Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah

Or HaChaim on Exodus 33:13/אור החיים על שמות ל״ג:י״ג

אוְאֵדָעֲךָ לְמַעַן אֶמְצָא חֵן. פֵּרוּשׁ, לְצַד שֶׁאֵין מֵהַמּוּסָר לוֹמַר עֶבֶד לַאֲדוֹנוֹ שֶׁרוֹצֶה לָדַעַת אוֹתוֹ, לָזֶה גָּמַר אוֹמֶר לְמַעַן וְגוֹ׳, פֵּרוּשׁ כְּדֵי שֶׁנַּעֲשֶׂה הַנְהָגָה יְשָׁרָה בִּתְמִידוּת לְפָנֶיךָ, וְהוּא מְצִיאוּת חֵן הַמּוּשָּׂג בְּעֵינֵי ה׳:
1 ואדעך למען אמצא חן, "in order that I will know You and continue to find favour in Your eyes." Seeing that it is not good manners for a servant to tell his master that he wants to get to know him better, Moses added the word למען, "for the sake of, etc.;" he explained that his request was not for his own satisfaction but in order for him to be a more effective leader of his people. This is what he meant when he referred to "finding favour in Your eyes."
בוּרְאֵה כִּי עַמְּךָ הַגּוֹי הַזֶּה. כָּאן דִּבֵּר מֹשֶׁה בַּנֶּעְלָם מֵעֵינֵי אָדָם וְהוֹדַע אֵלָיו, וְהוּא טַעֲנָה הַנִּשְׁמַעַת לִפְנֵי הַבּוֹרֵא מִכָּל הַטְּעָנוֹת שֶׁאָמַר, וְהוּא כִּי נִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵם חֵלֶק ה׳, כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁתִּי בְּשִׁירַת הַאֲזִינוּ בְּפָסוּק (דברים לב:ט) ״כִּי חֵלֶק ה׳ עַמּוֹ״, וְהוּא גַּם כֵּן מַה שֶׁרָמַז ה׳ בְּאָמְרוֹ (שמות כ:ב) ״אָנֹכִי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ״ וּכְמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁתִּי שָׁם, וְהוּא מַה שֶׁטָּעַן בְּאָמְרוֹ וּרְאֵה פֵּרוּשׁ, רְאֵה בִּפְרָט זֶה, כִּי עַמְּךָ הַגּוֹי הַזֶּה פֵּרוּשׁ, סְמוּכִים וּדְבוּקִים עִמְּךָ, וְאֵיךְ תִּמְאַס חֵלֶק עֶלְיוֹן, וְהָבֵן:
2וראה כי עמך הגוי הזה, "and consider that this nation is Your people." Moses carried on this conversation with G'd in complete privacy. He therefore reminded G'd that the souls of the Jewish people were part of G'd Himself, as I have explained in Deuteronomy 32,9 on the words: כי חלק ה׳ עמו, "for His people are a part of G'd." G'd Himself also alluded to this in Exodus 20,20 when He said: "I am the Lord your G'd." I have explained this more thoroughly in that context. When Moses said: וראה, he referred to this as a known fact, implying that inasmuch as there was something divine about the Jewish people, how could G'd despise something that was itself divine?