AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES: DEPART, GO UP HENCE. Scripture reads go up because one who goes towards the left side¹ goes up.². Abraham therefore went down into Egypt (Gen. 12:10)³. because he was in the south.⁴ (because he was in the south). Sarim suggests emending our text to read, ki hi be-darom [for it (Egypt) is in the south].

footnotes: ¹ That is, goes north. For when a person faces east, north is on his left side. ² The Land of Israel is north of the desert of Sinai. Hence Scripture states, go up ³ That is, Scripture speaks of Abraham’s journey to Egypt in terms of going down. See Gen. 12:10, And Abram went down into Egypt ⁴ When he came to Egypt. Our texts read, ki hu be-darom

[JACOB.] I will do all of this⁵ because of the oath which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

footnotes: ⁵ Sending an angel before the Israelites, driving out the inhabitants of Canaan, and giving their land to the Israelites.

AND I WILL SEND AN ANGEL BEFORE THEE. To help you.

[AN ANGEL.] Scripture does not read the angel⁶ angel (malakh). because the angel⁷. refers to the angel which is known to have God’s name in him.⁸

footnotes: ⁶ It reads an ⁷ Hebrew, ha-malakh ⁸ See Ex. 23:20-23.

FOR I WILL NOT GO UP IN THE MIDST OF THEE. They will not erect the tabernacle,⁹ for I will not rest in the midst of Israel.

footnotes: ⁹ The construction of which was described earlier.

[LEST I CONSUME THEE IN THE WAY.] I will immediately consume them if they once again act in this manner. Akhelkha (I consume thee) is vocalized with a segol¹⁰. in place of a pattach, and its lamed does not have a dagesh in it even though the rules of grammar require it.¹¹ beneath the kaf and that a dagesh be placed in the lamed. Compare the word achavvekha (I will tell thee)¹² should have followed the vocalization of achavvekha. in I will tell thee, hear thou me (Job 15:17).¹³ of achavvekha does not have a dagesh in it. However, it is obvious that it did in I.E.’s edition. See Minchat Shai on Job 15:17.

footnotes: ¹⁰ Beneath the kaf ¹¹ That the word be vocalized with a pattach ¹² In other words, akhelkha ¹³ It should be noted that in our editions of Scripture the vav

AND WHEN THE PEOPLE HEARD THESE EVIL TIDINGS. What evil tidings?¹⁴ The reference is to what is written afterwards, And the Lord said unto Moses, etc. (v. 5).¹⁵. However, verse 5 reads, And the Lord said unto Moses…therefore now put off thy ornaments. Hence And the Lord said should be interpreted, and the Lord had said (Weiser). And the Lord said unto Moses (Ex. 4:19) is similar.¹⁶ is, and the Lord had said. See I.E. on Ex. 4:19. I have already explained¹⁷ the meaning of Can He give bread also (Ps. 78:20).¹⁸ refers to meat, not to the manna (I.E. on Ps. 78:20). I.E. comments thus because the first part of Ps. 78:20 reads, Behold, He smote the rock, that waters gushed out. Therefore Can He give bread also, which follows, cannot refer to the manna, for the manna fell before the rock was struck (see Ex. 16,17:1-8). I.E. explains bread to mean meat, as Israel asked for meat after the rock had been struck. See Num. 11:1-22. It¹⁹ is like And He commanded the skies above (Ps. 78:23),²⁰ the meaning of which is, and He had already commanded the skies.²¹ This is also the case here.²² (v. 5) means, and the Lord had already said. I.E. comments thus because he believes that what is reported in verse 5 transpired before that which is reported in verse 4. See note 14. There is no need for the Geonic interpretation to the effect that they always did so.²³ 38 reads, that they should always do so. The point is that verse 5 is in correct chronological sequence, for it relates that God told Israel that they must permanently keep their jewelry off. Thus And the Lord said unto Moses is to be taken literally.

footnotes: ¹⁴ Evil tidings are recorded in verse 3 and in verse 5. Hence I.E.’s comment. ¹⁵ In other words, verse 5 should come before verse 4. I.E. comments thus because verse 4 tells us, and no man did put on him his ornaments ¹⁶ Here too the meaning of and the Lord said ¹⁷ The reference is to I.E.’s comments on Ps. 78:20. ¹⁸ According to I.E. bread ¹⁹ Verse 5. ²⁰ The reference is to the manna which fell from heaven. ²¹ For the manna fell before the striking of the rock which is earlier mentioned. See note 16. ²² And the Lord said ²³ Vat. Ebr.

AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL STRIPPED THEMSELVES OF THEIR ORNAMENTS. Et edyam means of their ornaments.²⁴ here has the meaning of min (from). I.E. comments thus because va-yitnatzelu (stripped themselves) is a reflexive verb. Therefore, if we do not translate et as min, our verse would read, and the children of Israel stripped themselves their ornaments. The reference is to their fine garments and ornaments such as rings worn on the ears and fingers. The word edyam is to be interpreted in light of va-edekh edi (I decked thee also with ornaments) (Ezek. 16:11).²⁵ Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments because they mourned over the incident of the calf.

footnotes: ²⁴ Et ²⁵ Ezek. 16:11 tells us that God decked Israel with ornaments. It then goes on to list the ornaments. It mentions earrings, nose rings, beautiful and costly garments, bracelets, and necklaces. See Ezek. 16:11-13.

