Close The Gap Of The Dark Years In Between (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Cassidy")

     One of my lasting childhood memories recurs every four years. I remember watching Presidential Inaugurations with my parents. The experience was an all-day civics lesson with my father reminding me of the miracle that we witness with the peaceful transfer of power. He and my mother would remind me and my sister that history has consistently demonstrated the extremely rare and miraculous nature of the peaceful transfer of power.  They explained this miracle as simultaneously "fragile" and "powerful", like a flame being passed from candle to candle bringing light to the darkness.  

    This week's Parsha is Bo.  The ten plagues culminate with locusts, darkness, and finally the killing of the firstborn. On the night of the last plague, God instructs Moshe to tell B'nai Yisroel to slaughter a lamb for each family. The blood should be painted onto the doorpost. The sacrificed lamb must be completely eaten that night with no leftovers.  The command continues with God instructing Moshe to reiterate this story to the children of each family. The Parsha concludes with the command to sanctify the firstborn, remember this night, remember what God did for B'nai Yisroel, and how B'nai Yisroel eventually returned to the land. 

Parts of the Parsha are read on Pesach. Those parts dealing with the Paschal sacrifice, as well as the Mitzvah of "Telling" the child about the impending redemption, are read. However, there is one phrase that is particularly interesting and revealing. The second to last plague is Choshech, darkness. Vayomer Adonai el Moshe  N'Teih Yadchah al Hashamayim - And God said to Moshe "Stretch forth your hand toward the heavens,  Va'Yehi Choshech al Eretz Mitzrayim- "And there will be darkness upon the land of Egypt, Vayameish Choshech - and the darkness will depart. (Ex. 10:21). What does it mean that the darkness will depart? If darkness departs doesn’t that mean light arrives? Typical darkness is merely the absence of light. According to Sforno, the great Italian Rennaissance commentator, typical darkness is an atmosphere prepared to receive light. After all, the moon reflects light into the night, and the stars shine a light as well. Sforno explains that the word VaYameish comes from the three-letter root Mem Vav Shin - to feel or touch. The plague of darkness conjures up the image of a person trying to feel their way in the darkness, lost and unable to see immediately in front as if they have their hands outstretched and feeling their way around.  This plague is perhaps the most perfectly designed plague, and, ironically, it can only affect the Egyptians precisely because they were free. This type of darkness could not affect the Hebrew slaves. Prior to the darkness, the free Egyptians could come and go as they pleased, they were not confined.  They had freedom of movement. Obviously, slaves do not enjoy the freedom of movement. Like prisoners, slaves are captive and bound by very physical limits. The slave lives in darkness and has learned how to “see” within the darkness, not so the master who is unconstrained by physical limits.  As a result of being unable to “see” in this type of darkness, the “master” cannot move for fear that the next step will constitute a “last step”, into an abyss. In a sense, the free person has become paralyzed.  

    The plague of darkness didn’t spread to the homes of the Hebrew slaves, darkness was confined to Egypt and to the Egyptians. B’nai Yisroel had light, they had a covenant with God. Moshe would remind them of that covenant and remind them to teach their children of that covenant and engage in rituals to remind them of and continue to participate in that covenant. Yes, I have grown older, our family gathers together every four years and watches the same miracle that I watched with my parents, and our children receive the same civics lesson that I received. I realized that the lessons we learn as children and transmit to our children, the rituals that we engage in as children, and the same rituals we teach to and do with our children bring light to a darkened world. If those values are integrated and deeply internalized, that light still combats darkness. 

