In this week's parsha we read of the catastrophic debacle involving the generation that left Egypt - the episode of the golden calf. In the midst of Moshe's pleas to God to forgive the nation, we find a personal and intimate tone entering the dialogue. Alongside Moshe's request, "If now You will forgive their sin..." (referring to the nation's sin) we also find another, personal request of Moshe: "Show me Your way, that I may know You... Show me Your glory." This request is problematic; clearly a mortal human cannot perceive God, as God Himself immediately emphasizes in response: "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live." And so God and Moshe reach a sort of compromise: "You shall see My back, but My face will not be seen."

This personal discussion, which seems to concern Moshe only as a private individual and is completely unrelated to the problem of the sin and the forgiveness of the nation, a problem rendered acute by the impending threat of destruction by God, certainly requires some explanation.