Parsha Vayeilech: It Might Be My Fault

The human gift for rationalization is a common topic for divrei Torah during the month of Tishrei, during the weeks when the Children of Israel even today spend time in self reflection and teshuva (repentance). Rationalizing is one of the great tools of the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) in that it is the most natural path for convincing oneself that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right, or even that something is not quite such a bad thing to do. It is a tool that goes hand in hand with shedding accountability, with an inclination to blame.

On a national level, these behaviors have been at the heart of our people’s greatest downfalls, and we were well and truly warned that this would be so. In Parshas Vayeilech, Hashem calls Moshe to the Tent of Meeting to begin the process of Moshe’s end. Hashem tells Moshe quite clearly that when he is gone, the people will go astray. Not only will they look to foreign gods, but Hashem forecasts that “they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I made with them. Then My anger will flare up against them, and I will abandon them and hide My countenance from them. They shall be easy prey, and many evils and troubles shall befall them. And they shall say on that day, ‘Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us’” (Devarim 31:16-17).

Reading this verse, one might be astounded at the chutzpah, at the very idea that they who turned aside from Hashem’s ways could then blame their woes on the absence of Hashem’s presence among them. But this is the yetzer hara. This is human nature’s self-defense mechanism protecting the psyche. No one likes to admit when they have caused their own misfortune.

It is interesting to note how wordy verse 17 is. There are 15 words before the people’s reaction (And they shall say…), which is longer than most single pasukim in the Torah. Here too is an allusion to this being more than a happenstance reaction. Hashem is showing the mechanism of the yetzer harah’s tools. Between “they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I made with them” and the people’s complaint of abandonment, there is a lengthy description of God’s reaction – lengthy in particular since the promise of His anger has been described before. Herein is the explanation of how we so easily externalize fault because if there is any delay in the cause and effect, then we often choose to be blind to the connection.

The end of verse 17 should really state “Surely it is because our God hid himself from us when we did not follow His ways that these evils have befallen us.” The lesson here is perfect for this time of year, for the Aseres Ymai Teshuva (the Ten Days of Repentance). How did our choices bring us to the point where we could or did do those transgressions for which we need to repent this year? There is no time like the present, when we are striving to recognize, confess, and repair our actions that have been cutting us off from our connection to the Divine, for us to really stop and determine our own role in the challenges that we face.

 

Why the Little Ones? (Vayeilech #2)

In describing the mitzvah of hakahel (gathering all of the people to hear the Torah read aloud on the holiday of Sukkot once every seven years), Moshe instructs Bnei Yisrael: Gather the people -men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities - that they may hear and so learn to revere the Lord your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching. Their children, too, who have not had the experience, shall hear and learn to revere the Lord your God as long as they live in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan to possess” (Devarim 31:12-13).

This is a good place to note how particularly inclusive the Torah verse is. It includes the men, the women, the children, and the strangers. Four unique parts of Klal Yisrael, each of which is integral. No part of the klal should be minimized.

Perhaps one might ask why the strangers are included, but from the perspective of the modern Jewish world in which our communities have been absorbing geirim and baalei teshuva, there is plenty of evidence of the myriad benefits of new people coming into the community. They bring inspiration and innovation to communities where people can easily fall into rote behaviors.

In the Talmud, Masechet Chagiga 3a, the Gemara asks about Devarim 31:12: “If men come to learn, and women come to hear, why do the little ones come?” The sages answer themselves: “In order [for God to] give a reward to those who bring them.”

In a way, it is a funny question. Realistically speaking, of course, if everyone was obligated to come to the gathering, didn’t they have to bring their little ones? There was no one to look after them! Then again, perhaps Moshe, in giving over God’s commandments, recognized that parents sometimes need a little extra encouragement to venture into a public event with their children or sometimes the public needs a reminder that little kids are people too! Or perhaps such thoughts of making a specific invitation to include small children is the result of the steadily growing attitude of the modern world that children are a lifestyle choice and often an inconvenience to those busy “adulting.” By now we have all seen the articles about families with children being evicted from airplanes or nursing mothers being shamed for feeding their little ones.

The truth is, the children are the ikker, the essence. They are the future. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsh commented on Devarim 31:13:

The children, who have not yet the understanding to be brought to the study and carrying out of the Torah by what they hear read out of the Torah at hakahel, are nevertheless impressed by their parents and the great concourse of people all listening attentively to the king in the pulpit, and this working on their childish minds and feelings brings them to the fear of God … the impression made by this great assembly of the whole nation to listen to the Torah being read was not without value for their future lives, even for these tiny tots.”

The Gemara in Chagiga tells us that the men were called to learn, the women to hear, and the little ones to bring reward to those who bring them. In truth, what greater reward do any Jewish parents have then knowing that they have successfully passed on their traditions to the next generations.

