Our story begins after the devastating sin of the Golden Calf. Can you imagine the scene? Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the very word of God, while down below, the Israelites, in their impatience, have fashioned a golden idol to worship. The betrayal! The heartbreak! As we read in Exodus 32:34, God tells Moses, "Go, lead the people…behold, My angel will go before you."
But here's the twist. This wasn't necessarily a reward. According to Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Exodus, this shift to an angel as a messenger occurred precisely because of that terrible act of idol worship. They had broken the covenant.
Moses, ever the advocate, pleads with God. "If Your presence does not go," he says in Exodus 33:15, "do not take us up from here." He understood that God's direct presence was everything. He even challenges God, as Shemot Rabbah continues: “Master of the universe, what is the difference between us and the idolaters? We have prophets and they have prophets…We have a guardian angel and they have a guardian angel."
What was the difference? Moses was arguing that if God didn't personally lead them, they'd be no different than any other nation with their own deities and intermediaries. The special connection, the intimacy, would be lost.
Rabbi Levi, in his wisdom, adds a poignant layer. He suggests that God actually took away two blessings from the idolaters during Moses' lifetime: that prophets would arise among them, and that Israel would be handed over to an angel. In essence, God was saying, "While Moses is here, you're still under my direct care."
But what happened after Moses died? Did that divine protection vanish? Not entirely. According to Shemot Rabbah, the guardian angel returned to its place. We see evidence of this in the Book of Joshua (5:13-14), when Joshua encounters a figure near Jericho. "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" Joshua asks. The response? "No, for I am commander of the host of the Lord; now I have come."
So, what does all this mean for us today? It reminds us of the profound responsibility that comes with a relationship with the Divine. It’s a reminder that our actions have consequences, and that maintaining a close connection with God requires constant effort, devotion, and a turning away from false idols, whatever form they may take in our lives. It's also a powerful statement about the unique role of Moses as a mediator.
And finally, it leaves us with a question: How do we cultivate that sense of direct divine presence in our own lives, ensuring that we are not simply relying on intermediaries, but are actively seeking a personal connection with the Source of all Being?