Things Went Down That We Don't Understand, But I Think In Time We Will (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "New Speedway Boogie")

           As we receive more information about the terrorist attack in Washington D.C, the more troubling and disturbing the information becomes.  Besides seeing swastikas, Nazi paraphernalia, and white supremacist symbols, one of the more disturbing bits of information was the identity of a 34-year-old Jewish man from Brooklyn, NY. His father is a judge and former president of a Brooklyn Shul.  When my children saw the story about this particular individual and his recent arrest, they were troubled.  How does a  Brooklyn Jew whose father is a judge, align himself with anti-Semites, White supremacists, and their Nazi symbols my children wondered? He clearly had become radicalized by swimming in a parallel universe, a universe built upon propaganda and dystopian lies, or otherwise known as “alternative facts”.  This young man’s participation in the attack upon the Capitol served as a powerful example of what can happen when a person begins to sink into the quagmire of all those conspiracy theories and dystopian white supremacist alternative realities.  Alternative facts justify chaos.  Alternative facts, conspiracies, and ignorance replace science, empirical evidence, and thought. Alternative facts and conspiracies lead to a cult of personality.

          This week we read from Parsha Va’Eira. In this Parshah, God reassures Moshe after Pharaoh mocked and dismissed both he and Aharon. God explains that he will cause Pharaoh’s heart to harden after each plague, but eventually, Pharaoh will capitulate and free the Hebrew slaves. God explains the various stages of redemption to Moshe. The plagues begin. We are supposed to understand that each of these first seven plagues is more severe than the previous plague: Blood, Frogs, Lice, Wild Beasts, Animal plague, Boils, Hail. Moshe requests that Pharaoh permit B’nai Yisroel to worship God for three days. At times, Pharaoh acquiesces and there are moments he changes his mind. Sometimes he asks Moshe to pray on his behalf and sometimes he doesn’t. One thing is clear,  whenever Pharaoh gets his way with the cessation of a plague, ordinarily an indicator of God’s presence and power, Pharaoh behaves like a petulant child. He returns to his arrogant self-centered nature. It seems that Pharaoh is operating under an alternative set of facts regarding Hashem’s authority and power. By the Parsha’s conclusion, the plague of Hail has devastated the land and killed anything that was outside, Pharaoh expresses the evolution of his belief system based upon facts, not alternative facts nor upon an incorrect interpretation of facts.

          Two men, Moshe and Pharaoh, two groups, Hebrew slaves and Egyptian task masters, experience a type of revelation. Moshe is told by God, Ani Adoshem VaEira el Avraham El Yitzchak v’ El Yaakov B’Eil Shaddai U’Shmi Adoshem Lo Nodati LaHem – I am Hashem, I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but with My Name Hashem, I did not make Myself known to them (Ex. 6:2) With Signs and Wonders, God wanted Moshe and B’nai Yisroel to know exactly who God is.  V’Yadu Mitzrayim Ki Ani Adoshem, BinToti et Yadi Al Mitzrayim V’Hotzeiti et Bnai Yisroel MiTocham – And Egypt Shall know that I am Hashem when I stretch out My hand over Egypt; and I shall take the Children of Israel out from among them (Ex. 7:5). With each ensuing plague, God wanted Pharaoh and Egypt to know and accept God’s existence and God’s authority as a fact.  What is being transmitted? Ani Adoshem – I am Hashem, the fact that Hashem exists and has a covenantal relationship with his people.  How is this fact transmitted? Va’Eira – I appeared through signs and wonders or as a harbinger of plagues. It depends on who is experiencing the appearance and how that experience is perceived. For the Egyptians, God displays God’s presence through plagues. For Bnai Yisroel, God displays God’s presence through signs and wonders. That is to say, each interprets God’s presence according to their values, their perceptions, their world view, and their place within the world. However, there is one fact, one truth, one God, everything else, is perception and interpretation. This is the lesson that Moshe and B’nai Yisroel will be reminded of and this is the lesson that Pharaoh, a man who thought himself to be God, will eventually learn and accept.