Perhaps you are noticing the Gemara’s specific delineation that the men come to learn and the women come to hear. In traditional Judaism, men and women have different roles in the world. However, there are some in the Orthodox world today who feel that the role of women is better kept from the public realm. Devarim 31:13 seems to be an excellent reminder that everyone, men and women both, need to attend hakahel. More than that, the public acknowledgement of women and their successes and struggles is critical for many of our young girls to grow into healthy and happy women who will pass on the Torah to their children.

Maintaining Torah from one generation to the next is a great concern for families today. There is a constant discussion about how to help keep children on the derech. Perhaps some insight can be gained from this interesting commentary of Rabbi Nassan Adler from Iturei Torah:

As everyone knows, little children disturb the religious service. They create confusion and prevent people from concentrating. Would it not have been better to leave them at home?...The Gemara answers that there is a great reward in store for those who bring them; a reward that far outweighs the drawbacks. The children’s excitement and the atmosphere of kedusha in the Beit Hamikdash will make an indelible imprint on the children’s consciousness and draw them closer to Hashem. Although, to a certain extent, Torah is neglected by the presence of little children, this is offset by the enormous pedagogical benefits that are derived from their attendance at this memorable event. … The lesson to be derived from this is that it is worthwhile giving up a degree of self-perfection for the benefit of your children’s education.

We don’t have Hakahel today, but we can make our homes, our Shabbas tables, and our places of worship into places reminiscent of the Beit Hamikdash. We can bring joy to our mitzvot observance and our learning so that our children will come to love Torah and mitzvot. The only way that Klal Yisrael can continue is by gathering ourselves together and using all of our strengths to strengthen the generations to come.

Bibliography

Hirsch, Rabbi Samsom Raphael. The Pentateuch: Volume V Deuteronomy. Translated by Isaac Levy, Judaica Press, LTD, 1999.

Furer, Dov. Torah Treasures: Selected Thoughts and Insights from the Classic Commentaries on the Parshah of the Week. Translated by Avraham Yaakov Finkel. C.I.S. Publishers and Distributors, 1993.

Strength and Boldness (Vayeilech)

I am writing this week’s parsha post on an airplane. Among the inflight entertainment options on my screen is a movie titled “Birthmarked,” described as the story of two scientists who “attempt to prove the power of nurture over nature by raising three children contrary to their genetic predispositions.” I did not watch the movie, but the description caught my attention and made me chuckle. As a parent, I know how hard it is to try to bend the nature of a child. Then I read this week’s parsha, Parsha Vayeilech, and I was struck by how much insight one can gain when reading the Torah with child psychology in mind.

As we so frequently remind ourselves at this time of year, God is the ultimate Father, Avinu. Throughout the Torah (but particularly in the Book of Devarim), we are reminded that God knows us, His children, well and that He knows that we will go wrong and worship false gods. “The people will arise and stray after the gods of the others of the land that they are going there among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I made with them” (Deuteronomy 31:16). God is here informing Moshe and Yehoshua that this is the nature of the Children of Israel.

Perhaps you, like me, find it hard to understand the idea of worshipping idols. We so often think of idol worship as people bowing down or making sacrifices to statues or praying to multiple deities. We can’t fully understand it because the desire for idol worship has been removed from our people for many generations (since the Anshei Knesset Hagedola). But the desire for “false gods,” for following the ways of the others among whom we live, is still in our nature. The hypothesis is that the urge for avodah zara is deeply connected to self-esteem and the desire for a tangible object to blame for one's failures. Perhaps in the most recent era people seek to fulfill that need through celebrities and the desire for one's "five minutes in the spotlight." But really, we need to rely only on Hashem and trust that the path He set out for us is the way to go.  

Parshat Vayeilech features the transfer of leadership from Moshe to Yehoshua. In announcing this transfer, the use of the phrase “Be courageous and be bold!” occurs three times, which makes it significant and interesting. Moshe says it to the people and then he says it to Yehoshua directly, neither of which would have been particularly interesting if not for the fact that Hashem then used this language with Yehoshua, which adds a whole new level of significance.

Moshe’s words were meant to be encouragement, both to the Children of Israel and Yehoshua. Hashem saying it to Yehoshua is both a comfort and a forewarning. In telling Yehoshua to be strong and courageous, Hashem is informing him that his role to come will not be an easy one. This generation, raised in the wilderness, had all of Hashem’s nurturing. But when sent out on their own, human nature would quickly reassert itself and they would seek more tangible deities. This would not be Yehoshua’s fault; it would be the influence of nature over nurture. 

The challenge of the desire to follow after false gods, whatever they may be, remains a tremendous struggle. May we all have strength and boldness to overcome the natural inclination (perhaps to take the path of least resistance) and to nurture our connection with Hashem.