Unanswerable Question
– In Memoriam of Mr. David M. Warren
(Menachem Dovid ben Harav Yosef Z’L)
As Rashi (1040 -1105; Exodus 32:1) explains,
Moses told the Children of Israel that he
would ascend Mt. Sinai for forty days.
However, the Israelites miscalculated
because they didn’t understand Moses meant
forty complete days, meaning the day he
ascended wasn’t included in the count. When
Moses didn’t descend at the expected time,
the people became apprehensive. Seizing the
moment, Satan created images of darkness and
gloom. Fearing Moses was, the Israelites
created a new intermediary, the Golden Calf.
(See also Da'as Zekeinim)
The following day, on the Seventeenth of
Tammuz, Moses descended and, upon witnessing
Israel’s sin, broke the two tablets bearing
the Ten Commandments.
For the sin of the Golden Calf, G-d wanted
to destroy the Jewish people and begin a new
nation fathered by Moses. (Exodus 32:10)
However, Moses interceded on Israel’s
behalf.
"Why are you angry against your people that
you have brought out of the land of Egypt
with great power and with a mighty hand? Why
should the Egyptians speak, saying: ‘For
evil intent did He (G-d) bring them out, to
slay them (Israel) in the mountains and to
remove them from the face of the earth?’”
(Exodus 32:11-12)
Many commentaries note an obvious question –
“Why are You angry . . .?” Why wouldn’t G-d
be angry? A scant forty days after the
revelation at Mt. Sinai, the Jews created a
golden calf. What, then, is the meaning of
Moses’ question?
The Ohr HaChaim (Rabbi Chaim ben Moshe ibn
Attar 1696 – 1743, Morocco and Jerusalem;
Exodus 32:11))answers that the first
question cannot be properly understood
without reading the second question – “Why
should the Egyptians speak . . .?” Would
G-d, so soon after the Exodus, give the
Egyptians reason to claim “For evil intent
did He bring them out”? Would G-d eradicate
the Jewish people after instructing Moses to
tell Pharaoh “My first born son, Israel,
send My son free so he can serve Me”?
(Exodus 4: 22-23)
Moses argued that even if the Jewish people
were deserving of death, for G-d’s own sake,
to preserve His name in this world, G-d must
never allow the Jewish nation to be
destroyed. Therefore, Moses begins with a
rhetorical question – “Why are You angry . .
.?” Meaning, for Your sake, Israel cannot be
destroyed. For Your sake, You must offer
salvation. For Your sake, do not treat the
Jewish people with anger.
The Torah continues – “And G-d reconsidered
the evil which He said He would do to His
people." (Exodus 32:14)
Moses offers an extraordinary prayer. Even
when Israel has no merit and is completely
undeserving of G-d’s grace, we can still
turn to G-d and say, “Please G-d, if not for
our sake, then, please, for Your sake.”
May all who need salvation receive it
speedily.
Shabbat Shalom
