Torah: Parashat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22), Comment

From:        heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject:   Torah: Parashat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22), Commentary on
                  the Weekly Torah Reading for 4 Av, 5759 (July 17, 1999) by Rabbi
                 Shlomo Riskin

Torah: Parashat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22), Commentary on the Weekly
Torah Reading for 4 Av, 5759 (July 17, 1999)

by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

EFRAT, ISRAEL, Yom Revii (Fourth Day - "Wednesday"), 1 Av, 5759 (July 14,
1999), Root & Branch: An important aspect of the golden mean, or proper
balance between extremes, which traditional Judaism provides, is the
teaching that one dare not be happy to the extreme. The world is not yet
redeemed and tragedy is still an inextricable part of the human experience.
One also dare not be sad to the extreme. The "Eternal One of Israel who
guarantees ultimate redemption does not express falsehood".

Even during the profound joy of a wedding ceremony, the climax of the
nuptial blessings of jubilation is the breaking of a glass, in order to
buttress the words of Rav Nachman of Bratzlow: "In our world of
imperfection, who is a whole human being? Only one who has a broken heart!"

Even the most tragic day of the Hebrew calendar, Tisha B'Av (ninth day of
the Hebrew month Av) promises to turn into a festive ceremony [Zechariah
8:19]. The latter part of our bleak, black fast day is marked by the
wearing of phylacteries (t'filin, a mark of "glory" or p'er) and there is a
time-honored tradition that the messiah shall be born on Tisha B'Av.

The idea that the Ninth of Av will one day become a Festival is rooted in
the Prophetic Scriptures. The Prophet Zecharia records that at the time of
the rebuilding of the Second Temple (approximately 516 B.C.E.), a
delegation from Babylon (where the majority of the Jews still lived) came
up to Judea with one of the first Responsa (halachic questions and answers)
in history: "Shall we continue to weep on the fifth month as we have done
for the past seventy years?" Does not the re-establishment of the Temple
remove the necessity of our maintaining the Tisha B'Av Fast?

The Prophet responds that the time will certainly come when "the fast of
the fifth month...shall become transformed into a day of gladness and
rejoicing (sasson v'simchah)". However, the rebuilding of the Temple is
not sufficient for this to happen. Tisha B'Av can only become a Festival
day when the nation engages in true repentance, especially in our
inter-personal relationships, when the Israelites will love and practice
"truth and peace". [Zecharia 8:19]

This is a most precious idea, but it requires further elucidation. For
Tisha B'Av to turn into a Festival, the date itself must contain at
least the seeds of rejoicing. We celebrate
the fifteenth of Nissan (Pesach) because on that day the Jews left Egypt,
and the fourteenth of Adar (Purim) because on that day the Jews of Persia
were victorious over Haman.

What will be celebrated on the ninth day of Av? Shall we be expected to
rejoice because the Holy Temple was destroyed?

I believe that there is one aspect to the Ninth day of the month of Av
which -- despite the tragedies which occurred on that particular date, or
perhaps precisely because of those tragedies -- qualifies it to be
transformed into a day of joy.

Our Sages make reference to it when they chose the Biblical reading on
Tisha B'Av, a reading which comes from next week's Torah portion of Devarim
(Deuteronomy 4:25 ff). Moses is making his farewell speech and, in taking
his leave of the nation of Israel, he records the future historiography of
the nation.

"You will bear children, and children to your children, and you will live a
long time in the land. But then you will do evil in the eyes of the Lord
your G-d to anger Him and you will be destroyed from off the land..."
[Deuteronomy 4:25]

Under ordinary circumstances, this exile should have signaled the
death-knell of the nation. There is no nation in the history of humanity
which, after having been detached from its homeland for two thousand years,
has has retained its unique ethnic identity and not assimilated into its
host nation. Israel has been removed from its homeland for close to
2000 years, and has remained a nation distinct and apart nevertheless!

The Torah reading insists -- and prophesies -- that the fate and destiny of
Israel will indeed be unique.   The Lord will scatter the remnants of
Israel after the destruction to all four corners of the earth. Many
Jews will assimilate by worshiping trees and stones (the Gaon of Vilna
interprets trees as the wood of the Christian Cross and stone as the
foundation stone of the Al Aksa Moslem Mosque).

However, in the midst of the difficult straits of the exilic persecutions
"all these words shall find you and you shall return...This is because the
Lord is a G-d of compassion, Who will neither forsake nor destroy you,
neither will He forget the covenant He has sworn to your Parents."
[Deuteronomy 4:30-31]

"In the midst of the difficult straits, these words (of the Torah) shall
find you and you shall return," teaches the Torah reading. There will be a
destruction but there will also be a rebuilding, there will be an
exile but there will also be a return. "The Eternal One of Israel does not
express falsehood."