NOW MOSES USED TO TAKE THE TENT. Scripture employs an imperfect²⁶. Yikkach means will take. J.P.S. renders used to take. in place of a perfect.²⁷ (took). We find the same in They made a calf in Horeb (Ps. 106:19).²⁸ (they will make), in place of the perfect, asu.

footnotes: ²⁶ Yikkach ²⁷ Lakach ²⁸ Ps. 106:19 employs the future, ya’asu

THE TENT. His tent.²⁹ means Moses’ tent. Hence the heh (the) prefaced to ohel (tent). It is like and they came into the tent (Ex. 18:7).³⁰

footnotes: ²⁹ The tent ³⁰ The reference being to Moses’ tent.

[NOW MOSES USED TO TAKE THE TENT AND PITCH IT WITHOUT THE CAMP, AFAR OFF FROM THE CAMP; AND HE CALLED IT THE TENT OF MEETING.] Look. Moses was separated from Israel because of the Glory that used to speak with him. This took place after he brought down the inscribed second tablets³¹ and Israel began to construct the tabernacle. Moses called his tent the tent of meeting because God met with him there until the tabernacle was erected. There is no chronological order in the Torah.³² Some say that the tent refers to the tabernacle and that Scripture tells us where the tabernacle was located during the fifty days before the banners were set up.³³

footnotes: ³¹ See Ex. 34. ³² For what is recorded in our verse did not occur at this point in time. As I.E. explains, it occurred later. ³³ The tabernacle was set up on the first of Nisan (Ex. 40:17). Israel journeyed according to their banners on the twentieth of Iyyar, 50 days later. I.E. assumes that Israel took their journey on the very day that the banners were set up.

AND IT CAME TO PASS. This³⁴ too was a sign.³⁵ Israel saw that as soon as Moses came to the tent from the camp of the Israelites he immediately saw the pillar of cloud.

footnotes: ³⁴ Like the shining of Moses’ skin. See Ex. 34:34. ³⁵ Of Moses’ closeness to God (Weiser).

AND WHEN ALL THE PEOPLE SAW. This took place after what is reported in the section beginning with the words, See, Thou sayest unto me (v. 12), for what is recorded in the latter chapter occurred during the forty days that Moses fell before the Lord concerning the incident of the calf. After this, Moses descended and hewed out the stones. God then passed by Moses, and this led to the fulfillment of God’s word, and thou shalt see My back (v. 23).³⁶

footnotes: ³⁶ It was only after this that God spoke to Moses face to face (see I.E. on verse 21). Hence what is recorded here had to have happened later on.

AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES FACE TO FACE. I will explain this in a section that will soon follow.³⁷

footnotes: ³⁷ See I.E.’s comments on verse 21.

BUT HIS MINISTER JOSHUA, THE SON OF NUN, A YOUNG MAN. Joshua lived a hundred and ten years.³⁸ Our sages said that Joshua spent seven years conquering Canaan and seven years dividing it up.³⁹ 118b. If this is the case, then Joshua was now fifty-six years old.⁴⁰ Why then did Scripture call him a young man? This is its grammatical explanation. His minister Joshua, the son of Nun, performed the service of a young man.⁴¹ is to be inserted before the word na’ar.

footnotes: ³⁸ Josh. 24:29. ³⁹ Zevachim ⁴⁰ Joshua lived 110 years. We deduct from this the 40 years of wandering in the desert, and the 14 years of conquering and dividing Canaan; 110 minus 54 = 56. Hence Joshua was 56 when Israel left Egypt. ⁴¹ In other words, the word sherut

AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE LORD: SEE, THOU SAYEST UNTO ME. See means see the predicament in which I find myself.⁴² I will now grammatically explain the section.⁴³

footnotes: ⁴² In other words, the word see cannot be taken to pertain to the words that follow, for words cannot be seen. Hence I.E. interprets see to mean see my predicament. ⁴³ Verses 12-23.

[I KNOW THEE.] Rabbi Saadiah Gaon says that yedatikha (I know thee) means I have honored thee. However, this is incorrect, for that I may know Thee (v. 13) just as You know me follows.⁴⁴ (hodi’eni) thy ways, that I may know Thee (ve-eda’akah) (v. 13). Now ve-eda’akah in verse 13 cannot mean I will respect, for hodi’eni and ve-eda’akah come from the same root. Hence if ve-eda’akah means I will honor Thee, then hodi’eni must mean honor me. If this is the case, then verse 13 reads, honor me with Your ways so that I may honor You. This makes no sense. Hence we must translate ve-eda’akah as: that I will know Thee. Now if ve-eda’akah means that I will know thee, then yedatikha, which precedes it, must be rendered I know Thee.

footnotes: ⁴⁴ I.E.’s paraphrase of show me

[MY PRESENCE.] Saadiah Gaon says that the meaning of the word panai (my presence)⁴⁵ means my anger, as in u-fanehah lo hayu lah od (and her countenance was no more sad) (I Sam. 1:18).⁴⁶ Now, what will the Gaon do with the word panekha (thy presence) in If Thy presence go not with me (v. 15)?⁴⁷ (thy presence) in this verse as anger because then the verse would read, If Thy anger go not with me, carry us not up hence. I believe that panai means I, myself. It is similar to the word panekha (thine own person) in and that thou go to battle in thine own person (panekha) (II Sam. 17:11).

footnotes: ⁴⁵ Literally, My face. ⁴⁶ Which Saadiah Gaon renders: and she was no longer angry. ⁴⁷ We cannot render panekha

SO THAT WE ARE DISTINGUISHED. Ve-niflinu (so that we are distinguished) comes from the same root as ve-hiflah (shall make a division) in And the Lord shall make a division (Ex. 9:4). It belongs to those roots which end in a heh.⁴⁸.

footnotes: ⁴⁸ Its root is peh, lamed, heh

THY GLORY. Your very self, for Scripture explicitly states, And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand until I have passed by (v. 22).

