<b>Go, get thee down (Exod. 32:7).</b> The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Mankind has already compelled Me to descend from this place to witness its degradation, as is said: <i>And the Lord came down to see the city … Come, let us go down</i> (Gen. 11:5, 7), and <i>I will go down and see</i> (ibid. 18:21). Hence you too must go down, for it behooves a servant to behave like his master. When Moses heard that, he said to himself: Truly, there is no forgiveness for them. The Holy One, blessed be He, was aware of what was transpiring in Moses’ heart, and so He said to him: <i>Have I not already told thee at the thorn bush that I have surely seen</i> (Exod. 3:7)? You saw but one vision, but I have seen two. I saw them coming to Sinai and accepting My Torah, and I also saw that I would descend at Sinai on My chariot with four animals and they would examine it and unhitch one of them in order to provoke Me, as it is said: <i>And they four had the face of an ox</i>, etc. (Ezek. 1:10), and it is written elsewhere: <i>Thus they exchanged their glory for an ass that eateth grass</i> (Ps. 106:20).
<i>Go, get thee down; for thy people … have dealt corruptly</i>. The verse does not say “the people” but rather <i>thy people</i>. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: It was your people who made the golden calf. When I told you: <i>Bring forth My hosts, My people, the children of Israel</i> (Exod. 7:4), you welcomed also the mixed multitude, saying: Surely it is right to take along the penitent ones. But I foresaw what they would ultimately do; that they would make the golden calf, since they had been idolaters, and would, therefore, lead My people to sin with them. Observe what is written: <i>And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said: “This is thy god, O Israel”</i> (ibid. 32:4). The verse does not say “This is our god” but rather <i>This is thy</i> god. Hence it was the proselytes who had left Egypt with them who erected it. How much gold did the calf contain? R. Tanhum the son of Hanilai stated: It contained a hundred and twenty-five talents of gold, for that is how much (the letters of the word) <i>molten</i> total arithmetically. R. Issi said: The word <i>masekhah</i> (“molten”) indicates that it would become an evil web<sup class="footnote-marker">30</sup><i class="footnote"><i>Masekhah</i> can mean both “molten” and “web.”</i> to future generations.