This Shabbas is known as Shabbas Nachamu after the opening words of the Haftarah, which is a message of comfort after the disheartening observance of Tisha B’Av. Shabbas Nachamu always coincides with the reading of Parshas Va’etchanan, a parsha whose second aliyah is particularly apt for this time of year as it is an emotional roller coaster that is both frightening and comforting at the same time.
Va’etchanan continues
Moshe’s parting words to Bnei Yisrael, and one can see within his words his
deep love for the people he has led. The second aliyah, which is Devarim
4:5-40, begins with a statement of the greatness of Klal Yisrael – a statement
that is meant to be an eternal warning and inspiration: “See, I have imparted
to you laws and rules, as my God Hashem has commanded me, for you to
abide by in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. Observe them
faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other
peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, ‘Surely, that great nation
is a wise and discerning people’” (Devarim 4:5-6)
The chukim
and mishpatim of Bnei Yisrael were Divinely unique in their path to set the nation
on track both civilly, morally, and spiritually. The laws were designed to
address bein adam l’chavero, bein adam l’atzmo, and bein adam l’Makom. And the
laws were given to help Bnei Yisrael become a unique example that people would
wish to emulate.
Moshe needed
the people to know that it is a path of greatness and that it is a path that
requires great effort: “But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously,
so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so
that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known
to your children and to your children’s children” (4:9).
These verses
may seem like a continuation of previous admonishments in the Torah, but they
are unique because these are not Hashem’s words, these are Moshe’s. The verses
within this section of the parsha weave between “I”s and “You”s. When Moshe is
telling the people what they should and should not do, it is not a rebuke but a
testament of his love for them, his love that came at a tremendous personal
cost.
“Now Hashem was angry with me on your account and swore
that I should not cross the Jordan and enter the good land that your God Hashem is assigning you as a heritage” (4:21). Moshe
hurts, emotionally, because he cannot enter the land with the people. But this
is not Moshe complaining. This is Moshe trying to make certain that the people
before him and the generations to come receive the most important message.
Hashem keeps His word, always. Indeed, numerous commentaries discuss why, at
the opening of the parsha and here, Moshe claims his punishment is “on your
account.”
As
summarized on Aish.com: “The Ohr HaChaim takes this same approach to its
inescapable conclusion: Had Moshe entered the Land, the Temple would have been
built – and could never have been destroyed; such was the spiritual power of
Moshe. Had the Jews sinned despite this spiritual center, God would have
destroyed the people, while the building [the temple] would have remained
standing, intact and unscathed. God did not allow Moshe to enter the Land so
that He could take out his "anger" on the building, on the stone and
mortar of the Beit haMikdash, rather than on the people who had transgressed. The
people would be exiled, not annihilated. Thus, Moshe rightly explains, his own
punishment was ‘for your sakes.’”
Moshe’s
punishment is “on your account” looking forward, not backward. And looking
forward, Moshe knows: “When you have children and grandchildren, and are
long-established in the land, and you become corrupt and make a sculpted image,
the likeness of anything, and do evil in the eyes of God, your God, provoking
Him to anger. I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you that you
shall soon perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess;
you shall not long endure in it but shall be utterly wiped out from it” (4:25-26).
Note the use of the personal pronoun “I.” This is Moshe speaking. This is
not Moshe conveying Hashem’s words, but Moshe passionately telling the people that
he knows that they will go down wrong paths. He knows because he loves them enough
to know that they are not yet where they need to be and he is willing to tell
them. It is a statement not a rebuke.
Indeed, it is not for no reason that the first five verses of the perek –
part of the first aliyah – describe the death of those who sinned and fell to
idolatry and immorality at Baal Peor. If even those in the generation of the
Midbar could be waylaid… future generations must gird themselves with the
knowledge Moshe was imparting that day. The most significant part of which was
that even as they falter they must know:
“But if you search there, you will find your God Hashem, if only you seek with all your heart and
soul— when you are in distress because all these things have befallen you and,
in the end, return to and obey your God Hashem. For your
God Hashem is a compassionate God, who will not fail
you nor let you perish; [God] will not forget the covenant made on oath with
your fathers. You have but to inquire
about bygone ages that came before you, ever since God created humankind on
earth, from one end of heaven to the other: has anything as grand as this ever
happened, or has its like ever been known?” (4:29-32)
There are so many traps in the world to lead us off our path both as
individuals and as a nation. Moshe specifically warns about idolatry because idolatry
is cutting ourselves off from our relationship with Hashem, from the deeply
personal connection that Moshe is telling us we have. This is why he states: “For your own sake, therefore, be most
careful—since you saw no shape when Hashem spoke to you at Horeb out of the
fire” (4:15).
Parshas Va’etchanan is a parsha that resonates with relatability even in our
time. We are no longer in an era of
idolatry. We don’t think of statues or stars as divine beings. We do, however,
chase after ideas and -isms, unseen idealizations that are equally man made.
Hashem may not have appeared in a visible shape, but His presence at Har Sinai
was unquestionable. These isms speak of justice and righteousness, but within
them is human pretext.
More and
more we are seeing Jews around the world realizing that something is wrong,
that something isn’t working. Those others to whom they turned for guidance
still see us as part of a different nation, still want us to earn the title of “great
nation is a wise and discerning people,” which Moshe here points out can only
be achieved but observing the laws faithfully.
It is no
small task, but it is a task that Moshe, our greatest teacher, knew every
generation would be up for. It is a task – perhaps the task- that must balance
our fight for the physical land that we love.
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