Monday, February 25, 2013
Parshat Ki Tisa (Parshat Parah)
Shmot 30:11 – 34:35
20 Adar 5773 / March 1 –2, 2013
Shmot 30:11 – 34:35
20 Adar 5773 / March 1 –2, 2013
Angry Moshe Blows His Top
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ
If there is a portion of the Torah where Moshe
seems to be out of his mind, this is it! Moshe is on the mountain and
everything is going fine. He is learning Torah with God and crafting a timeless
text together. When they are done, God tells Moshe that the people have gone
bananas. They are worshiping a false god and God will kill the whole nation and
start fresh with Moshe’s kin. Moshe “leaps” into action and begs for the
people’s forgiveness. He convinces God that it would be very un-God like for
the people to be destroyed now. After all, they’ve come so far. And would we
really want a rumor spreading around the world that the Almighty God freed the
Jews only to kill them in the desert. No one wants that! God sees the reason in
Moshe’s words and relents. The Jewish people will be spared.
This all seems great. Gold star for Moshe.
Now Moshe goes down the mountain hefting the
first set of stone tablets. And he hears … debauchery! A raucous celebration
that can only mean one thing – God was not kidding and the poop has really hit
the fan! He approaches the camp and sees the Israelites dancing around this
golden statue of a calf. They are singing around it and pointing to it
proclaiming, “This is our new god!”
Moshe has already saved the people from
destruction. He could have returned to the community, smashed the baby cow and
set the people straight with a strong reprimand. Instead he seems to go
ballistic. He breaks the tablets and grinds the calf to dust making it into an
atonement cocktail for the people to drink. Then he rallies the people who are
still “with God” and orders these zealots to slay their brothers who refused to
come with Moshe. They killed about 3,000 people! In the text, he gave this
order in the name of God, though it is not evident from the text that God
actually told the people to kill their own flesh and blood.
While Moshe learned to ask for forgiveness, he
did not seem to model God’s ability to forgive.
As I read Moshe’s story, I get a sense of a
man who carries a burden that is too great. He is a leader that is broken by
his responsibility. From this story it is very clear to me why Moshe could not
continue on with the people to Israel. I hate to come down on Moshe. I would
not want to walk even one step in his shoes. For me the story brings a lesson
as a leader. Losing one’s head in anger is not a time for action. It is a time
for reflecting on why there is so much angry.
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