The cave in which Moses concealed himself while God passed in review
before him with His celestial retinue, was the same in which Elijah
lodged when God revealed Himself to him on Horeb. If there had been in
it an opening even as tiny as a needle's point, both Moses and Elijah
would have been consumed by the passing Divine light, [294] which was
of an intensity so great that Moses, although quite shut off in the
cave, nevertheless caught the reflection of it, so that from its
radiance his face began to shine. [295] Not without great danger,
however, did Moses earn this distinction; for as soon as the angels
heard Moses request God to show him His glory, they were greatly
incensed against him, and said to God: "We, who serve Thee night and
day, may not see Thy glory, and he, who is born of woman, asks to see
it!" In their anger they made ready to kill Moses, who would certainly
have perished, had not God's hand protected him from the angels. Then
God appeared in the cloud.
It was the seventh time that He appeared on earth, [296] and taking the
guise of a precentor of a congregation, He said to Moses: "Whenever
Israel hath sinned, and calleth Me by the following thirteen
attributes, I will forgive them their sins. I am the Almighty God who
provides for all creatures. I am the Merciful One who restrains evil
from human kind. I am the Gracious One who helps in time of need. I am
the Long-Suffering to the upright as well as to the wicked. I am
Bountiful to those whose own deed do not entitle them to lay claim to
rewards. I am Faithful to those who have a right to expect good from
Me; and preserve graciousness unto the two-thousandth generation. I
forgive misdeeds and even atrocious actions, in forgiving those who
repent." [297] When Moses heard this, and particularly that God is
long-suffering with sinners, [298] he prayed: "O forgive, then,
Israel's sin which they committed in worshipping the Golden Calf." Had
Moses now prayed, "Forgive the sins of Israel unto the end of all
time," God would have granted that too, as it was a time of mercy; but
as Moses asked forgiveness for this one sin only, this one only was
pardoned, and God said: "I have pardoned according to thy word." [298]
The day on which God showed Himself merciful to Moses and to His
people, was the tenth day of Tishri, the day on which Moses was to
receive the tables of the law from God for the second time, and all
Israel spent it amid prayer and fasting, that the evil spirit might not
again lead them astray. Their ardent tears and exhortations, joined
with those of Moses, reached heaven, so that God took pity upon them
and said to them: "My children, I swear by my lofty Name that these
your tears shall be tears of rejoicing for you; that this day shall be
a day of pardon, of forgiveness, and of the canceling of sins for you,
for your children, and your children's children to the end of all
generations." [300]
This day was not set for the annual Day of Atonement, without which the
world could not exist, and which will continue even in the future world
when all other holy days will cease to be. The Day of Atonement,
however, is not only a reminiscence of the day on which God was
reconciled to Israel and forgave them their sins, but it is also the
day on which Israel finally received the Torah. [301] For after Moses
has spent forty days in prayer, until God finally forgave Israel their
sins, he began to reproach himself for having broken the tables of the
law, saying" "Israel asked me to intercede for them before God, but who
will, on account of my sin, intercede before God for my sake?" Then God
said to him: "Grieve not for the loss of the first two tables, which
contained only the Ten Commandments. The second tables that I am now
ready to give thee, shall contain Halakot, Midrash, and Haggadot."
[302]
At the new moon of the month Elul, Moses had the trumpet sounded
throughout the camp, announcing to the people that he would once more
betake himself to God for forty days to receive the second tables from
Him, so that they might be alarmed by his absence; and he stayed in
heaven until the tenth day of Tishri, on which day he returned with the
Torah and delivered it to Israel. [303]