AND WILL PROCLAIM THE NAME OF THE LORD. Scripture writes with regard to Abraham, and (he) called upon the name (be-shem) of the Lord (Gen. 12:8).⁴⁹. People were the ones who were called upon to serve the Lord.⁵⁰ The word be-shem (upon the name) is therefore connected⁵¹ to God’s glorious name. However, this is not the case with and proclaimed the name of the Lord (Ex. 34:5),⁵². Here the word ve-shem (the name) is not connected by a cantillical note to Adonai (the Lord). In fact, the cantillical notes connect it to va-yikra. for here the Lord is the one who calls.⁵³ It is the same case with and will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.⁵⁴ is connected to Adonai.

footnotes: ⁴⁹ Hebrew, va-yikra, be-shem Adonai ⁵⁰ Gen. 12:8 should be understood as follows: Abraham called to people in the Lord’s name; i.e., Abraham called upon people to worship the Lord. ⁵¹ By the cantillical notes. ⁵² Hebrew, va-yikra ve-shem, Adonai ⁵³ Ex. 34:5 should be understood as, And the Lord proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁵⁴ Its meaning is, I the Lord will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, for here too ve-shem

SEE ME. The word yirani (see me)⁵⁵ should be vocalized with a tzere beneath the alef. is vocalized with a kamatz.⁵⁶ is vocalized with a pattach. It is vocalized like ro’ani (seeth me)⁵⁷ rather than a tzere beneath the alef. The same goes for ro’ani, le-hotzi’anu, and yeshivani. Hence I.E.’s comment. in And sayest⁵⁸. I.E. most probably quoted from memory and erred. none seeth me (Is. 47:10), and le-hotzi’anu (to bring us forth)⁵⁹ is vocalized with a kamatz beneath the alef. in to bring us forth out of Egypt (Ex. 14:11), and yeshivani (bring me back)⁶⁰ was vocalized with a kamatz beneath the bet. However, our texts of the Bible read yeshiveni (tzere beneath the bet). in If the Lord shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem (II Sam. 15:8).

footnotes: ⁵⁵ According to the rules of Hebrew grammar, yirani ⁵⁶ In our editions of the Pentateuch yirani ⁵⁷ Which has a kamatz ⁵⁸ The Biblical text says, Thou hast said ⁵⁹ Le-hotzi’anu ⁶⁰ In I.E.’s edition of the Bible yeshivani

[AND LIVE.] The meaning of va-chai (and live) is, and will live.⁶¹. [FOR MAN SHALL NOT SEE ME AND LIVE.] For he will immediately die. Thus, upon seeing God’s messenger, Manoah said, We shall surely die, because we have seen an angel (Jud. 13:22).⁶² Jacob similarly said, I have seen an angel face to face, and my life is preserved (Gen. 32:31).⁶³ How much more is this true for one who beholds the Lord? Some say for man shall not see Me [and live] means: only he who lives forever⁶⁴ (and live) to mean, but he that lives, i.e., he that lives forever. shall see Me.⁶⁵ (for no man shall see Me and live) is: for no man shall see Me, but he that lives shall see Me. So Weiser. Filwarg interprets I.E. as saying, some say, for no man shall see Me (ki lo yirani ha-adam) and if he does he shall live forever (va-chai). However, this is not in keeping with the text.⁶⁶ means, and shall live. Furthermore, the other interpretations require us to read too much into the text. Others say that the word lo (not) is also to be applied to the word va-chai (and live). Our text is to be read as if written, for neither man, nor he who lives, shall see Me.⁶⁷ (for man shall not see Me and live). This interpretation suggests that our verse be interpreted, ki lo yirani ha-adam ve-lo ha-chai, for no man or living being (angel) shall see Me. The reference is to the angels.⁶⁸

footnotes: ⁶¹ I.E. comments thus because he will soon quote a different interpretation of va-chai ⁶² Translated according to I.E. ⁶³ Translated according to I.E. ⁶⁴ Angels or the soul following the death of the body. This interpretation takes va-chai ⁶⁵ According to this interpretation the meaning of ki lo yirani ha-adam va-chai ⁶⁶ For va-chai ⁶⁷ Our text reads, ki lo yirani ha-adam va-chai ⁶⁸ “He who lives” refers to the angels.

