 42:6).

FOR THY PEOPLE HAVE DEALT CORRUPTLY. G-d said to Moses that they have committed two evils. One is that thy people have dealt corruptly. The meaning of the term hashchathah (corruption) is destruction of a structure, similar to that which is said, every man with his weapon of ‘mashchetho’ (destruction) in his hand; behold, I am against thee, ‘hamashchith’ (O destroying) mountain — Babylon — which destroyed every wall and tower [of the fortified cities]. And the meaning of “the destruction” here is that which our Rabbis have called “mutilating the shoots,” [of faith, by seeking to undermine the principle of the Unity]. Secondly, they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it. Now as regards the first transgression it was known only to G-d, for it is He Who knoweth the secrets of the heart, but the second one, [the open disregard of the Law] was by the sinners amongst them, as I have explained, [in bringing sacrifices to the golden calf; and that was a matter known to all]. Now most of the people shared in the sin of the incident of the calf, for so it is written, And all the people pulled off the golden pendants. And were it not for this [participation of theirs in the incident], the anger [of G-d] would not have been directed against them to destroy them all. For even though the numbers of those who were killed for this sin and those smitten by G-d were few [in comparison to the total number of the people, this was because] most of them shared in the sin only in their evil thought [and not in action], as I have explained. THAT THOU [i.e., Moses] BROUGHTEST UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT. This is to be understood in the light of the verse, And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea. Or it may be that G-d wanted to tell it to Moses in the same way as the people had said it — for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt. Similarly, in the Book of Deuteronomy, He said, thy people that thou hast brought forth out of Egypt, meaning that through you [Moses] they have gone out of Egypt, as they say. But in his prayer Moses said, that Thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand, meaning that You alone are the One Who took them out of Egypt, for Yours is the might and the power; for it was with great power that Thy right hand, O Eternal is glorious in power, and with a mighty hand Thy right hand, O Eternal dasheth in pieces the enemy. Similarly it is said, by Thy great power and by Thy outstretched arm, as I have hinted at in connection with the secret of the attribute of the Arm.

לך רד כי שחת עמך, "go and descend for your people have become corrupt, etc." G'd repeated Himself, saying both "go," and "descend!" He first told Moses that the time had come for him to leave the Mountain; He added that his departure would be in the nature of a "descent" from the lofty spiritual heights he had so recently attained. If G'd had only said to Moses: "Descend," we would have understood this as nothing out of the ordinary, seeing he had been on the Mountain and there was no way to go but down, just as when the Torah described Moses' previous descent from the Mountain in Exodus 19,14. G'd wanted Moses to understand that his "descent" had a metaphysical dimension. Perhaps G'd used this method to inform Moses that his entire spiritual progress had been due to the nature of the people of whom he was in charge. Now that the people of Israel had sinned, Moses, their leader, could no longer attain the level of prophetic insights he had achieved formerly. It is also possible that what G'd meant was that inasmuch as the Jewish people were Moses' "helper" and that helper had now become deficient, he, Moses could no longer maintain himself on the lofty plateau he had reached. This is what is implied by the words רד כי שחת עמך, "do not remain on this level seeing you attained it only with the help of your people." The difficulty with this approach is that G'd should have told Moses this as soon as the calf had emerged and the people had said: "these are your gods Israel, etc." Moses should have lost some of his spiritual stature the moment the people had become guilty of idol worship. We must assume that there was a good reason for G'd to delay informing Moses about the sin his people had committed. The Talmud Sanhedrin 43 raises the question why G'd did not inform Joshua of Achan's theft of valuables from the city of Jericho before the defeat of the Israelites at the hands of the people of Ai which prompted Joshua to ask G'd why they had suffered such a humiliating defeat (Joshua 7,6). The Talmud answers that G'd did not want to become known as an "informer," a "snitcher." If that argument were applicable here, G'd should not have told Moses about the people's sin until the latter had found out by himself a few hours later. After all, Moses' time on the Mountain was just about completed. Actually, the situation of Achan and the sin of the golden calf cannot be compared. Achan's sin was unknown except to a few people who kept it as their secret. The Jewish people's dancing around the golden calf and offering sacrifices to it was already public knowledge and Moses would have found out about it within hours even if G'd had not told him. Nonetheless, seeing G'd is the epitome of piety why did He tell Moses before the latter commenced his descent? G'd's reasoning must therefore have been the very reverse of that applied by an informer. The informer delights in implicating people in sin, whereas G'd delights in justifying Himself if per chance He ...

אשר העלית, “whom you (Moses, not G-d) have brought out of Egypt.” The vowel pattern of this word is slightly different from the vowel pattern of the same word in 33,1, so that the reading is slightly different too. The author does not offer a reason for the difference;[perhaps he means to suggest that the העם referred to in 33,1 are the true Israelites for whom the Exodus was a moral ethical elevation, whereas the העם that Moses had taken out of Egypt without consulting G-d had become a spiritual burden, instead. Ed.]

לך רד כי שחת עמך, “Go, descend, for your people have become corrupt.” The grammatically correct form (passive) should have been כי נשחת עמך, “for your people have been corrupted.” Why did the Torah choose the strong active form of the פיעל construction? Actually, the Torah wanted to get across the point that not only did the people become corrupt on earth but their deeds also caused corruption (actively) in the celestial regions. The meaning of the word השחתה here is equivalent to the tearing down of a structure. The idolatry of the Israelites at the time ruined a spiritual facade in the celestial regions also. This is what our sages referred to as קצץ בנטיעות, “chopping off the young shoots.” There is no question that what the Israelites did at the time of the golden calf episode was similar to what Adam and Chavah had done when they ate from the tree of knowledge, when they sinned both in thought and in deed. [Compare author’s words on Genesis 2,9; my translation on the section “a Kabbalistic approach.” Ed.] Unfortunately, history repeats itself, the children not learning from the mistakes of their parents (Chagigah 14). This is what our sages alluded to when they reported that Adam offered a single-horned ox as sin-offering as he wanted to make his atonement fit his crime. (Compare what I wrote on Genesis 3,6 where I explained this statement of the Talmud Chulin 60). A Midrashic approach (Pessikta Zutrata): the words of G’d to Moses to descend implied that His creatures had already caused Him to descend and inspect how rotten they had become more than once before. Just as G’d “descends” in a situation such as this as we know from Genesis 11,5, so now Moses too was told by G’d to “descend from his formerly lofty position.”

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go, descend.’” Due to the doubled language, and also because it does not say “descend from the mountain,” our Sages (Berakhot 32) learned to interpret this as “descend from your greatness” — which was a form of punishment for accepting the mixed multitude. This is what is meant by for your people have become corrupt — they turned aside quickly and did not wait, not even a day or two did they remain steadfast in their faith. And not only that, but they also caused Israel to sin, as they said, These are your gods, O Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people. This was directed toward Israel, and because they had corrupted themselves, He called them the people. And He said, “I have already seen their stiff-neckedness in days past,” for even in Egypt they were wicked and sinful, as is found in the prophecy of Ezekiel (20). And now their measure of sin is full, therefore leave Me alone — that I will no longer deal with them personally, which is why He said Me And My anger will burn against them, for I will send against them a delegation of destructive angels — anger and wrath. And I will consume them, for the messenger is not merciful and will not forgive their transgressions at all.

כי שחת עמך אשר העלית, “for your people, the ones you brought up from Egypt, etc.” Seeing that after the crossing of the Sea of Reeds, the Torah described Moses as making the people take a turn toward the desert, [apparently without consulting G’d, Ed.] G’d now describes the calamity as having befallen “Moses’” people, as distinct from their being “G’d’s people,” seeing he had led them into the desert on his own authority. as distinct from their having remained “G’d’s” people. (compare Exodus 15,22) Alternatively, G’d took a leaf out of the people’s book, seeing they had described Moses as the man who had brought them out of Egypt. (verse 1) In Deuteronomy 9,12 Moses quotes G’d as having said to him: שחת עמך אשר הוצאת ממצרים, סרו מהר,” your people, the ones you took out of Egypt have become corrupt and departed quickly from the path I commanded them.” Moses rejected this accusation, replying that G’d had taken the people out of Egypt. Compare Deut. He did not even agree that he had played any substantive part in the Exodus. [The Israelites had been expelled by Pharaoh, did not leave at Moses’ bidding. Ed.]

כי שחת עמך, “for your people have acted corruptly;” they are your people regardless if you chose them to be, just as you took them out of Egypt regardless if that had been done willingly or not. They acted corruptly by exchanging their leader without consulting you (or Me) Seeing that I had given you them as their leader, they were not at liberty to disown you. In addition to this, they violated My commandment of לא תעשה לך פסל, “do not make for yourself a graven image.” (Exodus 20,4) You are not allowed to do so, even if the image is to symbolise your G–d in heaven.

They have turned aside quickly from the way that I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and they have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it, and they said: 'These are your idols, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.'

סרו מהר, they have strayed very quickly, etc. I have not even been able to complete the gift of the Torah I had wanted to give to you. A reference to “the Torah and the Mitzvah” in Exodus 24,12.

סרו מהר מן הדרך, "they have quickly departed from the path, etc." The meaning of these words is clear in view of the statement in Chulin 4 that if someone acknowledges even passively that there is some substance to idolatry he is considered as having denied the entire Torah. This is why G'd said: "which I have commanded them," i.e. "all that I have commanded them." It is also possible that the wording reflects- as I have written previously- that the Israelites retained their full faith in G'd and only saw in the golden calf one of His many manifestations. In view of all this G'd had to make clear that He had not ever commanded something of this nature, i.e. Israel was not allowed to employ intermediaries in their worship of Him and that what happened represented a complete departure from the way G'd had instructed them to relate to Him. This explains why G'd did not speak of Israel in terms of their having rebelled against Him or having denied Him. He was well aware that the Israelites had retained their belief in Him. עשו להם עגל מסכה, "they made a molten calf for them(selves)." The words עשו להם mean that "others made for them." They had only handed over the gold whereas the calf appeared to have emerged of its own power. G'd informed Moses that the calf did not emerge by itself as we could have concluded from Aaron's words in verse 24, but that an action preceded its emergence as we have learned from Tanchuma that Yanus and Yambrus (legendary Egyptian sorcerers) made the calf. ויאמרו אלה אלהיך ישראל, they said: "these are your gods O Israel." Why did G'd tell Moses about the Israelites sinning by speech, i.e. by acknowledging the deity of the calf with their lips, only after He had already told Moses that they had worshiped it by offering sacrifices to it? The order should have been the reverse! According to Shemot Rabbah 42,6 that it was the mixed multitude who made tha calf and that the Israelites had no share in this, the verse has to be interpreted as describing different stages of the sin committed by the Israelites, not by the mixed multitude. As to the first stage of what the Israelites themselves were guilty of G'd said: "the mixed multitude made the golden calf for themselves, but the Israelites did not protest. Next, the mixed multitude prostrated themselves before the calf and offered sacrifices to it, and the Israelites again did not protest. Failure to protest this time was already a sin of a much graver dimension than not having protested the mere making of the calf. When the mixed multitude declared (addressing Israel this time) "these are your gods O Israel," and the Israelites even now did not protest, this was the culmination of their sins. According to the plain meaning of the verse there is a different reason. G'd did not tell Moses earlier about the Israelites having said: "these are your gods, etc," although sin by speech is not generally as severe as sin by deed because in this case the sin committed by their lips was...

סרו מהר, “they deviated quickly, etc.” they already elected a new leader for themselves instead of you whom I had appointed to be their leader. Not only that, but they also made a molten calf for themselves, contravening My command not to make themselves any cast images. My commandment included the prohibition to make such a cast image even if it was intended to symbolize Me. Although they had no idolatrous intention with what they did, they contravened My commandment.

סרו מהר, “they have quickly departed, etc.” This term 'quickly' was most appropriate seeing that the people had apparently forgotten the miracles they had seen at the revelation only forty days ago and had committed idolatry at a time when the Shechinah was still present amongst them on Mount Sinai. Solomon paraphrased this when he said (Song of Songs 1,12 as interpreted in Shabbat 88) ”while the king was still at the table (Sinai), my nard gave forth its (foul) smell.” The words used by the Torah here have also been paraphrased by David in Psalms 106,13: “but they soon forgot His deeds; they would not wait to learn His plan.” The word עצתו, “His plan,” in that psalm refers to the Torah which Moses would bring with him on the morrow. Cf. Isaiah 25 for a similar usage of the word עצה. The Midrash comments on this verse: Being unfaithful while under the bridal canopy is the ultimate insult by the bride to the groom, as it says ”While the king was still at the table, my nard gave forth its (foul) smell” — while the King of kings was at Sinai, my fragrance was tarnished with the sin of the golden calf. עשו להם עגל מסכה, “they made for themselves a cast calf.” There are a number of surprising statements in this passage. 1) Seeing the Israelites had attained the spiritual niveau of the ministering angels at the time of the revelation by having heard G’d directly speak to them, how is it possible that they would request or demand from Aaron that he make for them an idolatrous image? 2) How can we understand the fact that they were now prepared to believe that the very earrings which they had worn in their ears had brought them out of Egypt, that they said concerning this gold: “these are your gods who have taken you out of Egypt?” 3) How is it possible that Aaron, second only to his brother Moses in his qualities as religious figurehead, could be prepared to go along instead of becoming a martyr when faced with the alternative of death at the hands of the people? Is it not a clear-cut rule that when it comes to a choice between committing idolatry and saving one’s life one must be prepared to give up one’s life rather than commit that sin? 4) How could Aaron say to Moses: “please do not be angry my lord,” shifting the blame to the people etc. (verse 22)? What other provocation would entitle Moses to become angry if not the commission of such a terrible sin? The answer to all these questions is that they were based on the wrong premise. The last thing on the people’s mind was that Aaron should construct an idolatrous object for them; they did not demand a deity but a leader during their travels in the desert, just as Moses had been their leader. They said this clearly when they told Aaron אשר ילכו לפנינו, “who are to walk ahead of us (verse 1).” The “leader” was to show them the direction they were to travel in the desert. Up until now Moses had told them what route to take, and now there was no one to tell them in which direction to move. The words עשה לנו אלוהים, are to be understood as “make us a new leader seeing we have just lost our previous leader.” [They wanted a replacement for Moses, not for G’d. Ed.] The whole reason that Aaron involved himself in this project was to gain time, to procrastinate, in the hope that before he would complete it Moses would return so that the whole premise for the people’s request would collapse. The reason Aaron did not refuse and thereby risk becoming a martyr was that there was no need to do so for all the people wanted was a new leader to take the place of Moses. [In fact, refusing under the existing conditions could have been tantamount to suicide. Ed.] When Aaron remonstrated with Moses why the latter had become angry at him, he meant that seeing that the people had not demanded anything in the nature of idolatry there was no cause to get so excited. He added verbatim what the people had said to him, namely: “make for us an elohim who will walk ahead of us.” [Moses himself had been told by G’d that he would be elohim for Pharaoh (Exodus 7,1) and that Aaron would be his prophet.] Aaron added that the immediate cause for such a request in the words of the people themselves had been Moses’ tardiness in returning from the mountain. He implied the people’s readiness to immediately be led again by Moses now that he had returned. The proof for reading the mind of the people correctly was that they had not said simply: “make us a god,” but had said: “make us a god, for this man Moses, we do not know what became of him.” In other words, they wanted to replace Moses “the man,” not the Lord G’d. If the people had not had idolatrous thoughts when making their request, the idea that Aaron had assisted them in an idolatrous undertaking was preposterous! This is why Aaron had not hesitated to announce חג לה’ מחר, “tomorrow will be a festival for the Lord G’d.” Our sages (Vayikra Rabbah 10,3) point out that it is not written חג לעגל, “a festival in honour of the calf.” This proves that Aaron’s intention was crystal clear, oriented exclusively towards Hashem. Perhaps the most convincing proof that the people had not considered the calf a deity is the fact that when Moses proceeded to burn it [verse 20, before any of the people who had danced around it had been executed, Ed.] not a single Israelite is reported as trying to interfere with Moses attacking and destroying his deity. Had even a small group of people seriously considered this golden calf to have any divine powers, surely they would have stoned Moses to death for depriving them of their god! (Compare what Moses said to Pharaoh when asked by him to slaughter the lambs in Egypt instead of in the desert, Exodus 8,22). All of the above is based on Nachmanides. Having read Nachmanides’ defense of the Jewish people and Aaron, the obvious question is why the people were punished so severely that we still suffer part of that punishment today whenever we are being afflicted for our personal sins? Why were the Levites allowed to execute 3,000 Israelites? Why did G’d dispatch a plague which killed many of the people (verses 27 and 35 respectively)? The answer is simply that whereas the whole episode with the golden calf began innocently enough as an error at worst, as it progressed it turned into deliberate acts of idolatry. This is why the Torah wrote that the people “prostrated themselves before the calf, that they offered peace-offerings to it, that they danced around it, etc. “(32,6; 32,19). Actually, at that time, the Israelites were divided into different groups. Some of them had pure motives when offering sacrifices; the Torah reflects this by writing (verse 6): ”they offered burnt-offerings and prepared peace-offerings.” The Torah did not write: “they offered burnt-offerings to it, and they prepared peace-offerings to it.” The ones whose motives were idolatrous were the ones of whom the Torah writes (verse 8): “they prostrated themselves before it, and they slaughtered offerings for it.” Midrash Tanchuma (Ki Tissa 19) states explicitly that the mixed multitude (of Egyptian converts) who joined the Jewish people at the Exodus were the ones who made the golden calf. The Midrash proves this from the words אלה אלוהיך ישראל, “these are your gods O Israel.” Had the makers of the golden calf been natural born Jews they would have chanted: “these are our gods O Israel, who have brought us out of Egypt.“ This episode prompted our sages in Yevamot 16 to say that the process of assimilating converts is as much of an affliction for Israel as being struck with a form of skin eczema called ספחת on raw flesh, a dread disease, (compare Leviticus 13,2). On the same subject of accepting converts Shemot Rabbah 42,6 has stated that the reason G’d told Moses: “go on down for your people have become corrupt, was that Moses had accepted these converts at face value without having first obtained G’d’s permission to convert them. G’d reminded Moses that He had specifically said to him (Exodus 7,4) “I shall take out My hosts, My people, the Children of Israel. He had never mentioned taking out people who were not “Children of Israel,” whereas Moses had taken it upon himself to accept the mixed multitude. G’d now made it plain that He did not consider these converts as “My people.” In spite of what the Midrash writes, the fact remains that though these converts originated the disaster, the natural born Jews joined in of their own accord. This is why all of them were punished.

Hashem said to Moses: "It is revealed before Me that this people is a stiff-necked people."

קשה ערף STIFF-NECKED — They turn their stiffened necks towards those who reprove them (i e. they turn their back upon them) and refuse to listen.

"And He said" — the meaning of 'stiff-necked' is that they would not heed what was commanded, like a man walking briskly on his way who does not turn the back of his neck to one who calls out to him. This metaphor is apt because Israel had been idol-worshippers in Egypt and Hashem had sent them prophets saying, 'Cast away each man the detestable things of Egypt' — for so it is written — and Moses recounted this incident to the children before his death, preserving the sense rather than the exact wording. It is written here, 'Go, descend, for your people have corrupted themselves' (v. 7), but in Deuteronomy it reads 'Arise, descend' (Deut. 9:12); and there it says 'and they bowed down to it and said, These are your gods,' whereas here it says 'and now leave Me be' (v. 10), and in its place, 'Let Me alone' (Deut. 9:14); and here, 'My anger will blaze against them and I will consume them' (v. 10), corresponding to 'I would destroy them and blot out their name' (Deut. 9:14); and here, 'I will make of you a great nation' (v. 10), with the addition 'mightier than it' — yet the underlying meanings are the same.

והנה עם קשה עורף הוא. Their neck is like a tendon made of iron so that they will not turn in any direction to listen to advice and admonition from any source. Seeing that this is their situation, there is no hope that they will become penitents.

ויאמר ה׳ אל משה, G'd said to Moses, etc. The reason this is reported as a separate address by G'd to Moses (seing there had been no interruption since G'd commenced to speak in verse 7) is that the first address was only an explanation of why Moses had to descend from his lofty spiritual niveau. Now G'd speaks to Moses concerning the repercussions Israel's conduct will have on their own standing. Had the Torah not inserted the words ויאמר ה׳ at this point, we would have thought that the previous sentence "they have quickly departed, etc." was meant as an introduction to why the people would be punished.

"And now, let your prayer cease from before Me, and My anger will be kindled against them and I will destroy them, and I will make you into a great nation."

הניחה לי LET ME ALONE — So far we have not heard that Moses had prayed on their behalf and yet He says “let Me alone!” which implies a refusal to his entreaty! But by saying this He opened the door to him (offered him a suggestion) intimating to him that if he prayed for them He would not destroy them (Shemot Rabbah 42:9; cf. also Berakhot 32a).

NOW THEREFORE LET ME ALONE, THAT MY WRATH MAY WAX HOT AGAINST THEM. The meaning of this cannot be “let Me alone and I will become angry,” for if His anger had not been aroused yet, why should it wax hot as soon as Moses leaves Him alone? But in line with the plain meaning of Scripture the meaning thereof is: “leave Me, and I will consume them in My burning anger,” similar in thought to the expression, let Me alone, and I will destroy them. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], the verse means: “My mercy will subside, and My attribute of justice will wax hot against them and I will consume them with it, for with Me [i.e. when the attribute of mercy is before Me], it has no power over them.” This is the meaning of the expression, And Moses besought the face of the Eternal his G-d, being similar in usage to the expression, the face of the Lord Eternal G-d, the G-d of Israel. And so Moses mentioned [in his prayer] in the Book of Deuteronomy, O G-d Eternal — first the name of G-d with Aleph Dalet, followed by the name of Yod Hei. It is possible that the word vay’chal (and he besought) is of the root t’chilah (beginning). Understand it and you will know.

This is an allusion to him: had it not been for Moses' honor, He would have destroyed them; therefore Moses needed to pray.

ועתה הניחה לי, "And now, let Me be, etc." The reason G'd said: "and now," was because He had already tried to put Moses in a good mood by offering to make an entire new Jewish nation with Moses as its founding patriarch when He said to him: "and I shall make you a great nation." This promise was designed to silence Moses into not protesting G'd's intention to destroy the present Jewish people. Moses thought to himself that G'd's promise was hardly any reassurance seeing that what happened to Abraham's descendants was liable to happen to his own descendants with similarly terrible results. This is why G'd said to Moses that he should leave Him be only "for now;" G'd implied that if Moses would leave Him alone now He would promise Moses that history would not repeat itself with any of Moses' descendants if he were to become the founding father of a new Jewish nation. There could be either one of two reasons why history would not repeat itself. 1) Moses' descendants would be more virtuous than the present generation of Jews and they would not succumb to the kind of provocation by Satan that the present Jewish people had succumbed to. 2) Even assuming that the "new" Jewish people would succumb to a situation similar to that facing the present one, G'd would not again ask Moses or their leader at that time not to intercede on their behalf. There would always be a chance to nullify any decree of G'd to destroy the new Jewish people. A moral-ethical approach to the words הניחה לי would be that it was G'd's way of hinting that if Moses were to allow G'd a brief moment of anger, i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, there was a chance that his subsequent intercession would prove successful. As soon as the present moment had passed Moses was invited, so to speak, to intercede on behalf of "his" people. This brief moment had passed while G'd uttered the word ועתה. This is why Moses immediately began to intercede with prayer. According to our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 21,6 who say that the word ועתה in Genesis 3,22 as well as elsewhere always contains an allusion to the need to do תשובה, repentance, G'd hinted to Moses that it was up to him to do תשובה. Seeing that the entire debacle was due to Moses' having told the people he would return at the end of forty days he had misled them. He had failed to inform the people that he referred to a return on the forty-first day. Alternatively, Moses needed to do תשובה for having accepted the mixed multitude as proselytes at the time without having first consulted G'd. This is why G'd referred to the perpetrators of the golden calf as Moses' people, i.e. שחת עמך. When G'd said: ועתה, He meant that the time had come for Moses to become a penitent seeing he had a considerable share in the circumstances which made the golden calf episode possible. Not only this, the episode was to teach the Jewish people not to accept proselytes at the time when the Messiah would come (Yevamot 24). At that time it would be reserved for Moses to accept t...

