Parashat Ki Tisa/Parah
22 Adar 5761
March 17, 2001
Daf Yomi: Gittin 38


Guest Rabbi:
Rabbi Evan Shore
Young Israel Shaarei Torah of Syracuse, NY

What was Moshe's true intentions when he said to HaShem: (Shmot 32:32) "And now, if You would forgive their sin, but if not, erase me now from Your book that You have written!" Did Moshe want his name removed from the Torah and what would this accomplish? Would the removal of his name be seen as a weakness on his part or would it tell us that Bnei Yisrael were not worthy of having a manhig such as Moshe? Possibly, Moshe was teaching an important lesson to future leaders of the Jewish people.

Rashi tells us that Moshe's request to be removed from the Torah was not from one obscure section rather "...from out of the entire Torah so that people will not say about me, that I was not worthy to beg mercy for them."

According to the Gemara in Brachot 32a, Shmuel tells us that Moshe was willing to risk his life for the sake of Bnei Yisrael. According to the Chizkuni and echoed by the Rashbam, the book Moshe was referring to was the Sefer HaChaim that Bnei Adam are written in on Rosh HaShana. Moshe did not want to give up his portion in the Torah. However he was willing to say to HaShem if Bnei Yisrael are destroyed then I no longer possess the urge to live.

Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch feels that without the Jewish people there is no future. For Moshe, his essence as a leader was based upon the existence of the entity known as Bnei Yisrael. If the Jewish people had no future, then the same fate awaited Moshe. For this reason Moshe requested that his name be removed from the Torah.

This idea is brought a step further by the Malbim who maintains that Moshe felt his life no longer was worth living, as a result his name should be erased from the living. My death is preferable over my life. To the Malbim this is the manifestation of being moser nefesh on Moshe's part.

The Malbim reasons that in reality Moshe was embarrassed and upset that Bnei Yisrael would want a new manhig. Moshe felt that if Bnei Yisrael were to be forgiven, all vestiges and traces of his life would have to be removed. T'shuva, on the part of Bnei Yisrael had to come about not due to the merit of Moshe rather it had to be based upon the merit of the Jewish people themselves. However, Moshe would still have an effect on Bnei Yisrael because his death would act as a kapara on behalf of the Jewish People.

The idea of righteous effecting atonement for the Jewish people is also found by Miriam, Moshe's sister. Chazal ask why is there a juxtaposition between the parsha of the death of Miriam and that of the Para Aduma? It is to teach us that just like korbanot atone so does the death of the righteous atone.

It is for this reason, the Malbim feels, that Moshe was moser nefesh for the Jewish people, to help atone for their sin.

Pardes Yosef looks at Moshe's request to HaShem differently. He points out that by the incident of the Eigel HaZahav there were two sins committed by Bnei Yisrael: idol worship, which was bein adam l'Makom and secondly, lack of hakarat hatov shown to Moshe, bein adam l'chaveiro. Due to the fact that a mere 40 days after Matan Torah Bnei Yisrael rebelled against HaShem and wanted to replace Moshe as a leader caused Moshe to feel that he wanted nothing else to do with the Jewish people anymore.

The Dubno Maggid tells a story about an important prince who had a family member who stole constantly from the king's treasury. This prince would act as an advocate defending his family member. One time however, the family member stole a fantastic amount from the king and the prince said to the family member I can not properly articulate a viable defense on your behalf and nor do I want to. The prince asked to be removed from his post so that he was no longer able to appeal on behalf of his relative, the thief. The Pardes Yosef explaining the mashal points out that the real explanation of "erase me" is removing Moshe from his position where the Jewish people can no longer rely upon him coming to their defense and aid.

The Ramban teaches us that to understand Moshe's request we must first see HaShem's reply. Shmot 32:33 teaches us: "HaShem said to Moshe, "whoever has sinned against Me, I shall erase from my Book" From here we may infer that Moshe was hinting to HaShem that he was willing to receive Bnei Yisrael's punishment upon himself if HaShem was not going to pardon the Jewish people. We know by HaShem's answer that Moshe's request was refused. Rabbi Elie Munk in Kol HaTorah writes that HaShem was telling both Moshe and the Jewish people that the guilty would be punished and the innocent would go free. It is interesting to note that Aharon, when questioned by Moshe as to his part in the eigel hazahav, offered no real defense. Aharon like his brother, was willing to accept the grievous transgression and punishment of Bnei Yisrael upon himself and offer his life in place of the Jewish people.

Moshe and Aharon by their actions have given us a deep insight into the actions of the leaders of Am Yisrael. They were both willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Jewish people. Throughout history, thank G-d, we have been led by manhigei Yisrael who were always ready and willing to place their lives before the lives of the Jewish people. If nothing else maybe this is what Moshe was trying to convey to future generations.