{"id":49337,"date":"2019-02-13T06:20:26","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T04:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=49337"},"modified":"2022-09-07T06:45:36","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T03:45:36","slug":"moses-plays-defense-attorney-accusing-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/moses-plays-defense-attorney-accusing-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Moses Plays Defense Attorney, Accusing God"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[459,354,400],"acf":{"old_id":"49337","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33923,"related_cahpter":"154","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"After all, who needs gold in the wilderness?","content":"

The first verse of Deuteronomy, the fifth and culminating book of the Torah, sounds prosaic. \u201c<\/span>These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan\u2014in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahav.<\/span><\/i>\u201d There is no hint of drama in these words. <\/span><\/p>\n

But the sages of the Talmud found one, and it is life-changing.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>What is odd in the verse is the last place-name: <\/span>Di-zahav<\/span><\/em>. What and where is this place? It hasn\u2019t been mentioned before, nor is it mentioned again anywhere else in Tanakh. But the name is tantalizing. It seems to mean, \u201cEnough gold.\u201d Gold is certainly something we have heard about before. It was the metal of which the calf was made while Moses was on the mountain receiving the Torah from God. This was one of the great sins of the wilderness years. Might the enigmatic mention of a place called \u201cEnough gold\u201d have something to do with it?<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>From these clues and cues, the sages inferred a remarkable drama. This is what they said:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMoses spoke audaciously [<\/span>hiti\u2019ach devarim<\/span><\/em>] towards Heaven . . . The school of R. Jannai learned this from the words <\/span>Di-zahav<\/span><\/em>. What do these words mean? They said in the school of R. Jannai: Thus spoke Moses before the Holy One, blessed be He: \u201cSovereign of the Universe, the silver and gold [<\/span>zahav<\/span><\/em>] which You showered on Israel until they said, \u2018Enough\u2019 [<\/span>dai<\/span><\/em>], was what caused them to make the calf . . . R. Hiyya bar Abba said: It is like the case of a man who had a son. He bathed him and anointed him and gave him plenty to eat and drink and hung a purse around his neck and set him down at the door of a house of ill-repute. How could he help sinning?\u201d [Talmud Bavli, Berachot 32a]<\/span><\/p>\n

Moses, in this dramatic re-reading, is portrayed as counsel for the defense of the Jewish people. Yes, he admits to God, the people did indeed commit a sin. But it was You who provided them with the opportunity and the temptation. If the Israelites had not had gold in the wilderness, they could not have made a golden calf. Besides which, who needs gold in a wilderness? There was only one reason the Israelites had gold with them: because they were following Your instructions. You said: \u201cTell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman is to ask her neighbor for objects of silver and gold\u201d (Ex. 11:2). Therefore, do not blame them. Please, instead, forgive them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nFrom: <\/span>The Effective Critic (Covenant & Conversation, Devarim 5778)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":49338,"id":49338,"title":"Dt1-gold-Sacks","filename":"Dt1-gold-Sacks.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-gold-Sacks.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/moses-plays-defense-attorney-accusing-god\/dt1-gold-sacks\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt1-gold-sacks","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":49337,"date":"2019-02-13 04:20:07","modified":"2023-02-18 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