As a lover of language, there is something spectacular about the subtle flexibility of the Hebrew language. The addition of a letter at the beginning of a word can transform the meaning of the entire sentence, and the shift of a suffix alters the pronouns associated with the word. This subtle nuance of language can add a tremendous message to pasukim, and in Parshas Devarim, the pronoun that Moshe focuses on for the first time is, perhaps, the most important one that Bnei Yisrael must remember as they look at their past and head into their future.
Us… Our. These are powerful terms. These are terms that create
a nation. These are terms that it would behoove us to remember today, as we begin
Tisha B’Av (Shabbas, with the fast on the Sunday, the 10th of Av).
It is well-known that the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash is attributed
to the lack of unity among the Jewish people. The greater “Us” was shattered
into us and us and us. It is, sadly, a rift that we have not yet healed –
indeed, it has continued to splinter into ever greater discord as the
generations proceed.
What is unique about the use of “Us/Our” in Parshas Devarim?
Verse 1:6 states: “Hashem, our God,
spoke to us in Horeb saying…” If you just read the parsha, the wording feels so
common, so un-noteworthy, that it does not make one pause and reflect –
especially as it occurs so early in sefer. But, from what I can see, this
terminology “our God” is actually rather uncommon in the Torah. The last time
the term was used was in Sefer Shemos, and then only in the context of Moshe
and Aaron speaking to Pharaoh. It has
not, until this point, been used to address the people.
In Shemos, Vayikra, and Bamidbar (Bereishis being a unique
sefer), Moshe frequently reiterates to the Children of Israel – or is instructed
to reiterate to them – the commandments of God. In these three sfarim, however,
Moshe almost exclusively speaks in the second person. He speaks, consistently,
to the Children of Israel and talks to them about “Hashem Elokeichem, the Lord
your God.” And while he is addressing them as a whole through the second-person
plural, it is, in syntax, distancing. It is a language that, if nothing else, segregates
the speaker (Moshe) from the audience.
Moshe’s distance was necessary. Beyond the fact that he was
set apart from the nation because of his unique and incredible level, because
he was the only human given the opportunity to come that close to Hashem and to
communicate with Him so directly, Moshe needed to speak tp the people this way
in order to lead them and communicate Hashem’s words to them. As Bnei Yisrael
wandered through the wilderness, Moshe needed to represent “din,” the rule of
law.
As Sefer Devarim begins, however, Moshe’s job is coming to
an end. Now that Moshe knows that the journey is winding down, that the people
are ready, he begins his final address with a reminder that everything that has
happened, everything that has been commanded, is for Klal Yisrael all together.
“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb (Sinia),” (Devarim
1:6). On a surface level, this phrase refers to a very specific event. When
Hashem began to give the Torah at Sinai, He called out the first few of the Ten
Commandments so that everyone could hear. But the people were struck with such awe,
with such fear, that they begged Moshe to receive the commandments for them. “Let
us not die, then, for this fearsome fire will consume us; if we hear the voice
of Hashem our God any longer, we shall die” (Devarim 5:22).
Rhetorically, however, as the first words that Moshe speaks
in Sefer Devarim, “our God, spoke to us” is a call for the nation to look at
themselves as a we, as an us, as a people with far more to hold them together
than to set them apart. And it does not matter if he reverts to the use of
second-person plural when he reiterates events or repeats the mitzvos to remind
them. In the opening words of his speech, Moshe has set the tone of unity. (And,
one might note, Hashem Elokeinu, is used approximately 25 times in the sefer).
We live in a time where it seems even the fight for Jewish
unity, so seemingly prominent in recent decades past, has been resignedly put
to the side. We live in a time when we hope, and pray, and gently inquire, for
Jews outside of the Orthodox realm, to maintain their Jewish identity and to pass
it on to their children. And within the Orthodox realm, we live in an era when
hashgafic details create cracks that our children use to pick one another apart
on the school playgrounds. The Lord OUR God spoke to US! This is our God. This
is our Torah. And we cannot properly move forward unless we start to actively
think of ourselves – and not just talk about ourselves - in this manner.
Tisha B’Av is here. We are, sadly once again, sitting down
to cry about the destruction. We mourn the loss of the Beis Hamikdash, not the
physical place but rather the ability to have the Shechina, the spirit of
Hashem, dwell among US. All of the people stood at Horeb and heard Hashem’s
words, those who would come to rebel, those who would run to bring a gift to
the Mishkan, those who would come to complain and those who sought to move
forward, those who come to sin and those who would suffer for the sin of
others. It doesn’t matter. Our nation is not perfect, and we never were. But we
are a nation and Hashem is OUR God.
May this be our last Tisha B”Av and May we see Klal Yisrael
come together in love and unity.
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