One of the names of the Almighty is Ehyeh, "I will be," explained by our
Talmudic Sages to mean: "I will be with you in the midst of your suffering
-- and ultimately I will take you out of your travail."

When the people of Israel return to their ethical and ritual traditions as
well as to their homeland, reunited with their history and their G-d, the
ninth day of Av will become a Festival. It will be a festival which marks
the eternity of a people despite destruction and exile, a people who
overcame the worst of tragedy because of their covenant with their G-d.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel

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From:      Yeshivat Har Etzion's Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
To:            yhe-intparsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject:   INTPARSHA -39: Parashat Devarim

            INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA

                   by Rav Alex Israel

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                 PARASHAT DEVARIM

                  Moses' History Lesson

INTRODUCTION - THE UNIQUE STYLE OF SEFER DEVARIM

     Our Torah reading this week inaugurates a new book
The Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy). The content of Sefer
Devarim gives it a unique status amongst the books of
Torah.   It is made up almost in its entirety of Moses'
addresses to the nation. The first few verses of the
book tell us that Moses began to address the people on
the "first day of the eleventh month" of the fortieth and
final year in the wilderness. This was just a short time
before Moses' death.[1] This book then, is the official
collection of Moses' parting addresses to the nation.

     Let me try to explain why the style of this book is
unusual even before we arrive at issues of content. When
we do a survey of the books of the Torah, we can assign
their content to certain classic categories.   The two
categories are narrative sections and legal    texts.
Narrative style is the voice of an imaginary anonymous
narrator [2] who tells the historical stories that the
Torah wishes to relate. Whether it is the story of
creation, Joseph and his brothers or the Exodus from
Egypt, these stories all follow a narrative style where
even God is referred to in the third person. The legal
sections are usually introduced with the words, "and God
spoke to Moses, saying: ..." and then the legal section
is outlined.   Hence, the book of Genesis is completely
formulated as a narrative text, whereas the book of
Leviticus (Vayikra) is 99 percent legal in nature. Books
like Exodus (Shemot) and Numbers (Bemidbar) are a mix
between the two formats. Deuteronomy, however, has a
unique style because in this book the "narrator" will
introduce Moses, but the historical and legal sections
are spoken by Moses in the form of a series of addresses
to the nation. Whereas in other books there is reported
speech, for example, Jacob's words, Pharaoh's words and
Balaam's   words, here the spoken word becomes    the
overwhelming bulk of the book.

TIMING

     What does Moses talk about so extensively? Why does
an entire volume - one fifth of the Torah - need to be
dedicated to Moses' speeches?

     Let us pause a little to think about the timeframe
in which these events happened. For Moses personally,
these were his final days and weeks. The great leader
who had led his people from Egypt, who had convened with
God at the summit of Sinai for an entire forty days
studying the law and conversing with God "face to face;"
the man who tirelessly led the nation through highs and
lows for forty long years was about to leave the world of
the living.   He delivers a "living will."    There are
certain messages that he feels he must impart in order to
reinforce the people's commitment to particular areas of
law, of morality, of religious life. His speeches are
filled with encouragement to the nation that they retain
the national lifestyle proscribed by the Torah. It is,
then, highly appropriate that for the modest man whose
burial place is a mystery - "and no-one knows his place
of burial to this very day" (Deut 34:6) - that his words
are his ultimate epitaph; his passion and loving-care for
the nation are his memorial monument. This is the reason
why these speeches of Devarim are so cherished.

     But we have still to mention a different dimension
to this story. The timing of Moses' speech is auspicious
not only in the context of Moses' personal life. For his
audience too, these are moments pregnant with expectancy.
Let us remember that the nation are encamped at the
border of the Land of Caanan. They wait there, poised,
ready for the conquest of the land, an event which they
have waited a full forty years to see. The changes which
the nation will undergo in the transition from a desert
tribe to a nation state are enormous. The potential for
success is enormous, the potential for failure is equally
frightening. Moses' speech would be relevant even were
he not to be on the verge of death. His speech is about
the society that will need to be created in the promised
land - the tensions and pressures, the compromises and
challenges. Moses excels in this speech in his foresight
and guidance.   For this second reason, his lengthy
teachings to the nation are critical.

