לך עלה מזה, "go and ascend from this place, etc." The mention of an "ascent" is significant. Perhaps the Torah alludes to Shabbat 88 where we are told that Moses appropriated for himself the jewelry the Israelites stripped off themselves. [That "jewelry" was always perceived as being spiritual, such as the phylacteries. Ed.] This is alluded to here by the use of the word עלה in addition to לך. The apparently superfluous word אתה, "you," further supports the idea that the Torah speaks about an ascent by Moses which signified a spiritual dimension. The spiritual ascent was limited to Moses, i.e. אתה, as distinct from the people. As far as the people were concerned, G'd's instruction was only: לך, "go on."

לאמור, "to say, etc." When the Torah reported communications from G'd to the Patriarchs, such communications did not usually involve לאמור, i.e. that they were to be passed on to others. The Torah wishes to remind us that whenever G'd had spoken to the Patriarchs promising to give the Holy Land to their descendants, such promises were לאמור, i.e. they were meant to be relayed by the Patriarchs to their children, etc.

ושלחתי לפניך מלאך, "and I will send an angel ahead of you, etc." It is clear from this verse that up until now G'd had meant for Moses personally to lead the children of Israel into the Holy Land and to distribute it to them. We have a line in Exodus 6,1 where G'd told Moses: עתה תראה "now you will see," and many commentators understood this to mean that Moses would be a witness only to the Exodus from Egypt but not to the conquest of the land of Canaan. Perhaps G'd had cancelled that decree in consideration of how Moses had interceded on behalf of the Jewish people, putting his own future on the line.

פן אכלך בדרך, "lest I consume you on the way." There is no comparison between someone who angers his teacher while in his teacher's presence to someone who takes advantage of the teacher's absence to anger him. בדרך, "on the way." This is a hint that the announcement that "only" an angel will accompany the Jewish people would not apply at all times and in all circumstances. When Israel would be in a city, i.e. in a relatively safe environment, G'd Himself would be near them (compare Isaiah 26,1).

According to the Kabbalists the desert is the home of Samael who succeeded on several occasions to overpower and kill Jews who lacked G'd's protection due to their share in the sin. The Zohar volume 2 page 157 expands on that theme when commenting on the words המדבר הגדול והנורא in Deut. 1,17. It uses that verse as proof of how dangerous it is to be בדרך, "on the way."

ודבר ה׳ אל משה פנים אל פנים, "and G'd spoke with Moses face to face." The message of this verse is that the intimacy between Moses and G'd was in direct proportion to the preparation Moses made to welcome G'd's presence. This teaches each of us that the attainment of sanctity is in direct proportion to the efforts we make to attain it.

כאשר ידבר איש אל רעהו, "as a man speaks to his friend." We understand this simile as emphasising the word רעהו, "his friend." We find a similar thought in Proverbs 27,19: "as face to face [is reflected] in water, so man's heart [will be reflected by his counterpart]." Solomon speaks of a mental telepathy between the hearts of people who do not even see each other but perceive whether their counterpart loves them or hates them. The relationship between man and invisible G'd is based on something deeper than the exterior sense of sight. The heart senses the attitude of its opposite number. If someone prepares to love his fellow man the heart of his fellow man responds to such invisible feelings. Alternatively, the meaning is that just as his "friend" will not love him unless he has reciprocated the feeling of love, so is G'd's attitude to us. If one wishes to gauge one's standing in the eyes of G'd one needs only to examine one's own attitude towards G'd and His service. If one feels the urge to serve the Lord and delights in doing so, this is proof that G'd relates to such a person with love.

ראה אתה אומר אלי, "See, You are saying to me, etc." Moses refers to the fact that on the one hand he was the leader (messenger) who was charged with leading the Israelites towards the land of Canaan, whereas on the other hand G'd had just told him that He would send an additional supernatural messenger, an angel, to lead the Israelites. Moses wanted to know more about the nature of this supernatural messenger that would accompany the Israelites. This is why he said: ואתה לא הודעתני את אשר תשלח עמי, "You have not told me whom You are going to send with me." Moses made his consent to the new arrangement dependent on knowing more about the nature of that angel. In the event that G'd would tell him that his consent was not needed, Moses added: ואתה אמרת ידעתיך בשם, "You have said 'I know you by name,' meaning that you have elevated me beyond the level of the Patriarchs (compare Exodus 6,3). He implied that his status of being familiar with the attribute י־ה־ו־ה was such that he was entitled to be consulted. The word ידעתיך in this verse corresponds to the word נודעתי in Exodus 6,3.

