On Guard Against The Dangers of Cultism

Many commentaries note that from the birth of Moses onward, there is not one portion of the Torah in which Moses' name is not mentioned, with the exception of this week's, Tetzaveh.

Baal HaTurim says that this is because, when pleading for forgiveness for the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses said to G-d that if He will not forgive the Israelites, ''erase me now from the book that You have written'' (Exodus 32:32). Although G-d did forgive them, Moses' words were nevertheless effective, because, teaches the Talmud, ''the curse of a righteous person is fulfilled even if uttered on a conditional basis'' (Berachos 56a).

Rabbi Sorotzkin's insight enables us to understand why the Passover Haggadah, which is a detailed account of the Exodus, omits the central character of the story: Moses. It is because we must remember that, ''It is G-d Who brought them out of Egypt.''

Humans have their frailties, and one of these weaknesses is to deify great leaders. We must be cautious not to succumb to this tendency. We must honor our great leaders, revere them and most of all, learn from them, but we do not worship them or pray to them.