שמות לד:ו - ויעבור ה על פניו ויקרא
The first half of Shemot 34:6 records that G-d passed before him (Moshe) and this records the closest encounter mankind ever had with G-d, seemingly even more than when Moshe went up to Mount Sinai for forty days. This phrase has become a very prominent part of the selihot prayers. Yet, it is unclear, presumably deliberately, to what actually happened. What does it mean that G-d passed by Moshe? To try to understand this phrase, we need to understand the background to this moment, which is the conversation between G-d and Moshe starting from 33:18.
33:18 records that Moshe asked to see G-d’s glory. 33:19 records G-d’s response to Moshe that G-d would pass His goodness in front of Moshe, and that G-d would call out to Moshe. It is not clear what is meant by the term goodness in 33:19. It could be that the word is referring to the words that G-d would call out when passing Moshe. Or, as suggested by Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon (on 33:19), the word could refer to G-d’s glory. In any event, 33:20 then records why G-d gave this response to Moshe in 33:19. 33:20 records that G-d explained to Moshe that a human being could not see G-d and live. Thus, G-d’s action of passing in front of Moshe, which would give just a very limited view of G-d, was the most that G-d could do for Moshe.
33:21 then records the instructions to Moshe in order for G-d to fulfill his statement in 33:19. 33:21 records that Moshe was to stand on a tzur to be near G-d. This word tzur is a large rock, and from 34:2 we see that it refers to a mountain. 34:2 also implies that Moshe was to be on the top of the mountain. I am not sure if this means the literal peak of the mountain since then it would not have been simple to have a cleft in the mountain (as mentioned in the next verse), or the idea was for Moshe to go to some rocky part on the upper levels of the mountain. It could even have been that Moshe was to go to a cliff near the top of the mountain, see Even-Shoshan, 1981, p. 1128.
33:22,23 then record G-d telling Moshe what was going to happen when G-d’s glory would pass him by. 33:22 shows that when G-d stated that G-d would pass by Moshe in 32:19, that a person could not see G-d, 33:20, and that Moshe was to be on the mountain near G-d, 32:21, the word G-d means the glory of G-d. This follows the idea that the glory of G-d symbolizes G-d's presence.
In the beginning of 33:22, G-d told Moshe that when the glory of G-d would pass by, G-d would put Moshe in a cleft in the mountain. Cassuto (1967, p. 437) suggests that G-d was saying that G-d would put Moshe in a cave in the mountain, but it is not clear if there were any caves on the top of the mountain. I think the idea is that G-d was going to carve out a cleft in the rock around Moshe which would serve as a protection for Moshe from G-d’s glory. It could be that it was the glory of G-d that would form this cleft through its great power. This creation of a cleft accords better with the idea that Moshe was to be on a cliff near the top of the mountain.
The second half of 33:22 then records that G-d’s hand would shield Moshe from the glory of G-d as the glory of G-d passed by. R. Saadiah Gaon (on 33:22, also Beliefs and Opinions, 2:12, also see Midrash Leckah Tov, 33:155 and 33:157 in Torah Shelamah) suggests that G-d's hand is the cloud of G-d. I doubt this since I believe that during this process, G-d would remove the glory of G-d from its encasing in the cloud of G-d. The term G-d’s hand is a metaphor for some powerful action from G-d, like the phrase G-d’s hand in 14:31. Maybe this powerful action was that G-d would create a type of force-field? (Too much Star Trek?) It remains a mystery what this action was, but whatever it was, the action created a type of shield. It could be that this shield was just in the front of Moshe or it could be that it completely enwrapped Moshe. This shield from G-d had two effects: One, that Moshe would survive the glory of G-d being close to him and two, that he would not directly see the glory of G-d.
33:23 then records that at some point, G-d would remove the shield and Moshe would be able to see G-d’s back but not G-d’s front. Again, this seeing of G-d is the glory of G-d, as explained by Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon (on 33:23). This understanding accords with Moshe’s request in 33:18 to see G-d’s glory, and G-d’s statement in 33:22, that G-d’s glory would pass by Moshe. 33:23 then means that when G-d would remove the shield around Moshe, Moshe would see the residue of G-d's glory departing (G-d's back), but not the full force of G-d's glory up close (G-d's face).
