Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
Moshe’s life is coming to an end, and he has to go up Har Nevo to die and be buried. The Torah puts a big stress on when God told Moshe to go:
וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בְּעֶ֛צֶם הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה...
God spoke to Moshe in the middle of that day…
What is so important about this happening “in the middle of that day”?
שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹמְרִים כָּךְ מִכָּךְ אִם אָנוּ מַרְגִּישִׁים בּוֹ אֵין אָנוּ מַנִּיחִים אוֹתוֹ. אָדָם שֶׁהוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם וְקָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם וְהוֹרִיד לָנוּ אֶת הַמָּן וְהֵגִיז לָנוּ אֶת הַשְּׂלָו וְעָשָׂה לָנוּ נִסִּים וּגְבוּרוֹת אֵין אָנוּ מַנִּיחִים אוֹתוֹ!
אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הֲרֵינִי מַכְנִיסוֹ לַמְּעָרָה בַּחֲצִי הַיּוֹם וְכָל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ לִמְחוֹת יָבוֹא וְיִמְחֶה.
Benei Yisrael said, “We swear, if we get the feeling that Moshe is about to leave, then we won’t let him! The person that brought us out of Egypt, split the Sea for us, brought down the mann (miraculous food) for us, flew in the quail for us, and did powerful miracles for us—we will not let him go!”
God said, “I will bring him into his burial cave in the middle of the day, and anyone who wants to should try and stop Me.”
Benei Yisrael and Moshe had a complicated relationship. Throughout their story, there were many times Benei Yisrael doubted Moshe or complained to him—including about the Sea and the mann and the quail!
But this midrash suggests that, at the very end, when they hear God’s plan for Moshe to finally leave them forever, Benei Yisrael threaten to try to stop God. They don’t want their Moshe to be taken away!
- What does this midrash suggest about how Moshe and Benei Yisrael’s relationship has changed over time?
- Why would it be so hard to lose Moshe? Why would Benei Yisrael want to stop that from ever happening?
- What stories or ideas stick out to you when you think about Moshe?
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