That’s what I want to talk about today, by diving into a powerful story from Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings and interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy. This particular passage gives us a glimpse into Moses' incredible act of intercession for the Israelites after the sin of the Golden Calf.
The story starts with a seemingly simple statement: "carve for you." The verse in Deuteronomy (10:1) states: "At that time the Lord said to me: Carve out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first." Rabbi Yitzchak uses this verse to launch into a profound idea: God is essentially telling Moses, "The first tablets were deposited with you, and you shattered them, so now you replace them."
But here's where it gets fascinating. Rabbi Yitzchak goes on to say that with the second set of tablets, Moses actually reconciled God with Israel. How did he do it? Well, he essentially used a bit of reverse psychology, presenting himself as angry with Israel, almost mirroring God's own anger. As we find in (Exodus 32:31-32), Moses says, "Please; this people has sinned a great sin, and they made themselves a god of gold. Now, if You would, forgive their sin; but if not, erase me please from Your book that You have written."
Imagine that for a moment. Moses, instead of pleading for mercy right away, offers himself as a sacrifice! He's saying, "If you can't forgive them, then take me instead." When God sees this, He realizes that both He and Moses are angry at the Israelites, and as the text hints, that might be too much for them to bear.
So, God tells Moses, "There shall not be two beings angry... when you see Me pouring boiling water, you pour cold; and when you see Me pouring cold water, you pour boiling." In other words, when God is angry, Moses needs to temper that anger with mercy and compassion. That’s some divine teamwork right there. Moses then vayḥal—implores—God, reminding Him of His promise and pleading for Him to remember the good He wants to do for His people.
And it's here that the text shifts into an even deeper level of understanding God's relationship with humanity. Rabbi Simon offers a beautiful analogy: a king is furious with his son and wants to punish him severely. But the king secretly wants someone to intervene, to plead for his son's life.
Similarly, God says to Moses, "Now, let Me be, and My wrath will be enflamed against them and I will destroy them and I will make you into a great nation." (Exodus 32:10). But, the text suggests, God doesn't really want to destroy them. He's testing Moses, looking for someone to advocate for Israel. As Rabbi Simon implies, God is seeking someone to advocate on their behalf.
Moses then goes on to argue with God, pushing back against the idea of destroying Israel. He even suggests that if God wants to eradicate them, He would have to uproot the upper and lower worlds first. This is based on (Isaiah 51:6), which speaks of the heavens eroding and the earth being tattered before its inhabitants die.
But Moses doesn’t stop there. He reminds God of His oath to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, an oath sworn by God Himself. He even compares the situation to Sodom, where God was willing to spare the city if even a small number of righteous people could be found.
Moses then tries to find eighty righteous men to intercede for Israel. He counts the seventy elders, plus Aaron, Nadav, Avihu, Elazar, Itamar, Pinḥas, and Caleb, but he still falls short. So, he says, "Master of the universe, if those who are alive cannot stand in the breach on their behalf, let the dead stand." And finally, he invokes the merit of the three patriarchs: "Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants."
And it works! Because as we read in (Numbers 14:20), "I have pardoned in accordance with your word."
Rabbi Levi adds another layer to this amazing story. Moses asks God, "Will the dead live?" God responds, "Are you, too, mistaken? Did I not say to you: 'I will kill and I will resurrect'?" (Deuteronomy 32:39). Moses then says, "If the dead will live, consider it as though the patriarchs are standing and beseeching on behalf of their descendants; what would You answer them?"
It's a powerful reminder that even in the face of anger and disappointment, there's always room for compassion and forgiveness. Moses’s willingness to put himself on the line, to argue with God, and to invoke the memory of the patriarchs, ultimately swayed God's judgment.
What does it mean for us? Perhaps it’s a call to be that advocate, that voice of reason and compassion, in our own lives. To remember that even when people make mistakes, they deserve a chance at redemption. And maybe, just maybe, like Moses, we can help bring about reconciliation and healing in a world that desperately needs it.
