RABBI DAVID ETENGOFF: PARASHAT HASHAVUAH
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770

2/17/2019

​Parashat Ki Tisa, 5779, 2019: "The Uniqueness of Moshe"

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The Tanach contains a number of instances when Hashem or his malach (angel) calls to individuals and repeats their name within the same verse. For example, immediately prior to the Almighty’s command to Avraham to cease offering Yitzhak upon the altar (Akeidat Yitzhak), we find: “And an angel of G-d called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’” (Sefer Bereishit 22:11, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)   In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself upon Tosefta Berachot I and Sifra Vayikra I, explains that this and, by extension, other cases wherein a name is reiterated, reflect Hashem’s love for the person that is so called.
 
In contrast, our parasha contains a pasuk (verse) that is outside the general rubric of name repetition: “And it came to pass when Moses descended from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand when he descended from the mountain, and Moses did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while He had spoken with him.” (Sefer Shemot 34:29)  This is by no means your classic case wherein Hashem summons people by repeating their names, since our verse is narrative and not dialogical in nature. In addition, this is the only verse in the five books of the Torah of which I am aware wherein a name is found three times. Taken in tandem, this suggests that Moshe’s name is not repeated because of Hashem’s love for him, but, rather, for some other significant reason.
 
In his Commentary on the Torah, the great Spanish exegete, Rabbi Don Yitzhak Abarbanel (1437-1508), addresses the issue of the three-fold repetition of Moshe’s name within our pasuk, and suggests two complementary reasons for this unusual formulation. Both of these focus upon the spiritual-physical change that Moshe underwent, as depicted in the conclusion of our verse, “and Moses did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while He had spoken with him.” The Abarbanel notes that under normal conditions, one would have thought that Moshe’s transformation would have rendered him unrecognizable by the Jewish people. This, however, was not what emerged:

One ought not to think that as a result of the emanation of the brilliant Divine light the Jewish people were no longer able to recognize Moshe’s face. [Although] this lack of recognition takes place regarding an individual when their friend’s face changes because of a variety of reasons, this was most assuredly not the case regarding Moshe. Instead, the Jewish people perceived Moshe’s face as they always had done, and recognized that this was, indeed his face ─ even with the brilliant Divine light coming forth from him. (This and the following translation my own)
 
In my estimation, it was crucial for our ancestors to continue to identify Moshe’s face, as this would eliminate the dire possibility of their once again proclaiming, “Come on! Make us gods that will go before us, because this man Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt we don't know what has become of him” ─ as they had a mere two chapters earlier at the outset of the incident of the Eigel Hazahav (Golden Calf, Sefer Shemot 32:1).  As such, in the mind of our forebears, Moshe remained the Moshe they had always known, and his, and their, continuity remained intact.
 
As we have seen, the Abarbanel’s first reason for the three times we find Moshe’s name in our pasuk reflects our ancestors ongoing ability to recognize that “Moshe was Moshe.” His second reason, once again focuses upon the brilliant Divine light that emanated from Moshe’s countenance, and teaches us about the singular nature of his prophetic experiences, and his unique manner of receiving Hashem’s Word:

And the second matter that is made known to us regarding Moshe, and the [mystical] activity of the Divine light emanating from his face, is that he neither sequestered nor removed himself from his four senses ─ unlike the actions of all the other prophets at the time of their prophetic experiences. We know this to be the case, since he, himself, after receiving the Word from Hashem, returned his own veil to his face. This demonstrates that he never ceased to be aware of his senses, and that [during his prophetic communications] he was totally awake in the same exact fashion as he had been prior to receiving his prophecy.
 
Given the Abarbanel’s trenchant analysis, we are now in an ideal position to briefly explore the exceptional elements of Moshe’s prophetic engagements. We are fortunate that the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) addressed precisely this topic in his classic work, Perush HaMishnah:
  • Unlike all other prophets, Moshe spoke to Hashem in a direct manner, i.e. without any intermediary.
  • In contrast to all other prophets, Moshe communicated with the Almighty during the day and when he was completely conscious.
  • All other prophets felt anguish, trembled, shuddered and became weak due to their meeting with Hashem. Moshe, however, remained fully in control of his physical and psychological powers throughout his prophetic engagements with Hashem.
  • All prophets, with the exception of Moshe, received their visions whenever the Almighty appeared to them – and without their control. Moshe, however, spoke to Hashem whenever he so chose. (Synopsis based upon, Perush HaMishnah, Sanhedrin, Introduction to Perek Chalek, Rav Kapach edition)
The Rambam describes the spiritual intimacy that obtained between Moshe and Hashem.  The portrait that emerges is that of a unique individual who enjoyed unparalleled access to the Almighty due to his exceptional spiritual gifts.
 
Moshe and his prophetic encounters were unique in the annals of Jewish history. As the Torah teaches us, “And there was no other prophet who arose in Israel like Moses, whom the L-rd knew face to face” (Sefer Devarim 34:10, underlining my own)  While none of us are capable of achieving his exalted level, each of us can do our utmost to reach out to Hashem, and establish a meaningful connection with Him. With the Holy One’s chesed and rachamim (kindness and mercy) may this be so. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org/ using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com.
 
*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.


Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Author

    Talmid of Rabbi Soloveitchik zatzal

    Categories

    All
    Parashat Hashavuah

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770