הניחה לי, “Let Me be;” Hashem used this mild form of rebuke, out of respect for Moses. He meant that the fact that the people had chosen an unfit replacement instead of Moses, this alone was enough to punish them severely.

ועתה הניחה לי, “and now, desist from Me, etc.” Nachmanides writes that it makes no sense to understand the words ועתה הניחה לי, as meaning that Moses should not try to interfere with G’d’s anger, seeing that He had not yet displayed any sign of such anger, as G’d Himself is about to say. Moreover, how could G’d become angry after Moses had already appeased Him? The plain meaning of the words in question must be understood as a prelude to what G’d adds immediately after referring to His anger when He announces that He will wipe out the Jewish people instantly and would replace them with a new Jewish nation based on Moses as their founding father. Alternately, G’d told Moses not to appeal to His attribute of Mercy in order that He could give free rein to His attribute of Justice, as a result of which the people would be annihilated.

Moses prayed before Hashem his God and said: "Why, Hashem, should Your anger be kindled against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?"

למה ה‘ יחרה אפך WHEREFORE, O LORD, DOTH THY WRATH GLOW [AGAINST THY PEOPLE] — Does anyone become jealous of another, except a wise man of a wise man or a hero of a hero?! (Avodah Zarah 55a)

ETERNAL, WHY DOTH THY WRATH WAX HOT AGAINST THY PEOPLE? Now when Moses prayed about this great sin, it would have been fitting that he do so by way of confession and supplication, similar to what he said later on, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and just as Ezra prayed and confessed because of the faithlessness of them of the captivity, and there is no reason why he should say, why doth the Eternal etc.? Our Rabbis, prompted by this [difficulty], have in various homiletic ways tried to mention several reasons for Moses’ minimizing the sin before Him. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], Moses is saying: “Why do You give permission to the attribute of justice to hold sway over Your people, for You have taken them out of the land of Egypt for the sake of Your Name with the attribute of mercy ruling over them, and with the attribute of justice upon their enemies.”Now this prayer — Why doth the Eternal… Wherefore should the Egyptians speak — appears really to be the very same prayer he mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy, And I prayed unto G-d and I said: O Eternal G-d, destroy not Thy people, for the purport of the prayer is alike in both cases, the difference being only that here Scripture mentioned the prayer before it told us that he came down from the mountain, and there Moses mentioned it after it tells us that he came down from the mountain. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s opinion is that Moses did not pray for Israel as long as the idol was among them; but only when G-d told him, Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and he realized that the fate [of the people] was dependent upon him, did he go down the mountain and destroy the calf, and then he returned to pray for forty days, there being no strict chronological order in the narrative of the Torah. But I do not agree with this opinion. For the prayer he recited upon his return to the mountain [after he had cleansed the camp of the idol] is the one which he mentions, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin. And if it is all one prayer which Moses said during the forty days after he returned to the mountain, why does Scripture divide it, mentioning here [in Verses 11-13] part of it, and after he had come down, mentioning the other part [in Verses 31-32]? Rather, these are two separate prayers. Therefore it appears that when G-d told him Let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, Moses immediately besought the face of the Eternal and did not delay at all, for he was afraid lest the wrath go out from G-d and the plague would begin and consume them in a moment, therefore at once he said, Eternal, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people? Similarly I found it in Eileh Shemoth Rabbah: “Said Moses: ‘If I leave Israel [to their fate] and go down the mountain, they will never have a restoration again. Instead I will not move from here until I seek mercy for them.’ Immediately Moses began pleading on their behalf etc.” Thus he prayed for them and G-d repente...

"And Moses implored" [וַיְחַל]. This grammatical form [חִלָּה] is not found with this precise meaning except in the sense of 'to entreat the face,' as in 'many entreat the face of a noble' (Prov. 19:6). In my view it is like 'and her face was no longer downcast' (1 Sam. 1:18), and all such forms are similar; therefore one must not say חִלִּיתִיךָ or אֲחַלְּךָ [in certain senses], as it would come from the root meaning 'which Hashem has afflicted her' (Deut. 29:21). Some say that this prayer is the one mentioned in the portion Va-Yihye Ekev [Deut. 9], and that this prayer should properly have been written after Moses returned to the mountain; therefore 'and Hashem relented of the evil' follows after he prayed and prostrated himself for forty days. But if He relented of the evil the first time, what is the sense of saying 'perhaps I can make atonement for your sin' (v. 30)? For he descended, burned the calf, and killed those who worshipped it — and then returned to pray to Hashem on behalf of Israel and on behalf of Aaron who had been the cause, while others say that the prayer 'Do not destroy Your people' (Deut. 9:26) is not the same as the prayer mentioned here. In my view the sense of both prayers is the same, as I will explain: for how could Moses entreat Hashem's face before burning the calf, before giving the Israelites the water to drink, and before killing the worshippers? Rather, Hashem hinted to him that he should pray after descending and removing the calf; therefore it is written 'perhaps I can make atonement for your sin' (v. 30) after the sin had been removed, as it is written, 'your sin which you had made, the calf' (Deut. 9:21). Now, because Hashem said to him 'and now leave Me be,' Moses cited the prayer that he prayed when he prostrated himself before Hashem. This passage would properly have been written after 'and Moses returned to Hashem' (v. 31), for there is no strict chronological order in the Torah; rather, the text chose to connect 'whoever has sinned against Me' (v. 33) with 'and now go, lead the people' (v. 34) and 'Hashem struck the people' (v. 35). For it is written: 'And I lay prostrate before Hashem for those forty days and forty nights...for Hashem had spoken of destroying you' (Deut. 9:25) — this is the meaning of 'Let Me alone and I will destroy them' (Deut. 9:14), since it is inconceivable that Moses would pray on behalf of Israel while the idol was still in their midst, before he had removed it. "Why, O Hashem, should Your anger blaze against Your people" — parallel to 'Do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance' (Deut. 9:26), 'whom You brought out with Your great power and with Your outstretched arm' (Deut. 9:29) — corresponding to 'whom You brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand.' And it is written, 'Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' (Deut. 9:27), corresponding to 'Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore' (v. 13 below) — the meaning being that You should remember Your oath to them. He did not elaborate on this in 'Remember Your servants,' as it is not the same as 'Remember Your congregation which You acquired of old' (Ps. 74:2), on account of the lamed [לְ]. And 'lest they say, the land from which You brought us out' (Deut. 9:28) corresponds here to 'Why should Egypt say' (v. 12).

למה ה' יחרה אפך בעמך, Moses, does not accept that all the people have become “his” people as implied by G’d having said to him שחת עמך “your people have become corrupted.” Surely, he reasons, not all the people have sinned. Why should G’d be angry at those who did not sin, the ones who are still “G’d’s people?”

למה ה׳ יחרה אפך, "To what purpose, O G'd, will Your anger burn?" If we go back for a moment to the statement in Shemot Rabbah 42 that only the mixed multitude were involved in the making and worshiping of the golden calf, we had to conclude that G'd's anger was directed at the Israelites for not having protested what the mixed multitude were doing. In that case, Moses' question "Why be mad at Your people?" simply meant that G'd's anger should have been restricted to the mixed multitude. This suggests that Moses had made peace with the idea that G'd would destroy the mixed multitude. Perhaps we can find support for this even in Moses' words: "whom You have taken out of Egypt?" Seeing that G'd had not taken the mixed multitude out of Egypt but they had come of their own volition, G'd's image would not be tarnished if this mixed multitude were to perish! According to the Midrash then we may assume that all the members of the mixed multitude died at that time seeing that even their patron did not speak up on their behalf. Inasmuch as the mixed multitude were seducers, Moses would have been totally out of order if he had asked for mercy on their behalf especially seeing that he himself was being punished for having accepted them as converts to begin with. According to the plain meaning of the verse i.e. that the Israelites themselves made the golden calf and worshiped it, Moses' argument applied to the part of the people who did not have a direct share in that sin. After all, the Torah reports that all those who had actively participated died. There were three such groups. 1) The Israelites who did not desist from worshiping the golden calf in spite of witnesses and proper warnings of the consequences were executed by the Levites. 2) The people whose sin had been witnessed but who had not been warned died at the hands of G'd, 3) those who had been warned but whose deed had not been witnessed. They too died at the hands of G'd. When G'd said to Moses that He wanted to destroy the people, He referred to those who were not included in either of the three groups we just mentioned. Moses' outcry: "Why will Your anger burn against Your people, etc.," was on behalf of the people who did not belong to any of the three groups who had been active participants in the sin. His argument was simply that the sin of omission of not protesting the involvement of the others surely did not warrant extinction! Should they cease to be called "Your people" though they had not rebelled against You? אשר הוצאת "whom You have taken out of Egypt! He used this argument to refute G'd's suggestion to make out of his descendants a great nation. Moses meant that any nation descended from him will not have the experience of the Exodus. If a nation which had this experience nonetheless succumbed to the temptation of the golden calf, surely a nation which lacked that experience cannot be expected to resist such a temptation! You will find that at the beginning of the Decalogue G'd e...

ויחל משה, “Moses began to pacify;” according to some commentators the prayer alluded to here is the one spelled out in greater in Deuteronomy 9,25, where Moses adds that he threw himself on the ground in prayer for forty days, etc.; this actually happened after he had already descended from the Mountain, smashed the Tablets, made gold dust out of the golden calf, had the Levites execute the ones who actively worshipped the calf and danced around it, and had purified the people by making them drink water containing ash of the golden calf. These commentators consider it unbelievable that Moses had the nerve to ask for forgiveness of the people before the latter had done their part in making penance for their grievous error. Those were the forty days during which G-d had told Moses that He would not be the One leading them up to the Promised Land. (verses 3133). When hearing this, Moses had responded with reminding G-d of His promise, commencing with Deuteronomy 33,12. According to our author, Moses did not ascend the Mountain during these 40 days, for how could he have done so without first having obtained permission to do so? At the end of those intermediate 40 days, when G-d had indicated that he had reconciled Himself to the people, He said to him: “carve yourself a second set of Tablets, etc.” and had asked him to ascend the Mountain again. (Exodus 34,1) When Moses ascended again (34,4) he remained on the Mountain and did not descend until the tenth day of Tishrey. למה ה׳ יחרה אפך בעמך, “What for, o Lord, are You becoming angry, etc.?” Moses’ reasoning was that it did not seem reasonable after all the time and effort G-d had invested in bringing this people to the spiritual level they had achieved at the time of the revelation, that all this should be wiped out in one moment, as if it were completely irretrievable? He added, that the Egyptians would have the last laugh after all, when they would hear of the annihilation of G-d’s people. He also asked what would become of G-d’s oath to the patriarchs.

ויחל משה את פני ה’ אלו-היו, “Moses pleaded before Hashem, his G’d.” Moses pleaded with the attribute of Justice; the word פני when used in connection with G’d always refers to the attribute of Justice. To mention just a few examples: (Leviticus 20,5) ושמתי אני את פני באיש ההוא, “I shall set My face against that man;” or (Psalms 34,17) פני ה’ בעושי רע, “the face of G’d is set against evildoers. I have already dealt with this word in my commentary on Exodus 20,1. We are familiar with the meaning of the word ויחל from Malachi 1,9 חלו נא פני א-ל, “please implore the favor of G’d.” Alternately, the word may be derived from תחלה, “beginning, at first.” It would mean that Moses began something that would continue through to its end. He would implore the attribute בינה until he would reach the attribute דעה, which is above it. The description by Moses of G’d as אלו-היו is something that does not occur anywhere else in the whole Torah. It would normally indicate that Moses related to “his” G’d as no one else ever did or could and G’d acknowledged this during his life time. Nowhere else do we find that the Torah described G’d as specifically Moses’ G’d, such as we find frequently in connection with the patriarchs. G’d is often described as “the G’d of Avraham,” or as “the G’d of Yitzchak,” or as “the G’d of Yaakov.” Even in connection with David we find that Isaiah 38,5 quotes G’d telling Chizkiyah: “thus said the Lord, the G’d of your ‘father’ David, etc.” However, in Moses’ case this is the only time G’d associated His name with Moses and even then only by means of a pronoun, almost like an afterthought. I believe that the Torah’s intention was to give us a hint of G’d’s partial withdrawal from the Jewish people and even from Moses due to this grievous sin. This is confirmed by G’d describing the people to Moses as עמך, “your people.” He hinted that as of then they were not “His” people. How could they be, seeing they had been unfaithful to Him? למה ה’ יחרה אפך בעמך, “Why, Hashem, should Your anger flare up against Your people, etc.” In Deut. 9,26 Moses elaborates in greater detail about this prayer he offered up pleading with G’d not to destroy the Jewish people. Our sages Shemot Rabbah 43,10, ask why Moses mentioned the Exodus at this time? They answer that Moses asked G’d to consider the background of the Jewish people, where they had been and under what circumstances He had taken them out of a land infested with all kinds of idolatry such as the land of Egypt. After all, it was probably not the first time Israelites had made a cast calf, though they could not make it out of gold because they were too poor.

And Moses pleaded. Some say that vayechal [pleaded] comes from the language of “vatitchalchal” [trembled], meaning he was seized with fear and trembling before God. That is, it is an expression [that reflects] anger, because he saw the greatness of God’s anger and was terrified by the fear of God, and said, Why, O Lord, does Your anger burn? For if You had said You would discipline them Yourself as a man disciplines his son, I would have been silent, but why did You say You would send a cruel angel of wrath and anger against them? Why would You do this to Your servants? For I have arguments against this. The first argument is against Your people. For You said to me, Your people have corrupted themselves, referring to the mixed multitude [erev rav], so why does Your anger burn against Your people, meaning Israel? The second argument is, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt. A land full of idolatry, so it’s not so surprising if they were seduced by their old habits. The third argument is, with great power. This is against the attribute of judgment, for according to the strict line of justice, it would have been proper to destroy them within the land of Egypt, as it is written in Ezekiel (20:13), And I said I would pour out My wrath on them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of My name, etc. And after You brought them out with great power against the attribute of judgment, they were already known to You as idol worshipers, so what is new now? The fourth argument is, and with a mighty hand. For it is known that Israel did not want to leave Egypt, as it is written (Exodus 14:12), Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, “Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians”? And it is written (Exodus 13:18), And the children of Israel went up armed [chamushim] out of the land of Egypt. For only one-fifth [chamushim can also mean “one-fifth”] went up, and four-fifths died during the three days of darkness because they did not want to leave Egypt. And even those who did leave, You brought them out with a mighty hand, against their will, not according to their pleasure, as it is written (Exodus 13:9), For with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. And since You brought them out from there, it is fitting for You to have mercy on them, so that people will not say, “He brought them out with evil intent,” since they left at Your command. And after he defended Israel, he began to defend also the mixed multitude [Erev Rav] and said, Why should the Egyptians say, “With evil intent did He bring them out to kill them in the mountains?” For this argument does not apply to Israel at all, and why would such a thing come from the Blessed One? Rather, he said this regarding the mixed multitude, because the Lord had already executed judgments against Egypt, but they were not visible to the whole world. Therefore, He brought out the mixed multitude in order to kill them in high mountains visible to everyone’s eye, so that the vengeance against them would be public and well-known. And why should the Egyptians say — for generations to come — that this is how those who come to seek refuge under the wings of the Divine Presence are treated, which would lead to a desecration of God’s name. And he said, Turn from Your fierce wrath, etc. — he was addressing different parties: regarding the mixed multitude, he asked Turn from Your fierce wrath so that they would not be punished by a cruel angel of anger and wrath, and regarding Israel, he added and relent from this evil against Your people — that He should not do any evil to them at all, since they were not the cause of the sin. Remember Abraham, etc. — You say, I will make of you a great nation, but today or tomorrow perhaps my children will sin and You will destroy them. This is a fortiori from the forefathers, to whom You swore by Yourself. Moreover, they have the merit of the three forefathers, and if all this is not helpful, how much more so for my children, where there is not an oath but merely a statement, and there is only a throne with one leg. Immediately, And the Lord relented from the evil which He thought to do to His people — that is, what He had spoken about completely destroying them, but nevertheless He thought to discipline them with the rod of their transgression, as it is written, On the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them — to exact punishment from them little by little.

למה ה' יחרה אפך בעמך, “to what purpose, o Hashem, should Your anger flare against Your people?” Nachmanides writes that in light of this great sin by the Israelites, it would seem to have been appropriate for Moses to plead Israel’s case by commencing with a confession, as in the formula “אנא חטא העם הזה וגו', “indeed this people have committed a grievous sin, etc.” [as he did when he ascended the Mountain again in verse 31. Ed.] Our sages have distinguished themselves in citing reasons why what appeared at first glance as a terrible sin, was in fact much less serious than it appears at first glance. The proper way to understand Moses’ words at this juncture is: ”why would You give permission to the Attribute of Justice to assume control of the fate of Your people when You had led the people out under the banner of the Attribute of Mercy, while at the same time reserving Your Attribute of Justice for dealing with their enemies?” Some commentators explain Moses’ question as being simply: “why not direct Your anger at the instigators of this sin, the mixed multitude, who had joined the Jewish people at the time of the Exodus?” This prayer, in which Moses describes that by doing away with the Jewish people Hashem would ultimately diminish His own image, which He had built up while performing the miracles in Egypt, is repeated in Deuteronomy. The only difference is that here Moses is described as offering this plea before descending from the Mountain, whereas in Deuteronomy it is described by Moses as having taken place after he had descended from the Mountain. (Deut. 9,26) Ibn Ezra feels that Moses refrained from pleading on behalf of the people as long as the symbol of their sin was still among them. He could not hope to have his prayer answered until after every vestige of the golden calf had been destroyed. Seeing that G’d had said to him that he should desist from pleading, and he realized that the matter depended upon him, he hastened to come up with some cogent reason why G’d’s anger, if it were to result in the people’s destruction, would be counterproductive from G’d’s own vantage point. [Ibn Ezra does not view our verse as a prayer on behalf of Israel, but on behalf of G’d’s image among mankind. Ed.] Personally, I do not agree. (Nachmanides speaking). Nachmanides argues that if indeed Moses had not prayed while on the Mountain for the first time, and all his entreaties (according to some scholars 40 days’ worth of them) were a single prayer, why would the Torah have divided them into what is reported here and what Moses added in Deuteronomy? I believe therefore, that we are dealing with two distinct prayers. When G’d told Moses to desist so that He could proceed with what He had in mind, Moses prayed immediately, instead of desisting. He formulated the prayer quoted in our verse. He was far too worried that if he were to wait it would prove too late, as G’d’s anger would have been translated into disaster for the Jewish people. His prayer proved effective, at least sufficiently to suspend execution of G’d’s plan at this stage. It did not mean that G’d had been mollified, how could He have been, when no remedial action both in word and deed had yet been taken? Seeing that G’d had granted Moses a stay of execution, he descended and immediately proceeded to destroy the golden calf, to sprinkle the penitent people with water containing the ashes of that cast image, and authorized the execution of the active participants who had danced around the calf proclaiming it to be a deity. Having done all this, he felt that he could ascend the Mountain again and plead for forgiveness, not only a delay of the punishment for what the people had become guilty of. On that occasion, the confession of the people’s guilt did not ring hollow, as he was able to point to the remedial action he had taken and the people having demonstrated sincere penitence. As to the reason why Moses related the sequence differently, 40 years after the event, when he said that as soon as G’d told him to desist so that He could destroy the people he descended the Mountain, (Deut. 9,14-15) this was because Moses was in the process of reminding the people [who were still alive, i.e. below the age of 60, Ed.] of a whole litany of sins committed by their fathers. In order not to interrupt the continuity of his recital, Moses did not mention what he had said to G’d in our verse at that time. He preferred to tell of what precisely had happened at hat time as well as Aaron’s role in all this. [remember that the great majority of the people whom Moses addressed at that time had not even been alive when all this happened. Ed.] After he had concluded by reminding the people that they had a long history of being rebellious against G’d, (Deut. 9,24) he came back to his prayer on behalf of the people and reminded them that he had spent an entire 40 days on the Mountain pleading the cause of his people. He wanted his audience to know that their existence at this time was not a natural event, but that G’d had initially meant to kill all their fathers, so that most of them would never have been born even, if not for his insistent prayers over a period of so many days when he did not even enjoy food and drink. He did not have to list all the details of his prayers as a list of 40 days of continuous prayer would have resulted in the Torah being an interminably long book, and the people reading it would have gone to sleep from boredom. When Moses mentioned that he had also prayed on behalf of Aaron at that time, he made clear that Aaron had been in need of his prayer at that time. He did not mention this in our verse, as it would have been embarrassing to have done so while Aaron was still alive. In Deuteronomy, a speech by Moses several months after Aaron had already died, he could mention this without fear of embarrassing him.

בעמך אשר הוצאת. Note that G’d says: עמך, “your people,” instead of עמי, “My people.” He says אשר הוצאת “whom you have taken out from Egypt,” i.e. not “the one whom I have taken out of Egypt.”

"Why should the Egyptians say: 'With evil intent He brought them out, to slay them among the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth'? Turn back from Your fierce anger, and relent from the evil that You have spoken of doing to Your people."

והנחם AND REPENT — form another resolution, viz., to do them good, על הרעה INSTEAD OF THE EVIL You have thought to bring upon them.

The meaning of 'He brought them out for evil' — as our ancient Sages of blessed memory alluded, they went out from Egypt under an evil constellation, and so the nations would say: Hashem lacked the power to overcome the force of the constellation and save those who cleave to Him, and seeing that He was powerless He slew them. This would be a desecration of Hashem's Name. Moses therefore prostrated himself for forty days. When Hashem said to him 'I will not go up in your midst' (33:3 below), they would not inherit the land; and then Moses said the entire passage 'See, You say to me' (33:12 below). Afterward Hashem commanded him to descend, carve new tablets, and bring them up to the mountain in his hand — then Hashem descended in the cloud and the skin of Moses' face became radiant, and Hashem inscribed the second tablets. Hence it is written, 'At that time Hashem said to me: Carve for yourself two stone tablets like the first... and make for yourself an ark of wood' (Deut. 10:1) — and it was Israel who built the Ark, that is, the one which Bezalel made.

למה יאמרו הגוים, "Why should the nations be able to say, etc.?" Moses suggested that it would be a public desecration of G'd's name to wipe out the Jewish people whom G'd had referred to in Exodus 4,22 as "My first-born son Israel" less than six months previously? It would appear in retrospect that G'd had orchestrated the Exodus only in order to kill this people in the desert? Once all the nations which served idols realised that serving the one and only G'd led to disaster they would be confirmed in preferring the various deities which they were in the habit of worshiping. They would conclude that the fact that the G'd of the Israelites had not killed them (the Gentiles) for worshiping idols proved that it was an extremely dangerous thing to convert to Judaism and to acknowledge the G'd in Heaven. The reason Moses added the word לאמור was that the Gentiles might not phrase this in these exact words; nonetheless it was clear that they would draw inferences of that nature when they heard what had befallen the Jewish people in the desert. Alternatively, Moses may have added the word לאמור to show that he knew that this would merely be talk and would not describe the truth; still it was an argument the Gentiles were going to use which it would be difficult to disprove. This misrepresentation of the truth would not be confined to Egypt but would be echoed -לאמור- by all the other nations on earth. There could not be a greater desecration of G'd's name.

למה יאמרו?, Moses asks that the people be spared for the sake of G’d’s great name if not for their own sake. Why should His name become desecrated?

"Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your Word, and You spoke with them: 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"

זכור לאברהם (lit., remember for Abraham) — If they have transgressed the Ten Commandments, their father Abraham was tried by ten trials and has not yet received his reward for them. Give it to him now — remember for him this merit — and let the ten trials he successfully withstood countervail the infringement of the Ten Commandments (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 24; Shemot Rabbah 44:4). לאברהם ליצחק ולישראל REMEMBER FOR ABRAHAM, FOR ISAAC, AND FOR ISRAEL — If they are to be punished with death by burning, remember for Abraham his merit that he gave himself over to be burnt for Your sake (for the sanctification of the Divine Name) in Ur (in the fire) of the Chaldees; if with death by the sword, remember for Isaac the merit that he stretched forth his neck to the knife on the occasion of the “Binding”. If by exile, remember for Jacob the merit that he went into exile to Haran (leaving the paternal roof in order to fulfil his father’s command). If, however, they cannot be saved by their ancestors merit what is the good of You saying to me, “and I will make of thee a great nation”? — if a chair with three legs (the merits of the three patriarchs) cannot stand before You in the moment of Your wrath, how much the less a chair with only one leg (the merits of myself alone) (Berakhot 32a). אשר נשבעת להם בך TO WHOM THOU SWAREST BY THINE OWN SELF — Thou didst not swear to them by a thing which is perishable — neither by the heavens nor by the earth, nor by the mountains, nor by the hills — but by Thy very Self, Who endurest forever and Whose oath endures for ever. For it is stated that God said to Abraham, (Genesis 22:16, 17) “By Myself have I sworn saith the Lord … [I will greatly multiply thy seed]”; to Isaac it was said, (Genesis 26:3, 4) “and I will perform the oath which I sware by Myself unto Abraham thy father … [and I will multiply thy seed]”; and to Jacob it was said, (Genesis 35:11) “I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply”; thus to him also God swore by Himself — by God Almighty (Shemot Rabbah 44:23).

וכל הארץ הזאת אשר אמרתי אתן לזרעכם ונחלו, a reference to the fourth generation of the Emorite mentioned by G’d at the covenant between the pieces. (Genesis 15,16) Moses realises that this promise will not be fulfilled to his children except now.

זכור לאברהם, "Remember Abraham, etc." Here Moses did not refer to G'd's oath to Abraham to make him into a great nation, etc., a comment G'd had already replied to earlier. Moses referred to the sadness which would engulf people when they would hear about what happened. Moses also argued the merit of the Patriarchs based on G'd's promise in the Ten Commandments (20,6) that He considered such merits for thousands of generations to those who "loved Him and observed His commandments." Moses added the words "Your servants, and "You have sworn," in order to give still greater meaning to what G'd had stated in the Ten Commandments. וכל הארץ הזאת, "and this whole land, etc." There are many ways of interpreting these words. Some say that they are part of Moses' words who quotes what G'd had said to the Patriarchs. It is equally possible that they are words spoken by G'd. The meaning of אמרתי would then have to be understood in a sense similar to Isaiah 3,10: "declare that the צדיק is good!" Here G'd would be proclaiming the superiority of the land of Israel by saying: "I declare that I have elevated the patriarchs by swearing to give such a superior land to their descendants, etc." We can find a parallel to this in Deut. 11,11-12, where the land of Israel is described in terms of being a superior land.

זכור לאברהם ליצחק לישראל עבדיך “Remember for the sake of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yisrael Your servants;” If even Moses, the greatest of all our prophets had to remind G’d of the merit of the patriarchs in his plea to G’d in order to secure a favorable hearing, how much more so must we make such a reminder a pivotal part of all our prayers. G’d likes to be reminded of the patriarchs by us in all generations. A Midrashic approach (Shemot Rabbah 44,1-2): the words “remember Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, tell us that Moses’ prayer did not evoke a response until he had mentioned the dead and departed; this explains why Israel has been compared to a grapevine as we know from Psalms 80,9 גפן ממצרים תסיע, “You plucked up a grapevine from Egypt.” Just as the grapevine is alive and remains alive even when attached to dead trees, trees which are far bigger than it, so Israel will remain alive and prosper by supporting itself by the dead (patriarchs). You will note that whereas Elijah offered up numerous prayers at Mount Carmel, G’d did not respond to him until after he had mentioned the dead. When he pleaded ענני ה’ ענני, “answer me O Lord, answer me,” nothing happened until he added the words ה’ אלו-הי אברהם יצחק וישראל, “Lord G’d of Avraham, Yitzchak and Israel, today let it be known that there is a G’d in Israel.” As soon as he had concluded this particular prayer, fire fell from heaven and consumed the burnt-offering as well as the firewood and the stones. [I find this Midrash difficult as in the text you will note that Elijah mentioned the patriarchs before pleading ענני ה’ ענני. We may have to assume that the previous prayers are simply not recorded in the text (Compare Kings I 18,36)] Moses, likewise, remained on Mount Sinai for forty days to ask G’d’s mercy for His people for the sin of the golden calf and he was not answered until he mentioned the dead by saying: “remember Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.” As soon as he did that, the Torah writes וינחם ה’ על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו “The Lord reconsidered the evil He had said to do to His people.” The whole episode helps us understand what Solomon referred to in Kohelet 4,2 when he said: “I praise the dead who are dead already.” He meant that such dead are even more effective in death than live and righteous people are while still alive. This is what the sages meant when they said that the righteous dead are greater in death than while they were still alive” (Chulin 7). Another approach to this verse in Kohelet: Solomon meant that the dead who were righteous during their lives long ago were greater in their lifetime than the righteous of the present generation in their lifetime (Shabbat 30,1). The proof is that the decrees handed down from the times of Moses are still being observed (though Moses has been dead a long time), whereas the decrees issued by kings nowadays, kings who are alive, are frequently not being observed. Moses himself had introduced numerous תקנות, ordinances, over and above the explicit laws spelled out in the Torah. To name but one: when the Torah writes in Leviticus 23,44 וידבר משה את מועדי ה’ אל בני ישראל, “Moses stated the laws about the festivals of G’d to the Children of Israel,” the Talmud Megillah 32 explains that Moses instituted the rule that the laws about keeping these festivals have to be expounded publicly on that day or earlier. We find that Ezra also added new such ordinances which are still being observed in our time (compare Baba Kama 82). All this is part of what Solomon had in mind when he praised the dead as being better off than the living as the ordinances of the living are often not accepted by their contemporaries. ונחלו לעולם, “and it shall be their heritage forever.” What Moses meant was that the patriarchs would transmit that heritage forever. Even if the Israelites would be exiled from their land, no other nation would receive it as their heritage. This is the meaning of the words אחוזת עולם, “an eternal possession,” which G’d promised to Avraham in Genesis 17.8. Another meaning included in the words ונחלו לעולם is that the reference is to another, eternal world. When we think about that meaning of the word לעולם in Moses’ plea we would have an assurance in this verse, (or by Moses quoting G’d back to Himself) of G’d’s promise that the Israelites would exist forever, in this world as well as in the hereafter.

And Hashem relented from the evil that He had spoken of doing to His people.

"And Hashem relented" — Heaven forbid that Hashem should actually change His mind; rather, the Torah speaks in the language of human beings, as in 'He went up' (Gen. 35:13), 'He came down' (Gen. 11:5), 'Hashem will rejoice in His works' (Ps. 104:31), 'and He was grieved to His heart' (Gen. 6:6). And Samuel said, 'Moreover, the Eternal One of Israel does not lie and does not relent' (1 Sam. 15:29), while in the same passage it is written 'I have relented' [נִחַמְתִּי]. Some interpret it as an expression of 'meeting' or 'agreement,' but there is no need for that.

וינחם ה׳ על הרעה, "G'd reconsidered the evil He had said He would do, etc." The meaning of the verse is that there were two reasons why G'd reconsidered. 1) The decree was evil objectively speaking. 2) It would have resulted in evil for His people. We may understand this statement also as emphasising the דבר aspect, i.e. what G'd had merely said He would do. If He had sworn to do this, He would not have been able to reconsider an oath. A further dimension of this statement is that G'd only reconsidered the evil He had said to do, i.e. to wipe out the Jewish people; there were other evil parts which He had not reconsidered, parts involving the sin of the golden calf. Furthermore, G'd may only have reconsidered the evil he had said He would do to the people not directly involved in worshiping the calf, those who still were considered His people; those who had worshiped the calf be it with or without witnesses but who believed in it in their hearts would be subject to G'd's original decision and G'd punished them by death. Moses examined some of the people by making them drink of the waters containing the gold dust of the calf, others were executed by the Levites.

Moses turned and descended from the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands — tablets inscribed on both their sides, on this side and on that side were they inscribed.

משני עבריהם ON BOTH THEIR SIDES could the letters be read, and this constituted a miraculous piece of work (Shabbat 104a).

"And he turned" [וַיִּפֶן]. The text mentions here 'while the mountain was ablaze with fire' (Deut. 9:15). The meaning of וַיִּפֶן is like a man surveying what he must do, seeing that he was obliged to descend quickly — in the manner of 'and he turned this way and that' (2:12 above). The meaning of 'in his hand' — in his possession, as in 'and you shall take with you ten men' (1 Kgs. 14:3). We are astonished at how he could carry even one tablet, let alone two in a single hand. Furthermore, since Scripture explicitly states that they were written on both their sides, these tablets are not the same as the two stones among the stones of the breastplate — for what is written on one side would be visible on the other, and the meaning of 'written' is not 'visible' but simply 'written'; just as it was written from this side, so it was written on the other side as well. The tablet was thick. There is no need for the mem [מ] and samekh [ס] in the tablets to have stood miraculously, since there is a dispute about the meaning of the word אֲשׁוּרִית [Assyrian script] — whether it means distinguished in its letters, or named for having come up with them from Assyria. Moreover, if the letters were visible through [the stone], they would appear reversed. And one need not raise the objection against me that if these were precious stones — to which the reply is that they were exceedingly precious on account of the writing of God engraved upon them, since they needed to be thick; but where could one find a precious stone of very great quality whose length was a cubit, its width a cubit and a half, and its height a cubit? And furthermore, from where would Moses carve two precious stone tablets equal in measure to the first? We do not know how the Ten Commandments were written on the two tablets, so that they would not be turned upside down; hence it is written 'on this side and on that side they are written,' after it had already stated 'written on both their sides,' and we cannot know whether the entire surface of each tablet was covered in writing, or whether margins were left on its four sides, as we do today in these books — whether the writing was thick or thin. Something that has not come down to us through tradition is not a matter for our speculation.

ושני לוחות העדות בידו. He thought that as soon as he would return to the people they would become penitents; in the event that they would not, he planned to smash the Tablets in front of their eyes so that they would return in penitence after this shock.

ויפן וירד משה מן ההר, "Moses turned around and descended from the Mountain." What is the significance of the Torah reporting Moses as "turning around," i.e. turning His back on G'd's presence? Is this not something which reflects a lack of respect? Perhaps the fact that the Torah added the superfluous words "from the Mountain" were added to prevent the misconception that Moses "turned his back on G'd", as it were. He only turned his back on the Mountain. If that were the meaning of the words "from the Mountain," the Torah should have written "Moses turned away from the Mountain" instead of writing "Moses turned and descended from the Mountain." Furthermore, why did the Torah have to mention Moses as "turning around" altogether? Perhaps the expression "he turned around" signified Moses' reduced spiritual niveau which made it impossible for him to confront the angels. He therefore moved sideways on the Mountain, much like someone who tries to hide. We may also understand the word as similar to what we learned in Devarim Rabbah 1, where the Midrash contrasts Moses' mode of speaking directly to the Israelites, i.e. "you have sinned," with his speaking to G'd in the third person "למה יחרה?" The meaning of ויפן, he turned around, then may refer to Moses' change in attitude as he prepared to face his people. לוחות העדות, "the Tablets containing the testimony." The word ה־עדות, indicating a unique kind of testimony may be an allusion to the way G'd Himself had inscribed the Tablets so that the writing could be read from either side, something impossible if they had been inscribed by human hands. Such writing would appear as if it had been written backwards had it been inscribed on one side by a human scribe. The letter ה before the word עדות may also hint at the miraculous way the final letters ס and ם appeared with their respective centers suspended in the air miraculously (Megillah 3). Perhaps these two letters were "proof" i.e. "testimony" that the Tablets had indeed been inscribed by G'd Himself.

ויפן וירד משה וגו, “Moses turned around and descended, etc.;” all this occurred in order, on the 17th day of Tammuz up until verse 29: לתת עליכם היום ברכה, “to bestow a blessing upon you this day.” ושני לוחות העדות בידו, “with the two Tablets of testimony in his hand.” Even though Moses already planned to smash these Tablets, he carried them all the way down from the Mountain so that G-d should not have to look at His handiwork having been smashed by Moses seeing that its inscription commenced with: “I am the Lord your G-d Who has taken you out of Egypt, followed by the commandment not to have alien deities, etc.” This would have been too upsetting a reminder of the people’s disloyalty. משני עבריהם, “the letters were hollowed out from one side to the other, thus making the Tablets easier to smash.” (This is why this detail is added at this particular point.)

ויפן וירד משה מן ההר. “Moses turned and descended from the mountain.” Rabbeinu Chananel writes in this connection that Moses must have been facing the cloud during his descent. In other words, just as he had ascended facing the cloud, he now descended keeping his face towards the cloud, walking back-wards. The High Priest emulated Moses’ withdrawal from facing the Shechinah on the Day of Atonement when he also walked backwards out of the Holy of Holies after having offered the incense before the kapporet as well as some of the blood of the two offerings on behalf of the people, as well as on to the dividing curtain. The Mishnah Yuma 52 states: “in the manner he had entered he exited.” This is also the way Leviticus 16,24 “he exited and completed the ritual of his own burnt-offering as well as that of the people,” has been interpreted by our sages to mean that the word לבמה , “to the altar” must also be read as מבמה, “from the altar,” when he was headed back to Jerusalem (Yuma 53). There is a precedent for this in Numbers 31,21, where the words הבאים למלחמה must also mean הבאים מן המלחמה, “the ones who were returning from the war.” In the present situation what happened was simply a putting into practice of the well known principle (Psalms 16,8) שויתי ה’ לנגדי תמיד, “I always keep the Lord (Shechinah) before my eyes.” How do we know that the Shechinah was on the mountain at the time Moses descended from the mountain? In Deut. 9,15 where Moses refers to his descent from the mountain, he adds the words: “and the mountain was burning in fire while the two Tablets of the covenant were on my two hands.” We have also been taught in Yuma 53 that any student taking leave from his teacher has to follow the procedure Moses taught us and depart facing his Rabbi until he can conveniently hide his face behind something between him and his Rabbi. All of Israel symbolically perform the rite of withdrawing from facing G’d while taking three steps backwards at the end of the central prayer, the עמידה. Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel When you examine this verse together with the verse following it you will find a total of 108 letters, corresponding to the 108 handbreadths of the combined length, width, and depth of one of the Tablets. The two Tablets combined comprised 216 such handbreadths corresponding to the number of letters in the great name (based on the three verses in Exodus 14,19-21 being written one above the other giving 72 three-lettered “words.” Compare our comments on that verse). When these Tablets rested inside the Holy Ark they symbolised the fact that the great name of the Lord in all its permutations was contained in the Holy Ark. When you consider the number of letters between the beginning of Exodus 34,4-6 where the making of the second set of the Tablets is described, you will also find a total of 108 letters followed by the words: ויעבור ה’ על פניו, “Hashem passed before him (Moses).” This is all a clear hint that the presence of these measurements and letters symbolised the presence of the Shechinah. Moreover, the remarkable number of letters on both occasions in connection with the Torah describing the Tablets is a powerful proof for the way the Kabbalists have determined that there are actually a total of 216 letters which form the complete great name of the Lord. Moses had been taught all this explicitly while he was on Mount Sinai. לוחות כתובים משני עבריהם מזה ומזה הם כתובים, “Tablets inscribed on both of their sides; they were inscribed on one side and on the other.” It was a great source of wonderment that the writing could be read from either side as if it had been written on that side originally. When we humans write, say on transparent glass, anyone standing on the other side while seeing the letters has to read them in reverse order for the writing to make sense to him. It is possible to explain the words משני עבריהם as meaning that any word in the Torah has two kinds of meaning. There is the obvious meaning, called נגלה, and the hidden, mystical meaning, called נסתר. Solomon alluded to this in Proverbs 25,11 when he wrote: “a word properly spoken is like a golden apple in a silver setting.” We also have a verse in Job 11,6: “for there are multiple aspects to wisdom.” Torah is a source of wisdom on different levels. In addition to its plain meaning, the פשט, there are still worlds of hidden wisdom. In Psalms 62,12 David refers to this by saying: G’d has said one thing, but I have heard two (messages) out of the one thing.”

לחת “Tablets;” you will note that the word for Tablets has been spelled defectively, i.e. in the singular mode. This is to suggest that both Tablets are of equal importance. They also symbolise heaven and earth, which each are an integral part of our universe. This “equality” is also to be found in every man and woman who have entered into a union through marriage. Five of the Ten Commandments are engraved on one Tablet and five on the other. The number five symbolises the five Books of Moses, and the number ten symbolises the ten utterances with which the Torah described G–d as having created our universe. In the Talmud, tractate Eyruvin, folio 54, Rabbi Elazar is quoted as saying that the reason why these Tablets are described as “Tablets made of stone,” [when in fact the first set of Tablets was made from a raw material not known to us, a celestial raw material, Ed.] is to teach us that if a human being is as consistent in his actions as is stone, he will not forget what he has studied, and it will reside within him as constant and unaffected by external influences as stone. If not, he will not be able to have total recall of what he has studied. Rabbi Elazar adds that (seeing the Torah scroll is not written with vowels) the word charut, “engraved” can also be read as cheyrut, “freedom,” i.e. observing what is written on the these Tablets makes us truly free, (from temptation to do evil). Rabbi Elazar adds that if the first set of Tablets had not been shattered by Moses, the Torah would not ever have been forgotten by the members of the Jewish people. Rav Acha there adds that if we had always observed the Torah we would have also been physically free; no nation ever would have defeated us in war. As a reminder, even when reading the word as written, i.e. charut, we should think of it as having been vocalised cheyrut.

The tablets were the work of Hashem, and the writing was the writing of Hashem, inscribed upon the tablets.

מעשה אלהים המה [THE TABLETS WERE] THE WORK OF GOD — This means what it literally implies: God Himself (Hebrew: in His glory) made them. Another explanation (taking מעשה in the sense of “occupation”) is: Just as a man says to his fellow, “All that Mr. So-and-so occupies himself with is only with such-and-such a work”, so is the delight of the Holy One, blessed be He, confined to the Torah alone (cf. Proverbs 8:31 the whole of which chapter is taken as a description of God’s relation to the Torah) (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 16). חרות — The expressions חרת (which occurs only here in Scriptures) and חרט have the same meaning, both of them signifying engraving; entailler in old French.

AND THE TABLETS WERE THE WORK OF G-D. It would have been proper for Scripture to mention everything connected with the work of the Tablets of the Law in the verse, And He gave unto Moses [… the two Tablets of the Testimony], as He said [there], written with the finger of G-d. It is, however, mentioned here in order to tell of their high distinction [that they were the work of G-d], thus stating that despite all this Moses did not hesitate to break them, because he was angered upon seeing that evil sight and he could not restrain himself from breaking them. Or the matter may be as our Rabbis have mentioned, that the writing vanished from the Tablets as he approached the border [of the camp] where the calf was, the place of defilement and transgression.

"And the tablets" — our Sages said they were decreed to be as they were, as I explained at the beginning of the book of Genesis. In my view, 'the work of God' means that they were created already formed to the proper measure, and this is mentioned because the second tablets were carved by Moses. Some say that חָרוּת [engraved/freedom] is like חָרוּשׁ [cut/plowed], and some transpose it; חָתַר (Ezek. 8:8) is another suggestion. The correct view is that it has no exact parallel; perhaps it is something like the sense of 'open carving' [פִּתּוּחַ].

והלוחות מעשה אלוקים המה, “the raw material that the Tablets consisted of was of Divine manufacture.” This is pointed out here in order to impress the reader of the magnitude of losing such a gift made by G-d’s own hands.

והלחות מעשה אלו-הים המה, “and the tablets were G’d’s handiwork.” The reference is not to G’d’s “manually” having made the Tablets, but that they came into existence at a verbal directive of G’d just as the world came into existence by verbal directives of G’d, i.e. בדבר ה’ שמים נעשו, “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made” (Psalms 33,6). A similar expression is used in Genesis 2,4: ביום עשות ה’ אלו-הים ארץ ושמים, “on the day the Lord G’d made earth and heaven.” והמכתב מכתב אלו-הים הוא, “and the script was the script of G’d.” Nachmanides writes that the verse praising the distinctive features of the Tablets should by rights have been written earlier, right next to 31,18 where the Torah reports G’d giving the Tablets to Moses, that they were made of stone and written with the “finger” of G’d. The reason the details written here have been delayed is to draw our attention to the fact that what Moses was about to smash was something so extraordinary that the very idea that he would smash it is mind-boggling. This is how Nachmanides accounts for the positioning of this verse at this point. While this makes sense, the bigger problem is how Moses, the trusted servant of the Lord, could initiate such an act of deliberately destroying G’d’s handiwork without having obtained G’d’s permission to do so. If, due to Israel’s sin, they had forfeited the right to receive the Tablets, Moses should have returned them to G’d! Alternatively, he should have asked G’d what to do with them. When a mortal king dispatches a sealed document to someone by means of a messenger and the messenger is unable to make delivery because the recipients do not want to accept said document, a loyal servant brings the document back to his king explaining that he was unable to deliver it. He would most certainly not treat it disrespectfully by tearing it up! The reason that Moses smashed the Tablets was that he had observed that the letters on it had already flown away (Shemot Rabbah 46,1) as soon as he was approaching the area where the calf was positioned, an area which had become defiled by the calf’s very presence. In other words, continuing with our parable, the king’s seal had already disappeared, so that the rest of the document was no longer of any value. We may compare the Tablets themselves and the writing on them to the relationship between body and soul. The Tablets were the body, the writing was the soul. Once the soul has departed the body is of no value whatsoever. Such a dead body deserves to be buried under the earth. This is why Moses’ mind told him that the proper thing for him to do was to bury the Tablets beneath the mountain. The proof for our sages’ statement that the letters had flown away is found in Berachot 8 where the rabbis warn of treating scholars who have forgotten their learning due to some accident such as sickness or economic hardship without respect. They meant that even the broken pieces of the first set of Tablets were deemed worthy to be placed inside the Holy Ark. Even the stone devoid of script was not considered as having lost all sanctity. The scholar who had once been a receptacle of Torah knowledge deserves to be treated with respect even when he can no longer disseminate his knowledge (provided his present condition was due to an accident beyond his control). This is also what our sages had in mind when they said that Moses did not smash the Tablets but they fell out of his hands. As long as the letters were on the Tablets they supported not only themselves but “carried” the entire weight of such massive stone cubes. Once the letters had flown off, it was quite impossible for mortal man, even a giant such as Moses, to carry such a weight. The text supports our approach for as long as the letters were on the Tablets the Torah reports Moses as carrying both Tablets בידו, in one of his hands (verse 15). As soon as he saw the calf and the dances, he could not even carry the Tablets with both his hands (verse 19). We find something parallel with human beings. As long as the body contains a soul, i.e. is alive, it weighs less than after the soul has departed. Even a piece of iron which is white-hot weighs less than the same piece after it has cooled off, i.e. after the “life, the fire” has gone out of it. In halachic terms (Shabbat 94) this is the meaning of the principle החי נושא את עצמו, “that living people or animals carry themselves,” i.e. that one does not incur a penalty for carrying living people on the Sabbath [providing they could have walked if they had not been carried. Ed.]

