Rabbi Avram Kogen

Throughout the year, Jews follow a cycle of Torah readings that moves forward, every Shabbat, through the five books of the Torah. On festivals, we set aside the regular cycle and read material that is chosen for its thematic connection to the holy day.

Our reading from the first Torah-scroll today (which should be familiar from four weeks ago, when we read it as part of the regular cycle of weekly Torah readings) deals with the aftermath of the incident of the golden calf. Moses now has two main tasks. His immediate job is to repair the rift that has developed in the people's relationship with God as a result of their disregard for the covenant. In addition, Moses wishes to draw nearer to God and to know His qualities and characteristics. (We presume that this has been a long-time wish of Moses'. However, it gains further urgency in the wake of the near-severing of relations between God and the people Israel.)

God reminds Moses that no human being can look directly at God and survive. Instead He suggests to Moses a way for Moses to gaze indirectly at God. As a result of this encounter, Moses learns thirteen attributes of God. In a covenant of compassion, God seems to reassure Moses that He will be especially receptive to the Israelites and their descendants whenever they invoke these thirteen attributes in sincere devotion (as we do quite often on Yom Kippur).

Ironically, our liturgy calls for us to invoke these thirteen divine attributes (as part of the service for taking out the Torah) on all festival days except Shabbat. However, on the Shabbat that falls during Hol Ha-Mo'ed, we read this particular passage from the Torah, thereby "smuggling" the covenant of compassion back into our service. Since we are in a reflective festival mode, it is highly appropriate for us to take this opportunity to reflect on the nature of the divine and upon our relationship with our God.

Our reading from the second Torah scroll enumerates sacrifices that were brought annually on Passover as an ancient expression of devotion to the relationship between God and the people Israel.