Another matter, “carve for you” – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is written: “It will be when he shall sin and is guilty, he shall restore the robbed item that he robbed, or the proceeds of the exploitation that he exploited, or the deposit that was deposited with him, or the lost item that he found” (Leviticus 5:23). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Were the Tablets not deposited with you? You shattered them, you replace them.’ Rabbi Yitzḥak said: With the second Tablets, Moses reconciled the Holy One blessed be He with Israel. What did he do? He ascended to the Holy One blessed be He, who was angry. He said to Him: ‘Your children are sinning, and You are imposing a penalty upon me?’ [Moses] presented himself as though he was angry at Israel.27He allowed himself to actually get angry, rather than conquering his anger in order to pray on their behalf (see Etz Yosef; Maharzu). From where is this derived? As it is stated: “Moses returned to the Lord and he said: Please; this people has sinned a great sin, and they made themselves a god of gold. Now, if You would, forgive their sin; but if not, erase me please from Your book that You have written” (Exodus 32:31–32).28Rather than pleading with God to forgive the Israelites, Moses asked God that, if He would not forgive them, He would erase Moses from His book as well. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that it was so, He said to him: ‘There are two beings who are angry; you and I are angry at them.’29If we are both angry at the Israelites, they are doomed. Immediately: “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, and he would return to the camp. But his servant, Joshua, son of Nun, a lad, would not move from within the tent” (Exodus 33:11). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘There shall not be two beings angry, instead, when you see Me pouring boiling water, you pour cold; and when you see Me pouring cold water, you pour boiling.’ Moses said to him: ‘Master of the universe, how shall it be?’ He said to him: ‘You implore for mercy.’ What did he do? Immediately, “Moses implored [vayḥal] the Lord his God and he said: Lord, why shall Your wrath be enflamed against Your people that You took out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying: He took them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from upon the face of the earth? Relent from Your enflamed wrath and reconsider regarding the evil for Your people” (Exodus 32:11–12). He said to Him: ‘Your children are bitter, sweeten [ḥaleh] them.’30They sinned, forgive them. Another matter, he said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, I know that You love Your children, and You seek only someone to advocate on their behalf.’ Rabbi Simon said: To what is the matter comparable? To a king and his son who were located in an inner chamber, and his son’s tutor was in the hall. The king was shouting: ‘Let me be so I will kill my son!’ He was seeking only that someone advocate on his behalf. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “Now, let Me be, and My wrath will be enflamed against them and I will destroy them and I will make you into a great nation” (Exodus 32:10). Moses said: Am I, as it were, grasping the hand of the Holy One blessed be He?31Am I holding Him back, such that He says “Let me be”? He seeks only someone to advocate on their behalf. Immediately, “Moses implored.” Another matter, “now, let Me be” – Moses said: ‘Master of the universe, do You seek to eradicate them? Uproot the upper worlds and the lower worlds, and then uproot them.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “Lift your eyes to the heavens and look to the earth below, as the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth will be tattered like a garment, and its inhabitants, likewise, will die, but My salvation will be forever and My righteousness will not be daunted” (Isaiah 51:6). First, the heavens will be eroded like smoke…and then: “Its inhabitants, likewise, will die.” Moses said to Him: ‘Even if You uproot the heavens and the earth, it is impossible for You to uproot Israel, as You took an oath to their patriarchs, and You did not take an oath to them by the heavens or by the earth, but by Your great Name.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “To whom You took an oath by Yourself” (Exodus 32:13). [Moses said:] ‘Could You, perhaps void Your great Name?’ Moses said before Him: ‘Consider them like Sodom. What did You say to Abraham? “The Lord said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous people within the city, I will tolerate the entire place for their sake” (Genesis 18:26), and You were willing to concede to him until ten.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “He said: Please, let my Lord not be incensed, and I will speak only this time. Perhaps ten shall be found there. He said: I will not destroy for the ten” (Genesis 18:32). [Moses said before Him:] ‘I will produce for You eighty righteous men.’ He said to him: ‘Produce them.’ He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, there are seventy elders,’ as it is written: “The Lord said to Moses: Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and its officers, and you shall take them to the Tent of Meeting, and they will stand there with you. I will descend and speak with you there and I will draw from the spirit that is upon you, and I will place it upon them, and they will bear with you the burden of the people, and you will not bear alone” (Numbers 11:16–17). ‘[And] Aaron, Nadav, Avihu, Elazar, Itamar, Pinḥas, and Caleb – that is seventy-seven.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘But Moses, where are three more righteous men?’ [Moses] did not find them. He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, if those who are alive cannot stand in the breach on their behalf, let the dead stand.’ He said before Him: ‘Do it by the merit of the three patriarchs, and that is eighty – “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants” (Exodus 32:13).’ Once Moses mentioned the merit of the patriarchs, He immediately said to him: “I have pardoned in accordance with your word” (Numbers 14:20). When Solomon arose and saw that Moses mentioned seventy-seven living righteous men and it would have been of no avail had he not mentioned the merit of the three patriarchs, he began saying: “I praise the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still alive. Better than both of them is one who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil action that is performed under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 4:2–3). Another matter, “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself and said to them: I will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and this entire land that I said I will give to your descendants, they shall inherit it forever. The Lord reconsidered the evil that He had spoken of doing to His people” (Exodus 32:13–14). Rabbi Levi said: Moses said to Him: ‘Master of the universe, will the dead live?’ He said to him: ‘Are you, too, mistaken? Did I not say to you: “I will kill and I will resurrect”?’ (Deuteronomy 32:39). Moses said to Him: ‘If the dead will live, consider it as though the patriarchs are standing and beseeching on behalf of their descendants; what would You answer them?’ When Moses said this matter to Him, immediately, the Lord reconsidered the evil.