“And the tablets were the work of God, etc.” This entire verse seems out of place here; it should have appeared earlier in the verse “And He gave to Moses, when He had finished… tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” That is where the nature of the tablets should have been mentioned. It seems to me that this entire verse is meant to inform us that the letters were engraved upon the tablets, as it aims to provide a reason why Moses broke the tablets. It was because the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets. The Midrash says (Exodus Rabbah 41:7) that charut [engraved] can be read as “cherut” [freedom] — freedom from subjugation to kingdoms, and others say freedom from the Angel of Death, and our Rabbis say freedom from suffering. They learned all this from the fact that the text says engraved [charut] upon the tablets rather than “etched” or “written.” This indicates that these letters had substance, as we explained in Parshat Yitro on the verse and all the people saw the voices, that every utterance that came from the Holy One, blessed be He, took physical form and had substance, so that they could see it, and these utterances were engraved upon the tablets. Note that it doesn’t say “in the tablets” but upon the tablets, meaning they were fixed on top of them. Therefore, they interpreted charut [engraved] as “cherut” [freedom], suggesting that just as these letters were free and not subjugated to the tablets at all, and were not nullified when the tablets were broken — for when the tablets were broken, the letters flew away, proving they were not bound to the stone material — so too, all who study Torah will be free from subjugation to kingdoms, from suffering, and from the Angel of Death. This is why it says And I will write upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets (Exodus 34:1). It doesn’t say “like the words” but the words, telling you that those same letters that flew away from the first tablets would be fixed here. And since this matter indicates that as long as the tablets exist, Israel has a covenant that they will be free from subjugation to kingdoms, and now that they had sinned, they were not worthy of all these promises — therefore Moses broke them. As it is said I said you are gods (Psalms 82:6) — that you would endure like divine beings — you have corrupted your ways; indeed, like men you shall die, for you will no longer be free from the Angel of Death. And that which Moses did not break the tablets immediately when God told him how they had made the golden calf is according to what is concluded in the Yalkut (32:393) that because the letters were flying off, the stones became heavy and fell from Moses’ hands. And accordingly, we can say that the letters were flying off at the foot of the mountain when they saw the calf, and then Moses sensed that the sanctity had been removed from them, therefore he broke them specifically at the foot of the mountain. Some say that this is why he broke them, because they were like a promissory note against Israel, and once a promissory note is torn, the creditor has no means to claim from them. Similarly, these tablets were testimony that Israel had accepted the Torah. And some say that he broke them, in order to include himself with them in the sin. Israel caused the letters to fly off, and Moses broke the tablets, so that the Holy One, Blessed be He, could not say, I will consume them and make you into a great nation, for they were equal in sin. And regarding this, Moses said, And now, if You will forgive their sin — meaning, “And now something new has happened, that I too am a sinner like them, and if so, if You forgive their sin, good, but if not, then do not forgive me either, and thus erase me from Your book.”

והלוחות מעשה אלוקים המה, “the Tablets had been made by G’d.” Nachmanides writes that it would have been more appropriate to describe the details of these Tablets in 31,18 where we first hear about them, and where we have been told that they had been written with a “finger” of G’d. The reason that this was written at this juncture was to impress upon us that in spite of the Tablets being G’d’s personal handiwork, Moses did not let this stop him from smashing them as he was so upset when he saw what was going on in the camp. An alternate reason for why Moses smashed the Tablets, a thought expressed by our sages, is that when Moses realized that the letters on the Tablets had already flown away, so that the sanctity of the Tablets had departed, he took this as a signal to also smash the body which had hosted the letters while the people were a holy people. He would not demean the work of G’d to be brought within the boundaries of a camp which had become totally defiled.

מעשה אלוקים המה, Moses did not carve out these Tablets as opposed to the second set of Tablets which G’d told him to carve out himself (34,1.) חרות, just like חרוט or חרוש, engraved.

Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, and he said to Moses: "There is a sound of battle in the camp."

ברעה means WHEN THEY WERE SHOUTING for they were shouting for joy and making merry.

"And Joshua heard" — he had remained at the foot of the mountain. "A noise" [בְּרֵעֹה]. From the root of תְּרוּעָה [shouting], as in 'I will take up knowledge' (Job 36:3), where it derives from דַּעַת [knowledge] — so too here, from רָעָה comes רֵעַ; and similarly, 'Why do you cry out so badly?' [לָמָּה תָרִיעִי רֵעַ] (Mic. 4:9).

וישמע יהושע, "Joshua heard, etc." The expression ברעה needs clarification. What precisely was the "sound" that Joshua heard which he interpreted as the sound of war? In order to understand Moses' response to Joshua one has to have prophetic insight. All of this may be understood in light of a statement in the Talmud Yerushalmi Taanit 4,5 that the righteous are able to distinguish certain sounds as implying either something positive or something negative. This power of aural perception is something G'd has granted to outstanding individuals. When Joshua heard the sound which indicated something negative happening, ברעה, he interpreted it as the sound of fighting amongst the people. Alternatively, Joshua did not refer to a civil war when he mentioned that he identified the sound as the sound of battle; rather he referred to the struggle between the evil urge and the urge to be good which he perceived as being waged inside the Israelites at that time. Moses answered him that this was not how he perceived what he heard. When Moses said that he did not hear קול ענות גבורה, he meant that he did not perceive the good urge being victorious over the evil urge; when he added that he did not hear the קול ענות חלושה either, he meant that the reason was not merely an inherent weakness amongst the Israelites; what he heard was קול ענות, a sound of affliction, i.e. that he heard the breaking of the staff of glory which used to be theirs and which had now been broken. The meaning of this is that as opposed to violating one or another of the commandments, something that is apt to occur in the life of every Jew from time to time and which weakens a person spiritually, this time they had uprooted all the commandments by becoming guilty of idolatry. This is because according to Chulin 5 the sin of idolatry is equal to violating the entire Torah. Perhaps the word אנכי which follows the word ענות here is an allusion to the שכינה; it is reminiscent of Deut. 32,18 צור ילדך תשי, that the commission of a sin such a idolatry "weakens" the שכינה. The word שומע refers back to Joshua who had said that he heard the sound of battle within the camp. Moses told Joshua that what he heard was the mystical dimension of the breaking apart of the שכינה, so to speak. Solomon alludes to something like this in Proverbs 10,1 ובן כסיל תוגת אמו, "a foolish son is his mother's sorrow." Having written this, I have found the following statement in the Zohar second volume page 195: "What is the meaning of the word 'ברעה'? It refers to a voice (sound) from the סיטרא אחרא, the "negative part of the emanations." [This is based on the spelling of ברע with the letter ה at the end. Joshua is perceived as like the "moon" compared to Moses, the latter being like the "sun" in our aggadic literature. The "negative emanations" are similarly perceived by kabbalists as being like the "moon" when compared to the positive emanations which are like the "sun." These negative emanations are perceived as havi...

את קול העם ברעה, “the sound of the people in its shouting;” the final letter in the word is the letter ה although it should have been the letter ו seeing that the subject is masculine. However, we may see in this an allusion to five different sounds or voices such as described in connection with the idolatrous cults performed in front of the golden image Nebuchadnezzar had made (compare Daniel 3,7). We are told there about five different sounds, “horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, bagpipe, and more.“ Another meaning of the word ברעה may be that the word רעה is an allusion to the planet Mars of whose negative and destructive influence on the Israelites Pharaoh had already warned Moses as we pointed out repeatedly, based on Exodus 10,10. This is also why the Israelites (worshipping the calf) used the musical instrument מחול as the music produced by it is reputed to counteract harmful radiations from Mars. This is also why Aaron said to Moses: “you know that the people are ברע,“ i.e. are under the influence of that planet. Joshua had not ascended the mountain with Moses, neither had he remained in the camp during the entire 40 days Moses had been on the mountain. The word וישמע, “he heard,” rather than “he saw,” is clear proof of that. While waiting for Moses at the base of Mount Sinai, a special portion of manna descended for his benefit, as basically, no manna fell on the mountain. Our sages in Yuma 76 have explained the expression לחם אבירים אכל איש, (Psalms 78,25) as applying to the special portion of manna G’d made it rain around the site where Joshua had positioned himself. The Torah (G’d) refers to Joshua as איש in Numbers 27,18 where He responds to Moses’ request to appoint a successor for him by mentioning that Joshua was suitable, that he was -in the words of Moses- a man with the right kind of spirit.

He said: "It is not the sound of the mighty who prevail in battle, nor is it the sound of the weak who are broken in defeat — the sound of those who revel is what I hear."

אין קול ענות גבורה IT IS NOT THE VOICE OF THE CRY OF MASTERY —This sound does not seem to be the sound of the utterance of victors who cry, “Victory!” nor is it the sound of the defeated who cry, “Alas — let me flee!”. קול ענות means, the sound of blasphemy and cursing (Shemot Rabbah 41:1) which distress (עַנֵּה to vex, to grieve) the soul of him who hears them — even when they are only related to him.

THE NOISE OF THEM THAT SING DO I HEAR. The meaning of this is not that Moses knew the matter to be so, for in that case he would have said, “It is the noise of them that sing” [instead of saying, “do I hear”]. Rather, its meaning is that since Moses was the father of wisdom, and recognized the musical character of all sounds, he said that it was a noise of singing which was being heard by him. The Rabbis have likewise said in an Agadah that Moses told Joshua, “Is it possible that one who is destined to be the leader of Israel cannot distinguish between the different kinds of sounds?” Now Moses in his great humility did not tell Joshua the cause of the noise, as he did not want to speak of the disgrace of Israel, and so instead he told him that it was a noise of merriment.

"And he said" — the Gaon [Saadia] held that these too are the words of Joshua; in my view they are the words of Moses, and the proof is the verse that follows: 'And it came to pass, as he drew near to the camp' (v. 19). "A sound of defeat" [חֲלוּשָׁה] — a noun, like 'valor' [גְּבוּרָה]. "A sound of singing" [קוֹל עַנּוֹת] — like the singing of musical accompaniment, and this is 'they rose up to make merry' (v. 6).

קול ענות אנכי שומע, “I can only hear a sound of distress.” Nachmanides writes that what Moses said was not based on factual evidence, -after all he had not yet seen what was going on with his eyes, and we do not judge on the basis of what our ears hear.- In fact, technically speaking, Moses was out of order in telling Joshua his conclusions which incriminated his people on the basis of not even having seen the evidence. We must therefore interpret what Moses is quoted as saying to mean that he voiced the opinion that what he heard sounded like revelry. In the Midrash Moses’ words are understood as a rebuke to Joshua, his mentor saying to him that someone who will one day become the ruler of this people cannot afford to make judgments based only on what he thought he had heard. (Midrash Rabbah Kohelet 9)

חלושה, victory; we find this word in the battle against Amalek in Exodus 17,13 ויחלוש יהושוע, “Joshua defeated, etc.”

And it came to pass, as he drew near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, that Moses's anger was kindled, and he cast the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.

וישלך מידו AND HE CAST [THE TABLETS] OUT OF HIS HAND — He said: “What is the law regarding the Paschal lamb which is only one of the commandments? The Torah states: (Exodus 12:43) “No stranger shall eat thereof”! (cf. Rashi on that verse: a stranger means one who has enstranged himself by his doings from his Father in heaven — an apostate). “But the whole Torah is here (written on the tablets) and all the Israelites are apostates, can I possibly give it (the Torah) to them?!” (Shabbat 87a). תחת ההר BENEATH THE MOUNTAIN — i. e. at the foot of the mountain.

"And he saw the calf and the dancing" — the heh of הָעֵגֶל serves in place of the other [heh of וְהַמְּחֹלֹת], as though it read 'and he saw the calf and the dancing around it.' And out of Moses' great zeal he shattered the tablets which were in his hands, as one tears up a deed of testimony — he tore up the deed of covenant before the eyes of all Israel, as is stated there.

וירא את העגל ואת המחולות ויחר אף משה, Moses’ anger was aroused over the fact that people rejoiced over the damage to themselves they had caused. We find something parallel in Jeremiah 11,15 כי רעתכי אז תעלזי, ”for you exult in performing your evil deeds.” At this point Moses despaired of the people doing teshuvah before being punished. They were no longer fit to receive the Tablets.

ויהי כאשר קרב אל המחנה, It was, when he came close to the camp, etc. Our sages have already told us in Megillah 10 that whenever the word ויהי introduces a paragraph this is an allusion to a painful experience. In this instance Shemot Rabbah 46,1 describes that Moses noted the letters on the Tablets "flying away." This caused us all the subsequent grief our forefathers and we ourselves have experienced ever since, including the experience of death itself. Had the original Tablets survived, every sorrow and calamity would have disappeared from the earth, and the world would have experienced freedom from the angel of death (compare section 41 in that Midrash.) The word ויהי also refers to the anguish experienced by Moses personally when he saw with his own eyes what was taking place. The word also alludes to the feelings of shame experienced by the Israelites who felt like a thief who is caught in the act of stealing when they saw Moses approaching. The word even alludes to the קליפה, the spiritually negative radiations which now bombarded the camp of the Israelites and which presaged death and destruction. These negative emanations had been called forth by the words: "these are your gods O Israel, etc." כאשר קרב אל המחנה, as he approached the camp. Perhaps the Torah wished to tell us that Moses espied the calf even before he actually entered the camp. This had to be so in order for the sacred Tablets not to have to share the same domain with the epitome of impurity, the golden calf. When the Torah writes: "and it was as he approached the camp he saw the calf and the dances (or the musical instruments used during dances)," our attention is drawn to the immediacy of Moses seeing the calf and the activities surrounding it. וירא את העגל ומחלות, he saw the calf and the musical instruments, etc. Perhaps the Torah describes that with the approach of Moses the spirit of impurity took fright and flew away so that the calf became inert and lost its ability to utter the words "these are your gods, etc." Even the spirit of impurity which had fashioned the calf unassisted by any artisan or goldsmith departed out of fear of Moses. The words עגל ומחלות side by side conjure up an image of the calf becoming as inert as the מחלות, the musical instruments, once the spirit which had misled the Jewish people into believing that the calf possessed powers of its own had departed from it. Alternatively, the Torah uses the wording וירא את העגל instead of וירא העגל, to draw our attention to the fact that Moses did not only behold the calf but also the spirit of impurity it contained, i.e. את. The righteous have the ability to recognise evil; a person of the stature of Moses was certainly able to recognise evil when he faced it. According to our rabbis in Tikkunim 142, Moses asked the calf who had made it to which the calf responded that it had been made by the mixed multitude. Seeing that inert things cannot speak, the meaning of that statement is that Moses realised th...

ומחולות , “and the dancing;” we know this word as meaning: “dancing,” from Psalms 150,4: הללוהו בתוף ומחול, “praise Him with the drum and dance.” וישלך מידיו, “he hurled from his hands;” Moses’ physical strength left him when he saw with his own eyes the golden calf, and he was no longer able to hold on to the Tablets, and threw them a short distance from where he stood, just far enough so that they would not hurt his feet by falling on them. וישבר אותם תחת ההר, “he shattered them at the foot of the Mountain.” He did so because the letter ט of the Hebrew alphabet did not appear on them even once. The reward for honouring father and mother, i.e. למען ייטב לך, “in order that you may fare well,” appears only on the second set of Tablets (Deuteronomy 5,16). Through the inclusion of these extra words, all of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet were represented on the second set of tablets.

וירא את העגל ומחלות, “and when he saw the calf and the dances, etc.” Of all the various musical instruments which were being used at that time, the Torah identifies only the מחלות, The fact is that you find that Scriptures lists a total of seven varieties of musical instruments each one corresponding to one of the seven fixed stars (galaxies, which formed the basis of astronomy and astrology until Copernicus). The instrument known as כנור corresponded to the planet Saturn, whereas the instrument known as תוף, drum, corresponded to the planet Jupiter. The instrument known as עוגב corresponds to the planet Venus; the instrument known as צלצלי שמע corresponds to the planet Mercury. The instrument known as צלצלי תרועה corresponds to the moon, whereas the instrument known as מחול corresponds to the planet Mars. The instrument known as מנים corresponds to the planet Sun. In Psalms 150 there is a list of nine different musical instruments corresponding to nine planets (galaxies). The experts of music know how each of these instruments match the specific nature of the planets and zodiac influences they are to represent or counter, respectively. The שופר and נבל which are unaccounted for in our list but have appeared in Psalm 150 each have their cosmic function also. The שופר represents an all-embracing planet, one that orbits all the other planets, whereas the instrument known as נבל, corresponds to the eighth planet the sphere within which all the stars we observe are orbiting. The reason that in connection with the golden calf the instrument מחול is singled out for special mention is that in the desert the influence of the planet Mars is exceedingly potent. You will note that already after the Israelites had been saved by walking through the sea whereas their pursuers the Egyptians perished in that same sea, Miriam and her companions took two instruments with which they accompanied their song of praise to G’d, namely the מחול and the תוף (compare Exodus 15,2). In that connection the Torah mentioned that Miriam was the sister of Aaron, a fact familiar to every reader of the Torah. It appears that some of the ladies banging the drums at that time directed their thanks-giving at the planet Jupiter, the planet to which this instrument corresponds. In order to offset such erroneous כוונות the Torah (Miriam) mentioned that her brother Aaron represented צדק seeing that he was such a perfectly righteous and lovable person. This thought about Aaron would deflect what could otherwise have been a serious theological error on the part of the women playing the drums. A Midrashic approach views the expression מחולות as derived from מחילה, “pardon, forgiveness.” According to this view when Moses looked at all the musical instruments being used in these festivities, none evoked within him any hope of these people being forgiven eventually, until he saw the מחולות. As soon as he saw that instrument, he regained confidence that there was hope that G’d would eventually forgive them for this grievous sin and he immediately proceeded to burn the calf, etc. This whole matter is an illustration of the old adage of our sages that סימנא מילתא הוא, that one must not dismiss symbols as of no consequence and not related to the essence of a matter, but that on the contrary, any symbol may trigger something which will prove to be very important (compare Horiot 12). When Moses sprinkled the ash of the golden calf on the water and made the Israelites drink the mixture, he did so in order to disgrace them as they would excrete this in the form of diarrhea, not as urine. Compare Isaiah 30,22: “who says of idolatry and its remains: ‘you will cast them away like a menstruous woman.’” Another thought which motivated Moses was to examine the Israelites just like women who are suspected of infidelity against their husbands, סוטות. If the faces of the people drinking this mixture would turn green (like the face of a guilty סוטה), it would become public knowledge who amongst them had enjoyed watching the dancing and the festivities around the golden calf. The people who had participated in the golden calf cult in deed and had been witnessed and identified as such had already been condemned to die by tribunal; the identity of those, however, who had committed the sin only in their hearts had not been known and became known only as the result of their drinking this water with the ash of the golden calf. This is what our sages meant in Yuma 66 when they said anyone who had slaughtered a sacrifice or offered incense to the golden calf was executed by the sword. The ones who had merely kissed the calf died at the hands of G’d. Those who had enjoyed the proceedings without participating actively except with their hearts were struck by dropsy. Another source distinguishes between the ones who had been legally warned of the penalty they would face and those who had not been warned. The former were executed by the Levites, the latter died at the hand of G’d. Those who had participated actively but had not been seen by valid witnesses nor been warned properly would die at the hands of G’d. Had G’d performed a miracle and the people guilty only in their hearts would have been struck by dropsy without having drunk from the water with the ash of the golden calf, the people might have said that the afflicted person while dying because of a sin he had committed did not die on account of his enjoying the cult of the golden calf. Having first drunk from this mixture made it reasonable to attribute their dropsy to a sin connected with the golden calf. The reason the Torah reported Moses as “grinding” the gold was to achieve as near a replica of the Sotah procedure when earth is taken from the floor of the Tabernacle and mixed with the water before the Sotah is given it to drink (compare all the details in Numbers 5,17.)

וישלך מידו את הלוחות, “he threw down the Tablets from his hand.” The Torah does not use the verb ויפל, which would have meant that the Tablets fell directly in front of his feet, but it uses a verb indicating that Moses flung the Tablets as far away from him as he was able to. וישבר אותם, “he shattered them. According to the plain meaning of the text, the reason why Moses made a point of smashing the Tablets was that these Tablets which had inscribed on them that Israelites must not make a cast image of anything in heaven or on earth, would, if allowed to remain intact- serve as testimony against the people who had so grossly violated what was written upon these Tablets.

וישלך מידו, when Moses saw the golden calf, he became physically too weak to continue to carry the weight of the Tablets and he threw them as far as possible away from himself so that they would not drop on his feet. This is the way all persons who throw away a burden they carry and which has become too heavy for them, do this. This is the way Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer explains this verse (chapter 45). This is also the plain meaning of the verse.

He took the calf that they had made, burned it in fire, and ground it until it was fine dust; he scattered it upon the surface of the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

ויזר AND STREWED IT — The verb זרה denotes scattering about, similar to, (Job 18:15) “Brimstone shall be scattered (יזרה) upon his habitation”; (Proverbs 1:17) “Surely in vain the net is strewn (מזורה) [in the sight of any bird]” where this expression is used because people usually bestrew it (the net) with grain and pulse. וישק את בני ישראל AND HE GAVE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TO DRINK OF IT — He intended to put them to the test as faithless wives were tried (cf. Numbers 5:12—31) (Avodah Zarah 44a). Three different death-penalties were inflicted there: It there were witnesses to the act of idolatry and a legal warning had preceded the deed the offender was put to death by the sword (cf. vv. 27, 28) as was the regulation regarding the inhabitants of an apostate city (Deuteronomy 13:13—18) when there were many (as was the case here; a single idolator, however, was subject to the death by stoning; cf. Deuteronomy 17:2—5). If there were witnesses but there had been no caution, they were destroyed by the plague, as it is said, (v. 35) “And the Lord plagued the people”. In cases where there were neither witnesses nor warning they were punished by dropsy — for the water which Moses gave them to drink put them to the test and if they were guilty their bellies swelled (cf. Yoma 66b).