We have seen that alternative facts can be very dangerous and even deadly.  Alternative facts are the tools of dictators and kings. When society accepts alternative facts, it ultimately accepts moral relativism and becomes corrupt.  There are plenty of historical reminders of the dangers of “alternative facts” with the rise and fall of dictatorships and totalitarian regimes. As the participants in this recent terrorist attack are arrested, placed on “no-fly” lists, and treated as threats to the welfare and safety of democratic institutions,  maybe they will begin to understand the dangers of listening to those who espouse conspiracy theories and alternative facts for their own self-aggrandizement.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Peace,

Rav Yitz 

Walk Out Of Any Doorway; Feel Your Way Like The Day Before (Robert Hunter & Phil Lesh "Box of Rain")

            I just spent two weeks in quarantine, after I drove my twenty-year-old daughter to the University of Maryland. While down in my basement, reading books, working out on my elliptical machine, and watching the news as well as assorted Netflix movies, my daughters knew that I was always home and available for them. In the late mornings, our eighteen-year-old daughter would Whatsapp video call me from Israel. She would tell me about her classes her voice filled with excitement her face full of enthusiasm. Later on, in the early part of the afternoon, I would receive a WhatsApp message or video call from our twenty-year-old. If it was a video call, invariably she would be walking across the campus, coming from a class, her physical therapy session, or a store. Always wearing a mask, her voice too was filled with excitement to be on a big-time college campus, excited to be living in an apartment and thankful for schlepping her down to the University of Maryland. Later in the evening, I would send a message to our eldest daughter. I know that she is incredibly busy trying to get her candidate elected to the United States Congress. Usually, she would respond on a video call as well, prefacing our call by informing me that she only has a few minutes to spare because she is so busy. The campaign will be done next week. Although she looks so tired that I worry about her, her voice is also filled with excitement and passion, her face resolute as she guides a campaign to its ultimate goal.  

          This week's Parsha is Lech Lecha. In it, God commands Abram to leave his father, his homeland, and everything he has ever known, and go towards a place that God will show him later. Abram does. He heads down towards Egypt because of a famine. Eventually, Abram leaves Egypt with money, flocks, servants, and wealth. Lot, Abram's nephew, and Abram decide to part ways since each their respective flocks not only become intermingled but their hired hands fight among each other. Abram then fights against several kings in an attempt to protect Lot. Then his wife Sarai, who is barren, tells Abram to make Hagar (the maidservant) the surrogate mother. Abram listens and Hagar has a son named Ishmael. She runs away and then returns. God tells Abram a prophecy. Abram will become the father of a great nation, and that nation will become enslaved for several centuries and then will return to the land that God promised Abram. Then God instructs Abram to circumcise himself, his son Ishmael and all the males of his household. All these events are linked together by the theme of "Lech Lecha" of going, of traveling.

            The Zohar, the rabbinic book of mysticism, comments upon the first verse "Lech Lecha Mei'Artzecha uMimoladtcha, U'mibeit Avicha El Ha'Aretz Acher Areka- Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you (Gen 12:1). Instead of a physical journey, the Zohar explains that Abram was commanded to embark upon a spiritual journey. The soul, while residing in the World to Come, exists in close or proximity to God. Because of the spiritual clarity and intensity revealed there, no free will and no chance for spiritual growth and advancement can occur. Like the angels, the soul in the World to Come is called an Omaid, a standee. In this World, however, we know that a person has Free Will. This means that we all have the opportunity to advance spiritually as long as we remain in this World. The soul in this world is called a Holiach, a walker, someone who goes, much like Abram went.

            Like Abram, we are all commanded to Lech Lecha. Abram walked and traveled, and so did Lot. Yet Abram epitomized the individual who retained his integrity and ideals despite the difficulties of life, and despite the growing cynicism brought on by age. Abram managed to remember that God is the end and everything else is merely a means to that end. However, all the wealth and all the prosperity are not ends in and of itself. Our daughters have left home,  They are making their way. They may have left home but not the value with which they have been raised. They may have left home, but they brought with them the lessons they have learned and applied it to their lives, their studies, and their jobs. They may have left home but wherever they are and whatever they do, they do so with the passion and joy that can only exist when they choose their respective paths. I only hope our son demonstrates the same passion and joy in whatever path he chooses.