34:1-3 then record other instructions to Moshe concerning the tablets, and that Moshe was to ensure that nobody could go up with him or be on the mountain. Even no animals could be on the mountain since the glory of G-d was going to appear on the mountain, and the animals could get killed. 34:4 then records that Moshe fulfilled G-d’s instructions to take the tablets and to go up on the mountain.
34:5 then records G-d’s movement towards Moshe and the beginning of the fulfillment of G-d’s statement in 33:19. 34:5 can be split into three parts. The first part records that G-d came down in the cloud. This means, that the glory of G-d that was within the cloud of G-d came down from somewhere in the sky above the mountain or it appeared as if it came from the sky.
The second part of 34:5 records that "he stood with him." It is not clear who is standing? It could be referring to the cloud of G-d, which was level with Moshe (see R. Saadiah Gaon and Rashbam on 34:5), who was on or near the top of the mountain, or it could be that Moshe was standing facing the glory of G-d that was within the cloud. Irrespective of the different readings of 34:5, the result is the same. The second part of 34:5 is informing us that the cloud of G-d, which had the glory of G-d within it, was facing Moshe prior to when the glory of G-d passed by Moshe. Again, this scenario seems to accord better with Moshe standing on a cliff on the mountain, as then the cloud of G-d could be off of the mountain. In any event, at this point, Moshe was protected from the glory of G-d by the cloud of G-d.
The third part of 34:5 records that "he called out in G-d's name." Again, it is not clear who is calling out. If Moshe was doing the calling, then this could also imply that the standing in the second part of verse is referring to Moshe. However, if the calling out was by G-d, then this implies that the standing was referring to the cloud of G-d being stationary facing Moshe. The simple reading of 33:19 is that G-d would call out when G-d’s goodness would pass by Moshe, and then 34:5 means that G-d called out in G-d’s name to Moshe. Why would G-d call out to Himself? This would be similar to the beginning of the Decalogue, 20:1, which records a self-identifying introduction, as here also G-d stated a self-identifying introduction before G-d would reveal His ways to Moshe in the following two verses.
34:6,7 then record that G-d passed by Moshe and that G-d stated His ways, what are commonly referred to as the 13 characteristics of G-d. These verses are the fulfillment of the 33:19. We can now return to our initial question which was to try to understand what it means that G-d passed by Moshe in the beginning of 34:6.
The situation prior to third part of 34:5, was that the glory of G-d was encased in the cloud of G-d, and was facing Moshe who was on the mountain. With the end of 34:5 and the beginning of 34:6, three simultaneous events occurred. One, the cloud of G-d moved away, presumably upwards, without the glory of G-d moving, and then Moshe would have been facing the glory of G-d, which would have meant instant death. However, also at that same instant, G-d placed Moshe into a cleft in the mountain and protected him with a shield, as 33:22 recorded. This stopped Moshe from dying, and also from seeing G-d’s glory, the “face of G-d.” Note it could have been that the cloud of G-d did not move, and instead the glory of G-d moved out of the cloud. Also, with this possibility Moshe would have died if it was not for G-d’s shield.
The third action was that G-d called out to Moshe. The Torah indicates that this calling out was contemporaneous with G-d's glory passing by Moshe (the beginning of 34:6) since the end of 34:5 records that G-d called out and the second half of 34:6 continues the call. Had the Torah just referred to G-d calling out once, then one might have thought that the glory of G-d passed Moshe either after or before G-d called out. However, the idea is that G-d's calling out and the passing of G-d's glory were exactly at the same time.
During the time when G-d called out and was telling Moshe His ways, 34:6,7, the glory of G-d began to move away from Moshe, again presumably upwards. This is my understanding of the meaning of the phrase that G-d passed before Moshe.
At some point, when the glory of G-d had moved sufficiently away from Moshe that the glory of G-d would not kill Moshe, then G-d removed the shield surrounding Moshe, 32:22,23. At this point, Moshe was able to see the glory of G-d moving away. This was the residue of the glory of G-d or G-d's "back," as recorded in 33:23. Also at this point, it was important that Moshe was in the cleft since the rock was supporting him, when G-d’s shield had been removed. Once G-d finished reciting His ways, then Moshe, who was no longer being shielded, called out to G-d as recorded in 34:8,9.
It is not clear how long it took for the glory of G-d to pass by Moshe until it was safe for G-d to remove the shield. Did the glory of G-d move fast, like a swoosh, or did the glory of G-d move slowly? However, long this process took, a minute, a second, a split second, this was the closest mankind ever came to G-d.
