Ki Tisa | "For the Skin of His Face Shone"

 

A.        Two Descents from the Mountain

 

 

Twice in our parasha, Moshe descends from Mount Sinai: he brings down the first set of tablets prior to the sin of the Golden Calf and then the second set following the sin. The two events are introduced with similar language:

 

Moshe turned and he came down from the mountain, with the two Tablets of Testimony in his hand. (32:15)

 

And it was, when Moshe came down from Mount Sinai – and the two Tablets of Testimony were in Moshe's hand… (34:29)

 

But here the similarity ends. The two descents differ in many respects, one of the most prominent differences being that on his second descent, the text notes that Moshe's face shone:[1]

 

And it was, when Moshe came down from Mount Sinai – and the two Tablets of Testimony were in Moshe's hand when he descended from the mountain – that Moshe did not know that the skin of his face shone when He spoke with him. And Aharon and all of Bnei Yisrael saw Moshe, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him. (34:29-30)

 

We then read that when Moshe's face shone, he donned a veil, removing it only when he stood before God and when he conveyed God's word to Bnei Yisrael:

 

Moshe called to them and they returned to him – Aharon and all the princes amongst the congregation – and Moshe spoke to them. And afterwards all of Bnei Yisrael drew near, and he commanded them all that God had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. And Moshe finished speaking with them, and he placed a veil over his face. And when Moshe came before God, that He might speak with him, he removed the veil, until he emerged; then he emerged and said to Bnei Yisrael that which he had been commanded. And Bnei Yisrael saw the face of Moshe, that the skin of Moshe's face shone, and Moshe replaced the veil on his face, until he went to speak with Him. (verses 31-35)

 

Unquestionably, this is a dramatic change for Moshe's image and his standing in the eyes of the nation.[2] From this point onwards, whatever Moshe conveyed to the nation in God's Name would be obeyed, in fear of and in deference to the sight of his shining face. But why does this change take place specifically upon his second descent from the mountain?

 

One might suggest that this phenomenon should really have occurred with the descent of the first Tablets, but it was delayed because of the sin of the Golden Calf and the need to deal with its consequences. Below we shall attempt to propose a different explanation: that the radiance of Moshe's face was actually a result of the sin, and that had the sin not taken place, this phenomenon would not have occurred at all.

 

 

B.        "For this Moshe, the Man"

 

 

In order to understand the need for this unique phenomenon, we must go back to the roots of the sin of the Golden Calf:

 

And when the nation saw that Moshe was late in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aharon and said to him: “Arise, make us a god who will go before us, for this Moshe, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt – we do not know what has become of him." (32:1)

 

The people express their distress by drawing a contrast between "Moshe, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt" and the demand for "a god who will go before us."[3] They are not looking for another mortal leader to take Moshe's place. They want a radical change in leadership. They no longer want to follow a flesh-and-blood mortal, who may disappear at any time; rather, they want to be led by a “god.”[4] The Golden Calf is meant to represent divine, non-human leadership and to satisfy the nation's longing for this sort of figurehead.

 

As we know, the nation was severely punished for the sin. Aside from the three thousand people slain by the tribe of Levi and the plague, God tells the people that He will no longer go up in their midst. The nation had demanded a god that would go before them, and as a result, measure for measure, they will no longer be accompanied by God Himself, but rather by His angel:

 

God spoke to Moshe: “Proceed; go up from here, you and the nation which you brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land which I promised to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov, saying, 'To your descendants I shall give it.' And I shall send before you an angel, and I shall drive out the Canaani, the Emori, the Chitti, the Perizzi, the Chivvi, and the Yevusi – to a land flowing with milk and honey, for I shall not go up in your midst, for you are a stiff-necked nation, lest I consume you along the way." (33:1-3)

 

However, along with the punishment, there was also a measure of understanding of the reality that had led to the sin. To repair that reality, there was a need to "upgrade" Moshe's standing in the eyes of the people. From this point on, there is a change in what until now has been a remarkably human description of Moshe's life.[5] He is now awarded a status that is higher than that of any ordinary person.

