A vort from the Rebbe on this week's פרשה, פרשת כי תשא. In פרשה כי תשא we learn about the חטא העגל, and Moshe Rabbeinu davenen to the Oybershter that he should forgive the Yidden for the חטא העגל. And what Moshe Rabbeinu said, you forgive the Yidden, and if not, מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת, erase me from the sefer that you wrote, which means as Rashi says, erase me from the whole Torah. And Rashi adds, why did Moshe Rabbeinu say that, that if you don't forgive the Yidden, erase me from the Torah? שלא יאמרו עלי, משה said, people shouldn't say about me, שלא הייתי כדאי לבקש עליהם רחמים, that I didn't deserve, I wasn't worthy of davenen for them. And simple peshat seems to be meaning that Moshe Rabbeinu was worried that if his name will be in the Torah, and the Oybershter chas veshalom will not forgive the Yidden, people will think, or say, that Moshe Rabbeinu was not worthy of davenen for them. So Moshe Rabbeinu didn't want people should say that, and therefore he said if you don't forgive, erase me, people shouldn't be able to say that.

But the Rebbe asks a question: how is it possible to say such a thing, that when it came to such a major event, a major thing of forgiving the Yidden for the עגל, and we're talking here about the person Moshe Rabbeinu, that what he should care about at this moment, about his own kavod? That people shouldn't say about him things that he wasn't deserving of davenen for them, and that's what he worried about? That's why he said if you don't forgive them, then erase me from the Torah, so people shouldn't be able to say anything bad about me? Is that possible to say?

And therefore the Rebbe learns a different peshat, that Moshe Rabbeinu did not care about his own kavod. But what he was afraid of, what he meant when he said that people shouldn't say, he meant that people shouldn't learn from this in the future. That means if chas veshalom the Oybershter wouldn't have forgiven the Yidden on the חטא העגל, and Moshe Rabbeinu would not be erased from the Torah, he would still be written in the Torah, it would seem that Moshe Rabbeinu was not ready to give up his zechut in order to save the Yidden. So Moshe Rabbeinu wasn't worried that people will say that about him, but if people say that about him, they will learn from him. If Moshe Rabbeinu did that, then obviously that's the right thing to do. So other נשיאים, other leaders in later generations, who are also considered like Moshe Rabbeinu, it says התפשטותא דמשה בכל דרא ודרא, every generation there is a person like Moshe Rabbeinu, so he will also do the same: when it'll come that there'll be a conflict between his own benefit, רוחניותדיקע benefit, but his own benefit, and the benefit of the Yidden, he will say, well, Moshe Rabbeinu did not give up his zechut of being mentioned in the Torah in order to save the Yidden, that means that you could care about yourself, they will do the same. In order that shouldn't happen, that the נשיאים from later generations shouldn't follow that, that's why Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to be erased. Not that people shouldn't say because it'll be against his kavod; people shouldn't say it and bemila they will learn from it. Therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu asked that if chas v'shalom the Oybershter doesn't forgive the Yidden, erase me from the Torah so no one should see such a thing and be able to even think that you're allowed to look at your own zechut and care about yourself more than the Yidden. So this is a lesson obviously for all the נשיאים in later generations. That's their mission; their mission is to care more about the Yidden than about themselves.

But be'emet, it's a lesson for every Yid, because every Yid has a little bit of Moshe Rabbeinu within himself, as it says in Tanya. For every Yid, this is a lesson: people shouldn't be able to say that it's more important to care about their own benefit over the welfare of another Yid or of the Yidden. You have to give up of yourself, bagashmiyut and baruchniyut, in order to help another Yid. And by Moshe Rabbeinu saying to the Oybershter, erase me, that no one should make the mistake, no Yid should ever make the mistake that they have a right to care about themselves more than about another Yid, so by saying this, now we know what Moshe Rabbeinu meant, that every Yid has to give up of himself in order to help other Yidden.