The Gemara cites a midrash on the following verse from Isaiah, relating to the sin of the Golden Calf and Moses’ supplication for forgiveness: “But Zion said: The Lord has forsaken me and the Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her suckling baby, that she would not have compassion for the child of her womb? These may forget, but you I will not forget” (Isaiah 49:14–15). The Gemara seeks to clarify: Forsaken is the same as forgotten. They are synonymous; why repeat the same idea twice? Reish Lakish said: The community of Israel said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, even when a man marries a second wife after his first wife, he certainly recalls the deeds of his first wife. Yet You have not only forsaken me, but You have forgotten me as well.
The verse goes on to say: “Can a woman forget her suckling baby, that she would not have compassion for the child of her womb? These may forget, but you I will not forget.” The meaning of this verse is that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the community of Israel: Have I forgotten the ram offerings and firstborn animals that you offered before Me in the desert? The community of Israel replied to Him: Master of the Universe, since there is no forgetfulness before the Throne of Your Glory, perhaps you will not forget my sin of the Golden Calf? God responded to Israel: “These [elu] too shall be forgotten.” “These” is a reference to the sin of the Golden Calf, regarding which Israel said: “These [elu] are your gods.”
The community of Israel said before Him: Master of the Universe, since there is forgetfulness before the Throne of Your Glory, perhaps You will also forget the events revolving around the revelation at Sinai? God said to Israel: I [anokhi] will not forget you the revelation at Sinai, which began with: “I [anokhi] am the Lord your God.”
וְהַיְינוּ דְּאָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר רַב אוֹשַׁעְיָא: מַאי דִּכְתִיב ״גַּם אֵלֶּה תִשְׁכַּחְנָה״ — זֶה מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל, ״וְאָנֹכִי לֹא אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ״ — זֶה מַעֲשֵׂה סִינַי.
"Of the Rock that begot thee thou wast teshi"
כל זמן שאני מבקש להיטיב אתכם - אתם מתישים כח של מעלה. עמדתם על הים, ואמרתם (שמות טו) זה אלי ואנוהו, ובקשתי להיטיב אתכם - וחזרתם ואמרתם (במדבר י״ד:ד׳) נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרים. ועמדתם על הר סיני, ואמרתם (שמות כ״ד:ז׳) כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה ונשמע, ובקשתי להיטיב לכם - חזרתם בכם ואמרתם לעגל (שמות ל״ב:ד׳) אלה אלהיך ישראל! הוי, כל זמן שאני מבקש להיטיב לכם - אתם מתישים כחו של מעלה:
Whenever I sought to confer good upon you, you "weakened (metishim) the celestial power" (i.e., Me): You stood at the Red Sea and said (Shemoth 15:2) "This is my G-d and I will extol Him," and I sought to confer good upon you, when you turned around and said (Ibid. 17:3) "Why did You bring us up from Egypt, etc." You stood at Sinai and said (Ibid. 29:7) "All that the L-rd spoke we will do and we will hear," and I sought to confer good upon you, when you turned around and said of the golden calf (Ibid. 32:4) "These are your gods, O Israel" — Whenever I sought to confer good upon you, you "weakened the celestial power." (Devarim, Ibid.)