cellio | parsha bit: Ki Tisa

In this week's parsha the Israelites build the golden calf and God chastises Moshe for what "his" people are doing. Rabbi Berechiah, quoting Rabbi Levi, compares this situation to a king who rented out his vinyard to a grower. When the wine was good the king proclaimed "look what my vinyard produced", but when it was poor he said to the grower "look what terrible wine you produce". The grower protested that the king cannot have it both ways, saying "the vinyard is yours whether it produces good or bad wine". So too did Moshe protest God's statement, saying "the people belong to both of us, and neither of us can abandon them". (Pesikta d'Rav Kahana 16)