The first half of Shemot 34:6 records that G-d passed before him (Moshe) and this records the closest encounter mankind ever had with G-d, seemingly even more than when Moshe went up to Mount Sinai for forty days. This phrase has become a very prominent part of the selihot prayers. Yet, it is unclear, presumably deliberately, to what actually happened. What does it mean that G-d passed by Moshe? To try to understand this phrase, we need to understand the background to this moment, which is the conversation between G-d and Moshe starting from 33:18.
33:18 records that Moshe asked to see G-d’s glory. 33:19 records G-d’s response to Moshe that G-d would pass His goodness in front of Moshe, and that G-d would call out to Moshe. It is not clear what is meant by the term goodness in 33:19. It could be that the word is referring to the words that G-d would call out when passing Moshe. Or, as suggested by Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon (on 33:19), the word could refer to G-d’s glory. In any event, 33:20 then records why G-d gave this response to Moshe in 33:19. 33:20 records that G-d explained to Moshe that a human being could not see G-d and live. Thus, G-d’s action of passing in front of Moshe, which would give just a very limited view of G-d, was the most that G-d could do for Moshe.
33:21 then records the instructions to Moshe in order for G-d to fulfill his statement in 33:19. 33:21 records that Moshe was to stand on a tzur to be near G-d. This word tzur is a large rock, and from 34:2 we see that it refers to a mountain. 34:2 also implies that Moshe was to be on the top of the mountain. I am not sure if this means the literal peak of the mountain since then it would not have been simple to have a cleft in the mountain (as mentioned in the next verse), or the idea was for Moshe to go to some rocky part on the upper levels of the mountain. It could even have been that Moshe was to go to a cliff near the top of the mountain, see Even-Shoshan, 1981, p. 1128.
33:22,23 then record G-d telling Moshe what was going to happen when G-d’s glory would pass him by. 33:22 shows that when G-d stated that G-d would pass by Moshe in 32:19, that a person could not see G-d, 33:20, and that Moshe was to be on the mountain near G-d, 32:21, the word G-d means the glory of G-d. This follows the idea that the glory of G-d symbolizes G-d's presence.
In the beginning of 33:22, G-d told Moshe that when the glory of G-d would pass by, G-d would put Moshe in a cleft in the mountain. Cassuto (1967, p. 437) suggests that G-d was saying that G-d would put Moshe in a cave in the mountain, but it is not clear if there were any caves on the top of the mountain. I think the idea is that G-d was going to carve out a cleft in the rock around Moshe which would serve as a protection for Moshe from G-d’s glory. It could be that it was the glory of G-d that would form this cleft through its great power. This creation of a cleft accords better with the idea that Moshe was to be on a cliff near the top of the mountain.
The second half of 33:22 then records that G-d’s hand would shield Moshe from the glory of G-d as the glory of G-d passed by. R. Saadiah Gaon (on 33:22, also Beliefs and Opinions, 2:12, also see Midrash Leckah Tov, 33:155 and 33:157 in Torah Shelamah) suggests that G-d's hand is the cloud of G-d. I doubt this since I believe that during this process, G-d would remove the glory of G-d from its encasing in the cloud of G-d. The term G-d’s hand is a metaphor for some powerful action from G-d, like the phrase G-d’s hand in 14:31. Maybe this powerful action was that G-d would create a type of force-field? (Too much Star Trek?) It remains a mystery what this action was, but whatever it was, the action created a type of shield. It could be that this shield was just in the front of Moshe or it could be that it completely enwrapped Moshe. This shield from G-d had two effects: One, that Moshe would survive the glory of G-d being close to him and two, that he would not directly see the glory of G-d.
33:23 then records that at some point, G-d would remove the shield and Moshe would be able to see G-d’s back but not G-d’s front. Again, this seeing of G-d is the glory of G-d, as explained by Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon (on 33:23). This understanding accords with Moshe’s request in 33:18 to see G-d’s glory, and G-d’s statement in 33:22, that G-d’s glory would pass by Moshe. 33:23 then means that when G-d would remove the shield around Moshe, Moshe would see the residue of G-d's glory departing (G-d's back), but not the full force of G-d's glory up close (G-d's face).