 

The first place where we see this taking effect is in another difference between the first and second sets of tablets: the Divine origin and character of the former, as opposed to Moshe's partnership in creating the latter. Three times in our parasha, the text emphasizes the Divine, unique qualities of the first tablets, fashioned by God Himself:

 

The two Tablets of Testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. (31:18)

 

And the Tablets were a work of God, and the inscription was an inscription of God, engraved upon the Tablets. (32:16)

 

The second tablets, in contrast, are fashioned by Moshe:

 

Hew for yourself two tablets of stone, like the first ones… so he hewed two tablets of stone, like the first ones. (34:1-4)

 

It is not even clear from the text who inscribed the tablets – God or Moshe.[6]

 

Moreover, the three-fold repetition of the fact that the first tablets were a work of God is replaced, in the story of the second tablets, with the fact that Moshe's face shone – which is likewise emphasized three times:

 

… Moshe did not know that the skin of his face shone when He spoke with him. And Aharon and all of Bnei Yisrael saw Moshe, and behold, the skin of his face shone… And Bnei Yisrael saw the face of Moshe, that the skin of Moshe's face shone… (34:29-35)

 

Once again, the miraculous aspect of the Revelation at Sinai focuses not on the tablets, but rather on Moshe.[7] The effect of this new phenomenon is immediately discernible:

 

And Aharon and all of Bnei Yisrael saw Moshe, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him. (34:30)

 

The tone of slight disdain that we detect in the words, "For this Moshe, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt – we do not know what has become of him," has been transformed into fear of him. Admittedly, once Moshe calls to the people, they are no longer afraid, but from this point on, his radiant face is a regular sight, and the one-time fear (yir'a) becomes an ongoing "seeing" (re'iya):

 

And when Moshe came before God, that He might speak with him, he removed the veil, until he emerged; then he emerged and said to Bnei Yisrael that which he had been commanded. And Bnei Yisrael saw the face of Moshe, that the skin of Moshe's face shone… (34-35)

 

From now on, Bnei Yisrael will see Moshe's radiant face when he brings them God's word, and they will know that while he is indeed "Moshe, the man," this man occupies a very lofty and unique spiritual level.

 

 

C.        "And Moshe Did Not Know"

 

 

The change in Moshe's status is, of course, an exceptional phenomenon, which had not originally been planned to happen, nor was it repeated in any person other than Moshe. The Torah does not turn mortals into Divine figures, nor does it ever conceal the human traits of any of its characters. For this reason, our parasha – with its deviation from the usual norm in the Torah – requires some balancing of the picture. Along with the elevation of Moshe beyond human norms, we therefore find an emphasis on the fact that Moshe is and remains human.

 

This would seem to explain the specific noting of the fact that "Moshe did not know that the skin of his face shone when He spoke with him." This contains something of an echo of the verse that set the whole episode in motion: "For this Moshe, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt – we do not know what has become of him." Moshe, just like each of Bnei Yisrael, is a person, who sometimes does not know what is happening.

 

This emphasis has further significance. Since Moshe was unaware of his radiance, he did not change his conduct in any way. He descended the mountain just as he had ascended it – with the same personality and embodying the same human leadership vis- à-vis the nation.

 

The main expression of Moshe's humility would seem to lie in the fact, emphasized in the text, that the radiance of his face was solely the result of God's revelation to him. The veil that he wore over his face showed that there was no significance to this radiance in and of itself. Moshe removed the veil only when standing before God or when bringing God's word to the people – thereby showing that the radiance of his face was a Divine phenomenon, while he himself was simply a means, a channel of communication. Moshe does not exploit the radiance of his face for any personal ends, and when he is acting independently, he wears a veil to cover it.[8]

 

Thus, even when his face shone, this towering leader of Bnei Yisrael remained "Moshe, the man." Moreover,

 

The man Moshe was the most exceedingly humble of all men upon the face of the earth. (Bamidbar 12:10)[9]

 

 

Translated by Kaeren Fish

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