ותשא כל העדה ויתנו את קולם, “The entire assembly raised its voice,“ According to the plain meaning of these words the people commenced crying in the evening and kept crying all night long. We know that the spies had returned close to nightfall bringing with them a special kind of darkness, similar to the one we experience on the night of the ninth of Av when we mourn the destruction of the Temple. The prophet Jeremiah (Lamentations 1,2) refers to the repeated crying of the Jewish people on that night. Midrash Eicha Rabbati (1,28) points out that the dates when the people cried mentioned by Jeremiah coincided with the date they cried on this occasion. How is the date of this occurrence arrived at? According to Taanit 29 Moses constructed the Tabernacle during the first year of the Exodus and put it together during the second year when he also sent out the spies. The cloud lifted off the Tabernacle on the twentieth of the second month in that year. The month of Iyar is always only 29 days long. The Torah testifies (10,11) that the people commenced their journey away from Mount Sinai on the twentieth of that month and that they traveled for three days in the first instance. The first of these three days does not count in the calendar as it was identical with the day on which the cloud had lifted. According to Rabbi Chama in the name of Rabbi Chanina this (the third) was the day on which the people already departed from their obedience to G’d, as the Torah mentions in Numbers 11,4 that the rabble among them lusted after various cravings, which in turn caused even the elite (בני ישראל) to commence crying from discontent. This occurred on the 22nd day of Iyar. The meat provided by G’d as a result of this rebellion lasted for 30 days (11,20) which brings us to the 22nd day of Sivan. The Torah then mentions that further travel was delayed while Miriam was isolated for seven days (12,15) which brings us to the 29th day of Sivan. This is the day when Moses dispatched the spies who returned after 40 days, i.e. the 9th day of the month of Av. The month of Sivan had thirty days whereas the month of Tammuz had 29 days. This would mean that the spies actually stayed away only thirty nine days if they returned on the ninth of Av. The Talmud raises this point. The answer given is that during that particular year the month of Tammuz had thirty days so that the ninth of Av occurred on the fortieth day of the spies’ departure. The scriptural reference to this unusual length of the month of Tammuz is provided by Lamentations 1,15: “He proclaimed a set time against me to crush my young men.” This “time” was the thirtieth day of Tammuz which caused the spies’ return to occur on the fateful ninth of Av. When the Torah wrote in our verse that the entire congregation raised their collective voice in weeping, the reference is to the calendar date, the ninth day of Av. Rabbi Yochanan quotes G’d as saying that seeing that on the occasion of the spies’ report the people spent the night weeping without cause, He would give them cause to weep on a future occasion on that same date, i.e. the night of the destruction of the Temple. Starting from that night, the people would have many occasions to weep; this accounts for the repetition of the words בכה תבכה,“you will weep repeatedly, in Lamentations 1,2. Our sages in that connection also understand the repetition of these two words as referring to the weeping for the destruction of the first Temple as well as the weeping for the destruction of the second Temple. Midrash Eicha Rabbati 1,24 also comments that the repetition refers to weeping for the destruction of the Northern Kingdom (10 tribes which preceded the destruction of the Kingdom of Yehudah) and that for the destruction of the latter kingdom. Similarly, the words refer to separate weeping for Jerusalem and Zion respectively, i.e. the loss of our physical and our spiritual capital respectively. We have evidence that the destruction of the first Temple occurred at night as this is mentioned explicitly in Jeremiah 39,4: “When King Tzidkiyahu of Yehudah saw them, he and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the double walls.” Jeremiah had already prophesied (Jeremiah 6,5) “up, let us attack by night, and wreck her fortress!” The destruction of the second Temple also occurred at night as the Talmud Taanit 29 interprets Jeremiah 6,4: “alas for us! For the day is declining, the shadows of the evening grow long,” as a reference to the destruction of the second Temple. When the wicked Titus destroyed Jerusalem and set it ablaze the Jews fled to the camp of Titus’ army and were exiled from their city. There were a number of Arabs in that army and they kidnapped 400 Jewish children and carried them to the sea at night and shipped them to their homeland as prisoners. (Gittin 57). The children debated among themselves if to commit suicide by jumping ship. They were afraid to lose their share in the world to come if they would commit suicide. To this argument other boys replied that there is a verse (Psalms 68,23):”The Lord said: ‘I will retrieve from Bashan, I will retrieve from the depth of the sea.’” [They meant that their share in the world to come would not be forfeited. Ed.] When the girls heard this they immediately jumped overboard drowning themselves. When the boys observed this they said to themselves that if even the girls who are no strangers to being sexually abused prefer death to being violated, they, the boys, who are not usually exposed to sodomy [an Arab specialty, Ed.] must certainly prefer death to such indignities being perpetrated upon them. All these tragic events occurred at night as a punishment for the weeping of the children of Israel on the night after the return of the spies. Even the eventual destruction of the Temples and the dispersion of the Jewish people was decreed on the night mentioned in our verse. This is the meaning of Psalms 106,25-27: “they grumbled in their tents and disobeyed the Lord. So He raised His hand in oath to make them fall in the wilderness. To disperse their offspring among the nations and scatter them through the lands.” The prophet Ezekiel also refers to this when he says in Ezekiel 20,23: “However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the lands.” So you have clear proof from all three parts of the Bible that this night was predetermined to become a night of weeping for the Jewish people throughout the generations.