     The content of the speeches are crucial to Moses'
agenda.    Devarim is made up [3] of three central
addresses of Moses which form a unit with a well-defined
educational agenda. The three sections of the book are:

Speech No.1 :   History's lessons   1:6-4:40
Speech No.2 : The main speech - The mitzvot in the land    5:1-26:19
Speech No.3   & 4: The covenantal speeches    27:11-28:69/Ch.29&30

     Each address or speech has an introduction which
explains when and where it was delivered and who the
audience was. This is the simple structure of the book.
You will notice that the central speech is the longest
(22 chapters) and is primarily focussed on a review of
the laws (mitzvot) of Judaism. The first speech would
seem to be something of an introduction.    It uses
historical information in order to encourage adherence to
God's word.   The final speeches describe the terms of
covenant whereby the promise of the land of Israel is
conditioned   upon   the keeping of the    commandments
(mitzvot). This then is the logical structure of Moses'
address: an encouraging introduction, followed by a
central core which delineates the code of law, and a
conclusion stressing the terms of commitment or failure.

     This class will focus upon the message of the first
speech, the introductory address whose first    three
chapters form our parsha. For optimum understanding of
the rest of this shiur, it would be good to have a text
at hand. The really keen amongst you might want to take
a break at this point and read chapters 1-3 of Devarim.

SELECTIVE HISTORY

     At first glance, our parasha reads as an historical
review.   We mention our departure from Mt. Sinai, the
disastrous spy episode, the journey to Israel/Canaan, the
nations that we encountered en route and the war against
Sichon and Og. But take a closer look! This "historical
review"   is far from complete! It does have   some
surprising   omissions if it aims   to    be   anything
approaching comprehensive. For example, the Exodus from
Egypt does not warrant a mention. The revelation at Mt.
Sinai and the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) are
also missing.

     So what does this mean? Let's summarize. We see a
speech here which recounts many historical incidents from
the wilderness years but misses some of the central ones.
What can we conclude? I would suggest simply that this is
not a simple historical review, with perhaps the aim of
informing a younger generation of their auspicious past.
No! The historical incidents here are hand-picked; the
review is a selective reading of history and it is
delivering a clear message. What is left for us is to
review the events mentioned and to "decode" the clues to
find   the "message" - to formulate an intelligible
spiritual statement.

     Let us begin by listing the "stories" or events
mentioned.

a.   The command to leave Sinai to the promised land 1:6-8
b.   Leadership crisis and appointment   of    Judges 1:9-18
c.   The journey to Canaan 1:19
d.   The sin of the spies and their    punishment 1:20-40
e.   The sin of those who tried to enter the Land 1:41-45
f.      The     forty    years     in    the    wilderness 1:46-2:1
g.   The command to leave the wilderness to Canaan 2:2

Confrontations with:
h: Edom (peaceful)            2:3-7
I. Moab (peaceful)            2:8-18
j. Ammon (peaceful)                2:19-25
k. Sichon of Cheshbon (war) 2:26-37
l. Og of Bashan (war)        3:1-20

     What is the meaning behind such a list? Why are
these   events in particular singled out for Moses'
attention? And what conceptual thread of thought weaves
these particular happenings together?

TWO JOURNEYS

The key to understanding the thrust of this history
lesson is to begin to be attentive to the words used by
the Torah, in particular, a phrase which is repeated
twice, in different context, almost word for word:

"And Lord our God spoke to us at Choreb, saying:
You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
Start   out   and make your way to    the   hill
country..." (1:6-7)

"Then the Lord said to me: You have been circling
this mountain long enough, start out to    the
north..." (2:2-3)

The text, by using almost identical phraseology (long
enough - this mountain - start out), is drawing a
connection between two events.   What are these two
events? They both contain God's order in relation to a
journey to Eretz Yisrael - the promised land. The first
verse is the order to Moses to embark upon the first
journey to the Canaan. Israel set out from Sinai on a
direct path to conquer the land. This expedition was
curtailed tragically by the spies' episode. The second
verse (2:2) is the identical order, issued 38 years later
(see 2:14), where the people left a mountain at which
they had been rooted, and they were told to set out for
the promised land. This was the second national attempt
to reach the holy land.

So, Moses is drawing a simple parallel or possibly a
contrast, between the failed mission in the second year
of the desert - the mission that so curiously collapsed -
and the current mission to reach the holy land.   This
second mission, from the perspective of the nation, is on
the very brink of its fulfillment.   The people have
massed on the border of the land and in a very short time
they expect to enter the land. But, then again, was this
not the self-same situation that Israel faced 38 years
earlier when, encamped at Kadesh, they requested spies?
And the rest is history! The two situations do have their
parallels.

So we have established that the historical analysis
aims to draw a parallel between the first and second
journeys to the land of Canaan. But what is the focus
here?

TO ENTER OR NOT TO ENTER?