Peace,

Rav Yitz 

Things Went Down We Don't Understand But I Think In Time We Will (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "New Speedway Boogie")

          I should be upbeat, perhaps even happy. Baseball has returned this week. Something that suggests “normal”, something that suggests a seasonal means by keeping track of time (a schedule, box scores to check in the morning, or a big weekend series). Yet, I am deeply troubled. We have been watching what has been happening in Portland. We have watched as federal troops, who are not part of the U.S. armed forces but rather from other Federal agencies such as Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security, etc., in unmarked battle, fatigues have fired upon non-violent protesters, who have arrested non-violent protesters. My family and I have watched, I have welled up in tears. I pity the United States and I am proud to be living in Canada. I am disgusted that this “President” behaves like a South American dictator of the 1970s and 1980s, I am disgusted that this “President” behaves like an Eastern European Communist Dictator during the Cold War. I am disgusted that this “President” behaves like those European fascist dictators in Europe during the 1920s and ’30s. I am repulsed by this “President” behaving like dictators in Russia, Hungary, Turkey, and Syria. In Tom Friedman’s op-ed July 21 piece entitled “Trump’s Wag The Dog War”, enumerates the troubling and even treasonous response of responding to the most sacred and American right as explicitly written in the United States Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Leadership, or at least, the leadership that used to exist prior to this “President” respected the Constitution, and peaceful assembly is a sacred American right to be defended. Also, if the leader is really smart and forward-thinking, he/ she will listen to those protesters and make the effort to understand the reason for the grievance and protest and try to fix it.

          This week’s Parshah is Devarim, which is the first Parshah of the Book of Deuteronomy or Sefer Devarim. Moshe recounts in very wide brushstrokes, the experience of the generation that fled Egypt. Very few details are given. In fact, Moshe begins the story at the foot of Sinai; however, the name is changed from Sinai to Horev. In his recounting, Moshe speaks as a participant in this national experience, not in the third person. This is quite different from the Moshe we have seen. Until now he spoke as a prophet. God told him and he told B'nai Yisroel. Now Moshe displays a certain amount of freedom. When Moshe speaks, he places himself in the center of the story. Moshe speaks using words such as “I”, “we”, and “you”. Now God has become the third party. Perhaps this is best expressed when Moshe begins his "telling" by gently rebuking B'nai Yisroel. The language is in terms of what B'nai Yisroel did to him as well as God. "V'Omar Aleichem Ba'Eit HaHi Leimor Lo Uchal L'vadi Se'Eit Etchem: "I said to you at the time, saying, 'I cannot carry you alone…How can I carry your contentiousness your burdens and your quarrels" (Deut. 1:9,12). Moshe subtly and gently begins to point out how rebellious their parents behaved during the past forty years. He reminds this generation how the first generation rebelled while God provided, and cared for them. The message to this new generation is clear. Our parents may have made mistakes, but God never abandoned us. This generation learns that they too will make mistakes and will know that God won't abandon them. God will always work with them.

          We know that God wanted to destroy and abandon his people on occasion (Ex. 32:10 and Num. 11:1-3), yet he did not. The subtlety and the gentility of Moshe's rebuke lies in the fact that he did not mention this. Neither does Moshe go into any type of detail concerning Bnai Yisroel’s rebellious behavior. Rashi, the 11th-century Northern French commentator, asked the same question that you are asking right now.  What was the nature of "Eilu HaD'varim-These Words"? Why did Moshe purposefully leave out the embarrassing details and instead shade his language so gently? Rashi explains L'fi Sh'hein Divrei Tochachat Umanah Kaan Kol Hamkomot Sh'hichisu Lifnei HaMakom Bahen, Lefichach Satam Et Ha'Devarim…Mipnei Chevodecha Shel Yisroel - Since these are words of reproof, and he enumerates here all the places in which they provoked the Omnipresent, therefore he conceals the matters (in which they sinned and mentions them by allusion) contained in the names of these places out of respect for Israel."  Rashi is of the opinion that Moshe's intent was to teach. He wanted to explain to this new generation what had happened. Embarrassment and humiliation would have no purpose. No matter what their parents had done, God maintained his covenant. No matter what their parents had done, God would not visit their sins upon this generation. Besides, B'nai Yisroel was designated in the book of Leviticus as a holy nation, a nation of priests. Therefore Moshe must show this generation the appropriate respect. He cannot be ill-tempered and rebuke them for what their parents had done.