A Midrashic approach to our verse (Tanchuma Shlach 12): The wording of our verse corresponds to Jeremiah 12,8: ”My own people acted toward Me like a lion in the forest; she raised her voice against Me, therefore I have rejected her.” The voice they raised against G’d at that time became the cause of their future disasters. Concerning this generation Isaiah 17,11 says: “On the day that you plant, you see it grow, on the morning you sow you see it bud, but the branches wither away on a day of sickness and mortal agony.” The prophet describes that while in the process of attaining their goal as a people, the Jewish people’s budding future was cut short by the tragic events of the ninth of Av of the second year of their wandering. The Midrash continues that on that night the decree that the Temples were going to be destroyed was already decreed by G’d as retribution for the unjustifiable weeping which occurred on the night described in our verse here. The verse in Psalms 106 we quoted is understood by the Midrash as equating the raising of Israel’s voice to the raising of G’d’s hand (oath) in a gesture decreeing reason for weeping in the future. Jeremiah 11,17: “verdant olive tree, fair, with choice fruit. But with great roaring sound He has set it on fire, and its boughs are broken.” The prophet means that the sound of the multitude in weeping on that night precipitated the eventual destruction of the Temples alluded to as olive leaves in the beginning of the verse.

A kabbalistic approach: The words כל העדה in our verse refer to the כנסת ישראל, the Jewish people as a spiritual concept, a spiritual entity.

This approach is also alluded to in Midrash Eicha Rabbati where the author suggests that the word tivkeh is understood as capable of being vowelized so that it be read as tevakkeh, a transitive form of the verb בכה, to weep. It would then mean that the spiritual counterpart of the Jewish people will have cause to weep at the conduct of its people on earth. The additional words ויתנו את קולם, they raised their voices, would refer to the ministering angels joining in that weeping, whereas the words ויבכו העם, refer to the Jewish people in the desert weeping. The words בלילה ההוא, in that night, are to tell us that all these decrees were formulated during that night.

אך בה' אל תמרודו, “Only do not rebel against the Lord!” This verse teaches that a nation afraid [of other nations, Ed.] is an act of rebellion against the Lord. We have a verse in Proverbs 29,25 in which Solomon expresses a similar sentiment, i.e. “man’s fear becomes his own trap, he who trusts in the Lord will be safeguarded.” This fear may lead the frightened person to forget about G’d altogether. This is what the prophet Isaiah 51,12-13 had in mind when he said: ”what ails you that you fear man who must die like grass? You have forgotten the Lord your Maker!”

סר צלם מעליהם, “their protective shadow has departed from them.” The protective force active on behalf of the Canaanites in the celestial regions is referred to by Calev as “shadow.” This is because its function in protecting the people it represents is similar to the function of the shade which protects against excessive heat. Basically, Calev was telling his compatriots that the collapse of a nation on earth is preceded by the collapse of its celestial representative; this is the meaning of the men who had fallen like flies whom the spies had seen. Calev added the word מעליהם, which can be translated as “from above them,” i.e. the protective force in the heavens.

A Midrashic approach found in Song of Songs on chapter 2,20: “and the shadows have departed:” This is a reference to all the nations of the world.

Nachmanides explains the words: “their shadow has departed from them,” to mean that their shadow had been removed from their heads. He refers to a kabbalistic tradition that on the night of Hoshanah Rabbah, the 21st of Tishrey when the seal is attached to the fate of the individuals for the coming year, anyone whose shadow cannot be seen in the moonlight is slated to die during the course of that year. That calendar date corresponds to the 26th day after G’d commenced creating the universe. Calev meant to say that death had been decreed for these people already on the previous 21st of Tishrey. Although Calev did not spell this out in so many words, this is what he alluded to. This is also the allusion contained in Song of Songs 2,17: “until the day blows past and the shadows have fled.” Solomon meant that when a person’s “day,” i.e. his lifetime on earth, approaches its end this is signaled by his shadow departing from him first. This “shadow” comes closer to the Lord (the Ineffable Name י-ה-ו-ה whose numerical value is 26, corresponding to the 26th day after commencement of the creation). When David writes this “name” it also is described as ה' צלך, “the Lord is your shadow” (Psalms 121,5). Actually it would have been sufficient to refer to ונס הצל, “the shadow (sing.) departed, fled.” The reason Solomon spoke about צללים, “shadows” in the plural, is that every human being has two shadows (compare Yevamot 122). The regular shadow is the one visible when the sun shines. The “secondary” shadow is the one visible at night. [The Talmud distinguishes between the ability of demons to cast a shadow, suggesting that they can cast a shadow when impersonating persons by day, but cannot do so at night. Ed.]

