Shabbat Chol Moed Passover
Ex. 33:12-34:26
On the Shabbat which takes place during Passover, we omit the regular Torah reading and instead chant this particular section from Exodus. To set the stage, the Israelites had danced before the Golden Calf, and Moses had shattered the tablets. He prays for the salvation of the Jewish People, and returns 40 days later with a second set of tablets. As Rabbi Hertz notes in his Chumash, on his return, Moses also brings to the Jewish People the Thirteen Attributes of God, which we all recall from the frequent repetitions on Yom Kippur.
“… ‘Adonai! Adonai! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin—yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.”
Rabbi Plaut in his Chumash notes that while God had previously been shown as a creator, a father of the patriarchs, a protector of Israel, and as jealous of other gods, here we are shown the entire range of God’s attributes.
As he also notes, the exact meaning and scope of these attributes has been the focus of debate among Jewish scholars and theologians for centuries. Maimonides pointed to the disagreements and proclaimed that the essence of God was truly unknowable.
Among the enumerated attributes are those we certainly seek to emulate: compassionate sympathy to suffering, helpful concern, slowness to anger, abounding in kindness and truth. These are important in our lives as members of a civil society.
The final two attributes might be of even more importance to parents: forgiving iniquity and transgression, but not remitting all punishment. There are limits to God’s mercy, and there must be limits to our own, to our children and to those who do wrong in our world.
Let me make one further note. As noted in Etz Hayim, while the original set of tablets were fashioned by the Hand of God alone, the second set was carved by Moses at God’s direction. This was more of a collaborative effort, and implies an understanding of human weakness.
One of the lessons of our recently completed Seders is the importance of involving all of those at the Seder table in a way in which they can best contribute. In our families, the lessons of this week’s special reading and of the Seder join to remind us that we all need to collaborate with each other, to work together for common good, to overcome the inherent human weakness which can afflict all of us, and join our unique and individual strengths.
The second set of tablets was placed in the Ark along with the crumbled remains of the first. Here’s another metaphor: we dream of perfection while we live with the knowledge of our imperfection. We can find peace in the contest between our dream and our reality by acknowledging the need for God’s and our own compassion. I hope your holiday concludes with great joy.
