Ki Tisa – The Benevolent Bystander

Moshe Rabbeinu has been atop Sinai for nearly six weeks.  He is on the summit of an otherwise nondescript mountain, experiencing the capstone of human interaction with the Divine.  Moshe Rabbeinu is so engrossed in the moment that he is utterly unaware of the inglorious events simultaneously occurring below him at the base camp.

When the people saw that Moses was late in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron, and they said to him: “Come on! Make us gods that will go before us, because this man Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt we don’t know what has become of him.”

וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי בשֵׁ֥שׁ משֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַל־אַֽהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּֽאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם | עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹקים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה | משֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֨נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ:

[Ex. 32:1]

It’s impossible to ignore the juxtaposition of the people’s reprehensible conduct below with God’s lofty proclamations above.  The nation stood at the base and looked upon their man-made golden god.  They sang.  They danced.  They feasted.  They offered sacrifices.  They joyfully announced that their sculptured statue of gold, made from trinkets, was their savior.

While the debauchery is taking place below, HaShem was revealing Himself above with these words: “I am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage”, “You shall have no other gods besides Me”, “You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image” (Ex. 20:2-4).

God is the consummate multitasker.  He is painfully and keenly aware that the sin of the Golden Calf is unfolding just as He and Moshe are executing a covenant for all ages.  God therefore tells Moshe Rabbeinu:

And the Lord said to Moses: “Go, descend, for your people that you have brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly.	וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה אֶל־משֶׁ֑ה לֶךְ־רֵ֕ד כִּ֚י שִׁחֵ֣ת עַמְּךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶֽעֱלֵ֖יתָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם:
They have quickly turned away from the path that I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten calf! …	סָ֣רוּ מַהֵ֗ר מִן־הַדֶּ֨רֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתִ֔ם עָשׂ֣וּ לָהֶ֔ם עֵ֖גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה…

[Ex. 32:7-8]

Our Sages interpreted לֶךְ־רֵ֕ד, “Go descend”, as a double entendre.  Moshe was not just to descend physically from the mountain; he was to descend from his position of leadership:

What is the meaning of “go and descend”? Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Moses, descend from your greatness. Isn’t it only for the sake of Israel, so that you may serve as an emissary, that I granted you prominence; and now that Israel has sinned, why do I need you? There is no need for an emissary. Immediately, Moses’ strength waned and he was powerless to speak in defense of Israel.

מַאי ״לֶךְ רֵד״? אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמֹשֶׁה: מֹשֶׁה, רֵד מִגְּדוּלָּתְךָ! כְּלוּם נָתַתִּי לְךָ גְּדוּלָּה אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְעַכְשָׁיו יִשְׂרָאֵל חָטְאוּ — אַתָּה לָמָּה לִי? מִיָּד תָּשַׁשׁ כּוֹחוֹ שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה, וְלֹא הָיָה לוֹ כֹּחַ לְדַבֵּר

[TB Berachot 32a.]

The Midrash takes it a step farther.  Moshe was not merely being deposed by the people he led through the Red Sea; he was also being excommunicated by the Heavenly Court!

The sages said: Moses was excommunicated by the heavenly court at that time.

רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי, בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה נִתְנַדָּה מֹשֶׁה מִפִּי בֵּית דִּין שֶׁל מַעְלָה

[Tanchuma Ki Tisa § 22]

Truth be told, the Heavenly Court had a complicated history with Moshe Rabbeinu.  Perhaps it should have recused itself and stayed out of the fray instead of piling on to Moshe’s woes.  Rabbi Yehuda Septimus pointed out to me that the God is always an Interested Party and a witness.  Nevertheless, we trust that He is the Righteous Judge.  “Perhaps this problem is at the heart of the issue of the struggle between din and rachamim that is crucial to the aftermath of the sin”, he added.

Still, the consensus of Rabbinic literature is that at this moment, Moshe is rejected by the people below and by his God above.  Even his brother does not rise to his defense!  Recall that it was Aharon who was the artisan who fashioned the calf of gold from donated charms and rings.

The masses declare Moshe to be lost and presumed dead.  The Heavenly tribunal declares him to be the functional equivalent of dead.  Moshe was about as alone as a man could be.  He was adrift without a people, without a mission, and without a purpose.

At this moment, Moshe was the loneliest man of faith!

Only with this backdrop can we appreciate the astounding events that happen next.  Before Moshe Rabbeinu could follow God’s command to “go and descend”, God added a whack:

God further said to Moses, “I see that this is a stiff-necked people	וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֥ה עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹ֖רֶף הֽוּא׃
Now, let Me be, that My anger may blaze forth against them and that I may destroy them … and make of you a great nation.	וְעַתָּה֙ הַנִּ֣יחָה לִּ֔י וְיִֽחַר־אַפִּ֥י בָהֶ֖ם וַאֲכַלֵּ֑ם… וְאֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה אוֹתְךָ֖ לְג֥וֹי גָּדֽוֹל

[Ex. 32:9-10]

Moshe was not even an ordinary citizen of the nation of Israel when he overheard God’s self-proclaimed fury.  He was, after all, persona non grata.  He was a former king, a former commander-in-chief.