When reflecting on the reason for these phenomena perhaps we must consider that any creature on this terrestrial earth is equipped with a shadow, even plants and inert objects. This is because the light of the sun penetrates into their domain when it shines from the domain of the planets into one that is not its own. Seeing that at that time the sun is like an invader into a foreign domain, it does not have the power to deprive the creatures on earth of their shadows. Rather, the sun itself is pushed aside by these shadows, i.e. the sun’s rays cannot reach areas in the shade. The fact is that shadows appear in areas designated for the sun to illuminate with its rays. G’d did not want that anyone of His creatures should interfere with the rightful domain of another creature. In order to make this clear, each creature has been equipped with its personal, individual shadow as proof of its entitlement to a certain place on earth. When the shadow of someone’s head is missing at night (not distinguishable), this indicates that the person or creature it belongs to has been deprived of this space on earth, will die during the course of the year after the night of Hoshanah Rabbah when such a decree has been issued. The moon became the manifestation of this decree as it had been appointed to exercise supervision of the living creatures on earth, something well known in scientific circles.

Personally, I am surprised why it was necessary for the Torah to write such words as: “their protective shadow has departed from them, whereas the Lord is with us do not be afraid of them.” After all, if the Lord is with us what does it matter whether their protective shadow had departed or had not departed? Is G’d then unable to be with us unless their protective shadow had departed from them? Is not the power of the G’d of Israel greater than the protective angels assigned to any other nation or combination of nations? Have we not been told in Deut. 32,32 “not like our Rock is their rock? The answer to these questions is that Calev meant to say: “you have no reason to fear either them (the Canaanites) or their protective celestial representatives.” This is all included in the plural of “do not be afraid of them, i.e. either their terrestrial phenomena or their celestial protectors.” Calev then proceeded to supply the reason for his confidence by saying they should not be afraid of the inhabitants of this land seeing “they are our bread.” They had become “our bread” as their protective “shadow” had already departed from these people, i.e. their power in the celestial spheres had expired. The only reason the Jewish people had been afraid of these Canaanites was on account of their celestial protective angels. Calev countered this argument as invalid seeing “the Lord is with us,” and the Lord is stronger than any celestial force these people could call upon to help them. The Lord and His celestial court can defeat these people even while their protective angels were still active; therefore, Calev said: “you have no reason to fear them.”

It is also possible to interpret the words: “for they are our bread,” as a reference to the merit the Israelites possessed as evidenced by their fulfilling the commandment of eating matzah and dwelling in huts at the appropriate time. The word צל, would refer to the shade provided by the covering of the Sukkah. Whereas these people had forfeited the protection of their angels, we could count on the protection of the Lord by dint of having fulfilled the commandments of matzah on Passover and the dwelling in flimsy huts relying only on G’d’s shade to be our roofs. This thought has been paraphrased by David in Psalms 121,5 when he said: “the Lord is your guardian, the Lord is your protection at your right hand.” In view of these considerations, “you have no reason to fear them.”

עד אנה ינאצוני העם הזה ועד אנה, “how long will this people provoke Me, and how long, etc.” The sages of the Midrash (Tanchuma Shelach 12) said that G’d said: “I had to exclaim My displeasure in two exclamations” (twice the words עד אנה), therefore they will have to exclaim their frustrations when being exiled to four different empires. The four occasions when these exclamations are found as being made by the Jewish people are found in Psalms 13,2-3: “how long, O Lord; will You ignore me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long will I have cares on my mind, grief in my heart all day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” The second exclamation by G’d was in verse 27: “how long will this evil congregation provoke complaints against Me?” David paraphrased the exclamation by the Jewish people as retribution for causing G’d to make this latter exclamation in Psalms 6,4: “my whole being is stricken with terror, while You, Lord, O how long?”

בכל האותות אשר עשיתי בקרבו, “through all the miracles I performed in its midst?” Significantly, G’d did not say: “in your midst,” plural, but “in its midst, singular?” According to the plain meaning of the text the reference is to the time when all the people were united, of one mind, in their devotion to the Lord.

A Midrashic approach to this wording based on Bamidbar Rabbah Shelach 16,15: the word “in its midst,” means that the people did not even have to turn around in order to witness the miracles G’d was performing. The meaning of the words קרב וכרעים is used in the Talmud Yuma 75 as an allusion to the manna being food which was totally absorbed by the bodies of the people eating it, there being no excrement, waste material from it. If this is true, the question is why the Torah legislated in Deut. 23,14 that the soldiers should be equipped with tools to bury their excrement in the earth in order to maintain the holy nature of a Jewish encampment even during war? What excrement did the soldiers have to bury, seeing they ate manna? Answer: they had to bury the excrement of the food they had purchased from the surrounding nations and had eaten it.