AND THOU SHALT STAND UPON THE ROCK. The reference is to the top of the mountain,⁶⁹ refers to the top of the mountain. for Scripture clearly states, and present thyself there to Me on the top of the mount (Ex. 34:2). God told Moses to stand there and God himself would place him in a cleft of the rock when the Lord’s glory passed by (v. 22). For Scripture clearly states, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock (v. 22). Scripture does not say that Moses should place himself in a cleft of the rock. I will now explain the meaning of the portion. Rabbi Saadiah Gaon says that God told Moses:⁷⁰ Bring up this people from this place wherein they sinned and I will forgive them⁷¹ in another place.⁷² Moses replied: If your anger is not removed from Israel in this place then carry us not up hence.⁷³ However, the following appears to me to be the correct interpretation of the chapter. God told Moses, and I will send an angel before thee (v. 2).⁷⁴. Moses then responded, and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me (v. 12), that is, whether this angel is the one concerning whom Scripture writes, for My name is in him (Ex. 23:21). God answered Moses, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest (v. 14). The meaning of thee is: because I will go only with thee, but I will not rest in the midst of the children of Israel. Moses therefore responded, if Thy presence go not up with this nation, mentioned earlier by Moses in that this nation is Thy people (v. 13), [carry us not up hence].⁷⁵ (v. 15) is to be interpreted: If thy presence go not up with this nation. Hence Moses employed the plural al ta’alenu (carry us not up).⁷⁶ For wherein now shall it be known that I have found grace in Thy sight…is it not in that Thou goest with us (v. 16) is positive proof that this explanation⁷⁷ is correct. God then answered Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast found grace in My sight (v. 17). Moses was extremely happy to hear this and therefore said, let the Lord, I pray Thee, go in the midst of us (Ex. 34:9). The latter stands in marked contrast to for I will not go up in the midst of thee (v. 3). Moses desired to see the Lord.⁷⁸ God answered him, for man shall not see Me and live (v. 20). This is the truth. For the senses only feel that which is transient. Therefore and they saw the God of Israel (Ex. 24:10), I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne (Is. 6:1), and the prophecies of Ezekiel⁷⁹ were all visions of God. Look, Scripture here states, and thou shalt see My back. It states elsewhere, and the similitude of the Lord doth he⁸⁰ behold (Num. 12:8). These things require a long explanation. Saadiah Gaon says that face⁸¹ (v. 24). refers to the face of the light. Let the face of the sun serve as an example.⁸² The back⁸³ refers to the remaining light that cleaves to a person.⁸⁴, 2:11: “God has a special light which He creates and makes manifest to His prophets in order that they may infer therefrom that it is a prophetic communication emanating from God that they hear. When one of them sees this light, he says: “I have seen the glory of the Lord…” However, when they beheld this light, they were unable to look upon it because of its power and brilliance. Indeed, whoever looked upon it incurred the disintegration of his entire makeup and the flight of his spirit from his body. Moses accordingly asked his Master to give him the strength to look upon this light. The latter, however, answered him that the first rays of this light were so powerful that he would be unable to view them clearly with his naked eyes, lest he perish. He would rather cover him up with a cloud or the like until the first rays of this light had passed, because the greatest strength of every radiant body is contained in its initial approach. All of this was implied in the statement of Scripture: And I…will cover thee with My hand until I have passed by. Then when, the first portion of the light had passed, God removed from Moses the thing that had covered him, so that he might be able to look at the back of the light, as Scripture says: And I will take away My hand, and thou shalt see My back” (Saadiah Gaon, The Book Of Beliefs And Opinion. Translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, Yale University Press, 1948, p. 130). There is no need for all of this.⁸⁵ However, before I explain this let me say the following: Know that God only spoke to Moses face to face from the third series of forty days⁸⁶ onward. Moses’ face shone because God passed by his face. Moses’ prophecy at first was through the angel who appeared in the bush.⁸⁷ Scripture there states, And the Lord said (Ex. 3:7).⁸⁸ The same is true of And the Lord went before them (Ex. 13:21),⁸⁹ for the messenger speaks in place of the one who sent him.⁹⁰ The day that Moses saw what he requested was, to him, what the day of the giving of the Torah was to Israel. No human being who lived before or after Moses ever reached Moses’ status. Our sages said that God showed Moses the knot of the tefillin.⁹¹. According to the rabbis, My back is to be interpreted as: what is in back of Me. See Berakhot 7a. Also see Rashi. For God wearing tefillin, see Berakhot 6a. There words are correct. However, its meaning is not in accordance with that of the wise men of this generation who interpret the Rabbinical statement literally. On the contrary, it has a deeply hidden secret meaning.

footnotes: ⁶⁹ The rock ⁷⁰ Verse 1. ⁷¹ Their sin of making the calf. ⁷² Saadiah Gaon’s paraphrase of verse 1. ⁷³ Verse 15. ⁷⁴ That is, God told Moses to bring the people to the land of Canaan (v. 1). He then added, and I will send an angel before thee ⁷⁵ That is, If Thy presence go not up ⁷⁶ Because the reference is to Moses and the people. ⁷⁷ Moses requested that God’s presence should accompany Israel. ⁷⁸ Verse 18. ⁷⁹ Ezekiel saw God sitting on a throne which was placed on a platform borne by four creatures, each of which had four faces. See chapters 1 and 10 of Ezekiel. ⁸⁰ Moses. ⁸¹ In My face shall not be seen ⁸² A person cannot look at the face of the sun. Similarly, a person cannot look at the light emanating from God. The aforementioned is referred to as God’s face. ⁸³ God’s back. See verse 33. ⁸⁴ That is, to the back of the divine light, which a person is able to behold (Weiser). See Saadiah Gaon’s Book Of Beliefs And Opinions ⁸⁵ Saadiah’s interpretation of God’s face and back is wrong. ⁸⁶ That Moses spent in prayer following Israel’s making of the golden calf. See Deut. 10:10. ⁸⁷ Ex. 3:2. ⁸⁸ Even though it wasn’t actually the Lord. ⁸⁹ Even though the reference is to the angel of the Lord. ⁹⁰ The angel represents the Lord and delivers His message. Hence God’s angel is referred to as the Lord in Scripture. ⁹¹ The knot of God’s tefillin