          Moshe understood that God instills this holiness in all of us. So whether or not our predecessors behaved inappropriately at particular times, whether or not our predecessors behaved wrongly, we are foolish if we don't try to learn from that example. Learning will be effective when we are empowered rather than embarrassed or humiliated. Even if a rebuke is required, it can be done in a way that neither demeans, embarrasses the person, or violates such sacred Constitutional rights. History is full of leaders who behaved otherwise and failed, including all those fascist dictators in Europe prior to and during WWII, all those Cold War Eastern European dictators, all those failed Communist and right-wing Fascist dictators in South America, and the long list of Middle East brutal dictators in the 20th and 21st century from Libya, Iraq, to Iran and Syria. Indeed, it will be nice to watch baseball and return to “normal”. It will be even nicer when there is a President who can resume the noble experiment of democracy.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Still I Know I Lead The Way, They Tell Me Where I Go (John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Estimated Prophet")

          Like millions, our family watched Hamilton on TV. Much of what we learned was a lesson in and the complexity of leadership. With the help of excellent music and witty lyrics, we learned that leadership is sometimes a complex mixture of personal ambition, circumstances, and opportunities. Eventually, leadership is a desire to improve the lives of others and make a community or a society a better place. This was evident in much of Hamilton’s essays that comprised the majority of the Federalist Papers and ultimately provided the framework for President James Madison’s writing of the U.S. Constitution. Just how sacred is this the importance of leadership? It is evident in the Presidential Oath of Office. The U.S. Constitution in Article II Section 1 Clause 8 states: “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:- ‘I do solemnly swear  (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’”  Keeping in mind that the Constitution not only speaks for the People, the document is the people’s voice, words, and sentiments regarding American society:  “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union….” By upholding the oath of office, the leader, the President is preserving, protecting, and defending the people, their lives, and their community.  Failure to uphold the oath and the words of the constitution is a failure to lead a failure to protect and defend the lives of the people. Trying to abolish health care in the face of a Pandemic is NOT protecting the people. Forcing public schools to re-open in an unsafe environment in the face of a pandemic is NOT protecting the people. NOT confronting Vladimir Putin about placing a bounty on U.S. soldiers is tantamount to NOT protecting and defending. When, after four months since the Covid 19 Pandemic came to North America, states, counties, and hospitals are still struggling to obtain PPV and the Executive Branch (led by the President) has NOT established a national plan to increase the supply of PPV is a failure to protect and defend. Defending the symbols of the Confederacy, the public display of Confederate generals who committed treason by fighting against the Union, and attempting to stop the military from renaming military bases named after Confederate generals who committed treason by fighting against the Union FAILS to protect the constitution and its citizens.
           This Shabbat we read from Parsha Pinchas. The first few psukim (verses) of the Parsha are a direct continuation of the previous Shabbat Parsha Balak. There is no elapse of time in the narrative. Balak concludes with a plague upon B’nai Yisroel for its worship of Moabite/Midianite god, Baal Peor. Aaron’s son Pinchas zealously acts by killing Zimri from the tribe of Shimon and Cozbi the Midianite woman. God tells Moshe to reward Pinchas for his behavior by giving him the Brit Shalom, the Covenant of Peace. This covenant is only for Pinchas and his descendants. Keeping in mind that B’nai Yisroel has now concluded it 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and is poised upon the eastern bank of the Jordan River; a new census is taken. Just like we needed to know how many left Egypt, we now need to know how many will enter into Eretz Canaan. After the census is taken Moshe must judge a legal case concerning the laws of inheritance when a man has only daughters. This brief narrative is about the “Daughters of Tzelophchad”. Following this narrative, God commands Moshe to teach the new generation the laws for time-bound offerings including the Shabbat offering, the Rosh Chodesh offering, the offerings for the Shalosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals, etc).
