Audits and Public Trust

Parshat Pikudei begins with Moses giving a
complete accounting of all the raw materials collected for the building of the
mishkan along with details on how these materials were used. Realizing that we
already were given this information we ask why the need for an official audit
which seems to be a redundancy. We know that audits typically follow
questionable actions or accusations. So what led to this audit?

The Midrash tell us: “They gazed after
Moses” – People criticized Moses. They
used to say to one another, “Look at that neck. Look at those legs. Moses is
eating and drinking what belongs to us. All that he has belongs to us.” The
other would reply: “A man who is in charge of the work of the Sanctuary – what
do you expect? Do you expect that he should not get rich?” As soon as he heard
this, Moses replied, “By your life, as soon as the Sanctuary is complete, I
will make a full reckoning with you.”

We wonder was this idle chatter widespread
or perhaps only the conversation of a very few? And how could they accuse Moses
of living off the communal till? Ironically they accuse Moses of taking what is
theirs and using those funds to purchase and eat the choicest cuts of meats. I
find the accusation itself the most ludicrous. Recall that the man who ascended
Mount Sinai in order to receive the Torah on their behalf and following the
incident of the Golden Calf when Hashem tells Moses that he will destroy these
people returns to beg forgiveness for them did not eat or drink for forty days
and forty nights.

What do they think that he was making up
for lost time and opportunity? Why even give substance to this ridiculous
chatter by responding to it?

We can add to the question based on
another midrash which asks, “Why did Moshe make an accounting with them when
Hashem trusted him, as the pasuk says:

לֹא־כֵ֖ן עַבְדִּ֣י
מֹשֶׁ֑ה בְּכׇל־בֵּיתִ֖י נֶאֱמָ֥ן הֽוּא׃

“My
servant, Moshe, is not that way; in all My house he is trustworthy” If he has
G-d’s trust, is that not more than enough testimony to his honesty?

I would suggest that Moses may have not
been looking to defend himself. After all, he was neither the storage manager,
nor the artisan, nor the seamstress. Where others might have opportunity to
pilfer a bit of gold here or some silk there, he had none. So perhaps in
seeming to defend himself, he was really looking to avoid any accusation ever
being made against Bezalel, Aholiav and their teams of artisans and he was
setting an example to future leaders involved in any sort of public funding.

Moshe Rabbeynu’s actions teach us that a
leader must avoid even the slightest hint of impropriety especially when it
comes to the public’s money and their trust.