ותשובו ותבכו לפני ד' ולא שמע ד' בקולכם ולא האזין אליכם
Moshe Rabbeinu lauds Klal Yisrael for acknowledging their sin and repenting. Nonetheless, their sin could not be expiated, because Hashem had already taken a vow to punish them. Some decrees can be rescinded. If, however, a vow has been taken, it may not be undermined. Hashem’s Name is mentioned twice in this pasuk: “They wept before Hashem, but Hashem would not listen.” Is there a reason for reiterating to them that Hashem would not listen? In Kol HaTzofeh, Horav Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, zl, explains the reason for the apparent redundancy. He first quotes the well-known Chazal which posits that all…
