Chasidut על ראש השנה 34:5
Kedushat Levi
An alternative explanation of the line: ויעבור ה' על פניו ויקרא וגו', “Hashem passed before him and proclaimed, etc.;” also based on the statement in Rosh Hashanah 17 that G’d wrapped Himself in a prayer shawl similar to the one worn by the reader leading the congregation in prayer.
G’d is advising Moses that if, when praying for forgiveness, the Jewish people will emulate the example set for them by Hashem, He will forgive their sins and they will have atonement. We need to understand this statement of the Talmud on a less simplistic level, of course. The Talmud Avodah Zarah 3 provides the key to a more mature understanding of this statement in the Talmud. The Talmud there explains that G’d does not deal with the Jewish people in the manner that a despot deals with his subjects when they have been guilty of violating his decrees. The reason for this is that after all, the Jewish people were the principal reason why G’d created the universe in the first place as stated explicitly in Yalkut Shimoni 1,2 that the world was created on account of Israel which is called ראשית (Jeremiah 2,3). If G’d were to apply the yardstick to Israel that befits its lofty standing in the celestial regions, it would not have a chance to survive for a single hour as the burden imposed upon them of having to serve as a model for other creatures would have been too overwhelming.
[Compare when Moses said to Aaron that his sons died not because they were so undeserving to live, objectively, but on account of the principle of בקרובי אקדש , that G’d is especially strict with people who have become intimates of His, so that He would not be accused of favoritism. (Leviticus 10,3) Ed.]
G’d is aware that not withstanding the fact that since man’s source of life is rooted in the holy and Divine root of the Creator Himself, and he could therefore be expected to emulate his Creator and be almost equally pure and holy, the fact remains, as our sages have stated: אין צדיק ולא יחטא, “there has not yet been a righteous human being who has not committed a sin on at least one occasion.” While it is true that a king’s son is expected to lead a life that reflects his aristocratic background, nonetheless the king will not disown his son if now and again he stepped out of line. The Jewish people too, are called G’d’s Children, so G’d will not turn His back on them because they have sometimes sinned, inadvertently, in most cases. G’d promises Moses in our verse that He will adopt the less stringent yardsticks for judging man, a yardstick that is compatible with conditions on earth, an environment that is fraught with a multitude of temptations. When a rich man, comes face to face with a poor man, he is aware that only by the grace of G’d does he enjoy so much more material wealth than his less fortunate peer, and reflecting on this fact he will supply the poor man with what he needs to augment his livelihood.
G’d is advising Moses that if, when praying for forgiveness, the Jewish people will emulate the example set for them by Hashem, He will forgive their sins and they will have atonement. We need to understand this statement of the Talmud on a less simplistic level, of course. The Talmud Avodah Zarah 3 provides the key to a more mature understanding of this statement in the Talmud. The Talmud there explains that G’d does not deal with the Jewish people in the manner that a despot deals with his subjects when they have been guilty of violating his decrees. The reason for this is that after all, the Jewish people were the principal reason why G’d created the universe in the first place as stated explicitly in Yalkut Shimoni 1,2 that the world was created on account of Israel which is called ראשית (Jeremiah 2,3). If G’d were to apply the yardstick to Israel that befits its lofty standing in the celestial regions, it would not have a chance to survive for a single hour as the burden imposed upon them of having to serve as a model for other creatures would have been too overwhelming.
[Compare when Moses said to Aaron that his sons died not because they were so undeserving to live, objectively, but on account of the principle of בקרובי אקדש , that G’d is especially strict with people who have become intimates of His, so that He would not be accused of favoritism. (Leviticus 10,3) Ed.]
G’d is aware that not withstanding the fact that since man’s source of life is rooted in the holy and Divine root of the Creator Himself, and he could therefore be expected to emulate his Creator and be almost equally pure and holy, the fact remains, as our sages have stated: אין צדיק ולא יחטא, “there has not yet been a righteous human being who has not committed a sin on at least one occasion.” While it is true that a king’s son is expected to lead a life that reflects his aristocratic background, nonetheless the king will not disown his son if now and again he stepped out of line. The Jewish people too, are called G’d’s Children, so G’d will not turn His back on them because they have sometimes sinned, inadvertently, in most cases. G’d promises Moses in our verse that He will adopt the less stringent yardsticks for judging man, a yardstick that is compatible with conditions on earth, an environment that is fraught with a multitude of temptations. When a rich man, comes face to face with a poor man, he is aware that only by the grace of G’d does he enjoy so much more material wealth than his less fortunate peer, and reflecting on this fact he will supply the poor man with what he needs to augment his livelihood.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy