"For the skin of his face shone"
PARASHAT KI TISA
"For the skin of his face shone"
Rav Amnon Bazak
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-Ã -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
[1]
As
is well known, the ancient Latin translation of the Tanakh, the Vulgate,
interprets the phrase "karan or panav" – which appears nowhere else in
Tanakh – in the sense of "karnayim" – horns. This interpretation had
a very significant influence on the Christian understanding of this chapter, as
reflected in some artistic renditions of Moshe. The concept of "horns" seems
inappropriate here, and would seem to have been influenced by some Greek and
Roman kings who sometimes wore horns on their heads as a symbol of military
strength; we see that Tzidkiya ben Kena'ana similarly fashions horns for the
king of Israel (see Melakhim I 22:11). We shall adopt the conventional
view that the text means that Moshe's face was radiant. Some of the commentators
cite, in support of this interpretation, the obscure verse in Chabbakuk
(3:4), "And there shall be a brightness like light, He has radiance (karnayim)
at His side, and there His power is concealed." (In addition, the words
“karan or panav” may hint at the same idea through the similarity between
the word “or” written with an ayin, meaning “skin” (as in our
verse), and “or” written with an alef, meaning “light.”) Rashbam,
who was well acquainted with the Christian interpretation of the verse, adds
here: "And one who equates [the word karan] here with [its meaning in]
the expression, ‘karnei re'em karnav’ ('His horns are the horns of a wild
ox;' Devarim 33:17), is simply foolish, for this expression has two
different meanings in the Torah."
[2]
As
Ibn Ezra notes in his short commentary: "Know that we find no greater sign than
this among the prophets, for every [other] wonder that God introduced in order
to support His prophets involved outside elements, other than themselves."
[3]
Aharon describes the circumstances that give rise to the creation of the Golden
Calf using the same terms: "They said to me, 'Make us a god that 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'" (32:23).
[4]
It
is ironic that what the nation perceives here as a deficiency is highlighted as
having impressed the Egyptians right before Bnei Yisrael left their
country: "Also the man, Moshe, was exceedingly great in the land of
Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh's servants and in the eyes of the people" (Shemot
11:3).
[5]
The story of his birth and origins (chapter 2); his unwillingness to take on
God's mission of going to bring Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt and the lengthy
negotiations that he maintains (chapters 3-4); the fact of his speech impediment
(4:10); the record of his genealogy (6:14-26), etc.
[6]
On
the one hand, God tells Moshe explicitly, "Hew for yourself two tablets of
stone, and I shall write upon the tablets the words that were upon
the first tablets, which you broke" (34:1). On the other hand, further on in the
chapter we read: "God said to Moshe: Write for yourself these words, for
it is by these words that I have forged a covenant with you and with Israel. And
he was there with God for forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread, nor
did he drink water, and he wrote upon the tablets the words of the
covenant – the ten utterances" (verses 27-28). From Sefer Devarim it is
clear that it was God Who wrote on the second tablets: "At that time, God said
to me, ‘Hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones, and come up the
mountain to Me, and make for yourself a wooden ark. And I shall write upon
the tablets the words that were upon the first tablets, which you broke, and
you shall put them in the ark.’ So I made an ark of Shittim wood, and I hewed
two tablets of stone, like the first ones, and I ascended the mountain, with the
two tablets in my hand. And He wrote upon the tablets the same writing as on
the first, the ten utterances which God spoke to you upon the mountain, from
amidst the fire, on the day of the gathering, and God gave them to me" (Devarim
10:1-4). For this reason, many of the commentators conclude that the verse in
our parasha, "And He wrote upon the tablets…" (34:28), also refers to
God. However, verse 27 still presents a problem: "God said to Moshe: ‘Write for
yourself these words.’" The commentators suggest different solutions for the
seeming contradiction. The Ramban understands this as referring to a different
act of writing: "He commanded that [Moshe] should write a book of the covenant
and read it out to the people." Rashbam, in a similar vein, proposes that the
command refers to what had been said previously, in verses 11-26. In any event,
it is difficult to ignore the deliberately ambiguous language of the Torah,
which implies that Moshe participated, in some manner, in the writing of the
second set of tablets, as well as the fact that there is no mention here of the
second tablets being written "in God's writing," as we are told concerning the
first tablets.
[7]
This
difference expresses the same idea that we discussed in the shiur on
Parashat Teruma, concerning the relationship between the Written Law
and the Oral Law. With the first Tablets the emphasis is on the writing,
representing the Written Law and the Revelation at Sinai. With the second
Tablets the emphasis is on God's word as revealed to Moshe at all times,
representing the continuous renewal embodied in the Oral Law.
[8]
This is the simple meaning of the text, and this is how Ibn Ezra (in his long
commentary on verse 34) understands it. However, he also cites a different
opinion: "Some say that the radiance of Moshe's face was renewed each time he
came to the Tent of Meeting and spoke with God. Then he would emerge, and the
radiance would remain for as long as he conveyed God's word to the nation. When
he finished he would don the veil, for he knew that the radiance would depart,
leaving his face as it usually was. It would be to Moshe's detriment if Bnei
Yisrael were to see his face without the radiance; therefore he would put on
the veil." According to this explanation, the veil served Moshe's personal
interest: it concealed his face from Bnei Yisrael when there was no
radiance. However, Ibn Ezra concludes: "The Gaon said that the radiance did not
depart from his face until the day he died; as a result, his vision was never
dimmed. And this is correct… According to my view, he donned the veil in
deference to the radiance with which God imbued his face, so that Bnei
Yisrael would not see him at all times, but rather only when he conveyed to
them God's words. He would remove the veil when he approached the Tent of
Meeting, so that God could speak with him face to face."
[9]
The title "man of God" is applied to Moshe for the first time only just prior to
his death: "And this is the blessing with which Moshe, the man of God, blessed
Bnei Yisrael before he died" (Devarim 33:1). Only when he about to
depart this world, when it is clear to everyone that he is a man of flesh and
blood – only then it is possible to refer to him not only as the "man," but also
as the "man of God."