Last week we looked at how Moshe’s nevu’ah being directly from Hashem changed the nature of that prophecy. This week we saw the Ran apply the parallel idea to explain why, after the Golden Calf, Hashem wanted to send a mal’akh to lead us instead of doing so Himself. (Starting at par 10 of the Sefaria edition and handout.)

On the one hand, rebelling against Hashem when His Presence is obvious is the greater sin. On the other than receiving Divine Providence indirectly, via an angel, means a level of causality — negative outcomes are a consequence of not lining up with the causal chain, and therefore the concept of forgiveness is irrelevant.

The text is available with my margin notes at https://www.aishdas.org/kloiz/Derashos-haRan-derashah-4.pdf
Or on Sefaria, beginning at https://www.sefaria.org/Derashot_HaRan.4.10

Derashos haRan is an explanation of the fundamentals of the Torah as explicated from texts in the Chumash, written by Rabbeinu Nissim ben Reuven of Gerona, Catalonia (1290-1376).