I think the following is a useful guide to religious thinking and its actual relationship - sometimes tenuous connection - to reality. It describes why Moshe only got upset and broke the Tablets when he actually saw the Jews sin with the Calf and not when G-d told him that they were sinning. In other words why wasn't what G-d said as real as the evidence of his own eyes.
Akeidas Yitzchok(53:9-10): And Yehoshua heard – I think that even though that Moshe had no doubt that the sin of the Calf was very great because it involved idolatry, nevertheless he assumed that it was not to be understood literally and that a physical calf had not been created. He assumed that they had merely wanted to make the calf but had not actually done so and that this desire was being described as an actuality. That is because thoughts and intentions in these very serious sins are considered as if it were done. This principle is found in Shabbos (56b) which says that the Biblical statement that Shlomo built altars for idolatry for his wives was not literally true - but only that he was ready to makes these altars - but had not actually made them.
Alternatively he thought that the Jews had done something disgusting which was described allegorically as a golden calf. This type of upgrading of the seriousness of the description is found concerning Bilah where Reuven is described as having sexual relations with her (Bereishis 35:22) – when in fact he had merely moved her bed. Furthermore Moshe might have thought that even if they had literally made the Calf and were worshipping it - not everyone was participating. We find this concerning Yehoshua where it was said that the people sinned when in fact it was a single individual. And even if it were true that all of them sinned perhaps they had already repented or some of them were chastising the others. Perhaps these types of thoughts were the reason that Moshe didn’t break the Tablets - until he came to the camp and saw that what G‑d had said was literally true. Furthermore it is really not a question as to why he reacted stronger when he saw them than when he only heard about it. That is because it is an inherent human characteristic that a person is more strongly aroused by what he sees than what he hears about – even if what he hears is unquestionably true.
Furthermore it is really not a question as to why he reacted stronger when he saw them than when he only heard about it. That is because it is an inherent human characteristic that a person is more strongly aroused by what he sees than what he hears about – even if what he hears is unquestionably true.
ReplyDeleteThis idea is also found in Sefer HaIkkarim 4:15.
The idea that seeing is more real than hearing is mentioned in a number of places including Shemos Rabbah (46:1),and Igros Moshe (O.H. 3:50),Igros Moshe (Y.D. 1:223)and Netziv(Bamidbar 13:20).
ReplyDeleteHowever they give alternative rationalizations as to the problem of why Moshe did not react to the reality of what G-d said as if he had seen it e.g., Moshe wanted the Jews to repent.
The Alshech is unique in dealing with epistemology.