Our Gemara on Amud Aleph tells us about Moshe’s retrieving the bones of Yosef while the Jews were caught up in grabbing the spoils from the drowned Egyptians:

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: בֹּא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה חֲבִיבוֹת מִצְוֹת עַל מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, שֶׁכׇּל יִשְׂרָאֵל כּוּלָּן נִתְעַסְּקוּ בַּבִּיזָּה, וְהוּא נִתְעַסֵּק בְּמִצְוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״חֲכַם לֵב יִקַּח מִצְוֹת וְגוֹ׳״.

The Sages taught in the Tosefta (4:6–7): Come and see how beloved mitzvos are to Moses our teacher. As, at the time of the Exodus, all the Jewish people were involved in taking the plunder from Egypt, and he was involved in the performance of mitzvos, as it is stated: “The wise in heart will take mitzvos” (Proverbs 10:8).

There are some difficulties with the Gemara’s moral calculus. Number one, is this really so impressive? Is this the singular praise for a man who can go 40 days and 40 nights without food and water? Does it really matter whether he gets some extra gold and silver? Secondly, the Jews were, in fact, commanded by God, to take the spoils. As the verse states, (Shemos 11:2):

דַּבֶּר־נָ֖א בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וְיִשְׁאֲל֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ ׀ מֵאֵ֣ת רֵעֵ֗הוּ וְאִשָּׁה֙ מֵאֵ֣ת רְעוּתָ֔הּ כְּלֵי־כֶ֖סֶף וּכְלֵ֥י זָהָֽב׃

Tell the people to borrow, each man from his neighbor and each woman from hers, objects of silver and gold

Rav Yaakov Yosef M’Polnoye (Ben Poras Yosef Bereishis 135) explains that there are different aspects to a mitzvah. There is the superficial physical world action and fulfillment, and then there is the uppermost idea within it that is only fully apprehended in the spiritual world. He says, this is why when we recite a blessing we say: ‏אשר קידשנו במצותיו that he commanded us in his mitzvos. The plural is not in reference to all the other mitzvos, rather it is in reference to the inner dimensions of that particular, Mitzvah. That is, within every Mitzvah there is a multiplicity of purpose and meaning.

This is also what the verse in Mishle and our Gemara is referring to in regard to moshe capitalizing on the Mitzvah of burying Joseph. It says, “The wise in heart will take mitzvos” in plural, not singular. Because it is referring to the multiple levels and fulfillment within the mitzvah itself.

Returning to our discussion about Moshe, the Gemara is saying that Moshe was able to discern the deeper value in the mitzvos he was doing. It wasn’t specifically referring to choosing to bury Joseph over choosing the spoils. It is all a metaphor. The bones represent the essence of the mitzvah, unlike the flesh which is more transient. The gold and silver that the Jews were taking represent, as we say, shiny objects. Therefore, what the Gemara really was saying about Moshe versus the common people was that he was able to grab the inner essence and deeper meaning of each mitzvah as he performed it. Of course, this is available for all of us every day, if we attempt to reach these heights as best as we can.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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