A different textual similarity is evident within the
text of chapter 1. With the spies:

"... You did not wish to enter the land and you
rebelled against the word of the Lord your God."
(1:26)

But, in the aftermath of the story of the spies, after
the Israelites have received the decree that they stay in
the wilderness and die there, we read of a group who try
nonetheless to enter the land. Moses warns them not to
try:

"And the Lord said to me: tell them not to go...
for I am not with them." I spoke to them but they
did not listen and they rebelled against the word
of     God    and    deliberately     entered    (the
land)..."(1:42)

This comparison is in truth a deep and striking
contrast.   In both cases the people rebel against God
defying his words, however, the direction is different.
With the spies, the nation is meant to enter the land but
they refuse, thereby rebelling against God's plan.   In
the next story, God has decreed that the people refrain
from entering the land, and some people feel that they
themselves should go in. This too is a defiance of God's
word, His decree.

This    contrast   clearly   raises    certain   central
questions: Is it good to go into Canaan or not? Some
people get punished for their refusal to enter the land;
others are struck down because they wished to enter the
land. So where is the truth? How does a person know what
to do? A simple answer is appropriate. A person knows
what God tells him.

The second journey to Canaan tells a similar story.
Some nations - Edom, Moav, Ammon - confront Israel only
to prompt a warning from God:

"... be very careful not to provoke them, for I
will not give you of their land... do not harass
them or engage them in war..." (2:4, 9,19)

With other nations (Sichon and Og) God encourages
Israel to engage in warfare.   So we can pose   an
elementary question: How does one know which way to act?
Sometimes it seems that God says "yes" to the war option,
and at others He will say "no!" How does one know what to
do? The answer is that in truth, the only reliable option
is to resort to the word of God.

So, both sections establish the same pattern.   They
bring stories which happened on the way to Canaan.   The
stories are grouped in such a way that in each grouping,
the stories go either way: to enter or not to enter, to
fight or not to fight? It is not clear-cut as to how to
act.   In these situations, the text is telling us that
God's word is decisive.

Or, to put it a different way, the first mission
failed because the people refused to enter the land when
God wanted them to enter, and they wanted to enter when
God explicitly told them not to.   A mission to the
promised land in defiance of God will always be doomed to
failure.   In contrast, in the second journey, God's
instructions are heeded, despite their somewhat confusing
direction, and the journey runs smoothly.

THE LESSON

Where is all this leading? I think the answer is
reasonably simple. Moses is telling the people a simple
teaching: You cannot always trust your intuitions, your
logical reasoning isn't always correct. The word of God
is the surest way to follow. Surely this has additional
significance   at   this particular historical-national
juncture.   The nation is about to enter Canaan.   It is
their immediate task. However, Moses, the great leader
who has taken them so far, will not be continuing the
journey with them. Moses is leaving them at a crucial
moment in Jewish History. Moses then, feels an intense
need to say: 'You messed it up once. Don't do it again!'
You stood in exactly this position thirty-eight years ago
and it all came to a tragic end. How about this time?
Moses wants the people to learn these lessons clearly so
that they will not fall into the trap of their ancestors.
They must know that the control over Canaan is dependent
on obedience to God. Moses is not going to be there to
remind them of potential pitfalls and mistakes. He will
be dead by the time they enter. Instead, he tries to
review their journey through the wilderness with a simple
agenda. Why did the first mission fail, and how will the
second succeed. This is really Moses' entire objective
in the book of Devarim as a whole. In Moses' words at
the conclusion of his "history lesson":

"And now, O Israel, listen to the laws and rules
that I am instructing you to observe, so that you
may live to enter and occupy the land that the
Lord, the God of your fathers is giving you..."
(4:1-2)

The "history lesson" is focussed upon this message.
The topic of the lesson relates to the fundamental
orientation as regards the word of God in the context of
nation and land. The first speech of Devarim attempts to
establish a relationship to these values. We can then
move upwards to a deeper understanding of the system of
mitzvot themselves.

Shabbat shalom

Footnotes:

[1] Tradition has it that Moses died on Adar the 7th.
Although it is not mentioned in the Bible explicitly, it
is derived from the books of Devarim and Joshua which
records thirty days of public mourning for Moses, a three-
day preparation for the journey to Canaan, Circumcision
of the nation (assumption that there is a three-day
recovery period), and the celebration of Pesach on the
14th of Nissan. Working backwards one reaches 7 Adar.

[2] I am not trying to propose that there is a person who
is this narrator, but simply that God chose to tell the
story from the third person rather than from the first
person perspective. God did not say, "In the beginning I
created heaven and earth," but rather; "In the beginning,
God created..." See Nachmanides in his introduction to
his Torah commentary where he discusses this point.

[3] The end of the book I have ignored for our purposes:
Ch. 31-32 The historical "song" or "poem" of Ha'azinu.
Ch.33 Moses' blessings to the tribes
Ch.34 Moses' death

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