34:1-3 then record other instructions to Moshe concerning the tablets, and that Moshe was to ensure that nobody could go up with him or be on the mountain. Even no animals could be on the mountain since the glory of G-d was going to appear on the mountain, and the animals could get killed. 34:4 then records that Moshe fulfilled G-d’s instructions to take the tablets and to go up on the mountain.
34:5 then records G-d’s movement towards Moshe and the beginning of the fulfillment of G-d’s statement in 33:19. 34:5 can be split into three parts. The first part records that G-d came down in the cloud. This means, that the glory of G-d that was within the cloud of G-d came down from somewhere in the sky above the mountain or it appeared as if it came from the sky.
The second part of 34:5 records that "he stood with him." It is not clear who is standing? It could be referring to the cloud of G-d, which was level with Moshe (see R. Saadiah Gaon and Rashbam on 34:5), who was on or near the top of the mountain, or it could be that Moshe was standing facing the glory of G-d that was within the cloud. Irrespective of the different readings of 34:5, the result is the same. The second part of 34:5 is informing us that the cloud of G-d, which had the glory of G-d within it, was facing Moshe prior to when the glory of G-d passed by Moshe. Again, this scenario seems to accord better with Moshe standing on a cliff on the mountain, as then the cloud of G-d could be off of the mountain. In any event, at this point, Moshe was protected from the glory of G-d by the cloud of G-d.
The third part of 34:5 records that "he called out in G-d's name." Again, it is not clear who is calling out. If Moshe was doing the calling, then this could also imply that the standing in the second part of verse is referring to Moshe. However, if the calling out was by G-d, then this implies that the standing was referring to the cloud of G-d being stationary facing Moshe. The simple reading of 33:19 is that G-d would call out when G-d’s goodness would pass by Moshe, and then 34:5 means that G-d called out in G-d’s name to Moshe. Why would G-d call out to Himself? This would be similar to the beginning of the Decalogue, 20:1, which records a self-identifying introduction, as here also G-d stated a self-identifying introduction before G-d would reveal His ways to Moshe in the following two verses.
34:6,7 then record that G-d passed by Moshe and that G-d stated His ways, what are commonly referred to as the 13 characteristics of G-d. These verses are the fulfillment of the 33:19. We can now return to our initial question which was to try to understand what it means that G-d passed by Moshe in the beginning of 34:6.
The situation prior to third part of 34:5, was that the glory of G-d was encased in the cloud of G-d, and was facing Moshe who was on the mountain. With the end of 34:5 and the beginning of 34:6, three simultaneous events occurred. One, the cloud of G-d moved away, presumably upwards, without the glory of G-d moving, and then Moshe would have been facing the glory of G-d, which would have meant instant death. However, also at that same instant, G-d placed Moshe into a cleft in the mountain and protected him with a shield, as 33:22 recorded. This stopped Moshe from dying, and also from seeing G-d’s glory, the “face of G-d.” Note it could have been that the cloud of G-d did not move, and instead the glory of G-d moved out of the cloud. Also, with this possibility Moshe would have died if it was not for G-d’s shield.
The third action was that G-d called out to Moshe. The Torah indicates that this calling out was contemporaneous with G-d's glory passing by Moshe (the beginning of 34:6) since the end of 34:5 records that G-d called out and the second half of 34:6 continues the call. Had the Torah just referred to G-d calling out once, then one might have thought that the glory of G-d passed Moshe either after or before G-d called out. However, the idea is that G-d's calling out and the passing of G-d's glory were exactly at the same time.
During the time when G-d called out and was telling Moshe His ways, 34:6,7, the glory of G-d began to move away from Moshe, again presumably upwards. This is my understanding of the meaning of the phrase that G-d passed before Moshe.
At some point, when the glory of G-d had moved sufficiently away from Moshe that the glory of G-d would not kill Moshe, then G-d removed the shield surrounding Moshe, 32:22,23. At this point, Moshe was able to see the glory of G-d moving away. This was the residue of the glory of G-d or G-d's "back," as recorded in 33:23. Also at this point, it was important that Moshe was in the cleft since the rock was supporting him, when G-d’s shield had been removed. Once G-d finished reciting His ways, then Moshe, who was no longer being shielded, called out to G-d as recorded in 34:8,9.
It is not clear how long it took for the glory of G-d to pass by Moshe until it was safe for G-d to remove the shield. Did the glory of G-d move fast, like a swoosh, or did the glory of G-d move slowly? However, long this process took, a minute, a second, a split second, this was the closest mankind ever came to G-d.
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