ואיש לא יעלה עמך, “and no man may ascend with you.” Unlike the first time around, this time the elders were no to accompany Moses even part of the way.

וגם איש אל ירא בכל ההר, and also no man is to be seen in the entire area around the Mountain.” Even at the base of the Mountain, unlike the first time when the Israelites had stood at the base of the Mountain.

גם הצאן והבקר אל ירעו אל מול ההר ההוא, “neither sheep no cattle are to graze opposite that Mountain.” On the occasion of Moses’ first ascent the warning had only been not to touch this area by hand on pain of death. The reason why so many new restrictions had been added was to make plain to the people that there had been a change in their status. On the first occasion Moses, as their representative, went up to the Mountain to receive the first Tablets after the people had been considered fit to witness the revelation. They were all on a spiritual “high.” This time only Moses remained on such a level, and G’d wanted them to realize that it was only because Moses was highly regarded by Him, and this is why his prayer would be welcome. Seeing that the glory of G’d had remained hovering above the Mountain all this time, unworthy people would be highly at risk if they ventured too near.

ילך נא א-דוני בקרבנו כי עם קשה עורף הוא, “may my Lord walk in our midst because they are a stiff-necked people.” Nachmanides in interpreting the word כי as “because,” i.e. according to the unadorned text, explains the psychology underlying Moses’ argument. G’d had warned Moses that if the people were to rebel against the angel’s instructions, he would make short shrift of them and destroy them. An angel would interpret any display of stubborn behaviour as completely negative. When, after the people had regained their grace in the eyes of Hashem, and they would meticulously, i.e. ”stubbornly,” observe all the laws of the Torah, G’d would realize that their stubborn streak had been turned to constructive use. If a relapse would occur, as was possible, G’d knowing that their stubborn streak had also been employed constructively, would look at this as making them deserve another chance, something an angel could not be expected to do. Hence, Moses argued, the very stubborn streak of the people is what made him ask to have G’d in their midst, instead of merely a proxy, an angel. G’d’s relationship to the Jewish people was that they were “His people.” No angel could relate to them as such. Other commentators view our verse as meaning almost precisely the opposite. Moses, admitting that the people‘s Achilles heel was their stubborn streak, their rebelliousness, argues that because of this inherent weakness they needed the Presence of the attributes of Hashem, Who is kind, patient, makes allowances, etc. Such a combination of attributes within one camp would mitigate the negative impact of the negative aspect of Israel’s stubbornness. Still other commentators interpret Moses’ reference to the people’s stubbornness as such that it results in their defying even death rather than violating G’d’s Torah. This is why they bend over backwards to keep His commandments, even risking their lives to do so. They treat the laws of the Torah as a burden which they are willing to carry under any circumstances, as they feel that they must do so in order to show that they appreciate G’d’s glory sufficiently. Seeing that this is their general attitude, it behooves G’d to forgive them for their grievous error in the episode of the golden calf.

וסלחת לעונינו ולחטאתינו, “and You will forgive our deliberate as well as our inadvertent sins.” Moses did not ask G’d to forgive also פשענו, “our sins committed out of the desire to show defiance of G’d’s legislation.”

ויאמר הנה אנכי כורת ברית, He said: “here I am about to conclude a covenant.“ G’d announced to Moses that He would make a covenant with him, and perform special distinctions with him and His people as Moses had requested. He added:

נגד כל עמך אעשה נפלאות ...וראה כל העם אשר אתה בקרבו, “the distinctive acts which I will perform in sight of the whole people that you are amongst, etc.” G’d says that whatever wonderful acts He would perform henceforth would be on account of His special relationship with Moses, and the people would be beneficiaries seeing that they are included in this covenant. It is not possible to explain this verse as meaning that G’d would perform even greater miracles for the people than He had performed in the past, as we can search the whole Torah and not find any evidence of this having been the case.

שמר לך את אשר אנכי מצוך, “Beware of what I command you today.” Nachmanides writes that it is clear that concerning commandments the Israelites had already violated, G’d would not say “the ones I command you this day.” Therefore, G’d must be referring to commandments that He is about to announce, and He warns the people not to disregard them as they had done with other commandments that had been issued in the past. At that time, by violating the commandment concerning idolatry they had in effect violated the whole of the Torah legislation that set them apart from other nations. When G’d had promised to expel the nations inhabiting the land of Canaan and to replace them with the Israelites, this had been due largely to the idolatrous ways of the members of those tribes. The Israelites are therefore warned at this time not to have any track with those nations, as they would lure them into worshipping their traditional deities, especially if there would be intermarriage between the two peoples. The absolute prohibition of making a cast image is therefore repeated here once more. As a corollary, and as if to underline how the pilgrimages three times a year to Jerusalem i.e. to the Temple would help cement the close relations between the average Israelite and his G’d, this legislation is repeated here once more also.

ואכלת מזבחו, “and you would eat from what he had offered as a sacrificial offering to his deity.” Cultural relations with the nations now in the land of Canaan would inevitably lead to intermarriage and to idolatrous practices. [Jewish history, alas, is full of examples of the truth of the fears expressed here by the Torah. Ed.] The first step in such a chain is concluding of a non aggression pact with any remnants of the Canaanites allowed to continue to live there.