Abraham the author states: I have already explained that the name of God, which is written but not pronounced,⁹², the tetragrammaton. is a proper name.⁹³ This proper name refers to the Glory.⁹⁴ If you add up all of the letters of God’s proper name you get seventy-two.⁹⁵ =10; heh =5; vav = 6. If we arrange God’s name as Y(10), YH (15), YHV(21), YHVH (26), we get 72. The sages therefore said that it is God’s explicit name.⁹⁶ If you add the square of one, the first number, to the square of five, the true middle number,⁹⁷. you will get the numerical equivalent of God’s name.⁹⁸ = 26. This is also true regarding the five moving stars.⁹⁹ When you add up the letters that one enunciates in naming half of the letters that make up God’s name¹⁰⁰ is spelled yod (10), vav (6) dalet (4). Heh is spelled heh (5), alef (1). you will also get the numerical equivalent of God’s name.¹⁰¹ = 26. Thus yod, heh spelled out = YHVH. When you add up the squares of the first four square numbers¹⁰² you get the numerical equivalent of half of God’s name.¹⁰³ = 15. Adding 1+ 2+ 3 +4 + 5 +6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 = 120. When you multiply the first half of God’s name¹⁰⁴, that is, 15. by the second half of God’s name¹⁰⁵, that is, 11. Multiplying 15 by 11 = 165. you get the sum of the square of the odd numbers.¹⁰⁶ When you subtract the square of the first letter of God’s name¹⁰⁷ (10) squared = 100. from the sum of the squares of the first two letters¹⁰⁸ (15). 15 squared = 225. of God’s name, the remainder will be equivalent to the cube of the second letter of God’s name.¹⁰⁹. Heh (5) cubed = 125. 225 – 100 = 125. If you subtract the square of the first two letters of God’s name¹¹⁰, heh (15); 15 squared = 225. from the square of the first three letters of God’s name,¹¹¹. Yod, heh, vav = 21. 21 squared = 441. 441 – 225 = 216. the remainder¹¹² will be equivalent to the cube of the third letter of God’s name.¹¹³. Vav cubed = 216. This glorious God is similar to the number one which stands by itself and has no need for any number before it.¹¹⁴ If you consider the role that the number one plays in a sum of numbers, you will discover that one is the first of all the numbers in any sum, and that all sums consist of ones. God similarly is the One who is all.¹¹⁵ This is therefore the secret of the prayers and praises.¹¹⁶ It is the meaning of Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself (Ezek. 38:23)¹¹⁷. and of in whom I will he glorified (Is. 49:3).¹¹⁸. God will be glorified by Israel’s proclaiming His oneness. Now the One has no image. He encompasses all the images,¹¹⁹ for they all came from Him. Observe, the heavenly bodies, namely, the lights and the stars, have no front or back. This is certainly the case with man’s heavenly soul. This is surely the case with those who serve on high.¹²⁰ This is beyond the shadow of a doubt the case with the Most High.¹²¹ (v. 23) is not to be taken literally. Now there is a vertical line between the two points.¹²² The point closest to the Creator¹²³. Motot interprets this as referring to the active intellect. is known as “the prince of the face”¹²⁴, p. 195). and “the prince of power.”¹²⁵ The point which lies on the opposite end of the line marks the end of power.¹²⁶ Man moves frontward.¹²⁷ The body which is on high moves towards the right.¹²⁸ Plants grow upward.¹²⁹ Now Moses was able to know and perceive intellectually how human beings cleave to the Creator of the world¹³⁰ who is called “the back” (v. 23). It is the nature of the Glory¹³¹ that no created being may have the power to know this.¹³². This is the meaning of for man shall not see Me and live (Ex. 33:20). This is so because man’s soul is in a body.¹³³ Now, after an intelligent person dies, his soul reaches a very high stage. It is a state which it could not reach while the individual was alive. Look, Moses¹³⁴ became all-encompassing.¹³⁵. God therefore told Moses, I know thee by name (v. 12),¹³⁶ for only God knows the individuals and their parts in an all-encompassing manner. Man is the most important being upon the earth. Hence the form of the cherubim.¹³⁷ Israel is the most important type of human being.¹³⁸. Hence the statement regarding the knot of the tefillin.¹³⁹ 6a, “Rabbi Nachman bar Yitzchak said to Rabbi Chiyya bar Avin, What is written in the tefillin of the Master of the universe? He answered, who is like Thy people Israel, a nation one in the earth (I Chron. 17:21).” The Shi’ur Komah¹⁴⁰, a mystical work giving the dimensions of God. Most scholars believe it to have been composed in the Geonic period. However, Saul Lieberman believes it to be a Tannaitic Midrash on Song of Songs. therefore¹⁴¹ writes that God created all corporeal beings and all beings more glorious than corporeal beings.¹⁴² The accidents¹⁴³. An Aristotelian term for that which is incidental, e.g., white. That the house is white is an accident. Accidents are the opposite of substance. They have no independent existence. They exist only in another being. Accidents are in a state of flux, while substance remains the same. are of less significance than the corporeal beings.¹⁴⁴ Furthermore, Rabbi Ishmael says,¹⁴⁵. “Whoever knows the measure of the Creator of the world¹⁴⁶ is assured of a place in the world to come. I and Rabbi Akiba vouch for this.” This is the meaning of Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (Gen. 1:26).¹⁴⁷ Note, all plants, all that live on the earth, all fowl, cattle, animal, creeping thing and all human beings¹⁴⁸ are tied to the forty-eight forms of the sphere.