When Moshe’s away, the people do indeed play. Chapter 32 of our Torah portion sets the stage for the scene that occurs next at Mount Sinai. The people have already heard the voice of Hashem and experienced the revelation of the Ten Commandments. Moshe remains high up on top of the mountain for 40 days of study with Hashem, as the young nation at its base begins to unravel. Fear and immaturity lead to panic and result in a golden calf. Although the leader and his people are separated by only a few thousand vertical feet, the spiritual chasm between them grows at an alarming rate.

The intimate spiritual closeness, the nearness of the Infinite Being to Moshe — the recipient and channel of wisdom, is broken by a command to return to and deal with the chaos below. Hashem says, “Go descend, for the people that you brought up from the land of Egypt have become corrupt.” (32:7) On his way down the mountain, Moshe meets his devoted student, Joshua, who has been eagerly awaiting his teacher’s return.

Hearing the noise coming from the Israelite camp but unaware of its cause, Joshua says to Moshe, “The sound of battle is in the camp!” Moshe disagrees. “It is not a sound of shouting strength and victory; nor is it a sound of weakness and retreat. I hear a sound of distress and blasphemy” (32:17-18 and Rashi ad loc.)

An odd exchange. Why is Moshe taking the time to explain to Joshua the finer points of what he does or does not hear? Just get down there! And why does Moshe become angry and break the tablets in the next verse when he sees the people dancing around the golden calf? He couldn’t be surprised — Hashem already warned him he was returning to a scene of corruption.

Commenting on Moshe’s anger, the medieval scholar the Seforno explains that while he heard Hashem say that things were going wrong in the camp, he hadn’t actually expected to see rejoicing. The shock of seeing the people happy, overjoyed even, as they strayed into idolatry caught Moshe off guard and he threw the tablets to the ground.

This may in turn help us understand what Moshe was trying to communicate to Joshua: that there is a difference between hearing a sound or some words and listening to what is really happening. Moshe is about to return to the camp and deal with a disaster, but the moment of Joshua’s misperception and subsequent conclusion that the camp is at war presents a teaching moment that cannot be passed up. One day Joshua will lead the people, and he needs to learn to hear past the noise and reach behind it to the nuances of the underlying reality. Only then will he truly understand what is happening among the people.

Not much has changed today; just hearing the words others share is rarely enough. I recall watching in respectful awe as my mother listened carefully to my grandfather during his final illness. The words he articulated indicated that he left the table because he wasn’t hungry. But she heard his tone, she saw his face, and knew that eating had become a physical challenge that he, a once independent man, did not wish to engage in front of others.

How many times have we heard spouses mouth words that request a favor, when what they are really asking is to be reminded that we love them? How many times has a friend or relative complained about a specific slight, when they more deeply want to know that we respect them? How many times have parents “meddled” in their children’s’ affairs, looking most of all to know that they are not forgotten?

Moshe tried to share with Joshua a lesson that he himself was struggling to learn. But moments after he demonstrated careful listening, he faced the fact that he hadn’t truly understood the scene that Hashem was preparing him to see. It is indeed so very easy to hear, and so very difficult to listen.

Rabbi Judah Dardik is the spiritual leader at Oakland’s Beth Jacob. He can be reached at rabbi@bethjacoboakland.org .

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