Chol HaMo-eid Pesach
Exodus 33:12-34:26
Excerpted from Ki Tisa
Summary
Chol HaMo-eid Pesach = intermediate days of Pesach
Moses wins God’s forgiveness and persuades God to personally lead the Israelites, i.e. reversing God’s previous decision not to lead (“I will not go in your midst” … Ex 33:3). Emboldened, Moses asks to see God. (33:12-18)
God agrees to reveal God’s essential nature (“all My goodness”) to Moses but prohibits Moses from seeing God's face. God permits Moses to see only the shadow/back of God. (Ex 33:19-23)
God instructs Moses to carve two tablets so that God can inscribe “the words that were on the first tablets” (though Moses ends up himself writing God’s words on tablets … 34:27). Moses carves the tablets and goes up the mountain again. (34:1-5)
God reveals God's thirteen divine attributes to Moses on Mount Sinai: 1) compassion for a person about to sin, 2) compassion after a person sins and repents, 3) compassion for both Jews and non-Jews, 4) graciousness to those who have merit, 5) graciousness to those without merit, 6) patience with violators in hope they will repent, 7) kindness to those in need of kindness, 8) faithfulness to those who do God’s will, 9) remembering kindness for a thousand generations, 10) forgiving of deliberate wrongdoing, 11) forgiving of malicious rebellion, 12) forgiving of unintentional wrongdoing and 13) willingness to cancel punishment for those who are repentant and for their descendants. (34:6-7)
Moses asks God to forgive Israelites (for golden calf) and to take back the Israelites “for Your own”.(Exod. 34:7-9)
God agrees and renews the covenant but warns Moses against forming alliances with the inhabitants of the lands against which the Israelites will advance. (34:10-17)
God commands the Israelites concerning the Pilgrimage Festivals (Shavuot, Sukkot, and Pesach). (34:18-26)
Commentary (Plaut, URJ website, Jewish Study Bible and prior Hevreh discussions)
Parasha’s connection to Pesach – 1) Literal reference to Pesach in 34:18. 2) Parasha tells of God’s renewal of covenant which completes delivery of Israelites from Egypt and gives us cause to extend the spirituality of the liberation we celebrate at Pesach to all times afterwards, i.e. increases our awareness of the godlike attributes we can and should portray in our lives. 3) Parasha shows Moses as an evolved, mature leader who led Israelites on their journey out of slavery. Passover recognizes that accomplishment and is our chance to embark on our own personal journeys to search for freedom, growth and deliverance from whatever enslaves us. 4) The experience of God passing by and revealing aspects of the Divine directly to Moses is a model of intimacy that is also appropriate for Pesach in that Pesach celebrates our closeness to God as evidenced by God’s renewing the covenant with the Israelites.
Moses’ seeing shadow of God – Having had his request to see God denied, Moses instead finds himself humbly bowing low in the cleft of a rock. Some say that all Moses really saw was the shadow that falls on our lives when God is no longer there. He was able to distinguish between those actions and situations that are filled with holiness and those that are not. Others say God's presence may be perceived only after the fact, when we look back on the experiences of our lives. These interpretations recognize God’s acknowledgment the legitimacy of our need to be connected more directly to what is godly and to somehow “see” God's presence v. simply believing and having faith in God.
Nature of God – Jewish tradition views Ex. 34:7 as setting out the 13 attributes of God v. Maimonides claims 13 attributes describes actions of God but not the nature of God, i.e. text only shows God was unknowable. “Adon Olam” in Jewish liturgy contains formulation of God’s nature. Further, is God a just God, who administers reward and punishment fairly according to what a person deserves? Or is God endlessly merciful, forgiving even the most heinous transgressors as long as they repent? Both must be true.
Counting of the Omer - On day two of Passover, we begin the counting of the Omer, linking Pesach to Shavuot, revelation at Sinai. As we count for forty-nine days, we follow the path of redemption to the road of revelation, moving from physical freedom to spiritual freedom.
Constancy of faith – Questioning of faith in God by Moses (indicated by his request of God to see God’s face as an expression of their ultimate and intimate relationship?) and by Israelites (in golden calf incident?) suggests that faith is not necessarily constant. Should we regularly test our faith, i.e. does periodic questioning and subsequent recovery of faith strengthen faith?
Tablets as object – Note irony of tablets given by God being tangible object representative of God and covenant (approximates prohibited idol).
Moses on Mount Sinai - Why did Moses need to go up on a mountain and be alone to meet with God? What was so special about all of this that he had to be completely isolated from the Israelites? Was it a purely spiritual journey (up on the mountain all by himself with no food or water but just listening to God)?
What parasha may mean for us today
Extending impact of Pesach - Use Pesach not only to commemorate Israelite redemption from slavery but also as motivation for future personal behavior that reflects qualities of Moses and attributes of God.
Dealing with authority – Moses’ “negotiation” with God suggests we respect authority but also stand up to authority for what we believe is right and just (tempered by 1) need to recognize greater good outweighing personal preference and 2) possibility of poor personal judgment).
Power of prayer - Moses' prayers (his requests of God) allowed the Israelites a second chance and saved them from destruction by God. Similarly, we can improve our lives by tapping into the power of prayer.
Importance of mercy and forgiveness - God giving Israelites a second chance through the second set of tablets and renewal of covenant demonstrates the importance of mercy and forgiveness. God’s behavior tells us 1) we can recover from our mistakes and 2) we should show same merciful and forgiving behavior as God showed to Israelites.
Renewal - Pesach is observed in the spring when nature is renewing itself. We can also renew ourselves by realizing that repentance and forgiveness are available to us during the entire year.
(Revised 4/7/09)
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