AND HE STREWED IT UPON THE WATER, AND MADE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DRINK IT. After grinding the golden calf to a fine powder, he scattered it on the surface of the stream which came down from the mountain, and made the people drink of those waters. It is possible that gold burnt in fire does not melt, but instead when placed therein is charred and can be ground to powder, as Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra mentioned. This powder was light upon the face of the waters, and therefore it floated, and he made them drink of it. Or it may be that he scattered it upon the stream in small quantities, and then drew the water and made them drink it before the gold powder sank in the stream. Or perhaps it was a miraculous event. Thus he wanted to disgrace their deeds by grinding their god to powder and bringing it into their bellies to issue as excrement, something like it is said, Thou shalt put them [i.e., the graven images] far away as one unclean; thou shalt say unto it: ‘get thee hence.’ In the opinion of our Rabbis he also intended to put them to the test in the same way that faithless wives were tried, [so that those guilty of having worshipped the golden calf] would have their bellies swell and their thighs fall away. This is the truth.

"And he took the calf" — some say that 'and he burned it' means 'and he melted it in fire,' but there is no need for this: for there is a substance which, when placed in fire together with gold, immediately burns and turns black and can never revert to gold — this is a tested and true fact. "And he scattered it upon the face of the water" — the waters of a stream descending from the mountain. He commanded all Israel to drink from these waters, which was analogous to 'the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the Tabernacle and put it into the water' (Num. 5:17). The waters thus produced a sign upon those who had worshipped the calf, either showing on their faces or causing their belly to swell — for without such a sign, how would the Levites have known which men had worshipped the calf? It has been said that only a few had evil intent, while in the majority the intent had been for good, in their own understanding.

ויקח את העגל אשר עשו, He took the calf which they had made, etc. The words "which they had made" appear quite superfluous; perhaps the Torah had to mention this according to the view that the golden calf looked like a calf from the front and like a donkey when viewed from the rear as we find in the Zohar volume 2 page 192. If the Torah had written only "he took the calf," I could have understood this as a reference only to the front section of the calf and that Moses burned only that section of the image. By adding the words: "which they had made," the Torah makes it clear that Moses burned the entire inert creature. Perhaps the lesson in these words is similar to the message of the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah, 2,19: "your wickedness itself has become your affliction;" i.e. the sin itself becomes the bane of the person who perpetrated it. By embracing evil, the sin itself destroys those who love it and who hate sanctity. When the Torah speaks of אשר עשו, it refers to the consequences of the act of making the calf. וישק את בני ישראל, he made the Israelites drink of it. This was designed to open the eyes of the blind and to teach them to hate evil and to love sanctity which implies a love for the good for goodness' own sake. Furthermore, the Torah may have wanted to inform us about the nature of the evil the two sorcerers had perpetrated. The first evil was that they formed the golden calf, the second that the calf invited the people to worship it when it said: "these are your gods O Israel, etc." The Torah tells us that Moses "took" i.e. seized both these aspects of wickedness the sorcerers had created. The expression לקח as a description of sanctity gaining control over spiritually negative forces, קליפה, is used by the Talmud in Yuma 69 where the members of the Great Assembly are described as seizing the spirit which seduces men into worshiping idols and other sins, and their trying to eliminate it. Moses did something similar here when he "seized" the spirit of impurity within the golden calf, and burned it. The words וישרוף באש, "he burned it in fire," are far more appropriate when applied to the spirit within the calf than to the calf itself seeing that one cannot "burn" gold. Perhaps this is the mystical dimension of Isaiah 11,4 where the prophet describes the Messiah as "killing the wicked with the breath of his lips."

וישרוף באש, “he burned it by fire.” There are materials, which when added to gold, immediately, also burn the gold, i.e. blacken it. Such gold never regains its original colour. וישק את בני ישראל, “he made the Children of Israel drink (from this mixture)”. According to the plain meaning of the text, Moses did not intend to make the people drink, but to scatter the gold so that it would cease to exist. When the people drank from the water that the gold had been scattered into, an onlooker would gain the impression that he had seen someone drinking gold. Proof that this is the correct interpretation is found in Deuteronomy 9,21: ואכות אותו טחון, “I broke it to bits and ground it until it was fine as dust;” at that point Moses does not mention a word about making the Israelites drink it.

וישרוף באש, “he burned it by fire.” Gold is normally worked only when it has been made red hot, when it is cast in a mould. Therefore, just as the calf came into existence by means of fire, it had to be destroyed by means of fire. Ibn Ezra writes that there are elements (or additives) which when mixed with gold, not only have the same effect as melting it, but make it incapable of being reconstituted. Moses used such a solution.

ויזר, same as ויפזר, “he scattered.” The construction from the root פזר is parallel to vayiken, from the root kanah, (compare Genesis 33,19) Compare also the root זרה which would be vayizer as here. We find the word in this sense in Numbers 17,2 ואת האש זרה הלאה, “and throw the fire (flame) away.” וישק את בני ישראל, he examined their truthfulness by making them drink this mixture, just as a Sotah suspected of infidelity has to drink water [mixed with ground dust].

וישק את בני ישראל, “he made the Children of Israel drink;” on this verse Rashi observes that basically we are subject to death for certain sins by one of three types of death, a) as in the case where a woman has been suspected of infidelity by her husband, when there are no eyewitnesses to the supposed infidelity. In such cases death is brought about by Divine interference, the woman who had lied by protesting her innocence having to drink the “bitter” water, as a result of which she will die a painful death. [Compare Numbers 5,27) b) a capital offence was committed by a person who had been duly warned of the consequence of his deed by two legally qualified witnesses. The death penalty will be carried out by the guilty party being killed by the sword. Compare Deuteronomy 13,17, as explained by the Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin, folio 111. c) there are witnesses to the sin having been committed, but the sinner had not been warned immediately prior to committing the sin by qualified witnesses. In that case he will die by a plague at the instigation of G–d. If Rashi were correct in comparing the death of the people worshipping the golden calf were executed by the sword as the people in Deuteronomy 13,17, why was their property not destroyed as is the case there? We would have to answer that they were punished as if they had been gentiles, where destruction of the sinner’s property is not decreed. (Compare Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin folio 56)

Moses said to Aaron: "What did this people do to you, that you brought upon them so great a sin?"

מה עשה לך העם הזה WHAT DID THIS PEOPLE UNTO THEE How many pains must you have endured — it must be that they inflicted suffering on you, before you brought this sin upon them!

WHAT DID THIS PEOPLE UNTO THEE, THAT THOU HAST BROUGHT SO GREAT A SIN UPON THEM? “How many pains did you endure, and how much suffering did they inflict on you, before you brought this sin upon them?” This is Rashi’s language. But it does not appear to me to be correct. For this transgression [of idolatry] is of the kind for which one must sacrifice one’s life and submit to death rather than transgress it [and from Rashi’s words it would appear that if Aaron had suffered much it was permissible for him to make it]. Perhaps Moses told him so in order to magnify his guilt. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that this is like the verse, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? Moses is thus saying: “What hatred did you have for this people, that you have [almost] brought about their destruction and annihilation?” Moses told him this because Aaron had served them in the function of one who reproves and atones for them, and he should have had compassion and mercy on them [and should have made them desist from their course of conduct]; thus the meaning is: “You conducted yourself towards them as an enemy who desires to see their calamity, when they had neither sinned nor transgressed against you.” Now the proper order would have been for Moses to blame him firstly for the sin which he himself had done, and then to charge him for the sin which he brought upon the people, saying: “how did you do this great sin against G-d, causing also many people to trespass, and bringing a great sin upon them?” Moses, however, in his humility showed respect towards his elder brother, and only mentioned to him the stumbling of the people. It is possible that Moses’ heart was steadfast, trusting in the righteousness of his brother [and he assumed] that his intention was not a bad one, [and therefore he did not reprove him for his own conduct]; but for the people’s guilt he did blame him, for he should have reproved them, and thus they stumbled because of him, — and Aaron replied that they deceived him with their words.

"And he said" — Moses asked why Aaron had found it necessary to make the calf.

הבאת עליו חטאה גדולה, a reference to the display of merriment in serving the golden calf. Moses criticised Aaron for having proclaimed the feast which led to this rejoicing over the golden calf instead of instead of being a feast for G’d. On account of this he was forced to entreat G’d for an additional measure of mercy for His people. This is also what he meant when addressing the people saying: אתם חטאתם חטאה גדולה “you have committed an exceedingly great sin,” (verse 30) Also, when appealing to G’d, he commences by saying that the people had been guilty of an exceedingly serious sin (verse 31). This theme returns once more when G’d speaks of עון-פשע-וחטאה, sins of three different levels of seriousness in Exodus 34,7. In 34,9 Moses begs for forgiveness for two of these categories of sin, עון and חטא, not daring to ask for forgiveness for פשע, deliberate taunting of G’ by one’s sin. Moses. who had shown understanding for the fact that Aaron had been under great pressure in acceding to the making of the golden calf, cannot understand why he lent his hand to heaping additional sin on the people by having declared a public holiday. He had not been under pressure to do that and should have known that the people would understand this as an invitation to celebrate the new leader, replacing Moses.

מה עשה לך העם הזה? "What did this people do to you?" Moses recognised that the making of a cast idol for others is not one of the commandments for which one has to sacrifice one's life rather than to do so under duress. Compare Maimonides' treatise on the laws of idolatry chapter three in which he rules that a person who commits such a sin is punishable only by 39 lashes. If a person performs such a deed under duress he is not punishable at all. If he had not been forced to do what he did under threat of death he is punishable by 39 lashes even if he had not been warned of the consequences of his deed by witnesses acceptable in Jewish law (Makkot 6). Moses therefore wanted to know the circumstances which caused Aaron to make the calf. Aaron replied: אתה ידעת את העם הזה כי בדע הוא, "you know from observing the people that they are bent on doing something corrupt." He added that as far as Moses' assumption that he, Aaron, had made the calf with his own hands was concerned, this was not so. All he had done was to throw the gold into the crucible. The calf emerged totally unassisted. This follows the description in the Tanchuma which we quoted earlier according to which the Egyptian sorcerers Yanus and Yambrus made the calf. Aaron explained that if not for this factor which was beyond his control, there would not have been a sin at all as he had made neither a form nor an image. Another meaning of Moses asking: "what have the people done to you?" could be this: "Did they put you under sufficient pressure so that you could legally have agreed to comply?" Moses asked whether Aaron had correctly contrasted the enormity, חטאה גדולה, of the sin involved before deciding that he did not have to make a martyr of himself by agreeing to do whatever he did. Aaron replied by outlining the circumstances of what had transpired.

מה עשה לך העם הזה? ”what have these people done to you?” Rashi understands this question as meaning: “how many tortures have these people inflicted upon you that you became instrumental in making this calf?” Nachmanides has difficulty in accepting this interpre-tation, as Moses implied that Aaron’s action was excusable, whereas when it comes to idolatry we have an ironclad rule that one must be prepared to sacrifice one’s life rather than lend a hand in such a nefarious scheme. He therefore prefers to understand Moses’ question to Aaron as: “how much did you hate this people that you were willing to become the instrument which would lead to their destruction?” He said this as it had been Aaron’s task to be their remonstrator, castigator, not their assistant and abettor when they were bent on committing a sin. Nachmanides adds that actually, Moses should first have accused Aaron of his sin, before mentioning the people’s sin. Only then should he have mentioned that Aaron had been guilty in causing them to commit this sin. He refrained from accusing Aaron to his face of causing the people to sin, out of respect for him. Alternatively, the reason why Moses did not reprimand Aaron was simply that he was one hundred per cent convinced that Aaron could not have harboured any thought that deserved criticizing from an halachic point of view, but that Moses’ words referred exclusively to the sin committed by the people, and that Aaron should have remonstrated with them. Aaron replied simply that the people had deliberately misled him.

Aaron said: "Let not the anger of my master be kindled; you know the people, that they are inclined to evil."

כי ברע הוא [THOU KNOWEST THE PEOPLE] THAT THEY ARE SET ON EVIL — They always go on the wrong way and with temptations, before the Omnipresent.

THOU KNOWEST THE PEOPLE, THAT THEY ARE SET ON EVIL. Aaron is saying: “They proceeded along the path of evil. They told me to make them a guide in the place of my lord until he returns to me, for perhaps he will return, and then they gave me the gold and I cast it into the fire and behold there came out this calf for them, for they had an evil intention as to the gold, [and wanted] to worship it and sacrifice to it.” But because Aaron did not want to speak at length about their corruption, he spoke briefly and said, and there came out this calf, meaning, “there came out for them this evil matter that my lord sees.”

"And he said: Let not my lord's anger burn" — on account of Moses' great stature. And I have already explained that 'in evil' [בְּרָע] he is — and so too 'and they said to me' (v. 23) and 'and I said to them' (v. 24).

כי ברע הוא. They were already so deeply involved in the sin, having been used to the idolatry they had been addicted to in the hundreds of years in Egypt.

כי ברע הוא, “that they are bent on evil;” they have evil intentions; if I had not had made the calf for them they would have crowned a king for themselves and the final result would have been bitter for them. (Baaley Tossaphot)

אתה ידעת את העם כי ברע הוא, “you know what the people are like once they are bent on an evil path.” Aaron did not want to dwell at length on how the situation had deteriorated, and the people’s having planned this, but he shouldered part of the blame saying that he had misled them by throwing the gold they had brought into the crucible, as an unexpected result of which this calf emerged. The people had made him believe that they wanted a temporary substitute for Moses until Moses would return. It had neither occurred to him that this calf would emerge from the crucible, nor that they would worship this calf by prostrating themselves in front of it.

כי ברע הוא, “when it is bent on evil.” If he had not done what he did in response to their demand, they would have appointed a new leader with even worse consequences.

"They said to me: 'Make for us idols that will go before us, for this man Moses who brought us up from the land of Egypt — we do not know what has become of him.'"

and they said to me, Make us gods that may go before us; for this Mosheh, the man who brought us up from the land of Mizraim, is consumed in the mountain, by the flaming fire from before the Lord, and we know not what hath been done to him in his end.

"I said to them: 'Whoever has gold, remove it and give it to me.' I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out."

ואמר להם AND I SAID UNTO THEM one single thing, — simply, “Who has any gold?” — but they hastened and broke it off from themselves and gave it to me. ואשלכהו באש AND I CAST IT INTO THE FIRE, and I did not know that this (i. e. this living) calf would come out, ויצא — BUT IT DID COME OUT.

?ואומר להן למי זהב, I was assuming or hoping that there would not be any raw gold handy to be used to make into any kind of jewelry. התפרקו ויתנו לי, but against my expectations they removed golden jewelry and donated it for this purpose. ואשליכהו באש, I tried to delay matters, throwing the gold into the fire, as is, without making any of the customary preparations performed by goldsmiths, activities which preheat the gold so it can cast properly to be fashioned into the desired shapes. ויצא העגל הזה. This happened spontaneously, without my having done anything once I had thrown the gold into the crucible. The people did not wait until I had performed any action on my own. When we read in verse four ויעשהו עגל מסכה, the Torah did not refer to Aaron having made the cast calf, but it referred to whoever it was who interfered and shaped the gold. We have a similar construction in Leviticus 3,8 וסמך את ידו, “he will place his hand firmly,” where the subject is not Aaron but whoever owns the animal that is about to be slaughtered as a sacrifice. The same applies to the word ושחט in that same context. It is not a specific person, but the priest who performs the duty in the Temple on that particular day. When we read in verse 35 אשר עשו את העגל אשר עשה אהרן, the meaning of this line is “the people made the calf in which Aaron had participated to some extent.” They had shaped it, whereas Aaron had only taken raw gold and thrown it into the fire. [When reading our author’s commentary it becomes clear why the Talmud in Kidushin 49 forbade translating these parts of the Torah into Aramaic during public readings, as the people who need the translation due to their failure to understand the original Hebrew would be apt to misunderstand Aaron’s part in this disaster. Ed.]

ויצא העגל הזה, “this calf emerged;” it came out complete. We find a similar wording in Proverbs 25,4: ויצא לצורף כסף, “and it emerged for the silversmith as a silver vessel.” Aaron threw into the crucible assorted pieces of golden jewelry, and what emerged from the crucible was a fully formed golden calf.

ואשליכהו באש ויצא העגל הזה, “I threw it into the fire and there emerged this calf.” Our sages called whatever has been mentioned in connection with the calf up to this point, “the first calf.” The story from this point on, i.e. Aaron’s personal account is known as the “second calf.” This is important to realize as our sages have said (Megillah 25) that the portion of the “first calf” may be read from the Torah as well as translated into another language, whereas the part commencing here may be read in public only in Hebrew. The reason our sages gave for this difference is that they were concerned with the image of Aaron. Anyone who does not know Hebrew well may draw the wrong conclusion from the translated version. We need to consider that although the episode has been described impersonally by the Torah as well as in Moses’ own words in verse 8 where he said: “they have made for themselves a cast calf, etc.,” in the eyes of our sages verse 4 and verse 8 are all considered as part of one story. This is why both these verses may be read in public in translation. Here, however, where Aaron tells of his own involvement it became important to insure that he would not be accused of sinful action which he had not in fact been guilty of. To give just one example. The words ויצא העגל הזה when read in translation and out of context give the impression that Aaron wanted to whitewash his part in the affair saying the calf had come out by itself. It might also give the impression that if it had walked out by itself, it was alive, another wrong impression.

ויצא העגל הזה. It emerged as a finished product. Compare Proverbs 25,4 ויצא לצורף כלי, “the silversmith produces a vessel.” Or, Isaiah 54,16 ומוציא כלי למעשהו.

ויצא העגל הזה, “and this calf emerged (from the crucible)” Apparently, when Aaron used his graving tool the gold was inside some sort of mould, and it emerged all at once (not as molten gold.) According to some opinions, Aaron had thrown in a golden sheet that had been used to transport Joseph’s coffin, Joseph had been referred to by Yaakov in his final blessings as an ox so that somehow this sheet responded to the call; “arise ox!” (Tanchuma section 19 on our portion)

Moses saw that the people had become unrestrained — for Aaron had let them run loose, bringing upon them an evil reputation to their generations.

פרע means UNCOVERED — its (the people’s) shame and disgrace were revealed; the word has the same meaning as in (Numbers 5:18) “[and the priest shall uncover (ופרע) the woman’s head”. לשמצה בקמיהם means, that this thing would become an ignominy for them in the mouth of all who will rise against them.

AND MOSES SAW THAT THE PEOPLE WERE ‘PHARUA’ (BROKEN LOOSE). The meaning of this is that although Aaron defended himself and said that he was not at fault with them, yet Moses knew in his heart that the people were broken loose — For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them. It is similar to the expression, ‘vatiphr’u’ (and ye have set at nought) all my counsel, and similar also to the verse, for ‘hiphria’ (he had cast away restraint) in Judah, and acted treacherously against the Eternal. [Thus the verse is stating that Moses saw] that Aaron had let the people loose, and left them without any counsel and instruction, so that they became like sheep scattered upon the mountains without counsellor and guide. Scripture stated this [especially] because they had thought that the calf would be their guide, but in fact they appeared as if they had no counsel, not knowing the way wherein they must walk, and the deeds they must do, for some of them intended it for the good, according to their way of thinking, and others intended it for real evil [i.e., outright idolatry], and thus each one went his own way. L’SHIMTZAH B’KAMEIHEM’ (FOR A DERISION AMONG THEIR ENEMIES). This means that even those who had no evil design [in the affair of the golden calf] will be slandered throughout the generations by the evil report of their enemies, who will say that the whole people were bereft of counsel and instruction; some [of the nations] will say it for a purely evil purpose, and others will merely say it in the lips of the talkers, and the evil report of the people. Moses said this with reference to Aaron, meaning that he sinned towards all [i.e., even towards those who did not really intend to sin in the matter of the golden calf]. This is in accordance with the opinion of Onkelos who translated l’shimtzah b’kameihem — “to give them a bad name in their generations.” However, since Onkelos rendered it “in their generations,” it would seem that his intention was to explain that the calf which they made will become a cause of evil talk throughout the generations of Israel, for they will say: “It was not in vain that our fathers made the calf and worshipped it, for they knew that it was this which brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and they found worshipping it to be to their benefit, so we will do likewise, it being better for us to serve it;” as indeed happened in the case of Jeroboam who said, Ye have gone up long enough to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Moses thus saw how the incident of the calf would remain a cause for sin throughout the generations. Now shimtzah according to Onkelos means “evil report,” it being a common term in the language of our Rabbis, such as “a shemetz (a blemish of) descent.” Perhaps according to their opinion, that which Scripture states, and mine ear received a ‘shemetz’ thereof, also means that his [i.e., Eliphaz the Temanite’s] ear received ...

"And Moses saw that the people were unrestrained" [פָּרֻעַ] — as in 'where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint' (Prov. 29:18), and 'you have made void all my counsel' (Prov. 1:25). The word לְשִׁמְצָה is an attributive noun substituting for the verb-noun form, indicating that they had become a shame, a blemish, and an ill report. "Among those who rise against them" [בְּקָמֵיהֶם] — as in 'many rise up against me' (Ps. 3:2), and likewise מִקָּמַי (Ps. 18:49), a shortened form; the Aramaic translation renders it in the regular manner; compare 'you have risen in the place of your fathers' (Num. 32:14).

כי פרוע הוא, they are totally corrupt, committing their sins in public without shame. The public deeds reveal their deep-seated corruption. כי פרעה אהרן, Aaron had brought to light the fact that there are no righteous people among them. Had there been any righteous people among them, surely they would have come to the assistance of Aaron so that Aaron would not have been forced to have a share in this golden calf at all. לשמצה בקמיהם. Giving them a bad name among their enemies. Israel’s enemies would say about them that they had breached their covenant with their Lord, and that there was not a single one among them who was a good person, and that they did not even heed the instructions of their prophets. Even though only a small minority had ganged up on Aaron, the entire people’s reputation would now be dragged through the mud.

כי פרוע הוא, for it was out of control, etc. The Torah means that the people had forfeited the protective cover of the שכינה which had hovered over them since the revelation at Mount Sinai. כי פרעה אהרון, "for Aaron had let them loose." Perhaps the Torah means that having heard Aaron's answer Moses was now certain that the fault was entirely the people's seeing that Aaron's part in the debacle had been quite incidental. The real fault lay with the people who had contributed their gold, and the sorcery which had subsequently been performed with that gold. The literal meaning of these words then would be that by his explanation Aaron had let loose an accusation at the people. לשמצה בקמיהם for a derision among their enemies. Any small measure of an abomination is called שמץ. Our sages in Sanhedrin 102 state that ever since the episode of the golden calf any punishment the Israelites face for any sin committed since, contains some small part of the punishment which had not been administered at the time they committed that sin. It may also mean that whenever the nations display hostility against the Jews one of their arguments of our unworthiness includes a reminder of the sin of the golden calf this nation had become guilty of.

