Are Jews Stubborn?
It’s a tragic story. The Jewish people betrayed G-d on their honeymoon. Just forty days after they heard the Ten Commandments in G-d’s voice, while still camped at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people served the golden calf.
Moses turns out to be the hero of the story. G-d wanted to destroy the people, yet Moses using multiple arguments, persuaded G-d to not only forgive the people, but also to give them the second set of tablets (since Moses smashed the first set of tablets), and to reaffirm his covenant with the people.
Among the arguments that Moses put forth to evoke forgiveness, we read:
"If I have now found favor in Your eyes, O Lord, let the Lord go now in our midst because they are a stiff-necked people, and You shall forgive our iniquity and our sin and thus secure us as Your possession." (Exodus 34:9)
This verse is seemingly strange: Moses asks G-d to forgive the people “because they are a stiff-necked people”, but why is being “stiff-necked” a reason to forgive? It would make sense for Moses to ask that they should be forgiven despite being a stiff-necked people. But why is being “stiff-necked” a reason to forgive?
The truth is that almost every force and energy in the world is neither good nor bad, but rather neutral. Stubbornness is a case in point. The stubbornness of the Jews caused them to sin and harm their relationship with G-d. Moses, however, put forth a brilliantly novel argument: stubbornness is a cause for forgiveness because that quality would allow the Jewish people to cleave to G-d despite all the persecution and difficulties they experienced. Moses makes the point that the only way the Jewish people would survive throughout history, when mighty empires come and go, is because of their steadfast, stubborn, faith and devotion to G-d and his Torah.
Moses teaches us how to look at the seemingly negative aspects of our personality, and inspires us to realize that every part of our character can indeed be used to enhance our relationship with G-d and holiness. The “stubbornness”, when channeled correctly, is a cause for forgiveness, and will reveal the best within ourselves.