Moses quoted something G'd had said to him: וגם מצאת חן בעיני "you have also found favour in My eyes," as additional proof that he expected G'd to consult him about any new arrangements. We find in Yalkut Shimoni item 173 (on Parshat Shemot) that during the dialogue between G'd and Moses at the burning bush, G'd showed Moses part of the future including Rabbi Akiva expounding the Torah and its intricacies such as the meaning of the various "crowns" on top of some of the letters. Moses was so impressed that he suggested to G'd to send Rabbi Akiva as the redeemer of the Jewish people instead of himself. G'd had answered him at that time that He specifically wanted Moses to fulfil that role. The Midrash obviously understood this as proof that Moses more than anyone else had found favour in His eyes. The upshot of the allegorical conversation is that Moses realised that although Rabbi Akiva was superior to him intellectually, G'd preferred him for other reasons. He was correct in interpreting this as proof that he had found favour in the eyes of G'd. [I believe that the reason the author quotes the story in the Yalkut is because the Torah did not previously report G'd telling Moses that he had found favour in the eyes of G'd. Ed.] As a result of all these considerations Moses asked G'd to reveal more to him about His attributes.

ואדעך למען אמצא חן, "in order that I will know You and continue to find favour in Your eyes." Seeing that it is not good manners for a servant to tell his master that he wants to get to know him better, Moses added the word למען, "for the sake of, etc.;" he explained that his request was not for his own satisfaction but in order for him to be a more effective leader of his people. This is what he meant when he referred to "finding favour in Your eyes."

וראה כי עמך הגוי הזה, "and consider that this nation is Your people." Moses carried on this conversation with G'd in complete privacy. He therefore reminded G'd that the souls of the Jewish people were part of G'd Himself, as I have explained in Deuteronomy 32,9 on the words: כי חלק ה׳ עמו, "for His people are a part of G'd." G'd Himself also alluded to this in Exodus 20,20 when He said: "I am the Lord your G'd." I have explained this more thoroughly in that context. When Moses said: וראה, he referred to this as a known fact, implying that inasmuch as there was something divine about the Jewish people, how could G'd despise something that was itself divine?

ויאמר פני ילכו, "He said: 'My presence will go with you.'" Many commentators have addressed themselves to these verses. I believe the correct approach to these verses must be based on a comment in Tikkunim 18 that the Torah refers to the שכינה as פני ה׳, seeing this is the aspect of G'd visible to the Celestial Beings. This is also the allusion contained in the words of Exodus 23,15 ולא יראו פני ריקם, "they shall not see My Face (while) empty-handed." In our verse G'd is responding to Moses' arguments and informs him that He Himself will go with him as His attribute פני השם, i.e. the שכינה. Concerning the matter of Moses having reservations about such an arrangement, G'd added: והניחותי לך, "I will give you rest."

G'd also meant that He would allow an extra-terrestrial light to rest on Moses, one that would not fade; at the same time whatever degree of spiritual light Moses had enjoyed thus far would continue, although seen from Israel's vantage point the Divine Presence שכינה would be perceived as preceding the people on their journeys. This was an aspect of G'd's attribute of דין, Justice, as is evident from the name with which G'd identified Himself here. [I believe that having said that the expression פני השם referred to the way G'd is manifest in Heaven, the author concludes that this is an aspect of דין, seeing there is no need for the attribute of Mercy in the Celestial Regions. Ed.] Moses responded to this offer by saying: "If Your presence will not go with me," in verse 15.

ואם אין פניך הולכים, "Unless Your face will go, etc." Moses was not satisfied with G'd's previous offer and said that unless G'd's face would go with them as of now the people would be lost, and there was no point in even beginning their ascent towards the Holy Land. His reasoning was that the only way he could be certain that he had indeed found favour in G'd's eyes was the method employed by G'd in accompanying the Jewish people. He referred to Israel's distinction of G'd relating to them as the Attribute represented by His Ineffable Name. Moses was dissatisfied that only he and not the entire people should be the beneficiaries of the "great light" which G'd had promised to bestow on Moses in verse 14. [The author appears to feel that the fact that G'd did not tell Moses in verse 14 that His Attribute would walk with the people instead of ahead of the people, made Moses refuse the offer. Ed.] He prayed for G'd to accompany the people as His attribute of the Ineffable Name, i.e. as the attribute of Mercy. G'd agreed to this request also when He said: "I will also carry out this matter which you have spoken of for you have found favour in My eyes." G'd was careful to let Moses know that His consent was due to His fondness of Moses, not because of His being fond of the people.

כי מצאת חן בעיני ואדעך בשם. "for you have found favour in My eyes and I have become intimate with you by My revealing to you My attribute י־ה־ו־ה." When Moses had previously referred to his having found favour in G'd's eyes he had reversed the relationship of his finding favour and his being granted an insight into the meaning of the Ineffable Name (verse 12). The Torah revealed here that the revelation of the meaning of the attribute of the name י־ה־ו־ה was the mark of the highest degree of finding favour in G'd's eyes. After all, even Noach had found favour in G'd's eyes (Genesis 6,8) but G'd's attribute י־ה־ו־ה had not been revealed to him.