כי פרוע הוא, “that the people were completely out of control;” they had completely abandoned their Creator’s commandments. The root פרע here is used in a similar sense as when Pharaoh accused Moses and Aaron as making the people completely unruly by promising them a holiday from hard labour for three days. ?למה תפריעו את העם ממעשיו (Exodus 5,4)

לשמצה בקמיהם, “to disgrace amongst those who rise up against them.” Both Rashi and most other commentators understand the word לשמצה as meaning the dissemination of evil reports. Our sages use the word in this sense when they speak about שמץ פסול in Pesachim 50. Moses said: “Aaron was the cause that future generations will spread evil reports about the generation of the Jews at this time, saying that all of them had been of an idolatrous mind at the time. Evil gossip would take hold amongst all those who would rise up against the Jewish people at a future time. It would disgrace the people in the eyes of their adversaries.” The correct interpretation of these words is what Nachmanides writes, i.e. that the word לשמצה is a word denoting “reduction, diminution.” A Biblical parallel is found in Job 4,12: ותקח אזני שמץ מנהו, “my ear caught just a little bit of it.” Another example where the word is used in a similar fashion is Job 26,14: ומה שמץ דבר נשמע בו, “the mere whisper that we perceive of Him.” According to this approach what Moses meant here was that Aaron’s part in the golden calf episode would diminish the ability of the Jewish people to stand up against their adversaries whenever the occasion would arise as they had fewer merits going for them. This same thought is also expressed in Ezekiel 29,15: “I (G’d) shall diminish them so that they shall not rule over the nations.” [The prophet describes the re-emergence of the state of Egypt as a greatly reduced world power. Ed.] Jeremiah 10,24 speaks of a “reduction” in the amount of G’d’s wrath when disciplining the Jewish people.

And Moses saw that the people were unrestrained, for Aaron had let them loose to be a disgrace among those who rise up against them. Since our Sages of blessed memory said (Yoma 86) that we must publicize hypocrites because of the desecration of God’s name. For the Holy One, blessed be He, examines all hidden things and punishes the sinner for every concealed matter, and because he [the sinner] is considered righteous in the eyes of the people, they will challenge the attribute of justice. Therefore, it is a commandment to publicize all their deeds and reveal their wickedness in the community. For this reason, Aaron brought their evil thoughts to the surface. This is what is meant by You know the people, that they are set on evil, meaning, “You know through the divine spirit upon you that their thoughts are constantly evil, therefore I said it is good to expose the sinners so they become a disgrace among those who rise up against them,” to publicize their shame publicly. This is the opinion of the Midrash that says they were afflicted with tzaraat, as it says, for it was unrestrained. And it is written regarding the one with tzaraat his head shall be unrestrained (Leviticus 13:45), as concluded in the Yalkut (and in Tanchuma Metzora 4), because tzaraat also serves to bring to light the inner evil in the heart of the sinner. For this reason, the one with tzaraat [metzora] is called by the acronym “motzi ra” [bringing out evil], as concluded in the Yalkut Parashat Metzora (14:556) in the story of the peddler. Even though there it concludes that “motzi ra” refers to one who speaks lashon hara, nevertheless, it seems to me that it means bringing to light all inner evil. Therefore, tzaraat is hinted at here in the word parua, which means “uncovered” — just as tzaraat uncovers the sinners. And in Song of Songs (1:12) it is written, My nard gave forth its fragrance. The Targum explains this as “and the plague of tzaraat descended upon them,” for the verse speaks of how they became a disgrace among those who rise against them, and their odor became foul in the eyes of all the nations who rise against them. This is what gave forth its fragrance means — that is, it gave to others the odor that was hidden within, and when it was revealed, they became a disgrace among those who rise against them, who found an opportunity to reproach Israel for what they did to God and to Moses. From this you learn that such a thing [tzaraat] is not found among other nations. And this is explained in the way we find in Rabbati Parashat Vayeshev (88a) Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the fool (Psalms 39:9). Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said: The nations of the world were not worthy to have among them anguished and despised individuals, but [they have them] only so that they should not taunt Israel saying to them, “You are a nation of anguished and despised individuals.” This is what is meant by make me not the reproach of the fool. And Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: The nations of the world were not worthy to have among them people with skin eruptions, and why do they have them? So that they should not taunt Israel saying, “Are you not a nation of lepers?” This is what is meant by make me not the reproach of the fool. One must examine what they are disputing about and what is the difference between the sick and the lepers. It seems to me, as concluded in the midrash: They sinned with this — for this man Moses (Exodus 32:1). And they were afflicted with this — as it says, For this our heart is anguished (Lamentations 5:17). And they were reconciled with this — as it says, This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: Take from among you an offering to the Lord (Exodus 35:5-6). They sinned with these — These are your gods, O Israel (Exodus 32:4). And they were afflicted with these — as it says, For these our eyes are dim (Lamentations 5:17). And they were reconciled with these — as it says, These are the accounts of the Tabernacle (Exodus 38:21). You see from this midrash that there were two types of sin here. The first is that they sinned against the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, These are your gods, O Israel, and for this they were afflicted with leprosy, which brings to light all evil thoughts. They had already sinned in thought, as it says, You know the people that they are set on evil (Exodus 32:22), as explained above. The leprosy was bringing their evil to the outside to publicize it about them. Since the law for every leper is to dwell outside the camp, and here all of Israel were lepers, how could they go outside the camp? Therefore it says, And Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33:7) — as if that was where the Divine Presence’s camp was, and they were distanced from the camp of the Divine Presence. And regarding what it says, For these our eyes are dim — it is because the expression, “this” indicates something that a person sees with his eyes and points to with his finger saying “this is it,” whereas the language of “these” indicates something that one perceives with the vision of the heart, even though one does not see it with his eyes. Therefore it says they sinned with these, referring to the sin they committed against God, for no man shall see Me and live (Exodus 33:20). And they sinned with this, referring to what they sinned against Moses, acting against the sense of sight, because with their eyes they saw the uprightness of his ways, yet they still had doubts about him. According to this premise, it is difficult to understand why it says For this our heart is anguished, for these our eyes are dim — it should have said the opposite. And the explanation of the matter is, that they were always afflicted in the aspect that was the cause of the sin. For in what they sinned concerning God, the sin progressed from the eye to the heart, as the eye sees and afterward the heart desires. And we have already stated that because of the abundance of gold that God bestowed upon them, they chose the image of an ox, for that is the source of gold, as explained above in the verse This they shall give, everyone who passes among the counted… Therefore it is said, For these our eyes have grown dim, because the eye caused them this sin. However, in what they sinned concerning Moses, the sin progressed from the heart to the eye, because they were always contemplating in their hearts and envying his stature and suspecting him. Thus they became blind even in their sense of sight and denied things they had seen with their own eyes, for this is the nature of jealousy, that through it they became blind to do the opposite of what their senses testified to. Therefore it is said, For this our heart has become anguished, because the heart was the cause for them to act against what their sense of sight indicated, as alluded to by this. From here, they saw fit to say that all the anguish and despising that come upon Israel are all due to the sin of speaking harsh words against the leaders of each and every generation. And leprosy comes because of the sin of idolatry, which stems from the desire for wealth. And the darkening of the eye is measure for measure, because human eyes are never satisfied, thus they are punished in the eye. And according to our approach, we can say that the darkening of the eye refers to leprosy, which darkens a person’s eye, as is known from natural science. And these two evil traits are not so common among the nations, as it concludes (in Sanhedrin 39b): It is written And you have done according to the customs of the nations (Ezekiel 11:12), and it is written, And you have not done according to the customs of the nations (Ezekiel 5:7). How so? You have acted like the corrupt ones among them, but you have not acted like the virtuous ones among them. For we find that they are virtuous in these two matters: Both in matters of divinity, as it is said Has a nation changed its gods, though they are not gods? But My people has changed its glory for that which does not benefit (Jeremiah 2:11). And in matters of leadership, for they do not rebel against their leaders, as we find with the people of Nineveh, who listened even to the prophets of Israel. Rabbi Chama bar Chanina says, the nations of the world were not deserving to have among them anguished and despised individuals, which refers to all sickness and all plagues that come upon those who rebel against their leaders, as it is written for this our heart is anguished. And his opinion is that what is stated for Aaron had let them get out of control to their disgrace among their enemies refers to how the nations mock Israel for what they do to their leaders. And Rabbi Samuel son of Nachman says, the nations of the world did not deserve to have those afflicted with skin lesions among them, which is a type of leprosy that breaks out on the body in which heresy and denial of divinity has flourished. This was only so that they would not taunt Israel saying, “You are a nation of lepers.” He believes that what is said, for Aaron had let them loose, to be a disgrace among their enemies, means that the enemy would reproach Israel about the plague and leprosy that broke out among them because they said These are your gods, O Israel on account of the abundance of gold that God bestowed upon them. His opinion is that regarding this, David said, Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of the villainous (Psalms 39:9). For the enemy, the adversary, would taunt saying that I am a villain who disgraces the Rock of his salvation because of the desire for gold and wealth, about which it is said and in the end he will be a villain (Jeremiah 17:11). For every lover of money is a miserly person like Nabal the Carmelite, whose name was “Nabal” [villain] and villainy was with him. As it is written The villain will no longer be called generous (Isaiah 32:5) — implying that these are two opposites. This will be further explained, God willing, in the portion of Ha’azinu regarding the verse O villainous and witless people (Deuteronomy 32:6). And concerning this, he pleaded and said, Do not make me the scorn of the villainous. And even though if the enemy reproaches me, I have an answer and defense if brought to judgment, nevertheless, I am mute, I do not open my mouth (Psalms 39:10). I am not permitted to speak my defense, for You have done it. You caused Israel [to sin] because of the abundance of silver and gold You bestowed upon them, and this defense cannot be spoken before the gentile. Therefore, remove Your plague from me — this is the plague of leprosy that broke out in Israel — From the hostility of Your hand I am consumed (Psalms 39:11). Tigrat [hostility] is a term of abundance and flowing, meaning that because from Your hand flowed to me an abundance of silver and gold, therefore I am consumed. And he added the phrase I am consumed to say that no evil descends from above and God intended it for good, but rather I am consumed — I corrupted my deeds because of the abundance of silver and gold that was bestowed upon me. With reproofs for sin You chasten man (Psalms 39:12). Tochachot [reproofs] is a term of dispute, meaning because of the dispute that the enemy has with me and counts against me saying, “You are a nation of lepers,” therefore You chastened ish [man] — also the nations who are called “bnei ish” [sons of man], as it is said both sons of adam and sons of ish (Psalms 49:3), and the Sages said (Yalkut Shimoni, Psalms 49:757), sons of adam are Israel, sons of ish are the sons of Noah. And You made his beauty melt away like a moth (Psalms 39:12) — by causing them to also have skin lesions, so they will not blame Israel’s sin but will say, Everyone is but a breath (Psalms 39:12). For one fate befalls all. And according to the one who says they did not deserve to be anguished, etc., because they speak harshly against their leaders, he interprets the scorn of the villainous like Remember this: the enemy has reproached the Lord (Psalms 74:18), saying that every mouth speaks villainy, as we find that they spoke harshly against Moses in several matters. And the wise will hear and increase learning.

וירא משה, “Moses saw, etc.” Rashi says that even though Aaron had made excuses for the people, Moses, in his heart, did not accept this.” [I have not been able to find this remark by Rashi in our editions of Rashi’s commentary. I believe this is an error, and should be attributed to Nachmanides. Ed.] כי פרוע הוא, “that the inner motivations of the people had become revealed,” i.e. that they were innately wicked, they were a nation that had completely lost its spiritual directions, pursuing a totally destructive path. (similar to Deut. 32,28 גוי אובד עצות ואין בהם תבונה) כי פרעה אהרן, “for Aaron had exposed them.” Aaron was responsible for depriving the people of their normal intelligence and moral scruples. Moses said this as he realised that the people had become so confused that they imagined that this golden calf could serve them as a guide on their journeys through the desert. Anyone confused to such an extent must be considered as having completely lost his senses. As a result, some of the people, though misguided, entertained worthy thoughts, whereas others, entertained completely idolatrous thoughts. לשמצה בקמיהם, “as a disgrace among those who would rise up against them.” Even the portion of the people whose intentions were perfectly innocent will become the pretext for others to point at the disgraceful conduct of the Jewish people for all future generations. [as their intentions were not clear, seeing they had not voiced opposition to those who were bent on idolatry. Ed.] The historians would conclude that all the Jews had been of one mind at that time. The accusations labeled against all the people on that account would give Satan a valuable tool to use against the Jews. According to the plain meaning of the text, the פשט, the word שמצה, derived from שמץ, something minute, means that as a result of this episode, the Jewish people had forfeited their image of being a unique and spiritually superior people, and they would henceforth be considered in the eyes of the nations as of very small stature. (compare for the meaning of שמץ Job 4,12 ותקח אזני שמץ, “my ear caught a whisper” something barely audible) of it. Or, in the sense of Israel losing its accumulated merits in the Book of G’d, [ספר זכויות as in the אבינו מלכנו prayer. Ed.] our positive balance in that book would shrink to zero. This would be most harmful whenever we would face enemies in battle.

כי פרוע הוא, had ceased to observe the commandments. We encounter this expression in this sense in Proverbs 1,25 ותפרעו כל עצתי, “You have spurned all My advice.” It appears again in Proverbs 4,15 in a similar sense. לשמצה, to become a source of ridicule and derision to their enemies. Compare Job 4,12 ותקח אזני שמץ מנהו, “my ear caught a derogatory meaning in it.” A reference to some word of derision.

לשמצה, ”as an object of derision;” every idolater will ridicule the Israelites for having made for themselves such a golden calf. When they do, we have to remind them that they do something similar every day, so how can they have the audacity to fault us for what happened one single time? Let us illustrate the scenario by a simple parable. A King had a beautiful wife; all his servant maids kept provoking her by saying that the day would come when he would divorce her and take one of them as a wife instead. When the queen asked them what prompted them to make such a statement, they said to her that they had observed the king when he came from the market he noticed that the queen’s hand had some speck of dirt clinging to her hand, something that he could not stand. The queen replied that the servant maids were very foolish if they think that on account of a speck of dust that I can wipe off with a flick of my finger he would divorce me and exchange me for someone who is covered with mud sticking to their skin all the time.

Moses stood at the gate of the camp and said: "Whoever fears Hashem, come to me!" And all the children of Levi gathered to him.

מי לה' אלי means, WHOEVER IS FOR THE LORD let him come TO ME. כל בני לוי ALL THE SONS OF LEVI — All the sons — from this we may gather that all the tribe of Levi remained worthy men (consequently “slay every man his brother” in the next verse can refer only to one who was his brother from the same mother, as explained by Rashi there) (Yoma 66b).

AND MOSES STOOD IN THE GATE OF THE CAMP. This is connected with what is said in the preceding verse, thus stating that when Moses saw that the people would be a source of derision and disgrace amongst their enemies, and would thereby profane the Name of G-d, he stood in the gate of the camp and called out loudly, Whoso is on the Eternal’s side, let him come unto me; and they killed publicly all those who worshipped the calf, so that the matter be heard about amongst their enemies, and G-d’s Name would thus be sanctified, in place of the profanation that they had caused.

"And Moses stood" — such is the practice in every camp that remains in one place for about a year, building booths and setting up gates for the camp, since there is no need to establish a post outside the camp. "Who is for Hashem" — let him come to me, draw near, come forward, or gather. "The sons of Levi" — for they were of his own family.

ויאספו אליו כל בני לוי, “all the members of the tribe of Levi rallied around him.” According to the plain meaning of the text, the relatives of Moses, members of his tribe would not allow someone from another tribe to usurp Moses’ authority.

ויעמוד משה בשער המחנה, “Moses stood at the entrance gate to the camp.” Seeing that Moses had seen that the people’s conduct had resulted in their disgracing themselves, and being guilty of a public desecration of the name of the Lord, Moses took up position at the gateway to the camp and called out in a loud voice that all those loyal to Hashem should come forward and publicly execute all those guilty of acts of idolatry, in order that this would become common knowledge and no one would be able to use the fact that idolatry had been tolerated among the Israelites as a weapon against their reputation of being G’d’s nation. The public execution was an act of sanctification of the Lord’s name that would even the score.

!מי לה' אלי, “anyone who is on G–d’s side to me!” Moses called on all the Israelites who had not become involved with the golden calf in any way to join him. He was immediately joined by all the members of the tribe of Levi. The entire male population of the tribe, none of whom had been counted, joined him. No other tribe, of those that had been numbered, was loyal in its entirety. This is reflected in Deuteronomy 33,9 (Moses’ blessings of the people) where the Torah writes concerning the tribe of Levi: האומר לאביו ולאמו לא ראיתיו ואת אחיו לא הכיר ואת בניו לא ידע---כי (כולם) שמרו אמרתך, “who can say of his father and his mother: “I have not seen him,” (take part in the sin of the golden calf) nor did he see his brother (do so) nor did his son have any knowledge (of that sin) for they all were loyal to Your word.” Moses was not able to compliment any other tribe similarly. It appears that one reason for this great loyalty was the fact that Moses was their tribe’s leader, and they did not wish to trade him for a leader from a different tribe. Maimonides, in his treatise on idolatry chapter 1, near the end, states that Avraham had already handed the Torah in oral form to his son Yitzchok, who transmitted it to Yaakov, who in turn transmitted it to his son Levi. The latter’s sons already founded a Torah study academy, so that knowledge of the Torah’s laws never was interrupted even during the many years of bondage in Egypt. It appears that the attitude to the golden calf by the different sections of the people was divided into three different groups; one group accepted the golden calf by promising to follow it to wherever it would lead the people, אשר ילכו לפנינו; they only wished for the golden calf to be leader on their journeys. The second group accepted the golden calf as a symbol of idolatry; this group made up the three thousand Israelites who were killed by the Levites. The third group was the entire tribe of Levi which completely rejected the golden calf in all its aspects, remaining completely loyal to Hashem.

He said to them: "Thus says Hashem, the God of Israel: 'Let each man put his sword on his thigh; pass and return from gate to gate throughout the camp, and let each man slay his brother, and each man his companion, and each man his kinsman.'"

כה אמר הי וגו׳ THUS SAITH THE LORD etc. — Where did he say so? In the command, (Exodus 22:19) “He that sacrificeth unto any god shall utterly be destroyed”. Thus is it stated in the Mechilta. אחיו HIS BROTHER from the same mother, but from a different father, and who was therefore an ordinary Israelite and not a Levite (Yoma 66b).

THUS SAITH THE ETERNAL, THE G-D OF ISRAEL. The reason for this expression is that since the worshippers of the calf had intended to sacrifice to the G-d of Israel, therefore the attribute of justice extracted punishment from them, because they “mutilated the shoots” [of faith], and besides, for the judgment is G-d’s. It is for this reason that he [Moses], said of the Levites, for the G-d of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, for the Service is to the G-d of Israel, and to His Name they were separated by virtue of this meritorious deed. PUT YE EVERY MAN HIS SWORD UPON HIS THIGH. Since there were many worshippers of the calf, and they could not have all been brought to the court, therefore Moses commanded all the sons of Levi to put on their swords, in a similar way to that which our Rabbis have said, that if you cannot administer to the guilty the specific kind of death mentioned for his case, you may execute him by any means that you can. Now this procedure was a decision only for an emergency, in order to sanctify G-d’s Name, since those who worshipped [the calf] had not been forewarned [of the death penalty], for who had warned them beforehand? The sons of Levi, however, recognized those whom they killed as the worshippers of the calf. And in the opinion of the Sage who says that if there were witnesses [to the act of idolatry] and forewarning of the penalty, the offender’s death was by hand of man, as Rashi wrote, then we shall interpret the meaning of the verse to be that Moses commanded the sons of Levi to put on their swords and take hold of the offenders by force and bring them to court before Moses or before the Sanhedrin. Those who were found to have worshipped the calf in the presence of witnesses and with forewarning, were then put to death by stoning, as is the punishment of those who worship idols, or perhaps their death was by the sword, as is the punishment of a whole city gone astray. Thus all the sons of Levi remained loyal to G-d, and it was they who had warned the people not to worship the calf or sacrifice to it, seeing that Aaron had only commanded to hold a feast to the Eternal alone, as I have explained. The correct interpretation is in accordance with the opinion of the Sage who says: “Those who slaughtered or burnt the sacrificial portions [to the calf] were punished by the sword; those who embraced and kissed it, were punished with death [by the hand of Heaven]; those who merely rejoiced in their heart, were afflicted with dropsy,” as is stated in Tractate Yoma. Thus it was all a decision under circumstances of emergency, because embracing or kissing an idol does not make one liable to death [by the hand of Heaven] in all future generations. AND SLAY EVERY MAN HIS BROTHER. This means that they were not to spare nor conceal brother, friend, or relative. And the meaning of the expression, Thus saith the Eternal, the G-d of Israel: [Put ye every man his sword…] is not [as Rashi has it, a command] ...

"And he said" — the meaning of 'the God of Israel' — because those who worshipped it imagined it was a foreign deity. "And slay each man his brother" — even if it was his own brother. Many have interpreted 'who said of his father and his mother' (Deut. 33:9) as referring to this same event, and they were compelled to explain 'his father and his mother' as the maternal grandfather — but there is no need for this, as I will explain in its proper place.

עברו ושובו משער לשער; in order to secure atonement for those members of the people who had not actively participated in the sin but were guilty of not having protested the sin. By not now protesting the execution of the guilty ones either they proved deserving of being forgiven.

איש את אחיו…ואיש את קרובו. "every man his brother …or his relative." We need to explore why the Torah had to add the words "and each man his relative," seeing the Torah had already authorised the Levites to kill even brothers who are the closest relatives. We have to remember that there are different categories of "brothers" whose outlook on life and whose lifestyles may be drastically different from one another although they are the sons of the same parents. On the other hand, there are people who are not at all related to each other by blood-ties and yet share the same outlook on life and the same lifestyle. All of this is due to the origin of the respective souls of these people rather than to the origin of their bodies. There are souls whose roots are very close to each other and who become separated from one another by being assigned to bodies which are far apart from one another. The reverse is true also. This is why Moses' instructions to the Levites had to include both such possibilities.

כה אמר, “thus has said the Lord, etc.;” where is G-d recorded as having said this? In Exodus 22,19: זובח לאלוהים יחרם, “whoever sacrifices to a god shall be proscribed.”

כה אמר ה’ אלו-הי ישראל, “thus has said the Lord G’d of Israel, etc.” We do not find that G’d’s instruction by word to Moses of this matter is recorded in the Torah other than that Moses quotes G’d. Nonetheless, he did receive such instructions. Moses refers to the Lord as אלו-הי ישראל in order to teach us that even the makers of the golden calf intended to offer their sacrifices to the “G’d of Israel,” (not to the golden calf). Still, the attribute of Justice decided to punish these people as true heretics as the Torah has taught us (Deut. 1,17) that המשפט לאלוהים הוא, the “judgment,” i.e. the evaluation of our deeds is something that G’d has reserved for Himself. This is the way Nachmanides explains these words. We find something analogous in Numbers 16,9 where Moses tells the Levites that אלו-הי ישראל, “this attribute of Justice has separated, (distinguished) the Levites from the remainder of the community of Israel.” This was another example of G’d exercising His right to evaluate the deeds of men. In that instance it meant that the performance of service to אלו-הי ישראל in and around the Tabernacle would be reserved for the tribe of Levi. Seeing that it had been the members of this tribe who had sanctified the Lord’s name in public, they were rewarded by sanctifying the Lord’s name on a regular basis. The moral lesson is that that the appropriate way to atone for desecration of the Lord’s name publicly is to sanctify it publicly.