Another view expressed on this subject is that even that food was absorbed totally together with the manna. However, when the Israelites had allowed themselves to become lax in their performance of the commandments the manna also did not dissolve completely. G’d said to them: “I have taken the trouble to enable you to stand in front of Me just like the ministering angels (who do not excrete) and now you have forced Me to legislate to bury your excrement three miles away from your camp!” This is the meaning of the words in Numbers 33,49: “they camped by the river Jordan as far as Beyt Hayeshimot until the plains of Shittim, the plains of Moab.” [Although the commandment to take a shovel in addition “to your weapons” was written in connection with soldiers going out in a war of aggression, the questioner implies that the rule to bury excrement outside the Jewish camp applied to all the Israelites also in times of peace. Ed.] Rabbi bar Chana said that he had personally seen the site where the Israelites had encamped near Beit Hayeshimot and it was three miles distant from the banks of the Jordan .

ושמעו מצרים כי העלית בכוחך את העם הזה מקרבו ואמרו אל יושבי הארץ הזאת מבלתי יכולת ה', “when Egypt will hear (about this) people whom you have taken out of Egypt with Your powerful hand...and they will tell the other nations that this was due to G’d’s inability, etc.” After the Torah had mentioned about the Egyptians hearing, the Torah continues outlining the nature of the intimate relationship between G’d and the Jewish people, by pointing out that the entire people had seen G’d’s revelation with their own eyes.

According to Nachmanides the mention of the word עין here is essentially the same as מראה. The word appears in a similar sense in the description of the appearance of the manna in Numbers 11,7. A similar meaning of the word occurs in Ezekiel 1,27 where the prophet describes his vision of the angel he had seen who came to destroy the city of Jerusalem. Thus far Nachmanides.

From the fact that both here and after the threat of wiping out the Jewish nation after the sin of the golden calf Moses each time used the argument of how such an event would diminish G’d’s image in the eyes of the Egyptians, one might conclude that had it not been for this consideration Moses would have acquiesced in the destruction of the Jewish people, and would have accepted G’d’s proposal to make a new Jewish people with himself as the founding patriarch. Such an assumption is completely erroneous as Moses had already linked his own death to the death of the Jewish people asking G’d to wipe him out of G’d’s history-book if He were to kill the Jewish people rather than his living to witness such a disaster (Exodus 32,32). When Moses appears to harp on the impression the demise of the people of Israel would make on the Egyptians and other nations, the point was that the deities of the Canaanites would be enhanced in the eyes of the Egyptians and they would ascribe superior power to them. G’d’s exertion of power in orchestrating the Exodus would be perceived as the maximum the Jewish G’d was capable of. If, nonetheless, the Israelites would not arrive at their destination, they would conclude that the deities of the Canaanites had the power to save themselves and their people from the hands of the Jewish G’d. This in turn would be a grave desecration of the name of the Lord and instead of the Exodus and all that took place in connection with it bringing the nations closer to monotheism the opposite would occur and the belief in certain deities would be immeasurably strengthened. G’d’s monopoly of power as recently manifested when He split the sea, etc., would be undercut. Moses rejected the proposal to become the founding father of a new Jewish nation as it would have been an act of desecrating the name of G’d to countenance the destruction of the Jewish people. Our sages said in Berachot 32 that as soon as G’d had told Moses to descend from the mountain as “your people have become corrupt,” his strength was greatly weakened just like that of a female. Why did the sages make this comparison to a female? They meant that just as the female receives, is passive by nature and receives all its strength through the male, Moses as the leader of a corrupt nation had become exposed as no better than a female, i.e. his greatness depended on the stature of the Jewish people, his charges. The peoples of the world would no longer perceive him or the Israelites as “males” but as female. The great Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet, may he live long, perceives this weakening of the power as referring to the perception of G’d’s power by the Egyptians who would no longer see in Him the prime force of the universe as they had done since the Exodus, but would conclude that the Jewish G’d was also only a secondary and not a primary source of power.

ועתה יגדל נא כח ה', “and now may the strength of My Lord be magnified, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text Moses meant that anyone who possesses the attribute of being slow to anger (extreme patience) possesses the strength to conquer his anger; Moses therefore added: “as You have spoken, saying,” referring to the attributes of His which G’d had revealed to him after the episode of the golden calf. This is why he immediately added mention of the attribute ה' ארך אפים, “the Lord is slow to anger.” The reason he added the word לאמור was to show that this attribute would be invoked in a time of distress. This is similar to a statement by our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 70,1 on Genesis 28,20 וידר יעקב נדר לאמור, “Yaakov vowed a vow saying,” is quoted as meaning that he found himself in a state of distress. The word לאמור is understood as referring to future occasions when Jews would find themselves in distress and when the making of a vow to invoke G’d’s assistance is advised by Yaakov as being appropriate.

A Midrashic approach based on Bamidbar Rabbah (16,22): The words “let Your strength be magnified” mean that Moses pleads that the attribute of Mercy should prevail over the attribute of Justice at all times in the future.

Consider the fact that the letters א-ד in the word א-ד-נ-י as well as the letter י in the word יגדל are written in larger size letters. [I have found editions with a larger י in the word יגדל whereas I have not found the word א-ד-נ-י spelled different from normal. Ed.] At any rate, the author uses the larger letter י in the word יגדל as an allusion that the attribute of Mercy as represented by that letter י should always be in the ascendancy. This may be understood in terms of a parable. A friend of the bride (king’s daughter) entered the palace in order to sing the praises of the king’s daughter. When he entered the king’s chamber he found the king and the judges discussing some misdemeanor the daughter had been guilty of. The friend was now in a quandary as to how to proceed. He said to himself that if he would plead her case before the king the judge would be affronted, whereas if he pleaded her case in front of the judge the king would be affronted. What did he do? He pleaded the case before both the king and the judge addressing the king first. This is why the letter י as an allusion to the attribute of Mercy is spelled in larger script to indicate that Moses first addressed the attribute of Mercy before pleading with the attribute of Justice which was dealing with the Israelites’ sin. As a result of this ingenious approach the “king” i.e. the attribute of Mercy, immediately responded favorably saying: “I have forgiven in accordance with what you have said.”

A kabbalistic approach: The words יגדל נא כח א-ד-נ-י mean that the latent power reposing in the attribute of Mercy should be reinforced so that it will not escape into the highest regions of the heavens, [a withdrawal from mankind or the people of Israel of that attribute. Ed.] The whole matter may be understood thus: when the Jewish people perform the commandments and therefore the will of the Lord, G’d will “ride the heavens,” as Moses said in Deut. 33,27 “He rides the heavens with your (Israel’s) help.” Israel’s conduct exerts influence on the manifestation of G’d’s powers. This is the meaning of Psalms 60,14 באלו-הים נעשה חיל, “we will perform valiantly for the sake of the Lord.” On the other hand, when the Jewish people do not observe the commandments He distances Himself from those of His attributes which are invoked often on behalf of Israel. This is the meaning of Deut. 33,29: ובגאותו שחקים, “He will adopt a haughty attitude by withdrawing to the level of the celestial domains known as Shechakim.” In other words, Israel’s sinful conduct causes the manifestations of G’d’s powers to wane. The meaning of the word יגדל in our verse then is that G’d’s powers should become manifest in ever greater measure. Another reference to the ability of the Jewish people to “weaken” the apparent power of G’d is found in Deut. 32,18 where Moses describes the rebellious Jewish people as causing צור ילדך תשי, “you caused the Rock Who gave birth to you to become ‘weak.’” Seeing that at this point the Israelites had all become guilty of death, Moses was forced to pray that the manifestation of G’d’s power should be great. In Psalms 40,17 David uses a similar language when he concludes with the word יגדל as the word the people who are in search of the Lord are to use when they look for G’d’s help.

The experts in Kabbalah have used the term עזר when referring to the drawing forth of G’d’s abundance on behalf of man (Shabbat 89). This is what is meant by the Talmud when we are told that when Moses ascended Mount Sinai he found that G’d was busy tying “crowns” to the various letters in the Torah. When Moses failed to extend a greeting to G’d, G’d asked him if in his city it was not customary to extend greetings to someone when one meets him. Moses replied that it is presumptuous for a slave to open his mouth in greeting to his master. G’d responded that in spite of this dictum it had been up to Moses לעזרני. [This word is usually translated as “to assist Me.” Ed.] In kabbalistic terms the word means “to provide a reason for My abundance to be channeled to my creatures.” When Moses ascended the Mountain a second time, he said: ועתה יגדל נא כח א-ד-נ-י upon arrival. So in our verse too the meaning of these words is that Moses appealed for G’d’s largesse to become manifest as proof of His power.

We are faced here with the failure of Moses to invoke another one of the attributes G’d had taught him after the debacle with the golden calf, I refer to the attribute ה' אל רחום וחנון, “the Lord is a gracious and merciful G’d.” He also did not invoke the attributes ואמת ונוצר חסד לאלפים, “Truth, preserving kindness and for thousands of generations.” He also failed to invoke the attribute called חטאה in Exodus 34,4 (a reference to G’d’s willingness to forgive unintentional sin). If Moses failed to mention the attributes we just mentioned, this was not an oversight but was quite deliberate. Moses taught us a lesson in how to structure our prayers and into the manner a supplicant has to pray if he wants his prayers to find a favourable echo in G’d’s ears. Moses invoked here only six of the thirteen attributes G’d had taught him as potentially designed to appease His anger. He omitted seven of these attributes. The reason he did not mention the attributes ה' אל רחום וחנון is because these attributes are invoked on behalf of people who are confident that their merits exceed their demerits. The Jewish people’s merits at this time were clearly in the minority and any mention of these attributes of G’d would have been provocative rather than designed to appease G’d’s anger. He did not invoke G’d’s attribute of אמת, Truth, as according to the standards of that attribute the Jewish people would clearly have been guilty of death. The attribute of “truth” is part of the attribute of Justice. Our sages in Avodah Zarah 4 explained that the meaning of that attribute is that G’d does not go beyond the boundaries of what is coming to a person, He does not extend latitude beyond the requirements of Justice. In this instance (in the words of Jeremiah 7,28) “truth (faithfulness) had perished, vanished from their mouths.” How could Moses therefore invoke such an attribute at this time? Moses also did not invoke the attributes נוצר חסד לאלפים, seeing that at this time Moses did not invoke the merits of the patriarchs as he had done in the case of the sin of the golden calf. After all, the people’s sin had been their contempt for the very land which the patriarchs had chosen as their homeland. It would have been disastrous to invoke the patriarchs as support for a people who had just rejected the values the patriarchs had held dear. Neither did Moses invoke the attribute חטאה as the sin they were guilty of now was deliberate, not due to oversight or carelessness. Moses did have to invoke the ineffable name י-ה-ו-ה however, as this was the first name given to him in the list of the thirteen attributes.

According to Rosh Hashanah 17, the reason that this name is repeated in the list of the thirteen attributes in Exodus is that this name is invoked first before repentance has taken effect and again after the sinner has repented. The message of G’d is that as David phrased it in Psalms 145,9 “G’d is good to all His creatures,” i.e. He is not prejudiced against the sinners. Moreover, once the sinner has repented G’d will accept this repentance even if in the overall balance of that person’s deeds the demerits outweigh the merits. G’d hopes that His mercy will result in the sinner confessing his other sins also and restructuring his lifestyle. In this respect G’d is different from a human king who will always remember and consider in the back of his mind that someone whom he had pardoned a trespass had been guilty of that trespass at one time. [Forgiveness is an exclusive attribute of G’d; it is not given to man to “forgive” in the sense of blotting out the sin in his mind. This is why Yaakov did not tell the brothers to ask Joseph’s forgiveness. Ed.] In this instance Moses invoked the ineffable Name only once as at this time the Israelites had not yet repented at all. G’d’s Ineffable Name could be invoked after the sin had been committed even without repentance having occurred yet. [This was a new dimension of G’d’s reaction to sinners, i.e. that His basic relation to them had not changed. Ed.].

There was another reason why Moses mentioned the Ineffable Name here only once. Moses appealed to the Lord in His capacity as the Supreme King, from whom all attributes emanate. He was hopeful (but not certain) that the people would repent. In the event that their repentance would not be forthcoming immediately, Moses appealed immediately to the attribute of ארך אפים, reminding G’d that He extended His patience both to the sinners and the righteous. This is why he referred to the wordאפים in the plural, i.e. wrath against the wicked or against the righteous who had become guilty of sin. Not only this, added Moses, but “You are רב חסד, “abundant in kindness,” i.e. if someone’s merits and demerits are in balance You tip the scales in his favour, even if he did not do repentance. If such a person did תשובה, You forgive him for both his intentional sins and even the ones which represented acts of insurrection against You, עון ופשע. Those who do not repent do not qualify for such forgiveness, i.e. לא ינקה, He does not consider such a person as completely cleaned from sin, ever. Nonetheless, He does not wipe them out together with their offspring but waits several generations פוקד אבות על בנים to see if subsequent generations will find their way back to the Lord. Seeing that G’d had previously revealed these attributes to Moses, he could now argue that to kill the people by pestilence would negate some of these attributes which G’d had taught him to use in prayer. G’d could, however, without violating His principles, exact punishment from the children and subsequent generations a little at a time as He Himself had said. To this plea G’d responded by saying: “I have forgiven in accordance with your words.” Moreover, if they had any residual claim on unused merits of the patriarchs-here described as חסד- G’d promised to preserve this for many future generations [instead of squandering it now, Ed.] However, G’d would not pardon this sin forever and as a result they would die in the desert and perish there. G’d would allow the children and grandchildren to complete the journey to the Holy Land in accordance with His principle of suspending certain judgments for up to four generations. Part of this promise entailed that the Jewish people would have many occasions to weep on the anniversary of this night as we have outlined before. This was the downside of the words פוקד עון אבות על בנים, that G’d would delay exacting the balance of the punishment due and not canceled. Moses was astute enough not to ask for forgiveness for the sin of the people as he realised that what had happened here was totally unforgivable. This is why he phrased his prayer in such a way that the punishment should be exacted over a period of time instead of all at once. In recognition of the careful way Moses had phrased his prayer G’d responded immediately by saying: “I have forgiven,” but “only on the terms you have spelled out yourself.” The people, however, who had been eye witnesses to all of G’d’s miracles could not be allowed to see the land that G’d had intended to give them. Shemot Rabbah 8,13 understood the additional words כאשר אמרת in G’d’s response as referring to the sin of the golden calf. Our sages understand the: “I have forgiven,” which G’d said at the end of the third 40 days which Moses spent on the mountain when he received the second set of Tablets, as a contrast to the sin of the spies. G’d told Moses (here) that whereas I have forgiven the sin of the golden calf in accordance with your plea and arguments, I have not and will not forgive this sin and the people old enough to be accountable will die in the desert. The fact is that though the words: “I have forgiven in accordance with your words” have been written here in connection with the sin of the spies, they really apply to the sin of the golden calf.

