In this week’s Torah portion, bnai
yisrael (the people of Israel) build the egel hazahav (Golden Calf)
while Moshe is up on Har Sinai (Mt. Sinai) receiving the Torah from God. This is somewhat troubling because while God is
busy delivering us the greatest gift ever, we are busy in the ultimate act of
betrayal caused by fear and mistrust. Given
the fact that we asked to hear the voice of God speaking the Torah, it is even
more surprising that we lost faith.
After all, we heard with our own ears as God spoke the aseret
hadibrot (Ten Commandments) and then just a short time later built an
idol.
Chazal (the sages) compare God’s relationship with us to the relationship a father has with his son. In their mind, God spoke directly to us at Har Sinai in order to nurture us and build and an intimate relationship. In Shemot Rabbah XLI:3, they connect our sedra and the giving of the Torah to a pasuk (verse) from Mishle (Proverbs); “For the Lord gives wisdom; out of His mouth comes knowledge and discernment.” (Prov. II, 6). Their imagination takes them to the word “mouth” and the connotations of giving a gift from the mouth. The first connotation they have is that of feeding a child. The midrash says, “It can be compared to a king's son, who, on returning from school, found a dish of food in front of his father. When the father offered him a piece, the son said, ‘I would rather have some of that which you yourself are now eating.’ The father complied, on account of his great love for him, giving him from his own mouth.”
I found this to be a very odd parable because generally people do not feed their children food from their mouths. I had to read it twice over before I really believed I was reading it correctly! I do admit that when my children were infants, perhaps at the age of eight or ten months old, there were one or two occasions when I was too lazy to get out the food grinder, and I would partially chew a piece of food before feeding it to the child. And we definitely associate mother birds with chewing food for their young before feeding them, so while I tried to avoid it, it did feel to me as a very natural instinct. But an infant is one thing- a child old enough to speak is another altogether. Of course chazal is not talking about food, but the Torah. The king refers to God; the son to bnai yisrael, and the food refers to the Torah. The Torah was given directly from the mouth of God to us, in a nurturing and parental way. It is interesting to note the gender assumptions in this Midrash. While the rabbis represent God in this parable as male (a king), they ascribe Him typically female nurturing qualities through the use of the "mother bird" connotation.
I dare to say that when we think of giving a gift from the mouth, we generally are not thinking of giving chewed up food to the one we love, but of giving kisses. The rabbis do not disappoint and use the concept of a kiss for their second interpretation.
The second interesting thing to me about this interpretation is that the relationship between God and bnai yisrael is now portrayed as that of two lovers. Bnai Yisrael is the member of the couple asking for “kisses of his mouth,” and God is the lover giving the kisses. The kisses are a symbol for the Torah. Chazal is not limiting us to one metaphor for our relationship with God. We can choose between different types of intimate relationships to reflect upon as we pray and develop our own relationship with God.
When I teach children about God I encourage them to use different metaphors and imagery when they pray, and I do the same myself. Chazal knew what we too know: we can only compare our relationship to God to those relationships we have on earth because that is all we know. Our relationship with God is like that of a relationship with a heavenly parent or a heavenly lover. And that is just the beginning of an infinite number of metaphors that rabbis, poets, and liturgists have developed over time, most notably in some of the piyutim (liturgical poems) used on Rosh Hashanah. I have reproduced two of my favorites below for your enjoyment (translation courtesy of Artscroll). I encourage you to be brave when choosing your own metaphors and to know you are in good company.
Chazal (the sages) compare God’s relationship with us to the relationship a father has with his son. In their mind, God spoke directly to us at Har Sinai in order to nurture us and build and an intimate relationship. In Shemot Rabbah XLI:3, they connect our sedra and the giving of the Torah to a pasuk (verse) from Mishle (Proverbs); “For the Lord gives wisdom; out of His mouth comes knowledge and discernment.” (Prov. II, 6). Their imagination takes them to the word “mouth” and the connotations of giving a gift from the mouth. The first connotation they have is that of feeding a child. The midrash says, “It can be compared to a king's son, who, on returning from school, found a dish of food in front of his father. When the father offered him a piece, the son said, ‘I would rather have some of that which you yourself are now eating.’ The father complied, on account of his great love for him, giving him from his own mouth.”
