After forgiving the Jewish people for making the golden calf, God commanded Moses to prepare the stone for carving out a second set of "luchot habrit" (tablets):

"Carve out two tablets for yourself , just like the first ones. I will write on those tablets the same words that were on the first tablets that you broke." (Ex. 34:1)

Why did God tell Moses to carve out the stone, lecha, "for yourself"? In what way did these tablets belong to Moses? The Talmud explains that Moses was to provide the raw material for the tablets from his own supply of precious stone. According to the Midrash, a sapphire quarry was located underneath Moses' tent. Moses, it turns out, was fabulously wealthy.

Moses' wealth is not an incidental fact. The Sages learned from his example that wealth is a prerequisite for prophecy. (Shabbat 92) That a spiritual leader must be wise makes sense; but why should he be affluent? And why did Moses only become wealthy after the sin of the golden calf?

Effective community leadership is largely dependent upon the leader's personal prosperity and success. An insolvent individual will have great difficulty garnering the respect and obedience of the people.

When the world is in a state of perfection, wealth does not carry such great significance. It is just one of many qualities that contribute to one's impact and influence. In this perfect state, affluence does not merit particular consideration.

The sin of the golden calf, however, brought about a tragic decline in the world's spiritual level. With the descent from the first set of luchot (tablets) to the second set, wealth became a necessary quality for successful leadership. This prerequisite joined the other attributes and abilities needed in a communal leader.

In generations following Moses, wealth continued to serve as a crucial buttress for Torah leadership. The Talmud mentions in particular three pivotal leaders of the Jewish people, each of whom combined consummate Torah scholarship together with great wealth:

"From the days of Moses until the days of Rabbi (Yehuda HaNasi, the compiler of the Mishna), and from the days of Rabbi until Rav Ashi (the principle editor of the Talmud), we do not find Torah and greatness in one individual." (Gittin 59a)

'Greatness' here refers to wealth; why did the Sages choose to use the word 'greatness'? They wanted to emphasize that this was not simply a matter of affluence. These three Jewish leaders were distinguished with an inner quality of greatness that contributed to their extraordinary impact upon the people. Their personalities were impervious to the temptations of wealth. They were able to harness this resource for its holiest task — to elevate the entire community.

Moses' sapphire quarry, as described in the Midrash, is an apt metaphor for the role of wealth. Moses' supply of precious stone served as the vessel to bear the holy message engraved on it. So too, the wealth of prominent leaders serves as the material basis for directing and inspiring the people.

(adapted from Ein Eyah IV: 235)

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison