Moshe’s Doubt

Another point made by Rabbi Soloveitchik was in connection with a famous Midrash. That Midrash explained how Moshe was baffled by the slavery of the Jewish people.

He wondered what grievous sin could they have committed that would have made them the only nation in the world to be in such bondage. When he saw how Datan and Aviram spoke and how there was so much back stabbing and a lack of loyalty, the Torah says, אכן נודע הדבר, now the matter is known.

The Rav added that Moshe was so crushed to see such bad behavior in the Jewish people that he was thoroughly convinced that they were not worthy of redemption. This is even more understandable when we realize that it was sixty years later that Hashem appeared in the Burning Bush. It makes more sense that there were seven days of dialogue between Hashem and Moshe Rabbeinu until the Geula was set in motion.