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

ויצר אותו בחרט. Aaron took the gold from someone else, tied it all together in a cloth where he squeezed it together until they made a mould such as used to shape wax or soft clay. The makers of the mould recessed the shape of a calf in the bottom of the mould. Afterwards, the gold was thrown into this mould. Once it had melted in the crucible into which the mould was placed, the gold had assumed the shape of a calf when retrieved from the crucible after it had cooled. (verse 24) A similar procedure is described in Kings II 5,23 [this interpretation of that verse by our author is most unusual. Ed.]

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

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

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

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

חרות, just like חרוט or חרוש, engraved.

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

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

ויזר, same as ויפזר, “he scattered.” The construction from the root פזר is parallel to vayiken, from the root kanah, (compare Genesis 33,19) Compare also the root זרה which would be vayizer as here. We find the word in this sense in Numbers 17,2 ואת האש זרה הלאה, “and throw the fire (flame) away.”

וישק את בני ישראל, he examined their truthfulness by making them drink this mixture, just as a Sotah suspected of infidelity has to drink water [mixed with ground dust].

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

כי פרוע הוא, had ceased to observe the commandments. We encounter this expression in this sense in Proverbs 1,25 ותפרעו כל עצתי, “You have spurned all My advice.” It appears again in Proverbs 4,15 in a similar sense.

לשמצה, to become a source of ridicule and derision to their enemies. Compare Job 4,12 ותקח אזני שמץ מנהו, “my ear caught a derogatory meaning in it.” A reference to some word of derision.

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

מלאו ידכם היום, “dedicate yourselves this day!” as if the line had been written in the past tense, as if the word כי had preceded the word מלאו, expressing approval of their loyalty. Rallying to the call of Moses and carrying out his instructions was equivalent to offering a sacrifice to G’d.

איש בבנו ובאחיו, you have extended your hands towards heaven, i.e. in support of the interests of G’d.

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

נחה, to the land of Israel.

וביום פקדי, at intervals, when I feel so disposed, not all of them at once.