A Midrashic approach, based on Mechilta Yitro Bachodesh 9: the word כדברך in addition to the word סלחתי is similar to when Pharaoh told Moses כדברך, i.e. it is a form of admission. When the master agrees with conditions set by his servant such a servant is indeed blessed. (the reference is to Moses accepting Pharaoh’s request to delay removal of the frogs until the following day; Exodus 8,6) In this instance G’d, the master, accepted the servant Moses’ conditions.

כי כל האנשים, “for all the men, etc.” The meaning of כי in this instance is the same as אם, “if.” The meaning of these verses is: “I swear by the fact that I am alive forever and the earth is full of My glory that all these men who have seen My glory will not see the land, etc.” The wording is the formula appropriate for an oath. However, the words which appear to be missing have been omitted in order for G’d Himself not even to mention His “inability” as a supposition as this would not be deferential and in keeping with G’d’s honor (based on Rashi).

Nachmanides also writes, after quoting Rashi and rejecting his approach prefacing his remarks על דרך האמת, i.e. the kabbalistic approach, that the words חי אני were spoken by the כנסת ישראל, as part of the promise to Moses accompanying the words “I have forgiven as you said,” that whereas if He were to allow this generation to live the earth would not then be filled with His glory. He would, however, let the children live and be the replacement of the fate intended for their parents, i.e. to conquer and settle in the land of the Canaanites, the land promised to the patriarchs. When that would occur the whole earth would be filled with G’d’s glory. [This would not be an oath then but would contrast the dishonorable death of the parents with the glory-filled lives of their children which would reflect G’d’s own glory. Ed.] The words כבוד ה' in our verse as being spoken by the כנסת ישראל, is not unique. We have several examples in the Bible of such wording, such as in Psalms 104,31 יהי כבוד ה' לעולם, “may the glory of the Lord endure forever,” where the speaker is the כנסת ישראל.

The words חי אני are equivalent to אלו-הים חיים,”by the living G’d.” This expression or almost identical expressions occur in Joshua 3,10; Judges 8,19; as well as Daniel 12,7. When the expression חי נפשך (Samuel I 1,26) occurs it describes the domain בינה in the emanations, the domain in which vows originate.

וכל מנאצי, “and all those who provoke Me.” This is a reference to any children or grandchildren of the generation which was to perish in the desert. [I suppose the interpretation is based on the repetition of this expression concerning whom G’d had already decreed death in verse 11. Ed.] This is also an allusion to the weeping which would occur on that night in subsequent generations, all the exiled Jews who would not enjoy the good fortune to see the Land of Israel.

רוח אחרת עמו, “who was imbued with a different spirit,” the word אחרת is relative, i.e. a spirit different from that of the ten spies. The Torah reminds us that the righteous person is “different” from the wicked person. The Torah first uses the word in connection with the third son of Adam and Chavah, Sheth, whom his mother describes as זרע אחר, “a different seed” (Genesis 4,25). Sheth was the righteous person who replaced Hevel both of whom were “different” from Kayin who was wicked. “Goodness” is essentially different from “evil.” Similarly, ”evil” is essentially different from “goodness.” This is the reason idols are described as אלוהים אחרים, “different” gods rather that “other” gods. When the word אחר occurs in connection with someone or something evil, it means “good” by comparison to the evil person.

והביאותיו אל הארץ אשר בא שמ'ה וזרע'ו יורישנ'ה. והעמלק'י “And I shall bring him to the land where he has been (already) and his offspring shall possess it.” And the Amalekite, etc.” Here too is an example of the letters of the Ineffable Name appearing in reverse order (the last letters in the last four words of the caption; compare author on Genesis 11,9) This is an allusion to the fact that at that time the attribute of Justice was poised, ready to strike the Israelites. This is why it was decreed that the Israelites make a permanent home in the desert and that they would even retrace their steps in the direction of the sea of Reeds. This also why, when they were willing and anxious to proceed forward and ascend the mountain (as the spies had done), Moses warned them not to commit a sin by violating G’d’s commandment and embark on an undertaking that was doomed (41). The meaning of the words יושב בעמק, applied here to the areas inhabited by the Canaanite and the Amalekite, is not the usual “in the valley,” but “sitting ready to ambush you.” This is why G’d instructed them to change direction to save them from such attacks seeing He, G’d, would not protect them now by means of a miracle.

במדבר הזה יפלו פגריכם, “your carcasses will drop in this desert.” It appears that the Israelites’ guilt in this episode could be divided into three levels. Some of them had wept, some of them had complained against Moses and Aaron saying: “if only we had died already.” The third level consisted of the people who had said: “let us appoint a leader and head back for Egypt” (verse 4). The reason the Torah mentions the word “your carcasses” three times is to allude to these different levels of the people. The choice of the word “your carcasses,” which at first glance seems very harsh, is actually the reverse. It means that only the bodies of these people would die, they would not lose their entitlement to life in the hereafter. (Compare Rabbi Eliezer in Sanhedrin 105 and 110). This allusion is repeated in verse 35: “in this desert they will expire and there they will die.” The words: “all of you who have been numbered for military service,” mean that the Levites were excluded from this decree as they had not been part of the army and when they had been numbered the babies of one month old were already included in that count (Baba Batra 121).

