A Thought on Parshas Eikev

"...ki shi'cheis amcha..." "...for your nation has deviated..." (9:12) "...la'asos l'Amo..." "...to do for His people..." (9:18) In the exchange between HaShem and Moshe Rabbeinu, there seems to be a recurring debate about whether the Jews were Moshe's people, or HaShem's people. HaShem here declares that the wayward nation is "Moshe's people" whereas Moshe responds that the Jews are the "the people of HaShem." What is going on in this argument about whether the Jews were His or his? We know that Rashi cites Chazal who state that the deviating mass were actually the eruv rav, the "mixed multitude" of individuals who tagged along with the Jews during their victorious run from Egypt. This opinion holds that it was Moshe who permitted them to join our ranks, and thus he was chastised by HaShem who said, in effect, "this group is your group, not My chosen ones." The Bechor Shor offers a different angle. Our first verse has HaShem describing the people as "your people whom you brought from Egypt." Note that HaShem does not say "My people whom I brought out of Egypt." Since HaShem does not "take ownership" of either the people nor of the miraculous exodus, HaShem is alluding to an earlier verse (Sh'mos 32:1) which depicts the reaction of the people when Moshe failed to return from Har Sinai. That verse says that they were troubled that "this man Moshe" has not come back. They seemed less focused on HaShem at that awesome moment and more concerned about Moshe. Thus, HaShem now says to Moshe, "this is clearly your people; they consider you, not Me, their leader." So, when Moshe initiated his plea on behalf of the Jews, he says (32:26) "do not destroy Your people." They are not allegiant to me, they are truly Yours. When HaShem says "but you brought them out", Moshe replied (same verse) "You saved them withYour greatness", not me. Later (32:14), the Torah declares that "HaShem refrained from the consequences which He had said would befall His people." The debate was won. Moshe had prevailed on behalf of the Jewish people. In our own parsha, he seals this with finality (9:29) by "reminding" HaShem (and ourselves) "v'heim Am'cha v'Nachal'osecha" - they are Your people and Your heritage. In whom do we truly place our trust? Whose people are we, anyway? Good Shabbos. D Fox