Bible Changing Bible
29 December 2007 - 21 טבת 5768 by Huw
A Midrash posted on how the Prophets changed Moses:
Moses as ‘the man of God (Elokim)’ represented the aspect of God know as ‘Middat Hadin – the quality of absolute justice.’ This aspect of God was meant to be tempered by God’s quality of mercy – ‘Middat Harahamim.’ It was God’s intention that the prophets who followed Moses would temper this absolute justice with mercy and in so doing rescue both Israel and humanity.
(Props to Yael.)
Seems the Rabbis, too, wondered how the Holy One got from being the rather Grumpy Guy in Moses to the Merciful One in the later pages.
That is really interesting, and it makes sense then how in the Selichot, the rabbis felt justified in editing the words of God to Moses from “The Lord, the Lord God is gracious and compassionate, patient, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, assuring love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, YET NOT DECLARING THE GUILTY GUILTLESS” (v’nakei lo y’nakeh) to “The Lord, the Lord God is gracious and compassionate, patient, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, assuring love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, AND GRANTING PARDON” (v’nakei).