Q&A: "And Now Leave Me Be"
"And Now Leave Me Be"
Question
I find the passage describing Moses’ conversation with the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately after the sin of the golden calf difficult.
“And now leave Me be, that My anger may blaze against them and I may destroy them, and I will make you into a great nation” (Exodus 32:10). How can it be that Moses prevents the Holy One, blessed be He, from carrying out His will?
And even aside from that, why does Moses’ prayer change the Holy One’s will? It sounds as though he convinced Him…
Does the Rabbi have an explanation?
Answer
Moses does not prevent; he requests. You could ask about any request made on earth to the Holy One, blessed be He, what sense there is in asking Him to change His mind. I don’t see what is different here from any other request.
Discussion on Answer
I assume that His will was that certain things be realized only if we ask for them. That itself is His will.
Fair enough. What is the point of asking the Holy One, blessed be He, for requests at all?