כה אמר ה' שימו איש חרבו על ירכו, “thus has the Lord G’d of Israel said: “every man put his sword on his thigh, etc.” Nachmanides writes that what occurred here is not related to Exodus 22,19 זובח לאלוהים יחרם בלתי לה' לבדו, “anyone who offers sacrifices to elohim, (other gods) other than to Hashem will be destroyed.” Here only the people whom G’d had told Moses about, were to be executed, the others were not guilty of a capital offence. The Levites were aware of who had offered sacrifices to the golden calf, and, seeing that it was physically impossible to bring all these people to trial and they had not been warned, the procedure is not recorded here in writing in detail. Time was of the essence, if a greater calamity was to be avoided. By doing what they did, the Levites helped Moses to turn the temporary stay of execution G’d had promised Moses before he descended into a permanent stay of execution. (compare 32,14) We find that almost 40 years later, when the people at Shittim became sexually and ritually involved with the Moabite women (Numbers 25,4-9) similar emergency measures were employed. שימו איש חרבו על ירכו, (see above) Nachmanides writes that there were so many people who worshipped the calf that it was impossible to bring all of them to a tribunal, and moreover, there had not been anyone who had warned these people in accordance with normal judicial requirements. This is why G’d had told Moses to use emergency measures. Our sages, go further and state that the method of execution was also changed, as normally stoning would be the order of the day for convicted idolaters, and all who had witnessed such a deed had to participate in the execution. [This comment does not agree with the Talmud in Yuma, although according to Maimonides hilchot avodah zarah 3,1 it seems clear that stoning is the penalty when proper warning has been administered. Ed.] According to the scholars who hold that warnings had been issued to the people whom the Levites executed on this occasion by qualified witnesses, we must interpret Moses’ instructions to the Levites as having included this proviso. Those who could not be convicted on that basis, instead of being stoned, were executed by the sword. The correct interpretation is according to the scholar who holds that slaughtering animals to idols or burning incense is punishable by death through the sword, whereas other forms of worship such as kissing the idols is punishable by the kind of death preferred by the victim. This is so because the latter type of practicing idolatry has not been punished by death by the Jewish courts throughout the ages. [it was left to the heavenly tribunal to take care of the sinner. Ed.]

איש את אחיו, if he found him worshipping the golden calf.

The children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people on that day about three thousand men.

"And the sons of Levi did" — but not all the sons of Levi.

בני לוי, the members of the tribe of Levi, etc. The Torah did not say that all the Levites displayed this loyalty by rallying to Moses' call. We need to understand why this part of the verse had to be written at all and the Torah was not content with reporting the Levites' response to Moses' call in verse 26 when all of them are reported as rallying around their leader. Perhaps the Torah wanted to stress that no one except the Levites acted as executioners at the behest of Moses. Verse 26 in which all the Levites are reported as rallying around Moses would not have made it plain that Moses had charged only the Levites with the task of being executioners. That verse only told us that all the Levites responded to Moses' original call. We could have thought that some Israelites responded in addition to all of the Levites. The Torah had to make clear that only Levites actually carried out Moses' instructions. The emphasis in "the Levites did what Moses said" is not so much on the Levites who did not do so but on the absence of any of the members of other tribes being prepared to kill idolators. כדבר משה, in accordance with the word of Moses. The Torah emphasises that Moses' word alone sufficed to prompt those Levites to take such drastic action against the active idolators. It could also mean that they did so without delay as soon as Moses had finished giving them their instructions.

כשלשת אלפי איש, “approximately three thousand men.” According to the plain meaning of the text, these three thousand men intended that their conduct should be viewed as idolatrous. This is why they had to be executed, just as the inhabitants of the idolatrous town in Deuteronomy chapter 14 have to be executed and their belongings have to be burned. (Based on Daat Baaley Tossaphot)

Moses said: "Consecrate your hands as an offering this day before Hashem — for each man was against his son and against his brother — so as to bring upon you a blessing this day."

מלאו ידכם CONSECRATE YOURSELVES — You who are killing them (your own relatives) will by this very act install yourselves as priests of the Omnipresent God, כי איש FOR EVERY MAN among you will consecrate himself בבנו ובאחיו BY HIS SON AND HIS BROTHER (by their death at his hand).

"And Moses said" — he had already spoken to them thus; compare 'and Hashem God formed' (Gen. 2:7), and many similar cases. The grammatical form of מִלְאוּ [fill/consecrate] is irregular, for sometimes it is a transitive verb and sometimes intransitive, yet it is in the Qal conjugation. The meaning of 'for each man was against his son' — even if the worshipper was his own son or brother, they were to kill him; and the reward is that He will bestow a blessing upon you. This is the meaning of 'at that time Hashem set apart the tribe of Levi' (Deut. 10:8), and the sense is that Hashem told Moses this reason on Mount Sinai; therefore it is written 'these are the descendants of Aaron and Moses on the day that Hashem spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai' (Num. 3:1). And when the Tabernacle was made, Aaron and his sons were set apart to serve Hashem, and so too the Levites — then came the rebellion of Korah, for he was a firstborn. This followed from when Hashem took the Levites in place of the firstborns to be holy, because it was the firstborns who had offered the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings and sacrificed upon the altar that had been built before the calf.

'מלאו ידכם היום לה, acquire for yourselves some degree of perfection today! Today you will become worthy to perform service in G’d’s Temple in the future! כי איש בבנו ובאחיו, for each one of you have already become sanctified to G’d through having circumcised his own son for G’d, something you did in the desert. (according to Sifrey Behaalotcha,15, the tribe of Levi were the only ones who observed this commandment while the people were in the desert). [how many Levites could have been circumcised during the 89 days since the Passover and the return of Moses from Mount Sinai? Ed.] Therefore, מלאו ידכם prove this sense of loyalty again by becoming blessed through assuming this difficult task of carrying out His instructions now. ובאחיו, and today you have again demonstrated your loyalty of spilling the blood of even your own brothers. Moses gave recognition to this collective act of loyalty to G’d in preference to loyalty to their fellow Jew in Deuteronomy 33,9-11 when he said about this tribe:כי שמרו אמרתך ובריתך ינצורו,.... ברך ה' חילו ופעל ידיו תרצה, “for they have observed Your word and Your covenant they preserved. Bless, Hashem, his resources and favour the works of his hand.”

מלאו ידכם היום, "consecrate yourselves this day, etc." It is not clear what the word "consecrate" is supposed to mean in this context. If it referred to the matter of killing one's relatives, this had already occurred. It should have been reported prior to the Levites carrying out Moses' orders. I believe we can explain this verse as being in its proper place. The Torah felt that inasmuch as these Levites had carried out executions with their own hands, something that certainly is not characteristic of righteous people, their image had to be restored. We have learned in Makkot 7 that any court which carries out a death sentence once in seven years (according to some even once in seventy years) is labelled as "a murderous court." In this instance the Levites killed about 3,000 people in a single day. There was a fear that their souls could have been tarnished by the experience seeing that though what they had done was perfectly legal it might leave a residue of mercilessness or a streak of cruelty in their character. In order to reassure both them and the people, Moses the man of G'd, told them to "consecrate their hands." This was not a commandment but a reassurance that by the very act of carrying out the task allocated to them they had consecrated themselves to the service of the Lord. Not only did their action not hint at a character deficiency in them, but, on the contrary, it reflected that they were spiritually very enlightened. The proof was that they did not protest having to sacrifice their own sons or close relatives which put them in a category similar to that of Abraham at the time he was willing to offer up Isaac. G'd testified that Abraham had reached the pinnacle of perfection after he had demonstrated that he had not withheld Isaac (Genesis 22,12). G'd had given Abraham a double blessing at that time (Genesis 22,17). Moses assured the Levites that they too were recipients of a similar blessing by G'd as a reward for what they had done, i.e. ולתת עליכם היום ברכה. Moses was very precise in describing this blessing as עליכם, which implied something additional, instead of saying לכם. He told the Levites that not only was G'd's blessing not required to restore a character defect which had been revealed when they acted as mass executioners, but there had not been a character defect in the first place, and He now added a further positive dimension to their respective characters by granting them this blessing. We may view the whole episode as similar to an orchard in which the trees have to be pruned in order to assure that the remaining branches develop more successfully. The house of Israel has frequently been compared to a vineyard (Psalms, 80,9 et al). When Moses spoke of the blessing that G'd would bestow עליכם, "upon you," the meaning of עליכם is "thanks to you," thanks to what you have done, the entire Jewish people will experience such a blessing. It was not the Levites who had been deficient but the people. By removing the su...

מלאו ידכם היום, “dedicate yourselves today, etc.;” Moses tells these people that they had already proved their absolute loyalty to Hashem, as they had not hesitated to kill members of their own family if those had been amongst the three thousand men mentioned in the last verse. This is also how our author understands Targum Onkelos on our verse. The point is not to understand Moses as using the expression: מלאו ידכם, as being in the future tense. ולתת עליכם היום ברכה, “and thereby bring G-d’s blessing upon yourselves this day.” This verse is the reason why, in his parting address to the Jewish people in Deuteronomy 33,811, Moses singles out the tribe of Levi for a blessing although Yaakov, prior to his death had not done so. The reason that the tribe of Reuven received a blessing from Moses at that time, although that tribe too had not received a blessing from Yaakov, was that they had volunteered to be the vanguard of the army in the forthcoming battle with the Canaanites, having vowed not to rejoin their families on the east bank of the Jordan until all the other tribes had settled on their allotted territory. The tribe of Shimon, however, had neither received a blessing from Yaakov nor from Moses, due to their prince having cohabited provocatively with a Midianite princess, and because of the original Shimon’s part in the killing of all the males of the town of Sh’chem. An alternate explanation: “and to bestow a blessing on you this day!|” Moses says here what he referred to in Deuteronomy 10,8 when he said: בעת ההיא הבדיל ה׳ את שבטעד היום הזה הלוי לשאת את ארון ברית ה׳, “at that time Hashemseparated the tribe of Levi to become the bearers of the HolyArk......until this day.” The new task of the Levites becameoperational after the Tabernacle had been built and the Holy Ark had been transferred to there. From amongst the Levites, Aaron and his sons and their descendants were selected as replacing the duties which prior to the golden calf episode had been performed by the firstborn, who were the priests in each family where the firstborn was a son. They too became disqualified by having participated at the time at least passively in the dancing around the golden calf. According to tradition, they had even offered sacrifices on the altar Aaron had built. Part of Korach’s complaint was also that he should be qualified to offer sacrifices as he too was firstborn. (Our author has more to say about this in his commentary on Numbers 16,2.)

מלאו ידכם היום, “dedicate yourselves this day!” as if the line had been written in the past tense, as if the word כי had preceded the word מלאו, expressing approval of their loyalty. Rallying to the call of Moses and carrying out his instructions was equivalent to offering a sacrifice to G’d. איש בבנו ובאחיו, you have extended your hands towards heaven, i.e. in support of the interests of G’d.

ולתת עליכם היום ברכה, “so that he may bestow a blessing on you this day.” From this day on the blessings that Moses bestowed on the Levites as described in Deuteronomy 33,8 additionally, although Yaakov had failed to bless them on his deathbed became effective, just as Moses blessed Reuven, although Yaakov had failed to bless him. He received a blessing from Moses although he did not receive it from his father Yaakov, as in the meantime his descendants had volunteered to be the vanguard of the army of the Israelites when they conquered the land of Canaan and they did not return to their families for 14 years until all the tribes had received their ancestral lands.

The next day Moses said to the people: "You have sinned a great sin; and now I will go up before Hashem — perhaps I will atone for your sin."

אכפרה בעד חטאתכם [PERADVENTURE] I SHALL MAKE AN EXPIATION FOR YOUR SIN — i. e. I shall put an effacing and a wiping off and a covering in front of your sin, to serve as a barrier between you and your sin.

"And it came to pass on the next day" — the day of his descent. "And now I will go up" — to return to the mountain and prostrate myself before Hashem to atone for Israel, as I have explained; perhaps He will write other tablets to make a covenant with Israel — this is the meaning of 'Behold, I am making a covenant' (34:10 below) — for the tablets are like a deed of testimony.

אתם חטאתם חטאה גדולה, “realise the extent of your sin, for if you ponder this you will surely become penitents!” We find a parallel syntax in Psalms 51,5 כי פשעי אני אדע, “for I have come to realise the rebellious nature of my conduct.” [David feels that by being aware of the truly terrible nature of his transgressions he may qualify for help in rehabilitating himself. The specific nature of David’s transgression was the desecration of G’d’s name in arranging for the death of Bat Sheva’s husband so that he could marry Bat Sheva. While the Talmud had declared that he did not commit a technical sin when sleeping with Bat Sheva, his moral sin was something quite different. Ed.] In Jeremiah 3,13 we also encounter a syntax reflecting the approach taken here by the Torah. The prophet wrote אך דעי עונך, “if you were only to understand the meaning of your iniquity!” He does not add “repent!” but takes it for granted that awareness of the implications of the wrong one has done will automatically result in penitence.

ויהי ממחרת, “it was on the following day, etc.” on the 18th day of Tammuz;

Moses returned before Hashem and said: "Please — this people has sinned a great sin and has made for themselves golden idols.

אלהי זהב GODS OF GOLD — Moses emphasized the word “gold” as some excuse for their sin: It is You who have caused them to do this, for You gave them gold in abundance and everything they wished; what else were they likely to do if not to sin? A parable: this may be compared to a king who provides his son with food and drink, attires him with beautiful garments and hangs a money-bag round his neck and then deliberately places him at the door of a house of ill-fame! What else is the son likely to do if not to sin!? (Berakhot 32a)

"And he returned" — the Nagid [Samuel HaNagid] said that אָנָּא here has an absorbed lamed, like אַל נָא, and its meaning derives from הוֹאִיל [to be willing]; but this is far-fetched. Rather, אָנָּא is like אַל נָא — 'I beseech You, do not do such a thing' — and the meaning of אָנָּא is that of supplication or an expression of acknowledgment, as here and as in 'I beseech You, Hashem, for I am Your servant' (Ps. 116:16).

חטא העם הזה, "This nation has committed a very grave sin, etc." It is possible that with these words Moses alluded to something we have learned in Sotah 3, that no one commits a sin unless his brain had first malfunctioned, i.e. that he was out of his mind. This represents a defect in his spiritual life-force, his נפש. By saying חטא, Moses meant that the people's spiritual makeup had lacked an essential ingredient. This was the reason that they made a molten image for themselves. This is one of the arguments man will use after death when he faces His Maker and has to account for his sins in this life. He will claim that when he committed a sin he was not of sound mind. Although he will be punished, seeing he himself was the cause of being of unsound mind, his punishment will not be as severe as if he had been of perfectly sound mind at the time he comitted the sin. Another thought Moses may have had in mind when he formulated these words is connected to the tradition (Kidushin 40) that when man is punished for idolatry he is punished for his idolatrous thoughts alone. When Moses spoke of the people having committed a grave sin without specifying the nature of that sin, he referred to the idolatrous thoughts the people had entertained. As far as their sin in deed was concerned, Moses spelled this out by adding: "they have made golden deities for themselves."

וישב משה אל ה׳, “Moses returned to the Presence of G-d;” on that very day, on the 18th of Tammuz.

אנא חטא העם הזה, “I implore!” This people has committed a grievous sin.” This is the source for the High Priest in the Yom Kippur service introducing the various confessionals with the word אנא. Our sages in Yuma 35 say that the prayer resulting in the granting of atonement was derived from Moses’ prayer at Mount Sinai when he said to the Jewish people (Exodus 32,30) “perhaps I can achieve atonement for your sin.” Hence it is fitting that the formula used by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement introducing the confession leading to atonement should be one that has proven effective in times past. Furthermore, the Talmud there queries the need to mention the holy name of G’d in the confessional. It concludes that seeing this is done in the case of the עגלה ערופה, the heifer that gets killed as atonement for the possible indirect involvement of the people in a town near which an unsolved murder occurred (Deut. 21,8), it is most certainly appropriate for the High Priest on the Day of Atonement to invoke the holy name of G’d for sins which most certainly have been committed by unknown parties and which require atonement. It is customary nowadays (when there is no Temple or High Priest) to invoke the name of the Lord when reciting a prayer beginning with the word אנא. Examples are such prayers as אנא ה’ הושיעה נא, אנא ה’ הצליחה נא. This parallels the prayer of the High Priest which commenced with the words אנא ה’ כפר נא לעמך ישראל, “please O Lord forgive Your people Israel, etc.” When Samson appealed to G’d to restore his physical strength to him one last time (Judges 16,28), he also invoked the name of the Lord saying: אדני ה’ זכרני נא וחזקני נא אך הפעם, “My Lord G’d remember me and grant me my strength only this one time, etc.” If nonetheless, we find that Moses in our verse did not add the name of the Lord after saying אנא, it is possible to explain this by saying that Moses was simply ashamed to utter the name by means of which the Torah had been given to the Children of Israel, the same people who had now violated this Torah in such a gross fashion. Even though Moses did not explicitly mention the holy name of G’d on this occasion, it was alluded to in the very word אנא, the numerical value of its letters being 52, i.e. twice the number of the holy name of G’d, i.e. the attribute of Justice as well as the attribute of Mercy. That very name, referring to both attributes is mentioned at the beginning of the list of the thirteen attributes of His which G’d revealed to Moses in Exodus 34,6. It is also possible to explain the absence of the name of the Lord in Moses’ prayer at this juncture by the requirement to immediately spell out the precise nature of the sin for which atonement is being sought. This is why Moses said immediately “they made for themselves gods of gold, etc.” It would have been inappropriate to invoke the name of G’d which symbolises Unity, at a time when the sin for which forgiveness was being sought symbolised the very opposite of Unity, i.e. diversity. Moses acted in line with a famous saying of our sages in Pessikta Zutrata on Exodus 5,2: “what business does a king have in a slaughter- house, and what business does a priest have in a cemetery?” Indeed, we find (Exodus 33,7) that as soon as the Israelites had constructed the god of gold the Shechinah withdrew from their midst as Moses henceforth was obliged to leave the camp if he wanted to communicate with G’d.

Please, this people has sinned a great sin, and they have made for themselves gods of gold. There are several questions in this request. For why did Moses magnify the sin when he asked for forgiveness, as this is not the way of any advocate. Furthermore, his words seem contradictory, because by saying and they have made for themselves gods of gold [implying] “You caused them to [sin],” his intention would have been to minimize the sin. Additionally, what is the meaning of and they made with the prefix vav [and], which suggests as if the matter was interrupted, while its simple meaning suggests that it is an explanation of a great sin. Furthermore, why did he specify this sin more than the sins of forbidden sexual relations and bloodshed that they transgressed, as Rashi explained in the verse and they rose up to play. We have already said that there was no actual adultery or murder there. And the proof of this is that what was interpreted as them killing Hur is not possible, because they killed him before making the golden calf, and the verse and they rose up to make merry was said after its creation. Rather, since all the commandments were five opposite five — I am [the Lord] corresponding to You shall not murder, You shall have no other gods corresponding to You shall not commit adultery — when they transgressed I am and You shall have no other gods, it was as if they also transgressed You shall not murder and You shall not commit adultery, for one who does this will fall into that. We have already found that both murder and adultery are called “great sin.” For regarding murder it is said My punishment is greater than I can bear (Genesis 4:13). And regarding adultery it is said How then can I do this great wickedness? (Genesis 39:9). Therefore, when Moses said, Alas, this people has sinned a great sin, he was alluding to these two transgressions, adultery and murder. Afterward, he also confessed the sin of the golden calf, saying, and they made for themselves a god of gold. He did not want to include the golden calf in the category of adultery and murder, to indicate that specifically these two are great sins, but the sin of the calf is not so great, because they have an excuse: “You caused it for them because of the abundance of gold that You bestowed upon them.” This is not the case with these two sins [adultery and murder], which have no connection to this excuse. Moses’ entire intention was to minimize the sin of the golden calf, for which God said He would destroy them. But for adultery and murder, even if we say some of them transgressed these, not all of them deserved destruction because of them. And especially according to what we have written, that there was no actual adultery or murder there, as understood from the expression to make merry [letzachek], and it does not say “they rose up and made merry” [vayitzchaku], but rather they committed a sin that leads to merriment. And he said, “And now if You will forgive their sin, and if not, erase me, please, from Your book.” Since he said perhaps I will atone on account of your sin, he should have said “perhaps God will atone for your sin” because Moses does not have the power to atone. And it should have simply said “for their sin” — why say on account of? Rather, it’s because Moses gave his life for Israel and said I will atone — meaning “I am the atonement on your account,” because the leaders are the guilt offering for the people. Therefore he said if You will forgive their sin, and if not — whether You forgive or not, erase me, please. That is, if You forgive their sin and take me as atonement for them, then erase me. And if You will not forgive, then also erase me, for how could I bear to see the destruction of my people? According to its simple meaning, it seems to me that the main intention of the word ve’atah [and now] is similar to what we find with the spies, where it is also written ve’atah yigdal na koach Hashem (Numbers 14:17) [And now, let the power of the Lord be great]. For the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses to destroy them [the Israelites] and make him into a great nation, and Moses said lest they say because of the Lord’s inability, etc. And even though when Moses’ offspring becomes a great nation and enters the land, the nations would not be able to say “because of inability,” nevertheless, in the meantime, God’s name would be desecrated, and “I desire that now the power of the Lord be great even in these generations.” Similarly, Moses requested here ve’atah [and now] if You will forgive their sin — and this is an inverted verse, as is common in many places, as if he said “If You will forgive their sin, then ‘now’” — do this now, immediately, and do not put me off with “go and return,” saying that their descendants will enter the land or my descendants, because in the meantime, God’s name would be desecrated. And furthermore, it appears to me that he [Moses] did not ask to completely erase the sin, but rather that God would not collect His debt all at once to utterly destroy them immediately. However, Moses was not concerned if God would collect His debt little by little in each generation. And God granted his request, saying, Now go, lead the people, etc. and On the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them — to punish them little by little, for this is God’s kindness.

"And now, if You will forgive their sin — but if not, erase me now from Your book that You have written."

ועתה אם תשא חטאתם YET NOW, IF THOU WILT FORGIVE THEIR SIN — well and good: then I do not suggest to You, “Blot me out [of Thy book], ואם אין מחני BUT IF NOT, BLOT ME OUT.” This is an elliptical sentence, the words “Well and good” being omitted; of such there are many in Scripture. מספרך OF THY BOOK — of the entire book of the Torah; that people should not say about me that I was not worthy enough to pray effectively for them.

