NUM214 (Continued from [[EXOD1008]] Exodus 33:8 gaze SACKS 145-6) Moses issued a detailed reckoning to avoid coming under suspicion that he had personally appropriated some of the donated money. Note the emphasis that the accounting was undertaken not by Moses but "by the Levites under the direction of Itamar," in other words, by independent auditors [Exodus 38:21]. There is no hint of these accusations in the text itself, but the midrash may be based on the remark Moses made during the Korah rebellion [this verse]. Accusations of corruption and personal enrichment have often been leveled against leaders, with or without justification. We might think that since God sees all we do, this is enough to safeguard against wrongdoing. Yet Judaism does not say this. The Talmud records a scene at the deathbed of R. Yohanan b. Zakkai, as the master lay surrounded by his disciples: "They said to him, "Our master, bless us." He said to them, "May it be God's will that the fear of heaven will be as much upon you as the fear of flesh and blood." His disciples asked, "Is that all?" He replied, "Would that you obtained no less than such fear! You can see for yourselves the truth of what I say: when a man is about to commit a transgression, he says, I hope no man will see me." (Berakhot 28b) When humans commit a sin they worry that other people might see them. They forget that God certainly sees them. Temptation befuddles the brain, and no one should believe he is immune to it.