It is possible, in my humble opinion, to add further insight into this by way of an analogy to a captain whose ship is sinking in the sea—he is sinking along with them. So too Moshe’s perspective, as the leader of the Jewish people and their captain, was that if the Jewish people would perish due to the sin of the Golden Calf, he too would go with them in his self-sacrifice for them. Without any reservation, he would perish with them, for they are his people and the flock of his pasture. This was the level of his devotion to the Jewish people.

“A tzaddik decrees and Hashem fulfills”

The Sages noted (see Zohar, Parashas Pinchas) that Moshe’s request was fulfilled in Parashas Tetzaveh, where his name is not mentioned at all (and in most cases, this parasha is read close to the 7th of Adar, the day of Moshe’s passing), because he said, “Erase me, please, from Your book,” and  “a tzaddik decrees and Hashem fulfills.” And since Moshe had spoken in the form of a supplication, his request was granted—but only regarding one parsha: Parashas Tetzaveh.

My son, Yisrael Binyamin, offered a beautiful insight: Since the request “Erase me from Your book” appears in our parasha, Ki Sisa, why was Moshe’s name omitted from the previous parsha, Tetzaveh? Perhaps this too reflects Hashem’s compassion for Moshe—that the omission of his name should not be too conspicuous. Therefore, Hashem did not omit his name from the portions following Ki Sisa (Vayakhel and Pekudei) but waited until we came around to Tetzaveh again. This way, by the time the next year’s reading of Tetzaveh arrived, it would not be recalled that he asked for his name to be omitted, and it would not be adjacent to “please erase me from Your book.”  For it was Hashem’s will that the omission should not be conspicuous, out of respect for Moshe.

“נ״א“/”na” (“please”) — “51”— corresponding to the number of parashiyos Hashem waited before acting on Moshe’s words

It can be further explained, in my humble opinion, that there’s a measure-for-measure principle at play here. The Hebrew word “na” (“נ״א“) in the phrase “Mecheini na misifrecha” (“Erase me, please, from Your book”) has a numerical value of 51. On average, there are approximately 51 parashiyos in a year, whether a regular year or a leap year, due to instances of combined parashiyos (“double-portions’).  Therefore—because Moshe said, “Mecheini na” (‘נ״א’)”—Hashem waited 51 parashiyos, corresponding to the numerical value of “na,” before fulfilling Moshe’s words.

This is the intent behind the addition of “ulekhaparas pesha”  (“ולכפרת פשע”), “and for the atonement of sin,” in the Rosh Chodesh prayer

It seems to me that we can add another insight: In a leap year, we insert the phrase “ulekhaparas pesha”  (“ולכפרת פשע”), “and for the atonement of sin”) into the Mussaf prayer of Rosh Chodesh until after Rosh Chodesh Adar II. This is to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf. And by virtue of Moshe Rabbeinu’s plea for forgiveness on behalf of the Jewish people, they are granted an additional Adar, whose theme is repentance out of love, as is known. (See the writings of the GR”A that Adar II is composed of the same three spiritual phases as the Ten Days of Repentance.)

This is similar to what we find with Rivkah. The Midrash, cited by Rashi on the verse “And she said, ‘If so, why am I thus?’” (Bereishis 25:22), states that she said, “If the pain of the ‘ibbur’ (‘pregnancy’) is so great, why am I thus?”  The Bnei Yissaschar (Essays on the Month of Adar) explains that she was alluding to ‘shana m’uberes’ (lit. a ‘pregnant year’ but actually the term for a ‘leap year’), which is known to have some harsh aspects to it. She was saying, “If the pain of the ‘ibbur’—the  ‘shana m’uberes’—is so great….” Therefore, we add the phrase “ulekhaparas pesha”  which is a request for atonement, so that we don’t experience anything harsh. 

Through Moshe’s prayer, we merited a leap year

Moshe Rabbeinu prays on our behalf for “kaparas pesha” — that we be forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf. This is what he pleads for through the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy — that he should attain for us “kaparas pesha”  for this grave sin, which he himself was not a part of. For he is our “shliach tzibbur” (“communal representative”) who intercedes for us—the likes of whom we never had and never will have.

Another thought occurred to me: Immediately after Moshe’s request for forgiveness and reconciliation on behalf of the Jewish people, Hashem commands the prohibition against forging covenants with idol worshipers in the Land of Israel, and also commands the destruction of their altars, monuments, and Asherah trees (a tree planted to beautify a house of idol worship).