YET NOW, IF THOU WILT FORGIVE THEIR SIN. Rashi comments: “If You forgive their sins — well and good, and I do not say to you ‘Blot me out.’ But if not, blot me out. This is thus an abbreviated verse. There are many cases similar to it. Out of Thy book — this means out of the whole Torah; so that people should not say about me that I was not worthy [successful] to seek mercy for them.” But if so, what was the answer that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to Moses — Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book — since there was no one else to be blotted out of His book [i.e. the Torah, since they are not mentioned therein to begin with]? Perhaps [Rashi] will interpret it thus: “I shall only blot out [from My Torah] those who have sinned against Me, and you have not sinned against Me.” But this is not correct. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that the expression out of Thy book which Thou hast written is like, The judgment was set, and the books were opened, “the books” in Ibn Ezra’s opinion being the dispositions of the heavenly bodies upon which the fate of the lower creatures depends. And G-d answered, Whosoever had sinned against Me, him will I blot out from My book, which means: “I will not blot you out, but I will blot out from among the people those sinners who have sinned against Me in their thoughts, and were not killed by the sons of Levi.” It is with reference to this that it is said, And the Eternal smote the people. — This interpretation [of Ibn Ezra] does not appear to me to be correct, for besides those killed by the sword of the sons of Levi and those who died in the plague, most of the people had sinned against Him, as I have written. In my opinion [the interpretation of the verse is as follows]: Moses said, “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin in Thine mercies [— well and good]; but if not, blot me out in their place from the book of life, and I will share their punishment,” it being similar to what Scripture says, But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. And the Holy One, blessed be He, answered Moses: “I will erase from My book [of life] whosoever sinned, but not you, for you have not sinned.”

"And now" — I have already explained in the book of Daniel, regarding 'the books were opened' (Dan. 7:10), that all decrees concerning collectives and individuals alike are [recorded] in the constellations of heaven, and so too have the Sages acknowledged with respect to sons, life, and livelihood — yet Hashem adds [blessing] on account of reverence for Him, as I have explained.

אם תשא חטאתם ואם אין מחני נא מספרך, regardless if You, G’d, will forgive their sins or will not forgive them, wipe out any merits I have accumulated in Your Book and transfer them to the credit balance of this people.

ועתה אם תשא חטאתם "And now, if You are prepared to forgive their sin, etc." We have to understand this wording as corresponding to a statement in Bereshit Rabbah 21,6 according to which the word עתה is always used as related to repentance. Moses argued that seeing the Israelites had already repented, they qualified for forgiveness. אם תשא חטאתם "if You forgive their sin, etc." Why did Moses leave the second half of the sentence unfinished? Perhaps we must understand Moses as saying: "and now," seeing that the Israelites have already done תשובה, i.e. they have done their part, it is up to You G'd to do Your part. Moses did not know if G'd would accept repentance seeing the sin was so grave. This is why he did not complete the verse, waiting for G'd to complete the other half of the sentence. ואם אין מתני נא מספרן אשר כתבת "and if not, please erase me from the book You have written." A broker is entitled to a commission for all the deals he is instrumental in concluding between two parties. Inasmuch as Moses had "brokered" many deals between G'd and Israel of which the Israelites' acceptance of G'd's Torah was not the least, he was certain that his part in all this had been duly recorded in G'd's Book of records. He argued that if G'd were not to forgive the people He would have to erase all the merits Moses had acquired thus far and which had been recorded in that Book. His own merits, after all, had only been achieved through his association with the Jewish people. G'd answered him that his reasoning was faulty; He would erase only the previously recorded merits of the sinner from His Book. The merits which had been acquired through someone's association with someone else would certainly not be negatively affected through sins committed subsequently by that third party. Moses' argument can also be understood in light of the Zohar volume 3, page 273 that all the souls of the generation of Israelites travelling through the desert were "branches" of Moses' soul. If G'd were not to forgive the sins of the Israelites, the effect on Moses' own soul would be devastating. This is why he urged G'd to "wipe me out from Your Book." G'd answered him that only the branches of his soul would be damaged by the sins their bodies committed, not the "trunk (i.e. root) of their souls." Another meaning of Moses' words may be that he told G'd that he himself had been guilty of many errors such as recorded in Exodus 5,22 when he had accused G'd of dealing harshly with the Jewish people. Apparently, G'd had forgiven him his errors else He would have to erase him too from His Book as his sin too was unforgivable. G'd answered Moses that it was the nature of the sin of the Israelites,- "they sinned against Me," -which made it impossible to accept repentance without decreeing punishment. Idolatry is a sin against G'd's Essence. It cannot go unpunished even when the guilty have been truly penitent. The entire dialogue between Moses and G'd concerned only the timing of t...

מחני נא מספרך, “please erase my name from Your book;” this is not a reference to the Torah which had not yet been committed to writing. Moses refers to the “Book of life” in which every human being is inscribed on Rosh Hashanah if he was found deserving on the basis of his past record. This is based on the Talmud in tractate Rosh Hashanah folio 16, where the “book” is referred to as “the book of life,” in which the righteous are inscribed.

מחני נא מספרך, “blot me (my name) out from Your book, please.” According to the plain meaning of these words the “book” Moses spoke of was the Torah. A Midrashic approach: The word “from Your book” which Moses uttered here as simply a possibility, teaches that the curse of a Torah scholar, even if only conditional, is apt to come true. This is based on what Moses said here. Even though the essence of his prayer, namely forgiveness of the sin of the Jewish people, was accepted by G’d, Moses’ name does not appear in the entire portion of תצוה as a direct consequence of his uttering the words מחני נא מספרך. Whereas G’d forgave the grievous sin of the golden calf, He did not ignore these words of Moses which He considered as out of place. A more rational/investigative approach: The word מספרך, is a reference to the horoscopes, something known as the “book (handbook) of the Lord.” Just as a book consists of impressions of letters and pictures, etc., imprinted in order to be a permanent record, so the stars in the sky represent a similar book of reference of the Lord in which He predetermined the fates of all those who do not qualify for His personal supervision of their fates, i.e. the book of horoscopes. Such a book contains a list of the life spans of each individual before he is born, as well as other data relevant to his life on earth. King David already referred to this in Psalms 139,16: “Your eyes saw my unformed limbs, they were recorded in Your book.” Man’s potential in the celestial spheres (what is inscribed in that book) enables him to accomplish whatever it is that he will accomplish while alive on earth. When this potential is erased in G’d’s book, this means that he will die here on earth forthwith. In other words, the essence of Moses’s prayer was that unless G’d would forgive the people their sin, he, Moses, would not want to live. He simply could not bear to watch the misery that would befall his people if G’d were not to forgive them. On another occasion Moses phrased the same sentiment more directly when he said הרגני נא הרוג אם מצאתי חן בעיניך, “please kill me (now) if I have found favor in Your eyes” (Numbers 10,15). This is a typical expression used by the righteous when they experience mental anguish and despair of the usefulness of their lives. The prophet Elijah used similar language after the failure of his demonstration at Mount Carmel, when he had walked for forty days to Mount Chorev and said to G’d that He should take his soul as he had not proved more effective than other prophets who had preceded him (Kings I 19,4). Another prophet who used similar language as a death wish was Jonah who said to G’d: “please take my life for it is better that I die than that I live (Jonah 4,3). The reason Moses added the words אשר כתבת, “which You have written,” is a reference to something new, a recognition that G’d had been the one who called the universe into existence. Anything “new” testifies to the existence of the One who created something new, just as the written word testifies to the fact that there was someone who did the writing. Moses implied that seeing it had been G’d who had initiated all these forces it was also within His power to cancel such evil decrees at will. G’d answered him that He reserved the right to erase the people who had sinned from His “book,” not the ones who had not. The fact that G’d did not even name the sinners, i.e. the Jewish people, reflects the depth of G’d’s anger at them (32,33). G’d said to Moses in effect: “You are not deserving of any punishment seeing that you have not sinned at all. However, all those who have sinned are the ones who are in line for being erased from My book.” G’d meant that He would nullify the potential of these sinners’ power as predetermined in the handbook of G’d which we described earlier. It is in line with verse 10 where G’d exclaimed that “My anger has flared against them and I will destroy them within a moment.” A Kabbalistic approach: the word מספרך, is equivalent to מן הספירות, “from the list of emanations.” It is as if Moses had said that he wished to be erased from the lower six of these emanations. They represent G’d’s activity when beginning to create the universe. It is a reference to the six extremities of the universe which are also known as the מלאכת שמים וארץ, “the work of (constructing) heaven and earth.” This is also the mystical dimension of Psalms 69,29: ימחו מספר חיים, “may they be expunged from the ‘book’ of life.” David also referred to these emanations, calling them ספר. This enables us to understand a statement by the sages (Rosh Hashanah 16) that three “books” are open before the Lord on New Year’s day. One contains the names of the fully righteous people, one contains the names of the definite sinners, whereas the third contains the names of the people who fall into an in-between category, being neither considered righteous nor evil. The three books referred to may also be understood as חסד, דין, רחמים “loving kindness, Justice, Mercy.” G’d relates to the totally righteous with loving kindness; to the wicked He relates with Justice. To the category which has not yet crystallized as either of the former two, He relates with “Mercy.” The attribute of Mercy is called upon to decide to which category to consign these people who by reason of their deeds are not yet properly categorized. The מלך, “King” whom we address on Rosh Hashanah deals with all three categories on that day.

אם תשא את חטאתם ואם אין מחני נא מספרך, “if You will forgive their sin…., and if not please blot me out from Your Book.” According to Rashi, Moses wanted to have his name removed from the whole Torah. Nachmanides finds this difficult, as in his opinion G’d’s reply that He would remove the sinners’ names from His Book and not those of the ones free from sin, would not be comprehensible. Who else was there whose name could be erased, seeing that we have not heard about the names of any of the sinners? He therefore concludes that Moses’ request must be understood thus: “If You will forgive them in Your Mercy, o.k, if not, I prefer that you wipe me out from among the living i.e. the Book of Life, and let the people continue living in my place. G’d’s reply that He will punish the guilty and not the innocent instead of the guilty, makes perfect sense then. He had no reason to erase Moses from the Book of the Living.

מחני נא מספרך, the Book of Life which You have written. Compare Isaiah 4,3 כל הכתוב לחיים בירושלים, “everyone who has been inscribed for life in Jerusalem, etc.” Moses asked to be killed by G’d.

מחני נא, “please erase me, etc.” according to Rashi, when Moses used the expression מספרך, “from Your book,” he asked to have his name erased from the whole Torah. According to Rash’bam, he only referred to the Book of Life in which people are inscribed on Rosh Hashanah if they will live out the year commencing on that day. (He bases himself on Isaiah 4,3, as well as on what Moses is recorded as having said in Numbers 11,15) This also appears to be the understanding of the Talmud, tractate Rosh Hashanah, folio 16. There the word: מספרך, “from Your Book,” is understood to refer to people who on that day have not yet qualified for a year of life until their merits exceed their demerits before the Day of Atonement, whereas the words: אשר כתבת, “which You have written,” is understood to refer to the righteous who have already been inscribed for another year of life. An alternate interpretation: Moses reminds G–d that His reputation rests on the fact that He does not have favorites. If He will refuse to forgive the people their sin, how could He forgive Moses’ sin since he had smashed His Tablets? G–d explains to him that the comparison is not valid as the people who had committed the sin of the golden calf were the cause that made him smash the Tablets. He would punish those who had, without provocation, committed the sin, not Moses. Nonetheless, we find that Moses’ name did not appear in the portion of Tetzaveh, the first time ever since he had been born. The reason is that the Rabbis have a rule that if a Torah scholar utters an oath, even a conditional oath, such as Yaakov decreeing death for the thief found with Lavan’s teraphim, which had been stolen by his daughter Rachel, though not found in her possession, as was the condition of the oath, such an oath cannot be without consequences. Rachel’s death before Yaakov crossing into the Holy Land is therefore attributed to this oath. Here too, Moses’ oath could not remain without any consequences for him. G–d therefore omitted mention of his name in that portion of the Torah.

Hashem said to Moses: "Whoever has sinned before Me, him I will erase from My book."

"And He said" — the Gaon [Saadia] held that this is [equivalent to] 'and Hashem relented' (v. 14), since He had spoken of destroying all of them; and the sense is: 'I will not blot out from My book anyone except him who sinned against Me' — in thought, in the manner of 'in order to lay hold of the house of Israel through their heart' (Ezek. 14:5) — and those who did not worship were not killed. This is the meaning of 'and Hashem struck the people' — because the calf had been made, and suspicion came upon those men in secret.

מי אשר חטא לי אמחנו מספרי, the idea that I will wipe out the merits of those who have not sinned against Me in order that through your loss of these credits they may qualify for My forgiveness is a non starter. This would be a brand new system of justice. The system of reward and retribution I have practiced is based on the fact that the sinner would have to pay for his sin, while receiving reward for his good deeds. I do not recognise a system whereby sins can be offset against previously accumulated merits, or vice versa. If I do not recognise such trade-offs of the sins and good deeds of the same individual against one another, I most certainly will not allow the transfer of other people’s merits to wipe out the debit balance of a third party. As a result of these considerations, your proposal is not acceptable.

מי אשר חטא לי אמחנו מספרי, “I erase those that have sinned against me from My book;” This is the way I operate. However, I forego My right to erase your name from this book.”

"And now, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; and on the day that I make reckoning, I will reckon their sin against them."

אל אשר דברתי לך OF WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN UNTO THEE — Here we have an instance of לך connected with the verb דבר being used in place of אליך (i. e. where לך actually means speaking to, not as its usual meaning it, speaking “concerning” someone or “in the interest of” someone as often pointed out by Rashi; cf. e. g., Rashi’s comment on Genesis 28:15). Similar is, (1 Kings 2:19) “to speak unto him (לדבר לו) for Adonijah” (cf. Rashi on that verse). הנה מלאכי BEHOLD, MINE ANGEL [SHALL GO BEFORE THEE] — My messenger, not Myself. וביום פקדי וגו׳ AND IN THE DAY WHEN I VISIT [I WILL VISIT THEIR SIN UPON THEM] — At present I listen to you and will refrain from consuming them all at once — but ever and ever throughout the ages, when I am visiting them for their sins I shall visit them at the same time for a little of this sin in addition to their other sins for which I am then punishing them. Indeed no punishment ever comes upon Israel in which there is not part payment for the sin of the golden calf (cf. Sanhedrin 102a).

AND NOW GO, LEAD THE PEOPLE. [G-d is saying here:] “Since I have repented from destroying them, lead them unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee — to the place of the Amorite, the Canaanite, etc.” However, He did not want to mention this expressly, for this was said in a manner of anger, as if to say: “What I have said to you, I shall do in your honor, but I will not forgive them their sin, for in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them — I will visit it upon them even after they come to the Land.” This was an allusion to the time of the exile, or to what our Rabbis have said that “No punishment [ever comes upon Israel] in which there is not a small part for the sin of the golden calf.”

"And now, to the place of which I have spoken to you" — to the land of the Canaanite (3:8 above). This is said in the manner of rebuke: it is on your account that I bore their sin. And you, who loved them so — go, lead them. "And on the day" — the beginning of each year is a day of reckoning.

אל אשר דברתי לך, when I said to you “I will take you out from the afflictions in Egypt (Exodus 3,17) to a good land etc.”,(verse 8 same chapter). וביום פקדי, in the event that they will commit further sins, (such as the sin of the spies) ופקדתי עליהם חטאתם, this sin, and I will not continue to waive their punishment for this sin. We find a similar statement in Kings I 1,52 ואם רעה תמצא בו ומת, “if he commits any further evil he will die.” (Adoniah, Solomon’s older brother and former rival for the succession) We find that G’d comes back to this threat in Numbers 14,11 complaining “how long will this people spurn Me, etc.” Seeing that they repeated their rebellious behaviour one could only expect that they would persist in their foolish ways. Our sages used this to coin the phrase that “when a person has sinned, gotten away with it, and sinned again, and again gotten away with it, he thinks that what he did is not even sinful” (so that he has no incentive to repent what he has come to believe is permissible conduct) (Yuma 86)

ועתה לך נחה את העם , “and now, go and lead the people!” G-d is telling Moses to resume his vocation as the leader of his people. הנה מלאכי ילך לפניך, “My angel will walk ahead of you;” G-d refers to what he had told Moses already in Exodus 23,20: 'הנה אנכי שולח מלאך וגו, “here I am going to send an angel, etc.” וביום פקדי ופקדתי, “but when the day comes that I make an accounting, I will make an accounting;” G-d promises Moses that as long as the Israelites will not accumulate more sins He will not take any further action in respect of the sin of the golden calf. However if that day comes, He will add additional punishment for punishment so far withheld.

ועתה לך נחה את העם, “and now, go and lead the people!” G’d meant that now that He had reconsidered His initial plan and had desisted from destroying the people, it was up to Moses to continue to lead them. אל אשר דברתי לך, ”to where I have told you.” G’d did not want to be more specific, as He was still angry and He wanted Moses to know that the people’s continued existence was not due to His having forgiven them, but to the high regard in which He held their leader, i.e. Moses. Whenever He would have an occasion to visit some punishment on the people for a different sin, He would add some extra punishment in partial discharge of what they had become guilty of during this unhappy episode. This would continue even after they would come to the Holy Land. This is a veiled hint that they would at some time be exiled from that land. This is why our sages have taught us that there is no historical disaster which befalls the Jewish people that does not include part of the punishment for the unexpurgated guilt of the sin of the golden calf. (Shemot Rabbah 43,3)

נחה, to the land of Israel. וביום פקדי, at intervals, when I feel so disposed, not all of them at once.

Hashem struck the people because they had submitted to the calf that Aaron had made.

ויגף ה' את העם AND THE LORD PLAGUED THE PEOPLE — This was death inflicted by the heavenly Judge on those to whose offence there had been witnesses but no legal caution (cf. Rashi on v. 20).

AND THE ETERNAL SMOTE THE PEOPLE. Scripture does not state how many died in this plague, as it stated the number of those that fell by the hand of the sons of Levi, and as it mentioned in the case of the plague about the matter of Korah, and in connection with the Baal of Peor, the reason perhaps being that those here did not all die in one plague, but they were smitten and died prematurely, something like it said, but the Eternal shall smite him, or his day shall come to die. Perhaps Scripture did not bother to number them, for similarly it did not number those that died in the plague at Taberah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, where it says, and the Eternal smote the people with a very great plague. Those that fell, however, through the sons of Levi He counted in their honor, thus saying that they slew many of the people but yet they did not fear them, for they trusted in the Eternal. BECAUSE THEY MADE THE CALF. This means that they were not amongst those who worshipped it or sacrificed to it, but they were the men who “made” it, that is to say, they were the ones who gathered around Aaron and brought him the gold. Now since Scripture states that they were punished for making the calf, not for worshipping it, and in reality they did not make it, it explains further, which Aaron made, meaning that Aaron made it at their command. But Onkelos translated [the expression, because they ‘made’ the calf], “because they ‘worshipped’ the calf which Aaron made.” By this Onkelos intended to explain that the ones who died in the plague were those who embraced and kissed it, and were pleased with the calf. Now [although the same term asah (“did”) is mentioned in both cases, because they ‘made’ the calf, which Aaron ‘made’], Onkelos did not feel obliged to translate both alike [but instead he translated: “because they ‘worshipped’ the calf, which Aaron ‘made’ “]. A similar case [of Onkelos’ rendition] is the verse, and whatsoever they ‘did’ there, he was the ‘doer’ of it, which he translated: “and whatsoever they did there ‘was done’ by his command.”This plague occurred after Moses had punished the worshippers and prayed for Israel, saying, and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book. For because Moses had shown his readiness to give his life for them, the Holy One, blessed be He, had mercy upon them, and told him to bring them up to the Land, and that He would send an angel before them; but since He wanted to take away from them part of the great sin, in order that they should be worthy [to go up to the Land], He sent upon them this plague. Or it may be that He had decreed this plague upon them [before Moses’ prayer] and the plague had already begun, and after that He said again to Moses, Go up hence, thou and the people, meaning, that the plague will not blot out their sin from before Me so that I should again dwell in their midst. He mentioned though, unto the land of which I swore unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and further said, and I will drive...

"And He struck" — perhaps the plague did not occur in the first year; rather, Scripture is recounting what happened after they journeyed from Mount Sinai.

על אשר עשו את העגל אשר עשה אהרן, by Aaron’s agreeing, not protesting, he helped a potential sin become an actual sin, so that the person’s sin who fashioned the gold into the shape of a calf is attributable to Aaron. Aaron’s contribution in deed was his throwing the gold into the fire. He himself describes the “this calf emerged,” as a direct consequence of his throwing the gold into the fire (verse 24).

אשר עשה אהרן which Aaron had made. What was the Torah's purpose in making this statement at this point? Perhaps G'd wanted us to know that the Israelites were punished for causing Aaron to become the innocent maker of the golden calf. G'd deals severely with anyone who causes a great and holy man such as Aaron to become involved in the performance of a sin. Alternatively, the Torah wanted to ward off any accusation anyone had levelled against Aaron who was only technically the maker of the golden calf, and to place the blame where it belonged. The fact that G'd smote the people for a calf which Aaron had made, is evidence that G'd considered the people as having made the calf.

ויגוף ה' את העם, “Hashem smote the people.” In this instance the Torah did not reveal how many of the people were smitten with this fatal plague, as distinct from the people who had been executed by the Levites or the plague that killed the people participating in Korach’s uprising, or the people who died as a result of the encounter with the Moabite women at Shittim. Perhaps the reason why here we have not been told numbers is that these people did not die all simultaneously, so that the cause of their deaths would be obvious, but the “plague” that struck them meant that they died prematurely. Alternatively, the Torah did not bother to inform us of their number, just as it has not informed us of the number of people who died at Taveyrah (Numbers 11,1) or at Kivrot Hataavah (Numbers 11,35) The principal reason why the number of people executed by the Levites are mentioned, is to give credit to the Levites who carried out G’d’s instructions in spite of the large number of people involved. They trusted in G’d’s protection and were not afraid of their victims resisting and possibly killing them. אשר עשו את העגל, “who had made the golden calf.” This is mentioned to tell us that the people who were struck by the plague were not the ones who had actively prostrated themselves and worshipped the golden calf. Their sin consisted of ganging up on Aaron and demanding that he make for them a substitute for Moses. Seeing that the Torah first said that they were punished for making the golden calf, something not quite accurate, as Aaron had taken the gold and thrown it into the crucible, the Torah now had to add: אשר עשה אהרן, that actually it had been Aaron who had “made” the calf. אשר עשה אהרן, “which Aaron had made.” The reason the Torah had attributed the making of the calf to the people whom G’d subsequently struck with the plague, was that Aaron had acted only as their שליח, as their proxy. Had they not demanded it of him by adopting a threatening posture, he would never have dreamt of undertaking such a project. This plague only commenced after the Levites, at the command of Moses, had executed the people who had actively worshipped the calf. After that Moses had prayed to G’d on behalf of the people, and had received instructions to lead the people toward their goal, the Holy land. At that point G’d had said that He would send along one of His angels. In order to justify His doing so, He had to reduce the level of unexpurgated sin still amongst the people. Striking the instigators of the whole episode with the plague accomplished that purpose. Now G’d was able to say to Moses to proceed. [verse 34 was only preparatory, and did not contain the command to proceed forthwith. Ed.]