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Parshat Ki Tisa

By: SFW Students & Alumna
Bracha Frankel, SFW ’04-‘05

One of the most famous pesukim in this week’s parsha is 32:32-“And now, if you would but bear their sin!-but if not, erase me now from Your book that You have written”

The famous question on the phrase “micheini na misefricha,” is which sefer?

Rashi explains that Moshe was referring to the sefer torah.  Rav Zalman Sorotzkin in his Oznayim Latorah gives several answers. One of them is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted to destroy bnai yisrael and make Moshe's descendents into a nation, because Moshe’s children would obviously keep the torah since their father’s name was associated with it (“zichru torat Moshe”). Therefore, in order to save bnai yisrael, Moshe requested that his name be erased from the sefer torah so that his children shouldn’t have any advantage over everyone else.  This would subsequently make it worthwhile for Hashem to give the torah to all of klal yisrael.

According to Ramban and Seforno, "misefricha" is referring to the sefer zechuyot which is mentioned in Malachi perek 3.  When Moshe and Aaron spoke after the Chet Haegel about how to fix the situation, Hashem wrote the zechuyot of Moshe that he destroyed the Egel and its worshippers in the sefer hazikaron.  These zechuyot are what caused Hashem to want to choose Moshe’s children over the children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov whom He wanted to destroy. This is why Moshe requested that his zechuyot be erased so that his children would not have an advantage over the bnai avot, and Hashem would not want to destroy bnai yisrael.

Similarly, the tzorfatit says to Eliyahu, “You have come to me to remember my sins,” meaning that until Eliyahu came, Hashem only compared her to people in her vicinity and she was therefore great by comparison. However, when Eliyahu came, she was then compared to him, and her sins were therefore “remembered”. This is what Moshe is telling Hashem—that Hashem is comparing bnai yisrael to Moshe and is therefore bent on destroying them. Therefore Moshe requests that his zechuyot be wiped out so that he will become an "ordinary" member of klal yisrael.  Then Hashem will compare bnai yisrael to the other nations and see that “ein k'amcha yisrael” even when they are bad there is no nation like them and Hashem will bring them to menucha and nachla.

And so, from this phrase we can see the tzidkut of Moshe. We know that Moshe was the most humble person. This humility and selflessness is reflected in the incident relayed above, in that he would do anything for the sake of klal yisrael. May we all learn from Moshe and channel our energies and efforts for the sake of klal yisrael at large.

Shabbat Shalom.