¹⁴⁹ This is the meaning of [and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven…] which the Lord thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven (Deut 4:19).¹⁵⁰ Those who added “to give light”¹⁵¹ 9b. did so to explain the verse. It is possible that they knew this¹⁵² but did not want to reveal this secret to the students. And that He had not allotted unto them (Deut. 29:25)¹⁵³ is positive proof of this.¹⁵⁴ cannot be interpreted as meaning, had not allotted to give light, for Deut. 29:25 deals with idol worship, that is, the worship of the stars (Meijler). It is known that the seven moving stars¹⁵⁵ have 120 possible conjunctions.¹⁵⁶ The seven moving stars form the great conjunction in only one way.¹⁵⁷ There are twenty-one two-star conjunctions.¹⁵⁸ It is the same case with five-star conjunctions.¹⁵⁹ This number results from seven.¹⁶⁰ The stars can be in a three-star conjunction in thirty-five ways,¹⁶¹ for this number too is a result of the conjunctions of the seven moving stars.¹⁶² The same is true of a four-star conjunction.¹⁶³ Now the stars can be in a six-star conjunction in seven ways.¹⁶⁴ The influence of the conjunction which takes in all peoples of the earth¹⁶⁵ varies in accordance with the constellation of every one¹⁶⁶ of the seven sections¹⁶⁷ which constitute the inhabited world.¹⁶⁸ Scripture says concerning them, Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; Thou hast made summer and winter (Ps. 74:17), which differ in all of the areas. Change does not come from the sun itself but because of its movement towards the north and south. Now the conjunction of the sun and moon in Aries¹⁶⁹ occurs every 960 years. These two turn from the constellation with which they are in conjunction to the ninth constellation¹⁷⁰ every twenty years. They make this cycle twelve times for a total of two hundred and forty years.¹⁷¹ From there¹⁷² they travel in the same manner and in an identical time period in the constellations of “dust,”¹⁷³ the constellations of “air,”¹⁷⁴ and the constellations of “water.”¹⁷⁵ Do not think that the four elements are in heaven¹⁷⁶ and that there is heat in the sun and coldness in the moon and Saturn.¹⁷⁷. Heaven forbid.¹⁷⁸: “We say that the rays of light belong to the sun itself, although in reality this is not so: it is the terrestrial bodies which, being opposite to it, are affected by it, and reflect its light.” The creations that are high and above are glorious.¹⁷⁹ Scripture says concerning them, For He commanded, and they were created (Ps. 148:5). He hath established them for ever and ever; He hath made a decree which shall not be transgressed (Ps. 148:6).¹⁸⁰ They were created in this way¹⁸¹ only because of those whom they affect.¹⁸² The seven moving stars¹⁸³ cannot change their nature. They cannot violate that which God has assigned to them. The same applies to the hosts of heaven. The inhabitants of the lower world are affected by them in accordance with their¹⁸⁴ makeup. Hence they cannot benefit or harm. Thus they cannot help one who bows down to them, for what was decreed for him in accordance with the arrangements of the stars at the time of his birth shall befall him. He can only be saved from his fate if he cleaves to and is protected by a power that is higher and more powerful than the stars. I will explain with a worthy parable. The arrangement of the stars had it that a river would overpower a city and kill or flood its inhabitants. A prophet came and warned the people to turn to God before the arrival of the day of their calamity. The people turned to God with all their heart. Because the people cleaved unto God, God put it into their hearts to go out of the city to pray unto the Lord. They did this. On the appointed day the river suddenly overflowed, as is its nature. We have witnessed this many times. The river flooded the entire city. Now God’s decree was not altered and He saved them. Imagine the following: The seven moving stars are like horses that run along a path. They do not run with the intention of doing good or bad. They act in accordance with their nature. Now imagine that a blind man is in their path. The blind man does not know how the horses act. He does not know when they go to the right and when they go to the left. The blind man depends on a person with sight who knows the way the horses run. Now the person with sight will guard the blind man. When the horses run to one side he will lead the blind person to the other side. The course of the horse’s running does not change but the blind man is saved. It is because of this that Scripture states, [the sun, and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven…] which the Lord thy God hath allotted [unto all the peoples under the whole heaven] (Deut. 4:19); But you hath the Lord taken…to be unto Him a people of inheritance (Deut. 4:20). The portion of Jacob is not like these, For He is the former of all things (Jer. 51:19). This is the meaning of so that we are distinguished, I and Thy people (v. 16). This is what the rabbis mean by “Israel has no constellation”¹⁸⁵ 156a; Nedarim 32a. as long as they keep the Torah.¹⁸⁶ If Israel does not keep the Torah, then the star rules over them, as has been proven, for any conjunction combined with Aquarius¹⁸⁷ is an evil arrangement. It results in harm befalling Israel. This is admitted by the astrologers. Now the stars were arranged in a conjunction which decreed that Israel should remain in exile in Egypt for many more years.¹⁸⁸ God delivered them because they cried out unto the Lord and turned to Him (Ex. 2:23). What is true for the group¹⁸⁹ is true for the individual.¹⁹⁰ Therefore But he that keepeth the law, happy is he (Prov. 29:18).

