daf bit: Sanhedrin 111

[cellio]

R. Eleazar ben Yose said: I once visited Alexandria of Egypt and an old man there said to me "come, see what my ancestors did to yours -- some they drowned in the sea, some they slew by the sword, and some they crushed in the buildings, and for this Moshe was punished". Why was Moshe punished? For saying to the Holy One blessed be He: "Since I came to Paro to speak in Your name he has done evil to this people; neither have you delivered your people at all". Thereupon the Almighty said to him: "To Avraham I said lech lecha, go before me, and I will show you the land that I will give you, yet he had to buy a burial plot for Sarah, and through all of this he did not ask my name or question my character. To Yitzchak I said sojourn in this land and I will be with you, yet his servants did not find undisputed water, and even so he did not ask my name or question my character. To Yaakov I said the land where you lie I will give to you, yet he could not find a place to pitch his tent without paying, and even so he did not ask my name or question my character. But you challenge me, asking my name and saying I have not delivered this people -- I will show you what I will do: you will behold the war against Paro, but not the war against the 31 kings [the conquest of the land]". And Moshe made haste and bowed before God. (111a)

According to the rabbis, Moshe is being punished for not having complete trust in God. (What this has to do with the Egyptian's claim about the murder of Israelites eludes me.) Yet others, most notably Avraham but he's not the only one, challenged God at times. Maybe I'm missing a nuance, or maybe the rabbis are saying both yes and no on this. Or are we to understand that because Moshe repented this decree was lifted (only to be imposed later for a different transgression)?

Comments

[siderea]

The examples of legitimate challenging God in the Torah that leap to my mind are arguments concerning what God should do ("please don't smite the city, I'm sure there's gotta be a few worthies here"). Meanwhile, all the examples in the above share in they're about trusting that when God directly tells you he will do something, that his word is good ("you said you'd do this, so I know you will"). Are there examples where doubting God's direct promises or nagging about them are ok? ("God, didn't you say you were gonna take out the trash? Well?")

[cellio]

Oh, what a good point. I can't think of one, and a low-tech search (dead trees, not digital search) over Shabbat didn't turn one up.