A different ex-leader would have been angry that he was forced to pay the ultimate price for the failures of his team.  A different ex-leader would have sulked away in shame or despair.  A different ex-leader would have been vengeful and rageful.  A different ex-leader would have been happy that that the people who turned on him would soon suffer grievously.

Does God’s anger at Moshe really wane so quickly that he swiftly offers to establish the Nation of Moses with Moshe as its forefather?  I leave for another day whether this a quid pro quo or bribe of some sort.  For now, I merely point out that a different ex-leader would have accepted (or at least been seriously tempted by) God’s offer to be installed as the forefather of a new and improved nation.

Moshe categorically rejected God’s offer of safe harbor and power without Israel:

Moses pleaded before the Lord, his God, and said: “Why, O Lord, should Your anger be kindled against Your people whom You have brought up from the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?	וַיְחַ֣ל משֶׁ֔ה אֶת־פְּנֵ֖י ה אֱלֹהָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לָמָ֤ה הֹ֙ יֶֽחֱרֶ֤ה אַפְּךָ֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔ךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הוֹצֵ֨אתָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בְּכֹ֥חַ גָּד֖וֹל וּבְיָ֥ד חֲזָקָֽה:
Why should the Egyptians say: ‘He brought them out with evil [intent] to kill them in the mountains and to annihilate them from upon the face of the earth’? Retreat from the heat of Your anger and reconsider the evil [intended] for Your people.	לָ֩מָּה֩ יֹֽאמְר֨וּ מִצְרַ֜יִם לֵאמֹ֗ר בְּרָעָ֤ה הֽוֹצִיאָם֙ לַֽהֲרֹ֤ג אֹתָם֙ בֶּֽהָרִ֔ים וּלְכַ֨לֹּתָ֔ם מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֑ה שׁ֚וּב מֵֽחֲר֣וֹן אַפֶּ֔ךָ וְהִנָּחֵ֥ם עַל־הָֽרָעָ֖ה לְעַמֶּֽךָ:
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your very Self, and to whom You said: ‘I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and all this land which I said that I would give to your seed, they shall keep it as their possession forever.’ “	זְכֹ֡ר לְאַבְרָהָם֩ לְיִצְחָ֨ק וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל עֲבָדֶ֗יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֣עְתָּ לָהֶם֘ בָּךְ֒ וַתְּדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם אַרְבֶּה֙ אֶת־זַרְעֲכֶ֔ם כְּכֽוֹכְבֵ֖י הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְכָל־הָאָ֨רֶץ הַזֹּ֜את אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָמַ֗רְתִּי אֶתֵּן֙ לְזַרְעֲכֶ֔ם וְנָֽחֲל֖וּ לְעֹלָֽם:
The Lord [then] reconsidered the evil He had said He would do to His people.	וַיִּנָּ֖חֶם ה עַל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר לַֽעֲשׂ֥וֹת לְעַמּֽוֹ

[Ex. 32:11-14]

If he no longer wore the crown “Rabbeinu”, then on what authority – legal, moral, or otherwise – did Moshe dare to challenge God?  The Talmud explains it thusly:

Once God said to Moses: “Leave Me be, that I may destroy them” Moses reasoned to himself: If God is telling me to let Him be, it must be because this matter is dependent upon me. Immediately Moses stood and was strengthened in prayer, and asked that God have mercy on the nation of Israel and forgive them for their transgression.

וְכֵיוָן שֶׁאָמַר ״הֶרֶף מִמֶּנִּי וְאַשְׁמִידֵם״, אָמַר מֹשֶׁה: דָּבָר זֶה תָּלוּי בִּי! מִיָּד עָמַד וְנִתְחַזֵּק בִּתְפִלָּה, וּבִקֵּשׁ רַחֲמִים.

[TB Berachot 32a]

The Talmud compares Moshe Rabbeinu to an אוֹהֲבוֹ, a “well-wisher” of God, a bystander who was witnessing an angry king lash out at his recalcitrant prince.  Most bystanders in such a circumstance would remain quiet and try to blend into the background out of fear of becoming the object of the king’s wrath.

But Moshe was no ordinary bystander.  Recall that years earlier he involved himself at great personal risk while out on a fact-finding mission.  This was the man who also jumped into action in a foreign land to defend a shepherd who was being unfairly targeted.

Here, too, Moshe is unconcerned with any potential fallout.  Someone has to act, and once again, there was no one there to intercede except Moshe!  I don’t think it would have mattered if there were others standing next to him.  Moshe was not built to stand idly and watch events unfold around him.  He could not be a mere spectator in the audience.

Moshe never once argued to regain power and prestige.  Moshe knew that life demanded that he be an actor on the world stage, regardless of the role he is allotted.  Once he had been a prince.  Once, a general.  Once a law-receiver & giver.  Now he was a simple “well-wisher”, determined to be the best bystander he could possibly be.

The irony was that Moshe’s greatest moment of leadership, when he regained the trust of his people and his God – happened when he was not a leader but a lonely man, a selfless bystander.  Moshe’s decision to stand by a nation and God who had just moments ago cast him off (while keeping him close) teaches us more about character and humanity – and leadership – than just about any other anecdote in recorded history.

Shabbat Shalom!