footnotes: ⁹² That is, YHVH ⁹³ See I.E. on Ex. 3:15. ⁹⁴ It refers to God Himself (Weiser). ⁹⁵ Yod ⁹⁶ That is, the sages of the Talmud therefore refer to God’s name as the 72-letter name of God. ⁹⁷ Between one and nine. I.E. refers to five as the true middle number because some schools of thought taught that there are only nine basic numbers. See chapter 11 of I.E.’s Yesod Mora ⁹⁸ 1 squared + 5 squared = 26. YHVH ⁹⁹ Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The five moving stars can be in conjunction with each other in 26 ways. For these 26 ways, see Krinsky. ¹⁰⁰ Yod, heh. Yod ¹⁰¹ YHVH ¹⁰² 2, 4, 6, 8. Their squares 4 + 16 + 36 + 64 = 120. ¹⁰³ Yod, heh ¹⁰⁴ Yod, heh ¹⁰⁵ Vav, heh ¹⁰⁶ The first five odd numbers, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. Their squares 1 + 9 + 25 + 49 + 81 = 165. ¹⁰⁷ Yod. Yod ¹⁰⁸ Yod, heh ¹⁰⁹ The heh ¹¹⁰ Yod ¹¹¹ Yod, heh, vav ¹¹² 216. ¹¹³ Vav ¹¹⁴ All numbers have a number before them; i.e., if a person says I have five books then what he is saying in effect is I have one book, two books, three books, four books, five books. Thus five assumes the numbers that precede it. However, 1 does not depend on any number before it. It stands by itself. This is the case with God. God stands by Himself. He is not dependent on any being that came before Him. ¹¹⁵ So Meijler. ¹¹⁶ The purpose of all prayers is to praise God as One, and the One from whom all existence comes. ¹¹⁷ Ezek. 38:23 reads: Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the Lord ¹¹⁸ Is. 49:3 reads: Thou art My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified ¹¹⁹ All shapes and forms owe their existence to God (Weiser). ¹²⁰ The angels. ¹²¹ Thus and thou shalt see My back; but My face shall not be seen ¹²² The upper and lower worlds form two opposite poles. There is, at it were, a line connecting them (Weiser). ¹²³ Hebrew, ha-po’el ¹²⁴ The prince of the face refers to the angel who sees God’s face. It may also refer to the tenth sphere (I. Levin, Yalkut Ibn Ezra ¹²⁵ The reference might be to the ninth sphere, the sphere which propels the other spheres. See I. Levin, p. 195. ¹²⁶ The end of God’s power, for there is nothing beneath the lowest world. See Weiser. ¹²⁷ Towards his creator. ¹²⁸ The spheres in which the fixed and moving stars are embedded appear to move from right to left (west to east) to one facing north. (Motot, quoted by I. Levin, p. 195). Thus the spheres aspire to move towards the “right” of God. See Weiser. ¹²⁹ Even plants aspire to move towards the source of their being. ¹³⁰ Moses was able to perceive the manner in which human beings are connected to God. ¹³¹ Of God. ¹³² “This” refers to Moses’ request, Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory ¹³³ The body and its lusts hinder man’s soul from reaching its full potential. ¹³⁴ After seeing God’s back. ¹³⁵ God knows the individual as part of the whole. See I.E. on Gen. 18:21 and the notes thereto. By seeing God’s back, Moses was able to know the whole. According to I.E. ultimate knowledge is knowledge of the general category and not of the individual parts. For the individual perishes while the species endures. See chapter 10 of the Yesod Mora ¹³⁶ Moses now stood out more than he ever had before. ¹³⁷ The cherubim in Ezekiel’s vision had human forms. See Ezek. 1:5. ¹³⁸ See Book II of Judah Ha-Levi’s Kuzari ¹³⁹ See note 89. The Rabbinic statement expresses God’s love for Israel. See Berakhot ¹⁴⁰ Measurement of Stature ¹⁴¹ Because all things have their origin in God. ¹⁴² Angels and souls (Weiser). ¹⁴³ Hebrew, mikrim ¹⁴⁴ In other words, incorporeal beings are superior to corporeal beings. However, the accidents are inferior to the corporeal beings. Man should choose to cleave to that which is above him rather than to that which is below him. ¹⁴⁵ In the Shi’ur Komah ¹⁴⁶ A grossly anthropomorphic statement. I.E. apparently interprets this to mean that whoever knows the manner in which God encompasses all things is assured of a place in the world to come. ¹⁴⁷ Man can attain immortality like his creator. ¹⁴⁸ With the exception of Israel. ¹⁴⁹ The stars of the eighth sphere (the sphere bearing the constellations) are arranged in 48 forms. See I.E. on Ex. 20:3 and the notes thereto. ¹⁵⁰ That is, all people are under the dominion of the stars. ¹⁵¹ That is, the 70 scholars who translated the Torah into Greek. These sages rendered Deut. 4:19 as follows: which the Lord thy God hath allotted to give light to all the peoples under the whole heaven. See Megillah ¹⁵² That “all plants, all that live on the earth; all fowl, cattle, animal, creeping thing and all human beings are tied to the forty-eight forms of the sphere.” ¹⁵³ According to I.E., Deut. 29:25 deals with the worship of the hosts of heaven. Its meaning is that God did not place Israel under the dominion of the stars. Nevertheless, Israel worshipped the stars. ¹⁵⁴ For here, had not allotted ¹⁵⁵ The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. In the notes which follow, the aforementioned will be referred to as follows: Sun/su., Moon/mo, Mercury/me, Venus/v, Mars/ma, Jupiter/j, and Saturn/sa. ¹⁵⁶ I.E. then goes on to list these 120 conjunctions. ¹⁵⁷ The seven moving stars can be in simultaneous conjunction in only one way. ¹⁵⁸ The seven moving stars can be in a two-star conjunction in 21 ways. They are: sa/j, sa/ma, sa/su, sa/v, sa/me, sa/mo; j/ma, j/s, j/v, j/me, j/mo; ma/su, ma/v, ma/me, ma/mo; su/v, su/v, su/mo, v/me, v/mo, me/mo. ¹⁵⁹ The seven moving stars can form 21 five-star conjunctions. They are: sa/j/ma/su/v; sa/j/ma/su/me, sa/j/ma/su/mo, etc. ¹⁶⁰ So Weiser. The 21 possible conjunctions result from the seven moving stars. ¹⁶¹ Sa/j/ma, sa/j/su, sa/j/v, sa/j/me, sa/j/mo, etc. ¹⁶² So Weiser. ¹⁶³ The seven moving stars can be in a four-star conjunction in 35 ways, i.e., sa/j/ma/su, sa/j/ma/v, sa/j/ma/me, etc. ¹⁶⁴ These are: sa/j/ma/su/v/me, sa/j/ma/su/me/mo, sa/j/ma/su/v/mo, etc. ¹⁶⁵ That is, the above-mentioned great conjunction. See note 155. ¹⁶⁶ Each one of these seven areas is under the influence of a given constellation. ¹⁶⁷ The inhabited world was believed to be divided into seven sections. See I.E. on Gen. 1:2. ¹⁶⁸ Literally, the conjunction which takes in all peoples of the earth in accordance with the constellation of every one of the seven sections that constitute the inhabited world. ¹⁶⁹ Which is part of the constellations of “fire.” There are four elements: dust, fire, air, and water. Three of the 12 constellations correspond to each one of these four elements. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius form the fire constellations. ¹⁷⁰ Sagittarius. ¹⁷¹ 20 × 12 = 240. ¹⁷² Form the constellation of fire. ¹⁷³ Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. ¹⁷⁴ Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. ¹⁷⁵ The sun and the moon travel in each one of the group of constellations for 240 years; 4 × 240 = 960. ¹⁷⁶ That is, that the heavenly bodies are made out of the four elements. ¹⁷⁷ The sun was believed to be hot and dry, the moon cold and wet, and Saturn cold and dry. See chapter 4 of I.E.’s Reshit Chokhmah ¹⁷⁸ According to medieval science the sun itself was not hot. However, it heated the earth because of the earth’s composition. See Book II of Judah Ha-Levi’s Kuzari ¹⁷⁹ They are not made out of the four elements which belong to the lower world. Hence they cannot share its properties; i.e., they cannot be hot, cold, dry, or wet. ¹⁸⁰ If the heavenly bodies were made out of the four elements they would eventually come to an end. See I.E. on Ps. 148:5. ¹⁸¹ To be hot and dry, cold and wet, cold and dry. See note 177. ¹⁸² That is, to have this effect on earth. That is, the sun is said to be hot and dry because it has this effect on the earth. ¹⁸³ Literally, the ministers. ¹⁸⁴ The reference is to the inhabitants of the world. ¹⁸⁵ Sabbath ¹⁸⁶ “As long as they keep the Torah,” is not part of the Rabbinic statement. It is I.E.’s interpretation of “Israel has no constellation.” ¹⁸⁷ Aquarius is Israel’s constellation. See I.E. to Ex. 31:18. ¹⁸⁸ Than they actually were. ¹⁸⁹ The people of Israel. ¹⁹⁰ The individual Israelite. As long as an Israelite clings to God he is not under the dominion of the stars.