I found this to be a very odd parable because generally people do not feed their children food from their mouths. I had to read it twice over before I really believed I was reading it correctly! I do admit that when my children were infants, perhaps at the age of eight or ten months old, there were one or two occasions when I was too lazy to get out the food grinder, and I would partially chew a piece of food before feeding it to the child. And we definitely associate mother birds with chewing food for their young before feeding them, so while I tried to avoid it, it did feel to me as a very natural instinct. But an infant is one thing- a child old enough to speak is another altogether. Of course chazal is not talking about food, but the Torah. The king refers to God; the son to bnai yisrael, and the food refers to the Torah. The Torah was given directly from the mouth of God to us, in a nurturing and parental way. It is interesting to note the gender assumptions in this Midrash. While the rabbis represent God in this parable as male (a king), they ascribe Him typically female nurturing qualities through the use of the "mother bird" connotation.
I dare to say that when we think of giving a gift from the mouth, we generally are not thinking of giving chewed up food to the one we love, but of giving kisses. The rabbis do not disappoint and use the concept of a kiss for their second interpretation.
Another explanation of “For the
Lord gives wisdom”: You find that when Israel stood ready to receive the
Torah on Mount Sinai, they wanted to hear the Ten Commandments from God's own
mouth. R. Phinchas b. Hama, the priest, said: Two things did Israel ask of
God--to see His likeness and to hear from His own mouth the Ten Commandments,
as it says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” (Song of Songs.
I, 2). R. Pinchas b. Hama, the priest,
said: “Does then one comply with the request of a fool?” The Holy One, blessed be He, clearly foresaw,
however, that after forty days Israel would make the Golden Calf. He said
“Unless I now comply with their request, they will later say: ‘All we asked of
Moses was that God should show us His likeness and that He should speak with
us.” In order, therefore, not to give
them the excuse of saying, “Because we did not hear the Commandments from God's
own mouth, or see His likeness, did we make this god,” God thought to Himself:
“I will reveal Myself to them and also speak with them mouth to mouth.”
A few interesting things are present in this second
explanation. First of all, God’s
behavior seems slightly immature in this parable. After all, does God give us the Torah from
His/Her own mouth merely so we can’t “complain” later when we sin? This is a gross anthropomorphism. I admit sometimes acting this way
myself. We have all been known to do
things for ulterior motives, and then later say, “Don’t say I didn’t . . .” But we generally think of God as being more
pure in His/Her motives. It seems to me
that the rabbis are expressing their discomfort with the very fact of the
intimate act that God engages in with us.
After all, shouldn’t such an intimate kiss be reserved for just God and
Moshe? But we know that all of bnai
yisrael had some experience of receiving the Torah at Har Sinai and
attributing to God an “ulterior motive,” allows the rabbis an escape hatch from
this uncomfortable intimacy.
The second interesting thing to me about this interpretation is that the relationship between God and bnai yisrael is now portrayed as that of two lovers. Bnai Yisrael is the member of the couple asking for “kisses of his mouth,” and God is the lover giving the kisses. The kisses are a symbol for the Torah. Chazal is not limiting us to one metaphor for our relationship with God. We can choose between different types of intimate relationships to reflect upon as we pray and develop our own relationship with God.
When I teach children about God I encourage them to use different metaphors and imagery when they pray, and I do the same myself. Chazal knew what we too know: we can only compare our relationship to God to those relationships we have on earth because that is all we know. Our relationship with God is like that of a relationship with a heavenly parent or a heavenly lover. And that is just the beginning of an infinite number of metaphors that rabbis, poets, and liturgists have developed over time, most notably in some of the piyutim (liturgical poems) used on Rosh Hashanah. I have reproduced two of my favorites below for your enjoyment (translation courtesy of Artscroll). I encourage you to be brave when choosing your own metaphors and to know you are in good company.
Ki Anu Amecha
We are your people, and you are our
God
We are your children, and you are
our Father
We are your servants and you are
our Master
We are your congregation and you
are our portion
We are your heritage and you are
our Lot
We are your sheep and you are our
Shephard
We are your vineyard and you are
our Watchman
We are your handiwork and you are
our Shaper
We are your friend and you are our
beloved
We are your treasure and you are
our God
We are your people and you are our
King
We are your designated and you are
our Designated.
Ki hiney ha-chomer (selections)
Like the clay in the hand of the
potter-
He expands it at will and contracts
it at will-
Like the stone in the hand of the
cutter-
He grasps it at will and smashes it
at will
Like the ax-head in the hand of the
blacksmith-
He forges it at will and removes it
at will
Like the anchor in the hand of the
sailor
He holds it at will and casts it at
will
Like glass in the hand of the
blower
He shapes it at will and dissolves
it at will
Like the curtain in the hand of the
embroiderer
He makes it even at will and makes
it uneven at will
Like silver in the hands of the silversmith
He adulterates it at will or and
purifies it at will
So we are in your hand God.
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