Things only got worse as time went on. One text tells us that there were those who mocked him and treated him as if he were mad. Moses, the leader, the guide. When he presented the commandments to his people, he was interrupted by sneers: Are you going to lecture us, you stutterer? And: They took their children and threw them into his arms, shouting: Well, Moses, how are you going to feed them? What craft will you teach them? And: If he left his tent earlier than usual, they would ask: Why so early? If he left later than usual, they would ask: Why so late? If he left unnoticed, they would say: He is avoiding us, he is afraid of meeting us. Also: he explained the Law to them, but they refused to learn. After forty years of leadership, he still had to prove himself; every evening he had to tell them where they were and how many days had passed since Sinai. Only then were they prepared to admit that he was in full command of his mental faculties.

Who knows? Perhaps God’s decision not to let him enter the promised land was meant as reward rather than as punishment.

• • •

A flighty, ungrateful people. Moses had good reason to despair, to castigate—and he did so often. Some commentators say: too often and too severely. And that was why he was punished. Yet if others spoke ill of Israel, he was quick to come to its defense, passionately, fiercely; there are times when Jews—and Jews alone—may criticize other Jews. Moses defended them not only against their enemies but, at times, even against God.

Says the Midrash: only by pleading for his people did Moses become an Ish Elokhim, a Man of God.

For, in fact, he filled two equally difficult roles: he was God’s emissary to Israel and Israel’s to God.

The moment the angels spoke out against Israel—and that happened frequently—Moses took its defense. When God decided to give His Law to Israel and the angels opposed His plan, Moses scolded them: Who then will observe it? You? Only man can assume the Law and live by its precepts.

And when his people sank to their lowest depths by dancing around the Golden Calf, Moses still found it possible to defend them: Whose fault is it, God, theirs or Yours? You let them live in exile, among idol-worshippers so long that they have been poisoned; is it their fault that they are still addicted? Then came his ultimatum: Either You forgive them everything or You erase my name from Your Book!

And when God said to him: Ki shikhet amkha—Your people have sinned—Moses replied with a sudden display of humor: When they observe Your Law, they are Your children, but when they violate it, they are mine?

Another time he remarked: Master of the Universe, do not get too angry, it is useless. Were You to destroy heaven and earth, Your people would survive—for that is what You pledged, remember? So why get angry?