Now most surprisingly, the enumerators of the mitzvos — such as the Rambam and the Chinuch — do not cite these verses from our parasha as the source for the positive commandment to eradicate all traces of idolatry in the Land of Israel. Instead, they bring the verses from Parashas R’ei! Why did they not cite the verses from our parasha as the source? I would humbly suggest that the verses in our parasha are intended as advice to the Jewish people for rectifying the sin of the Golden Calf.

Since the Jewish people themselves made the calf, they are commanded to eradicate all idolatry

Regarding Egypt, it is written: “And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.” Hashem was ready to personally remove idols from the land. But since the Jewish people themselves, His intimate nation, made the Golden Calf, an idol, Hashem says to them, so to speak, “Your repentance and rectification for making an idol is that you yourselves will erase every trace of idolatry. I will not do as I did in Egypt, where I personally destroyed their idols — rather, you, with your own hands, will bring about the rectification for the Golden Calf, which you made with your own hands.”

The breaking of the Tablets — a salvation for the Jewish people and the world

Regarding the phrase “asher shibarta,” (“which you broke”), the Sages expounded (Shabbos 87a) that Hashem said to Moshe, “Yasher ko’ach,” (“thank you”) for breaking them.” This can be explained in light of the Sages’ teaching (Avodah Zarah 3a) that “the Jewish people were not deserving of that act, but it happened in order to teach repentance.” How, indeed, did it teach them repentance?

It seems that when Moshe saw the act of the Golden Calf, he broke the Tablets before the eyes of the entire nation in order to arouse them to rectify the sin. By doing what he did, the people saw that Moshe was in fact alive and had been on Mount Sinai, and they would see before their very eyes the shattered pieces of the Tablets that had been given to them in the merit of “we will do and we will hear,” and their hearts would be broken. For the Jewish people knew that Hashem had made a condition with the works of Creation: If the Jewish people accept the Torah, good; but if not, He will return the world to “tohu va’vohu,” (“astonishing emptiness”). They now realized that through the grave sin of the Golden Calf, they had violated that condition, and the world would return to “tohu va’vohu,” G-d forbid.

The reason we read the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy every fast day and day of repentance

As soon as the people saw that they had been given a path to turn away from the act of the Golden Calf and return to Moshe and Mount Sinai, they were aroused to engage in complete “teshuvah” (“repentance”). The breaking of the Tablets was the strategy Moshe devised to awaken the Jewish people to teshuvah—and through this, he saved the Jewish people, the Torah, and the entire world. What Moshe did was a wonderous thing—and that’s why Hashem said to him “‘asher shibarta’ (‘which you broke’)—’yasher ko’ach sheshibarta’ (‘thank you for breaking them’)! Because by doing so, you caused them to repent.”

This is why every fast day and day of repentance, we recite the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy — the formula Moshe taught the Jewish people for returning to Hashem. Indeed, it was Moshe who caused repentance to be introduced to the world. Just as teshuvah must come from a human being, so too, the revelation of the power of teshuvah came through a human being—the most unique human being, Moshe Rabbeinu.

This explains what Rashi writes at the end of the Torah, on the verse “before the eyes of all Israel”:

“His heart moved him to break the Tablets before their eyes, as it says: ‘And I broke them before your eyes,’ and Hashem agreed with his decision, as it says: “‘asher shibarta’ (‘which you broke’)—’yasher ko’ach sheshibarta’ (‘thank you for breaking them’).” The explanation is this: After breaking the Tablets, Moshe feared he might have done something unacceptable—breaking the work of G-d’s own hands. Hashem responded that only before the eyes of the Jewish people did it appear that the Tablets were shattered—to stir them to repentance. But in truth, he had not harmed the Tablets at all—they were still truly still intact.  Therefore, Hashem said, “Thank you for breaking them”— meaning, “you need not worry over having damaged something holy. Rather, through the appearance of the broken Tablets in front of the people, they were awakened to teshuvah, and as for the Tablets themselves—they truly remain intact.

May it be Hashem’s will that Moshe Rabbeinu illuminate for us the path of teshuvah, and through this we will merit to see our righteous Moshiach speedily in our days.

(See also what I wrote in Chamudei Shai on Bereishis, in the essay for Sukkos – Shemini Atzeres.)

Maharal Tznitz