ואל משה אמר עלה!, after He had finished telling him כה תאמר אל בני ישראל אתם ראיתם in 20,18. At that time He had explained to the people that they must not try and “reach” Him through intermediaries, but that all that was required was an altar made of earth, coupled with the meticulous observance of His commandments as spelled out in the Ten Commandments. The verse tells us that all of these things were explained to the whole nation. However, ואל משה אמר, to Moses himself G’d had said that he should come up to the mountain just as he had been commanded to do already before the revelation, when G’d had said to him in 19,14 לך רד ועלית אתה ואהרן עמך.

'ויבא משה ויספר לעם את כל דברי ה, the matters Moses told the people were those reported in the Torah between 20,8 and the beginning of chapter 21.

וחצי הדם זרק על המזבח, he converted the altar into being G’d’s intermediary, messenger; for the concluding of the covenant. Half the blood was sprinkled on the altar, the other half on the people.

ספר הברית. The book in which G’d’s words had been recorded as well as the laws concerning which the covenant was concluded. Reference has to be made to this book in verse four of our chapter.

ויקרא באזני העם, Moses read out the contents so that the people would know what they had committed themselves to. Only by knowing the contents would they be prevented from violating the commandments inadvertently.

נעשה ונשמע, a reference to action designed to ensure that they could obey G’d’s directives without thought of any reward that might be in store for them by doing this. We find a similar construction in Psalms 103,20 עושי דברו לשמוע בקולו, “who do His bidding, ever obedient to His bidding.”

ויעל משה ואהרן, after he had carried out the tasks entrusted to him by G’d. telling the people what he had been told to in 20,18. Now he carried out the instructions recorded in verse 1 of our chapter.

ותחת רגליו, on the earth, the lowest point. We have G’d on record as describing “earth” in such terms in Isaiah 66,1 והארץ הדם רגליו, “the earth is My footstool.”

כמעשה לבנת ספיר, an essence, totally transparent, devoid of colours and permanent contours so that it is almost completely abstract, capable of absorbing spiritual input from spiritual domains at will. An allegorical description of the human נפש, “life-force.”

וכעצם השמים לטוהר, they perceived that this לבנת הספיר, “essence,” is totally independent of the raw material man is made of; just as what we perceive as the essence of heaven in the sky is totally devoid of tangible matter. It is the essence of what we consider the celestial regions, “heaven,” for lack of a better word. It is not connected to the solid physical planets etc., which form the “inhabitants” of these celestial domains. The fact that the “sky,” “heaven,” has no physical dimensions makes it appear as if it is the spiritual dimension of “Heaven” itself.

ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו, G’d, did not extend His helping hand to enable these nobles and elders to grant them the level of prophetic status while they were oblivious to their five senses with which they perceived while merely human beings. We encounter such a concept in Ezekiel 8,1 when the prophet describes an inspiration received with the words: ותפול עלי יד ה', “and the “hand” of G’d “fell” upon me there.” The use of this phraseology describes the separation of the “normal” senses used for perception employed by the prophet, and his transformation into a super terrestrial dimension. [It is probably impossible to really “translate” this line into the vernacular in any language. The main point our author makes, as opposed to other commentators, is that this “hand of G’d” is not perceived by him as one that is retributive in character, but, on the contrary, as one that elevates the human being to a spiritually higher dimension.” In our context the Torah says that the “visions” achieved by these אצילי בני ישראל, were not further helped along by G’d. Ed.] Examples of people who divest themselves of human senses, or human garb, (a simile for their senses?) are King Saul in Samuel I 19,24 “then he too stripped off his clothes and he too spoke in ecstasy before Samuel, and he lay naked all day and night. This is why people say: “Is Saul too among the prophets?”

ויחזו את האלוקים, they achieved a vision of their concept of G’d similar to a prophetic vision.

ויאכלו וישתו, afterwards they made a festive meal which they consumed without their normal senses having been in any way transformed or temporarily become neutralised. They prepared this festive meal congratulating themselves on a higher spiritual dimension which they felt they had achieved.

עלה אלי ההרה, to the top of the mountain. This was after he had already approached more closely than the people with him, as we have read in verse 2, ונגש משה לבדו “only Moses alone is to approach any closer.” Nonetheless, at that point he had not ascended the summit of the mountain. It was on this occasion, while they looked after Moses disappearing into the cloud forming a shroud around the mountain, that the “nobles” and the elders had the vision just described. This is what was meant in verse 17 with the words ומראה כבוד ה' כאש אוכלת בראש ההר, “and the manifestation of the glory of the Lord was similar to a consuming fire at the top of the mountain.” We find this formulation (ראש ההר) again during the giving of the Ten Commandments in 19,20.

והיה שם, stay there for an extended period. The root היה appears in this sense in Deuteronomy 10,5 ויהיו שם כאשר צוני, “they have remained there as G’d had commanded me.”