אם אתם תבואו אל הארץ, “if you are going to enter the land, etc.” This statement by G’d was addressed to both Moses and Aaron and they were to convey this message to the people as G’d added (verse 28) by saying אמור להם, “say to them.”

It is possible to argue that seeing this instruction was addressed to both Moses and Aaron that they themselves were included among the people who would not be allowed to enter the Holy Land. In fact Moses himself had already alluded to the fact that he would not enter the Holy Land in Exodus 15,17 when he said: “You will bring them and You will plant them firmly on the mountain of Your inheritance.” He had not said: “I will bring them, etc.” Even though both Moses and Aaron were totally righteous at this time and no decree had been issued against either of them they did not want to enter the Holy Land and thereby show up their charges the Jewish people as inadequate by comparison to their leaders. This is why they would die in the desert. Seeing that Moses and Aaron tied their fates to that of their people, when the time for the resurrection arrives both they and their people will ascend to the Holy Land under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Seeing that Moses had actually longed to enter the land for the purpose of performing the commandments which could not be performed outside it, he would be granted even greater insights at the time of the resurrection to reward him for this pious wish. People who have kept all the commandments that it is possible to keep are entitled to such greater insights. The generation of the people who had witnessed the revelation at Mount Sinai had achieved greater insights and will participate in the resurrection regaining or surpassing their former stature at that time.

יום לשנה יום לשנה ”a day for a year, a day for a year.” We would have expected the Torah to write the opposite, i.e. “a year for a day,” i.e. that the punishment for each day the spies had spent traveling the land and planning to slander it would be that the people would have to spend an additional year in the desert. Theirs would be nomads’ tents which flutter in the wind, an existence daily reminding them of their insecurity on earth. Not only that, but according to the context of the story mention of the punishment should have preceded mention of the sin. If the Torah wrote the verse in the manner it did it was to teach us something about G’d’s mercy which is manifest even while He metes out punishment. When the Torah chose the wording: “a day for a year,” we must consider the fact that seeing the land of Israel has been described as an area of 400 by 400 miles, approx, this is an area which the spies could not possibly have covered in the space of a mere forty days. However, seeing G’d had known in advance that He would have to decree the punishment mentioned, He telescoped the distance under their feet so that they could cover it in such a short period of time. This is why G’d said: “a day for every year,” i.e. just like a father who is forced to inflict a blow on his son. He does not inflict a cruel blow but is as considerate as possible. The meaning of the verse therefore is: “here I have reduced the extent of your punishment as much as is possible by shortening the time you (the spies) needed to traverse the land so that it took only forty days. “

אני ה' דברתי, “I the Lord have spoken, etc.” This expression is equivalent to the rendering of an irrevocable decree; seeing that it is accompanied by an oath it could not be revoked. Although it could not be revoked, it's application could be delayed. Moses’ prayer accomplished that execution of the decree was spread over almost forty years.

במגפה לפני ה, “by a pestilence before the Lord.” The punishment was commensurate to their sin. They had sinned by abusing their power of speech with their tongues; this is why their death resulted from a plague which first attacked their tongues lengthening them until their navels. Then worms crawled out of their navels through their tongues (Sotah 35). This is why the Torah added the words: “before the Lord,” This is the way Rashi explains this verse.

והוא לא תצלח, “and it will not succeed.” According to the plain meaning of the text these words mean that the plan to ascend the top of the mountain would not succeed.

A kabbalistic approach: the word והוא refers to the words פי ה', “the commandment of the Lord,” mentioned in the same verse. The reason the word is spelled with the letter ו instead of the letter י which is the way we read it, is that it is an allusion to the interaction between the active force (male) and the passive force (female).

According to Nachmanides who also uses a kabbalistic approach, the word והוא (spelling) is similar in meaning to the same word in Ezekiel 1,13 היא מתהלכת בין החיות, i.e. it is an allusion to the Shechinah, a manifestation of G’d perceived as “feminine.” Moses was telling the people concerned that the “feminine” presence of the Lord would not suffice to grant them success. [If I understood this correctly. Seeing the cloud remained over the camp the people had reason to believe that G’d was with them. Ed.]

ויעפילו, the word is derived from עפל, climbing a fortified place and means that they tried to ascend a fortified hill. A Midrashic approach found in Bamidbar Rabbah (10) compares the word to the root אפל, darkness, i.e. “they walked in darkness,” not having secured approval for their undertaking.which was considered wicked.

וארון ברית ה' ומשה לא משו, “and the Ark of the covenant of the Lord as well as Moses had not moved.” In this verse the Torah drew a comparison between Moses and the Ark of the covenant. In Numbers 11,21 we have a formula where the Torah seems to equate Moses to the 600,000 men of military age of the Israelites when it is written: “and Moses said the people are 600,00 foot-soldiers, etc.” The Torah alluded to the spiritual worth of Moses as being equivalent to the people as a whole. If that had not been the intention of the Torah in that verse it should have written: “the people amongst whom I find myself comprise 600,000 foot-soldiers.”