Observe, I know thee by name (v. 12) is similar to For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous¹⁹¹ (Ps. 1:6).¹⁹²

footnotes: ¹⁹¹ Translated according to I.E. ¹⁹² God knows that individual as a part of the whole. See note 135.

Note, Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory (v. 18) does not refer to seeing with the eyes.¹⁹³

footnotes: ¹⁹³ Moses did not ask to physically see God.

Observe. Al panekha (before thee) (v. 19)¹⁹⁴ means: before thy inner face. It refers to the face of the heart.¹⁹⁵

footnotes: ¹⁹⁴ Literally, before thy face. ¹⁹⁵ That is, it refers to the mind.

Kol tuvi (all my goodness) does not mean all. Neither does it mean in all or with all.¹⁹⁶ is not to be interpreted, I will reveal all My goodness to you. Neither is it to be interpreted, I will reveal My goodness in all things, or I will reveal My goodness with all things. Its meaning is, I will reveal My attributes to you (Weiser).

footnotes: ¹⁹⁶ Kol tuvi

And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious (v. 19) refers to Moses, for Scripture tells us, I will make all My goodness pass before thee (Ibid.). However, before I pass before thee I will show mercy to you;¹⁹⁷ that is, I will cover you with My hand (v. 22). Look, this is its (v. 22) meaning. The hand served as a type of cover,¹⁹⁸ as in the case of a person who uses his hand to ward off the light of the sun so that his soul does not separate from his body.

footnotes: ¹⁹⁷ I.E.’s paraphrase of verse 19. ¹⁹⁸ God shielded Moses’ mind from comprehending more than it could. Otherwise Moses would have died.

Observe. Scripture states, and thou shalt see My back (v. 23) because God is all, His glory fills all, from Him is all, and He encompasses all of their images.¹⁹⁹ This is the meaning of and the similitude of the Lord doth he behold (Num. 12:8).

footnotes: ¹⁹⁹ Moses was shown how all of creation has its origin in God. This is called seeing God’s back (Meijler).

AND I WILL COVER THEE. Ve-sakkoti (and I will cover thee) has the same meaning whether spelled with a sin or a samekh.²⁰⁰ is spelled with a sin in our verse. Some commentaries say that kappi (My hand) is to be interpreted My cloud,²⁰¹ as in al kappayim kissah or (He covereth His hands (or cloud) with the lightning) (Job. 36:32) and hen al kappayim chakkotikh (Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands) (Is. 49:16).²⁰² However, it is to be translated literally.²⁰³ is to be rendered My hand.

footnotes: ²⁰⁰ Ve-sakkoti ²⁰¹ In Is. 49:16. I.E. quotes this opinion in the name of Saadiah Gaon. ²⁰² They render this verse, Behold, I have graven thee upon My clouds. ²⁰³ Kappi

BUT MY FACE SHALL NOT BE SEEN. Yera’u (shall be seen) refers to My face. However, this is not the Case with yera’u (shall be seen) in they²⁰⁴ refers to the males making the festival pilgrimage. shall not be seen before My face empty (Ex. 34:20),²⁰⁵ (they shall not be seen before My face empty) should not be translated as My face shall not be seen empty. for shall be seen here refers to the males.²⁰⁶

footnotes: ²⁰⁴ Translated literally. They ²⁰⁵ Translated literally. In other words, ve-lo yera’u fani rekam ²⁰⁶ Making the festival pilgrimage.