והתורה, “and the part which requires profound study,”

והמצוה, and the part of the Torah which primarily requires action in order to fulfill it.

אשר כתבתי, “which I (the Lord) have written.” If it had not been for the sin of the golden calf, the entire Torah would have been handed to the Jewish people (Moses) as a signed and sealed document just like the Tablets with the Ten Commandments. Moses alluded to this when he described the approach of G’d to Mount Sinai in Deuteronomy 33,2 ואתה מרבבות קודש מימינו אש דת למו , G’d was ready to hand us the whole Torah but the sin of the golden calf prevented this at that that time. Instead, Moses wrote down the Torah at G’d’s command (dictation). Moses is on record as having done this in Deuteronomy 34,27. In fact, Moses only brought the Tablets to within sight of the people in order to smash them before their eyes, so that they would understand what they had forfeited due to their disloyalty to G’d. This demonstration of Moses having smashed the Tablets was designed to shock the people into penitence.

להורותם, to teach them. Although everything was available in the form of a written text, as we know from our sages in Taanit 9 “is there then anything which has not either been spelled out or alluded to in the text of the Torah that Moses handed down to us?” And, the Talmud Gittin 60 adds that most is spelled out in the written text and only a relatively small part was reserved for what we call the “oral Torah,” the allusions in the Torah which require profound study and most ordinary Israelites would not understand them unless they had the guidance of scholars. Knowing this, a statement by the sages which appears to conflict with the statement we quoted from Gittin 60, and which states that most of the legislation of the Torah is derived from the “oral Torah,” is not in conflict with that at all. The former statement refers to people studying under the guidance of a competent Torah scholar.

ואל הזקנים אמר, when he departed from them in order to ascend to the top of the mountain as G’d had commanded him in verse 12.

ויהי משה בהר, each time Moses ascended the mountain from this point on he remained on it for a period of 40 days and forty nights. This period corresponds to the time it takes for a fertilised egg in a woman’s womb to achieve a critical status that permits us to refer to it as a fetus. Moses’ stay on the mountain for such periods of time effected his spiritual progress in a similar manner, elevating him to higher spiritual dimensions. The evidence lies in the fact that eventually Moses’ face radiated so much spiritual illumination that the people were frightened by this phenomenon and Moses had to veil his head. (Exodus 34,29) Moses had been meant to achieve this stature already at the end of his first 40 days’ stay on the mountain, but the people’s making the golden calf and worshipping it, foiled this plan. G’d Himself told Moses to descend due to his people having become corrupt (Exodus 32,7). According to our tradition, Moses’ second stay of forty days on the mountain was a period when G’d’s anger at the people had not yet abated, so that he could not be rewarded with the distinction G’d had in mind for him. He attained that distinction only during his third stay on the mountain when he was also instructed concerning the construction of the Tabernacle seeing that he was told to place the second set of Tablets in the Holy Ark (Exodus 25,21). This did not refer to an ark within which to place the shattered first set of Tablets. In fact, according to tradition, seeing that the letters written by G’d on the first set of Tablets had “flown” away, the remnants of those Tablets which were eventually placed in another ark are not referred to as “The testimony,” seeing they did not contain any writing anymore at that point. (compare Pesachim 87) Commencing with 25,8 where G’d says to Moses that He will take up permanent residence in the Tabernacle to be built, the first 2500 years of mankind’s history where G’d was equally accessible anywhere has come to an end, and there would be a centralised form of worship as part of the Jewish religion. Instead of G’d permitting the erection of altars anywhere it pleased man, and His coming to meet man at such sites, (Exodus 20,20) now the roles are reversed and He will be in residence in His palace on earth, and anyone who wishes to pray to Him effectively will have to do this at that Temple. There will be groups of people charged with the sacrificial service in the Temple, the priests, and laymen will not be allowed into the inner sanctum of this Temple at all. This, in short, is the message of Exodus 28,1 “and you (Moses) bring close (To Me) your brother Aaron.” Actually, the tribe of Levi had not yet been selected until after the affair of the golden calf. Moses recalls that event in Deuteronomy 10,8 and the events that had led up to it. In light of all this the fact that Moses spent 40 days and nights on the mountain each time he ascended there is very significant. The stage at which Moses‘ face radiated these rays of light was not achieved until the end of Moses’ third stay on the mountain after he had been commanded to erect the Tabernacle. After the building of the Tabernacle had been completed, as well as the making of the priestly garments, and the incense and oil anointing, Moses revealed the stages that preceded it, telling the people that at the end of the first forty days on the mountains he received the first set of Tablets. Any delay in the carrying out of G’d’s original timetable for these events was not due to G’d delaying His plan but to the conduct of the people in the interval that had forced Him to revise His timetable. Had the episode of the golden calf not intervened, Moses’ second and third stay on the mountain would have been totally superfluous. The episodes described in Exodus 32,7, 33,12 and 34,1 until 34 28-29 were only caused by the repercussions of the sin of the golden calf.