44 | MARCH 9 • 2023 T his week’s Torah por- tion serves as a pivotal point for Moshe and the Bnei Yisrael’s relationship with God — but in two very opposite and distinct ways. By the end of our parshah, the Bnei Yisrael have betrayed God while Moshe has had the most intimate encounter with God of anyone before or since. As a result of the nation’s betrayal, God withdraws from direct association with them. The nation mourns, griev- ing the spiritual vacancy. The darkness cast upon the people is juxtaposed to the brightness exuded by Moshe. Moshe’s face radiates light — literally. The glow is somehow a result of his encounter with God. The Torah is somewhat vague about how Moshe acquired this extraordi- nary quality. Rabbinic literature and commen- taries pose several expla- nations for the source of Moshe’s newly acquired countenance. One explanation in particu- lar offers a fascinating insight into the relation- ship between God and Moshe and an instruc- tive lesson on the role of parents’ responsibility to their children. Earlier in our parshah, Moshe negotiates for, perhaps, the boldest request of his life. A request born out of the deepest desire to connect to the Divine. Moshe asks to see God and to behold Him in all his glory. God emphatically denies Moshe’s request; it is simply impossible for a human being to see God’s face and live. But, God relents slightly — it is possible to catch a glimpse — to take in a small and indirect glance, but only of God’s back. “ And so, ” God instructs Moshe, “I will rest you safely on a crev- ice of the mountain and shield you with my hand until it is safe to see me from the back. ” It was this encounter with God, according to the midrash and cited by Rashi, God using His hand to shield Moshe from an encounter he could not bear, which left Moshe exuding light. God demonstrated love and devotion to his faithful servant Moshe by setting clear bound- aries, not granting permissive indulgence, even for a request that was heartfelt and deeply noble. Parents are often called upon to balance what they know to be in the best interest of their children with the chil- dren’s desire to pursue what is appealing and sometimes, at least on the surface, worthwhile and reasonable. Moshe’s encounter with God reminds us that love for our children sometimes requires us to provide them with guidance, and even restrictions, that we know to be in their best interest. It is through loving guidance, shielding the next generation from the dangers they may be unaware of or the temptations they are drawn to, as difficult as it may be, which will ultimately help them exude the light of the Divine. Rabbi Azaryeh Cohen is head of school at Frankel Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield. people’s activity on the ground: “When Joshua heard the sound of the people in its boisterousness, he said to Moses, ‘There is a cry of war in the camp. ’ But he [Moses] answered, ‘It is not the sound of the tune of triumph, Or the sound of the tune of defeat; It is the sound of song that I hear!’” (Exodus 32:17-18) According to literary scholar Robert Alter, Joshua’s perspective is shaped by his training: “Joshua is a military man and so jumps to the conclusion that the uproar means battle” (The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, p. 496). In didactic, poetic language, Moses teaches his disciple not to jump to conclusions. The power of this lesson is embedded in a Hebrew wordplay: the Hebrew words trans- lated as “tune” and “song” have the same Hebrew consonants: ayin-nun-vav-tav, but they are vocalized differently: tune is anot and song is annot, The doubling effect of the letter nun implies intensification of the root meaning from tune to song. There is much debate about this in the traditional and modern commentaries. But if we accept the interpretation that annot means song, then two midrashic interpretations see this mid-mountain interchange as a chance for Moses to influence Joshua’s leadership per- spective for the long haul: “[And to this] Moshe said to him, ‘Yehoshua, they are depending on you and trusting you to acquire the land and [yet] you do not know how to distin- guish between one sound and another ... ’” (Midrash Tanchuma on Parashat Va-et’chanan 2:2) Nachmanides offers a different point of view: “The Rabbis have likewise said in an aggadah (Kohelet Rabbah 9:11) that Moses told Joshua, ‘Is it possible that one who is destined to be the leader of Israel cannot distinguish between different kinds of sounds?’ Now Moses in his great humility did not tell Joshua the cause of the noise, as he did not want to speak of the disgrace of Israel, and so instead he told him that it was noise of merriment. ” (Ramban [Rabbi Moses ben Nachman or Nachmanides] on Exodus 32:18) Finally, a psychological perspective is offered by the contemporary Israeli sing- er-songwriter Ehud Banai, in his song, “Golden Calf. ” Its opening stanza gives first-person voice to the Israelite people’s deep sense of crisis. Banai’s stirring compo- sition contributes another layer of empathy to our understanding of this familiar story: “Here we are in the heart of the desert Thirsty for living water You’re on top of the mountain Above the clouds There is no sign No signal So many days In a closed circuit we circle Around the Golden Calf. ” Rabbi Reuven Greenvald is the director of Israel engagement for the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) where this essay was first published. continued from page 43 Nurturing the Divine Light in our Children SPIRIT TORAH PORTION Rabbi Azaryeh Cohen Parshat Ki Tisa: Exodus 30:11-34:35; Numbers 19:1- 22; Ezekiel 36:16-38.