For Enquire Now (Va'eschanan)

There are no such things as “throw-away lines” or “filler text” in the Torah. The traditional perspective is that every word is from Hashem, and Hashem did not waste any words. This is important to remember when reviewing parshat Va’eschanan, because one could easily get caught up in the big items that this parsha holds. Not only are there the words of the Shema, the ultimate utterance of Jewish faith (Hear O’ Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is one!) and two of the paragraphs that are read with it, but this week’s parsha contains the second iteration of the Ten Commandments. The less famous bits, however, are also incredibly significant.

The fourth chapter of Devarim contains Moshe’s dire prediction that Bnei Yisrael will stray from their relationship with Hashem and will “serve man-made gods of wood and stone” (4:28), but also that they will once again seek out Hashem, Who would forgive them and be compassionate to them. It is followed by a reminder of how unique their experience at Sinai had been, how no other nation had (or has) ever experienced such events.

Within these verses one can find the essence of Jewish survival, the path of teshuva (repentance being its most common translation, but more accurately, return). God never expected perfection, because only God is perfect. Moshe reminds Bnei Yisrael that if they falter, they are not lost. “But if you search for Hashem your God, you will find Him, if only you seek Him with all your heart and soul” (4:29).

Moshe is speaking to the soul of Bnei Yisrael. Many years ago, I heard a Dvar Torah about the name Yisrael and how it can be translated into “he who wrestles with God.” This translation resonated with me deeply, perhaps because emunah has never come easily for me. To really be in a relationship with God requires work. It requires knowing how to answer those who question faith. It requires being willing to fight with oneself against one’s personal, physical desires if they are contrary to the Torah. It requires an active process.

Judaism is a life of questioning, and this week’s parsha contains what very well might be the oldest line of proof text useable to rabbis trying to prove that Judaism encourages questioning and searching: “For enquire now concerning the earliest times which were before you, since the day that God created man (Adam) upon the earth...” (Devarim 4:32).

Perhaps I was particularly effected by this line because my own journey toward observance was very much based in looking at the past. The March of the Living (1992) had a profound effect on me, such that I thought about all of the people who had come before me and had sacrificed so that I could still be a Jew in the 20th (now 21st) century. Every Jew today reflects generations of striving and sacrifice. In later days, in times when I wrestled with faith, one of the most solid proofs in my mind was history. There is no nation that has remained so steadfast since “the earliest times.” Between wars, persecution, and assimilationist tendencies, the probability of Jews maintaining their traditions today is astounding.

This verse is also a reflection of Judaism’s encouragement to acquire knowledge about... everything. For by learning and exploring, one is bound to strengthen their faith in God. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch concludes his comments on this verse by stating that “to obtain knowledge of nature and history which is open to our research within these limits [reflecting previous commentary about limiting study to that which is after Creation] is not only  permitted but something which is eminently desirable to the fullest possible extent, for only a mind armed with such a wide panoramic view on all matters can draw the right conclusions of the Jewish position in the world in the whole of its speciality.”