One of the questions that have been asked since the outbreak of the war, and the question that will most certainly be at the heart of a state commission of inquiry once the war is over is, who is responsible for the catastrophic failure that enabled Hamas to perpetrate the worst terrorist attack in the state’s history? Is it the intelligence community, the military establishment, the political leadership—especially the prime minister—or perhaps all of the above? And if, and when, certain people are singled out for opprobrium, how do we ensure that they take responsibility for their failure rather than try to deflect it onto others?
I believe that Parashat Ki Tisa that we read this week can help shed light on these questions. When Moses’ descent from Mount Sinai was delayed, the people of Israel grew increasingly restless and eventually asked Aaron to make a god for them in his place, “for that man, Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.” Curiously, the people here attributed the Exodus to Moses, not to God. Aaron then gathered gold from the people, cast it into a mold and made it into a golden calf. Upon seeing this calf, the people declared, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” The next day, at the behest of Aaron, the people brought sacrifices to this newly formed god, and they promptly sat down to eat, to drink and then to dance.
Now, while much ink has been spilled over the years to explain the cause and the nature of this egregious sin, as well as Aaron’s role in it, I would like to focus on God’s initial response. After seeing what had transpired, God turned to Moses and instructed him to hurry down the mountain “for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt (“עַמְּךָ אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלֵיתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם”) have acted basely”. God then proposed to destroy them and make a great nation from Moses.
God’s assertion here is nothing short of astounding. Instead of stating the facts, God adopted the language of the people in claiming that it was Moses, not He, who brought them out of Egypt. Furthermore, God, who from the beginning and throughout the Exodus referred to the people of Israel as “His people” (“”עַמִּי, see Exodus 3:7, 10; 5:1; 7:16, 26; 8:16-19; 9:1, 13, 17; 10:3; 22:24) is now referring to them as “your people” (“”עַמְּךָ), i.e., the people of Moses! Thus, rather than assuming responsibility for the abysmal moral and religious failure of His people, He is trying to blame Moses instead!
Moses, however, was an astute listener and a supreme leader and he would have none of this. Note the language that he employs in his response to God: “Let not Your anger, O Lord, blaze forth against Your people, whom You have delivered from the land of Egypt (“לָמָה ה’ יֶחֱרֶה אַפְּךָ בְּעַמֶּךָ, אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם”) with great power and with a mighty hand… Turn from Your blazing anger, and renounce the plan to punish Your people (“(“לְעַמֶּךָ…” Moses reminds God that the people of Israel are His—not Moses’— people and that it was He—not Moses—who delivered them from Egypt. Moses, in other words, did not allow God to deflect responsibility from the misdeeds of His people and to walk away. They are His people, He has committed Himself to them for the long haul, and He is the one who must assume responsibility for them even when the going gets rough. And how does God respond to Moses? “And the Lord renounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon His people ((“לְעַמּו”ֹ. Thanks to Moses, God acknowledges that they are indeed His people, and He must therefore preserve His relationship with them, even though He might at times be inclined otherwise.
Thus, while deflecting responsibility is a natural impulse, and the supernatural God was temporarily susceptible to this same impulse, a leader who does so when his people fail him or when he fails them, is a leader who must be forced to step aside.