The Torah also wanted to make it abundantly clear that the reason G'd had revealed this most elusive attribute of His to Moses was because he had found favour in His eyes. There was a causal relationship between these two experiences. This relationship had not been recognisable when Moses referred to this in verse 12. If not for the present verse, we would have assumed that one could become privy to the revelation of G'd's supreme attribute without first having found favour in His eyes.

הראני נא את כבודך. "Please show me Your glory." While it is true that our sages in the Mechilta on Exodus 15,2 have said that the Israelites became privy to visions not even granted to the prophet Yecheskel when they stood on the beaches of the sea of reeds. We have already heard that G'd spoke with Moses "face to face," and these visions were only of "G'd being a consuming fire." When G'd told Aaron and Miriam that He had revealed Himself to Moses far more clearly than to them (Numbers 12,7), this referred to a level below that which Moses aspired to now when he asked to see G'd's glory in our verse. Moses perceived that the time was opportune for him to ask to be granted still further insights and this is why he now chose to ask.

אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, etc." G'd referred to all His "positive" attributes which he employs for the benefit of His creatures. When G'd added the words על פניך, this is the reason for G'd doing what He said He was about to allow Moses to perceive. Moses' פניך, is a reference to the manner in which Moses had achieved the intimacy with G'd thus far, as we explained earlier.

וקראתי בשם השם לפניך, "and I will proclaim the name of G'd before you." G'd announced to Moses that He would "parade" each of His attributes before him identifying them by name; it is possible, that G'd meant that He would explain to Moses that all these attributes were in fact part of the INEFFABLE name. There is no greater revelation man can experience than to have all this explained to him by means of his sense of hearing.

When G'd added: וחנותי את אשר אחון, "I will be gracious to whom I choose to be gracious to," this was a hint that Moses' timing to ask for such revelations was particularly appropriate.

ויאמר לא תוכל לראות, He said: "you are not able to see, etc." G'd meant that it was not He who withheld visual insights from Moses, it was simply that being a mortal human being, a composite of flesh and spirit, made such a thing impossible. This is why G'd added the word וחי, "and remain alive," to explain to Moses that because G'd wanted Moses to remain alive He could not grant his wish at this time. This would correspond to the thoughts expressed by the Psalmist when he said: (Psalms 84,11) "better a day in Your courtyard than a thousand (days in Your palace)."

Alternatively, we may understand this verse to mean that even if man were חי, i.e. a perfectly righteous individual, immortal, G'd cannot be "seen" by man. We would have to understand the word חי in the sense it is used in Samuel II 23,20 where Benayahu son of Yehoyadah is described as בן איש חי, "a perfectly righteous individual." The letter ו at the beginning of the word וחי in our verse indicates that it adds something to what had already been stated, i.e. the inability to "see."

Still another way of understanding the words כי לא יראני האדם וחי, is that even after death it is impossible for man to "see" G'd. G'd asks: How can you expect to "see" G'd while still alive? Whatever "light" the righteous will be able to "see" in the hereafter does not come close to what you Moses are asking of Me at this time.

וראית את אחורי, "you will see My back, etc." The essence of G'd is, of course, not divisible into "front" and "back." G'd is aware of the desire of all His creatures to "see" how His light spells the continued existence of His universe. At the same time it is impossible by definition that any creature can behold this light as it would spell its doom. What did G'd do? He surrrounded His Essence with a kind of "curtain" or screen in order to diffuse the light which would otherwise have proved too blinding. The creation of such a screen created the impression in the beholder that there is something in "front" and something at the "back" of such a screen. When we look at man who is composed of spirit and body, we peceive his body as his "back," and his spirit as his "front", or "face." The "light" that G'd's Essence has made accessible to the spiritually most advanced human being is called "back," whereas the "light" He has screened out is called "front" as it is beyond the screen. This is what G'd meant when He said: "you will see "My Back" but you cannot see "My Face."

It is also possible that the very mention by G'd of His "face" immediately after mention of His "back," i.e. אחורי ופני, indicated that even the part of Him that He described as "My Back" contained a "face;" however, G'd had arranged that only the rear of that two sided spirit or "light" would be visible so as to provide the prophet with some idea of when he faced a Divine presence.

The word אחורי may have been employed to indicate that Moses would be very close to perceiving G'd's Essence, that He did not "hide" behind multiple screens. If there had remained several "screens" between G'd's Essence and Moses, G'd would have spoken of Achorey Achoray, and not simply of Achoray. Any intelligent and sincere servant of G'd will make only minimum eye contact with his Creator [in other words not look at Heaven beseechingly while engaged in prayer. Ed.] when bowing down during prayer.