(א) ... בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיָּצְאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם הָיוּ כָּל רֻבָּן בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין, לָמָּה מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיוּ יְגֵעִים בַּטִּיט וּבַלְּבֵנִים וְעוֹלִים לְרֹאשׁ הַבִּנְיָן וּמִי שֶׁהוּא בּוֹנֶה עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹלִין לְרָאשֵׁי הַדָּמוֹסִין, אוֹ הָאֶבֶן נוֹפֶלֶת וְקוֹטַעַת יָדוֹ, אוֹ הַקּוֹרָה אוֹ הַטִּיט נִכְנָס בְּעֵינָיו וְהוּא נִסְמָא. וְהָיוּ בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין...
the Mishkan is a response to the sin of the Golden Calf. To Sforno, the Mishkan is a clear demotion from God’s original relationship with Bnei Yisrael:
God’s presence would dwell among them only by means of the Tabernacle. This was a step down from what He had promised them before the sin of the Calf, “In every place that I permit My Name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you (20:21).” (Sforno on Shemot 25:8)
God withdraws divine presence from amongst the people and, in defeat, endorses a shiny Mishkan run by priests without disability from a tribe [Levi] of bodies that did not undergo slave labor[27], who sacrifice only “unblemished” animals
To summarize, in concession to the people’s evil social inclinations, God abandons the original Divine plan, adopting in its stead a plan corresponding to what the people were already doing:
- Instead of allowing the people to replace incorporeal God worship with Golden Calf worship, God withdraws from amongst the people and reorients the gold to a physical home for God service, the Mishkan.
- Instead of allowing the people to replace Moshe, God allows Moshe’s mouth–Aaron–the foil to Moshe’s disability–to serve in the ritual role that he already took on in the Golden Calf episode–leading among altars and gold. He receives this appointment not despite his central involvement with the Golden Calf, but because of it.
- God concedes to the people’s focus on superficiality in worship and replaces the firstborns (majority of whom have disability) with Leviim without disability, with the central roles given to Aaron (the foil to Moshe’s disability) and his sons.
(ב) וכמו זאת ההנהגה בעצמה מן המנהיג ההוא ית' באו דברים רבים בתורתנו - והוא שאי אפשר לצאת מן ההפך אל ההפך פתאום - ולזה אי אפשר לפי טבע האדם שיניח כל מה שהרגיל בו פתאום.
(2) Many precepts in our Law are the result of a similar course adopted by the same Supreme Being. It is, namely, impossible to go suddenly from one extreme to the other: it is therefore according to the nature of man impossible for him suddenly to discontinue everything to which he has been accustomed. ...For this reason God allowed these kinds of service to continue; He transferred to His service that which had formerly served as a worship of created beings, and of things imaginary and unreal, and commanded us to serve Him in the same manner; viz., to build unto Him a temple; comp. "And they shall make unto me a sanctuary" (Exod. 25:8)... He selected priests for the service in the temple; . "And they shall minister unto me in the priest's office" (ibid. 28:41).
Four Examples of Rabbinic Updating
R/Dr. Nathan Lopez Cardozo
A. Ben Sorer u-Moreh (Rebellious Son)
To get rid of the law, the Rabbis started reading the text so literally, using every means of deduction and legal hairsplitting, that it became totally impossible to enforce the law.
B. Ir Hanidachat (the Subversive City)
The Sages argued that it was impossible to destroy the entire city, since no doubt there must have been mezuzot on the doorposts of some of its inhabitants. It was deliberate trickery rooted in an unequalled moral awareness.[23]
C. Lex Talionis (Eye for an Eye)
D. The Mamzer (Bastard)
the Torah's method is to be a catalyst for the evolution of moral values in history, i.e. from polygyny to monogamy, from slavery to freedom, from war to peace, and from coercion to liberty. Some Torah laws are given in accordance with minimal standards, some for study alone, and some for realization of moral and spiritual ideals
R. Nahum Rabinovitch,
The Way of Torah
Edah Journal 3.1 2003
R. Eliezer Berkovits
Torah tolerated versus Torah taught