Exodus 33: The Golden Oy

After the sin of the golden calf, God tells Moshe that an angel of God will now lead the people into the promised land. If God would dwell amongst the people, then God would end up destroying them because of their stubbornness. “When the people heard this harsh word, they went into mourning, and none put on finery” (Exodus 33:4).וַיִּשְׁמַע הָעָם אֶת־הַדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה וַיִּתְאַבָּלוּ וְלֹא־שָׁתוּ אִישׁ עֶדְיוֹ עָלָיו׃ (שמות ל״ג:ד׳)Why did the people react this way? What is the “finery” that they removed? Rashbam explains that the verse should be taken literally, that the people were so upset with God’s message that they took off their jewelry. Chizkuni adds that it refers to jewelry and fancy clothing from Egypt. Rashi explains that the Torah is referring to the crown of Torah that the Israelites had received during the giving of the Torah. Haamek Davar also reads it as a metaphor—the people would no longer seek prophecy. Similarly, Rabeinu Bachya connects the adornments as a metaphor for the divine presence itself. When the divine presence was removed it was as if the people were naked. Malbim takes an innovative approach that the text uses the word “am/nation” to distinguish this group from the larger Israelite group. This smaller group did not participate in the sin of the golden calf and therefore they still had their jewelry to remove. This group was also the group that was ready to receive prophecy and now knew they could not without God’s presence amongst them.The removal of jewelry was also a reaction to the golden calf itself. During the Yom Kippur service, the Kohen Gadol does not wear the golden additional vestments when he enters the Holy of Holies so as not to “remind” God of the sin when the people eagerly gave their jewelry to the building of the idol. Therefore, removing their jewelry upon hearing this news is a sign of seeking forgiveness and an understanding of what they did. This also connects with the answer to the first question—why did they react this way? The message from God was not all bad! He still promised to bring them to the land and to destroy the nations that lived there. Recall that the people sinned with the Golden Calf because they thought Moshe—God's emissary—was missing. Unlike Aaron, they could not comprehend that God did not need Moshe. Now that God informs the people that a messenger will travel in God’s stead, the people finally realize what they have lost. In the last chapter they removed their jewelry to build a replacement for God; in this chapter they remove their jewelry upon hearing that God is giving them a replacement instead of God.