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Moshe, the Wealthy Tzaddik
After G-d forgave the people
for the sin of the golden calf, he told Moshe to fashion two new tablets, "Pesal
lekha shnei luchot avanim." The Sages, building on the verb "pesal" (fashion,
carve out), say (Midrash Rabbah 46), "The remnants (pesolet) of the [precious]
stones are yours. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Moshe has the right to
the stones. When all of Israel was busy asking their Egyptian neighbors for
silver and gold, Moshe was involved with taking the bones of Yosef out of Egypt.
Moshe remained poor, but now I will give him the remnants of the precious stones
and he will become rich."
Asked the Ketoret Samim, "Why did G-d not give Moshe his wealth immediately
when the Jews left Egypt? Why did he wait four months until the breaking of
the tablets to make Moshe wealthy?
He answers: it only became important for Moshe to become wealthy after the sin
of the golden calf.
When Moshe interceded on behalf of the people of Israel, his defense was that
Israel was not able to withstand the temptation of the silver and gold they
were loaded with. He said to G-d, "A lion does not roar from a container of
straw but from a container of meat (= Israel would not have sinned if You had
not brought them so much wealth).
However, in his position as the teacher of Israel he was obligated to rebuke
the people for their misuse of the gold that G-d gave them. However, if Moshe
had remained poor, they could have retorted, "Who are you to criticize us for
misusing the gold? You never had such a temptation. Had you been rich, perhaps
you also might have sinned." Moshe himself had no interest in wealth, but when
there was a need for him to be in a position to be able to give rebuke to the
people of Israel, G-d gave him the reward that was coming to him from four months
earlier. That way the people saw that Moshe was the same tzaddik that he was
before despite his immense wealth and his rebuke was powerful because he was
also a role model for a wealthy tzaddik.
from
Classic Divrei Torah on Parshat Shavua
Print Version of http://www.darchenoam.org/articles/web/parsha/ar_kitissa.htm
Copyright 2003 Darche
Noam Institutions