<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: -1; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#161616">There seems to be a contradiction in next week's Torah portion. In the first instance it says that "God would speak to Moses face to face, as a man would speak to his fellow..." (33:11). Unlike other prophets, Moses did not need an intermediary and was fully conscious when God spoke to him. However, just a short 9 verses later it says: "...You will not be able to see My face, for no human can see My face and live" (33:20). There are various explanations for this. The one that I give is that this is merely a simile. No man has a complete and unadulterated perception of God. But in the first instance (face to face) it refers to a much clearer perception, whereas in the latter case, it refers to a vague degree of perception. The distinction between these degrees of vision is like the difference between seeing a person's face clearly and merely glimpsing him from behind.</font></span></div></div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div class="MsoNormal"><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> <!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="color: windowtext; ">Another explanation given is that the first verse relates to the period when Moshe had relocated his tent outside the Israelite camp, away from the nation, in the aftermath of the sin of the Golden Calf. At that point, God spoke to him face to face (so to speak). <span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="color: windowtext; ">The second verse, however, describes the situation after Moshe returned to the nation. The people's spiritual level had declined with the incident of the Golden Calf, and, accordingly, Moshe's prophetic level decreased when he rejoined the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0A1614">ri</font></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -81pt; "><br></p></div></blockquote></div><br></body></html>