[Avodah] Tetzaveh "Be Careful What You Wish For"

[Cantor Wolberg]

Regarding the pasuk where Moshe tells HaShem "And now if You would  
forgive their sin -- but if not, erase my name from Your book that You  
have written," and my comment: It seems strange to me that for someone  
who was considered to be the most humble Biblical character of all  
time, had the chutzpah to say to the Almighty: "If you don't forgive  
them, then count me out." It sounds like a threat.

Two postings were quite defensive about my use of the word "chutzpah."  
It's funny how the same people had no problem in describing the  
chutzpah of Miriam toward her parents (with chazal justification, I  
know). The objections raised to the term chutzpah is lovely d'rash,  
but it's not p'sak.

One response was:
So Moshe is telling Hashem, "If you wipe them out, I have no more  
reason to exist, and I won't want to exist!"

The other was:
"Ribono shel olam, I don't want that honor and that glory.  I just   
want you
to please forgive your children.  Please, don't wipe them out --  wipe  
me out
instead.  Please, I don't want the glory and the honor, I don't  want  
to be in
Your book -- if my people -- YOUR people -- are going to be  destroyed."

The creativity of the above is wonderful, but it's not was the pasuk  
says. Simply put, who is any man to give God an ultimatum. Pshat is  
very clear. If Moshe meant what the above people claim,
then he could easily have been diplomatic and stated it by saying  
either: "I have no more reason to exist" or "I don't want that honor  
and that glory" or a million other things. The p'shat is clear.
It was not only an implied threat, it was a real threat. If you follow  
the very next 2 psukim, it says: "HaShem said to Moshe, Whoever has  
sinned against Me, I shall erase from My book. Now, go
and lead the people to where I have told you. Behold! My angel shall  
go before you, and on the day that I make My account, I shall bring  
their sin to account against them."  So God is going to
do what God wants and He doesn't need anyone to threaten Him. In fact  
there have been commentaries saying that because of what Moshe said to  
HaShem regarding the threat is the reason
his name was erased from the entire Tetzaveh sidra.

rw

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