בחריש ובקציר תשבות, “you are to abstain from work on the Sabbath both at seeding/ploughing time and at harvesting time. According to Nachmanides, the simple reason why periods of the year during which ploughing and harvesting proceeds have been singled out for a reminder to observe the laws of the Sabbath, is that the farmer is under greater pressure at that time to complete his work on schedule. If, due to atmospheric conditions, he feels under special pressure, he is warned not to let such considerations deter him from resting on the Sabbath. The reason why-surprisingly- the Torah interrupts aspects of the laws to make the pilgrimage to the Temple on the three holydays named, is that ever since the Exodus the Sabbath is no longer only a reminder of G’d’s creative activity, but it is a reminder of how He relieved the pressure on the Jewish people who slaved in Egypt. The G’d Who gave us relief from pressure in Egypt will not let us succumb to what we perceive to be pressure by atmospheric conditions when the weather seems to make agricultural pursuits more difficult.

ראשית בכורי אדמתך, “The first of your land’s produce, etc.” The reason why mention of not boiling milk and meat appears here next to the legislation of bringing the first of one’s produce to the Temple, i.e. the priests, is that at the same time the farmer will presumably also bring the first of the young born by his animals, seeing that on the way the young lambs and kids are still suckling at their mother’s teats, and once in Jerusalem these animals will be slaughtered to help the owners enjoy the festival. Using the milk of the mother animal with which to cook the young, is therefore not something far-fetched. On the other hand, in Deuteronomy 14,21 when the same legislation is repeated in connection with forbidden foods, the emphasis is placed on the eating of the product of such boiling of milk and meat together.

כתב לך את הדברים האלה, “make a written record of these words for yourself;” G’d commands Moses to write the ספר הברית, “the Book of the Covenant,” so that the people would accept it with same enthusiastic נעשה ונשמע, “we will perform, now let’s learn the details,” as they had accepted what was written on the Tablets at the first covenant. Seeing that the people had violated what was part of the first covenant, a new covenant had become necessary. In order to prevent another violation of a covenant, this covenant had to be recorded in writing, the “Book” being mute testimony to its validity. Moses, of course, carried out G’d’s instructions, although the Torah, as on many occasions, did not bother to spell this out for us.

אתך ברית ואת ישראל, “the covenant includes both you and Israel.” The reason why the Torah singles out Moses, i.e. עמך here, is because the entire new covenant G’d renewed only on account of His feelings for Moses, as we mentioned previously. As to G’d’s relations with Israel, G’d’s pardon for the people had to precede His concluding a new covenant with them. [This is why the cumbersome wording כרתי אתך ברית ואת ישראל is used instead of the straightforward כרתי עמכם ברית, “I concluded a covenant with you.” (as for instance in Deut.5,2) Ed.]

ויהי שם עם ה' ארבעים יום....ויכתב על הלוחות את דברי הברית, עשרת הדברים. “He remained there with Hashem for forty days*….*and He (G’d) wrote on the Tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” The subject of the word ויכתב is Hashem, for G’d Himself testified (Exodus 34,1 וכתבתי על הלוחות, “I Myself will inscribe on the Tablets, etc.”) The forty days mentioned by Moses here were the last forty days he spent on Mount Sinai. Prior to this he had spent another forty days on the Mountain, devoted entirely to prayer on behalf of the Jewish people, beseeching G’d to forgive the people. He referred to those forty days in Deuteronomy Moses did not spell out how many days he had been on the Mountain on that occasion now as everybody knew, as opposed to the people whom he addressed in Deuteronomy, most of whom had not been alive yet at this time. The reason the Torah, i.e. Moses, emphasized that he spent 40 days on the Mountain even on the last occasion was to remind the people how difficult it had been to obtain atonement for them. He certainly had not needed all that time to learn the Torah, as he had learned that on his previous stay on the Mountain.

וידבר משה אליהם, “and Moses would speak to them.” Rashi explains that this is phrased in the present tense, as was the entire episode.

ואחרי כן נגשו, “after that they approached.” This was after Moses had taught the Torah to the elders. Nachmanides writes that this is not correct, but that the words ואחר כן refer to what happened after the people had scattered, being afraid to approach Moses until he had placed the scarf around his forehead which prevented the rays of light emanating from his face. He then called upon them to approach, whereupon Aaron and all the princes did approach and speak to Moses. Moses welcomed them with the good news that the people’s sin had been forgiven, and he showed them the second set of Tablets to prove it. At that point the ordinary Israelites realized that when Moses spoke to the princes everything appeared normal, and they too approached Moses unafraid. Moses then told them that G’d had commanded him the second version of the Ten Commandments, the ones which He had inscribed on the second set of Tablets which he had brought down with him. Moses told the people everything from שמר לך in verse 11 onwards until the end of the whole Parshah for He told the people that G’d had commanded a new covenant. The Torah only summarises here, giving us a synopsis of all that G’d had told Moses to tell the people at that time. Having realized from the people’s retreat that it was caused because of the rays his forehead emitted, he proceeded to cover his forehead with the מסוה, his mask-like scarf. It is also possible that the people had told him that they could not face him on account of the rays his forehead emitted, so that Moss made it a practice to be without that mask only when he went to communicate with G’d or be communicated with by G’d.