​Parashat Ki Tisa, 5785, 2025: "There Was No Other Prophet Like Moshe"

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The Tanach contains a number of instances when Hashem or His malach repeats an individual’s name within the same pasuk. One such example is Hashem’s command to Avraham to refrain from offering Yitzhak as a korban olah (completely burnt offering): “And an angel of God called to him from heaven and said, ‘Avraham! Avraham!’ 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) explains that this, and other such cases, reflect Hashem’s love for the person that is so called.
 
In contrast, our parasha contains a pasuk that is different from the usual manner of name repetition: “And it came to pass when Moshe descended from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moshe’s hand when he descended from the mountain, and Moshe did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while He had spoken with him.” (Sefer Shemot 34:29)  This is not your classic case wherein Hashem summons people by repeating their names, since our verse is part of a narrative and not a dialogue. In addition, this is the only pasuk in Chamisha Chumshei Torah that I have found wherein a name is cited three times. As such, it seems that Moshe’s name is not repeated because of Hashem’s love for him, but rather, for some other reason.
 
In his Commentary on the Torah, Rabbi Don Yitzhak Abarbanel (1437-1508) addresses the issue of the three-fold repetition of Moshe’s name and suggests two complementary explanations. Both focus on the spiritual-physical change that Moshe underwent as depicted in the conclusion of our verse, “and Moshe did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while He had spoken with him.” The Abarbanel maintains that under normal conditions, Moshe’s transformation would have rendered him unrecognizable by the Jewish people. This, however, was not the case:

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, since this would eliminate the possibility of their proclaiming once again, “Come on! Make us gods that will go before us, because this man Moshe who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him,” as they did earlier in our parasha. (Sefer Shemot 32:1).  As such, our forebears continued to view Moshe as the Moshe they had always known.
 
The Abarbanel’s second reason focuses as well on the Divine light that emanated from Moshe’s countenance, and informs us about the singular nature of his prophetic experiences and unique manner of receiving Hashem’s Word:
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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.
 
Moshe’s prophetic encounters are unique in the annals of Jewish history. As the Torah teaches us, “And there was no other prophet who arose in Israel like Moshe, whom Hashem knew face to face.” (Sefer Devarim 34:10, underlining my own)  While none of us are capable of achieving this exalted level, may we have the zechut to establish a truly meaningful relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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