In Exodus 11:2-4, G-d says to Moshe, "I beg of you (Na) speak to the people and let them ask, every man from his neighbor and every woman from her friend, vessels of gold and vessels of silver." In Gemarah Berachot 9a it says that the word 'na' means: I beg of you. The Holy One, blessed be he, said to Moshe: I beg of you, go and tell Israel, that G-d begs of you to please ask from the Egyptians vessels of gold and vessels of silver so that I can fulfill my promise to the righteous Avraham that his children will leave Egypt with great wealth.

Upon reading this Gemarah one can ask several questions. Firstly, why was it necessary for G-d to beg Moshe to tell the Jews to collect gold and silver from the Egyptians? Wouldn't Moshe readily fulfill G-d's command? Secondly, why should G-d need to plead with the Jews to go collect the valuables? Wouldn't they be more than willing to take from their Egyptian masters? Why do both Moshe and the Jews need to be begged?

We always assume that the Jews would have gladly parted from Egypt had Pharaoh only consented to Moshe's request for freedom. However, it is important to note that the conditions in which the Jews would be leaving Egypt were far from ideal. Although the Jews suffered bitterly in Egypt, at least their food and shelter were provided for. As it states in Parashas Beshalach 16:7 "And the children of Israel said unto them; O that we had died by the hand of G-d in the land of Egypt while we sat by the pots of meat and when we did eat bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger." This being the case, it is probable, that Moshe needed to expend much effort towards persuading the Jews that with Bitachon ba Hashem, trust in G-d, one could survive anything, including a long and hard trek across a barren desert. Moshe, along with Miriam and Aaron, told them of the special providence that the Jewish people would enjoy from G-d, and convinced them that if they would only trust in G-d he would see to all their needs. Moshe's job was not an easy one and apparently he did not meet with great success. Rashi in Parashas Bo tells us that many of the Jews (4/5) died during the plague of darkness for they did not want to leave Egypt. Though "G-d's hand" in the plagues succeeded in convincing the Egyptians to let the Jews leave, the Jews were not so easily convinced. Those who did trust and followed Moshe into the desert were considered extremely praiseworthy by G-d. As is noted in Jeremiah 2:2 "I remember the loving kindness of your youth, your love as a bride, your following me through the desert, in a land not sown."

When viewed in this context it becomes apparent that the Jews who were persuaded to trust G-d and to believe that all their needs would be provided for would have no need gathering money from their Egyptian neighbors. What purpose would money serve them in a barren desert? Additionally, after Moshe succeeded in convincing the Jewish people to trust and to follow G-d into the barren desert, a command to collect these valuables would seem antithetical to all that he taught them. Therefore both Moshe and the Jewish people needed to be begged to follow this command.

Another possible reason for G-d's begging Moshe, might stem from the fact that Moshe could argue with G-d that such wealth would create greed amongst the people or might be abused in some other fashion. Indeed, we find that Moshe's request from G-d that He be merciful to the Jews after the incident of the golden calf was based on the fact that G-d Himself had commanded them to take the very riches that contributed to their downfall.

This argument raised by Moshe though it seems valid, was not accepted by G-d, and G-d begged him to collect the goods anyway. Why did G-d not accept Moshe's argument?

Perhaps, the reason was because G-d could not utilize this argument with Avraham to explain to him why the Jews would be leaving Egypt empty handed. The Gemara in Berachos refers to Avraham as the Tzaddik- "righteous one". Avraham, had himself come to Egypt at a time of famine, in poverty, and had also left with great wealth (Bereishis 12:16). Yet, he remained righteous and did not abuse his newly found wealth. Avraham perceived all wealth as a gift to be used in serving G-d and could not have understood that the Jewish people might possibly abuse their riches. Hence, such an argument as put forth by Moshe, would not have achieved its goal as far as Avraham was concerned.