When Moshe completed speaking with them [the Bnei Yisrael], he placed a mask on his face. When Moshe would come before Hashem to speak with Him, he would remove the mask…and tell the Bnei Yisrael what he had been commanded. When the Bnei Yisrael saw Moshe’s face…[which] had become radiant, Moshe put the mask back on his face.[2]
It is not surprising to us that the Bnei Yisrael grew fearful of Moshe’s radiance. At Har Sinai, they had survived experiencing the Presence of Hashem Himself. But that was in their glory days, before the sin of the Golden Calf. In their diminished state following that great national failing, they found themselves petrified by looking at the radiance of a flesh-and-blood Moshe. But what do we make of this mask? How is it that it was sometimes on, and sometimes off? Moreover, why was it so important that the Torah spends a few verses reporting on it?
We can see in Moshe’s actions the concern and consideration that the trustworthy shepherd had for his flock. The people had suffered an emotional body-blow because of the eigel. When Hashem had offered them the Torah a short while before, they responded with naaseh v’nishmah – perhaps the two most significant words ever uttered by Man. Each word earned them a crown of splendor, which they proudly wore. The gift was rescinded after the eigel; the crowns were taken back. They were left defeated and deflated.
Moshe sensed that the Bnei Yisrael faced continued humiliation in their dealings with him. He had been the recipient of all the splendor of their crowns.[3] While they had previously been able to stand in the presence of the Shechinah, they now physically trembled at the site of a mortal Moshe. This poured salt of their already wounded egos. Moshe wished to minimize their pain. He couldn’t restore their crowns, but he could prevent much of the pain that he was causing. Wearing the mask reduced the symptoms. Moshe used the mask whenever possible.
It wasn’t always possible. When the people sat before Moshe as he taught Torah to them, he left his face uncovered. The advantage of being able to connect facially with their rebbi outweighed any discomfort that they might feel.
It is important to understand exactly how and when Moshe was gifted the splendor of his radiance. The Zohar[4] teaches that Moshe earned it because of his vigorous defense of the people after they sinned with the eigel. When he was elevated by this gift, Moshe’s reaction was to downplay it, so that his beloved people would not be demoralized by it.
This proved to be a theme of Moshe’s life. He was deeply concerned for the kavod of Hashem, as well as the kavod of His people. He sought constantly to establish peace between them.
- Adapted from Be’er Moshe, by the Ozherover Rebbe zt”l ↑
- Shemos 34:33-35 ↑
- Shabbos 88a ↑
- Zohar Chadash 62b ↑