          Soon after adjudicating the case of Tzlofchad’s daughters, Moshe demonstrates his concern for the people’s future. Keenly aware that he is prohibited entry into Eretz Canaan, Moshe worries and wonders about his successor. VaYidaber Moshe El Hashem Leimor - Moshe spoke to God saying, Yifkod HaShem Elohei HaRuchot L’Chol Basar Ish Al Ha’Eidah - May Hashem, God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the assembly, Asher Yeitzei Lifneihem  Va Yavo Lifneihem Va’Asher Yotzieim Va’Asher YeVieim V’Lo Tiheyeh Adat Adoshem KaTzon Asher Ein Lahem Roeh - who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall take them out, and bring them in and let the Assembly of HaShem not be like sheep that have no shepherd (Num. 27:15-17).   The Or HaChayim (Rabbi Chayim Ibn Attar), the 18th-century Moroccan commentator and kabbalist, explains Moshe’s selfless perspective of leadership by citing the Talmud in Nedarim 39b. When a person visits the sick, it removes 1/60th of the illness provided that the visitor is the same age as the patient. Why? Because the visitor is the same age, and at the same stage of life, he/she is able to empathize with the patient. That ability to empathize is vital in alleviating the pain, sorrow, and sadness of the patient. The Or HaChayim also points out that in the Book of Judges, each Judge only judged his/her tribe. Having grown up in the tribe, and being a product of that particular tribe’s “context”, that judge would have the appropriate degree of empathy. Moshe understood that the leader must be able to connect to each member of the community as individuals in order to blend that individual into the greater community. A shepherd is able to demonstrate concern and lead the entire flock as well as empathy and concern for the individual.
          Both the Torah and the Constitution are pretty clear about the role of leadership. Leadership is all about service, leadership is all about protecting and defending the people, the assembly, the flock. Leadership is not about self-enrichment, self-aggrandizement, or self-promotion. A leader must be selfless, not selfish. A leader cannot be concerned about his future political prospects. Rather, the leader must focus on the present, on the task at hand, protecting and defending the people, the assembly, and the flock today. Any behaviour that purposefully detracts from protecting, defending, or preserving the welfare of the flock, constitutes a failure of leadership. So when the President puts millions at risk with his lack of concern and empathy for those who have been stricken with Covid 19 or have perished from this virus, or permits a bounty to be placed upon servicemen, or tries to deny the health insurance of millions during this pandemic, or protects and defends the racists, the conspiracy theorists and any other group that either diminishes or obstructs the attempt to create more perfect union is derelict in his duties. In some cases, such behaviour should be considered treasonous. In lhe meantime, a country will behave as if there is no shepherd and the flock will remain directionless with some moving in a safe direction in an attempt to make their smaller group safe.

Peace 
Rav Yitz
 

History's Page Will Be Neatly Carved In Stone ( John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Throwing Stones")

It’s not every week where we get to watch history made and unmade. For all the soccer (football) fans, history was made when France won the world cup led by a teenager. That hasn’t happened since the legendary Pele led his team to a World Cup victory while he was a teenager. History was also unmade as the President did his level best to undo a seventy-year relationship with Europe, explicitly commenting historical allies including Canada, Germany, England and NATO, the EU, should be considered foes. History was also unmade as the President did his level best to befriend a government, a type of leadership, and a country that, in the aftermath of WWII, gave the world an Iron Curtain, attempted to give nuclear missiles to Cuba, brought legitimacy to North Korea, Chairman Mao’s China, Assad’s Syria, as well as a rise in cyber warfare in places that have democratic elections. As remarkable uplifting as it was to watch history made; it was equally disconcerting and deflating watching history being unmade. I was raised to believe that History could be considered something sacred, something holy. It is something to be learned. It is something that connects the present to the past. It allows us to chart a path to a better future. So I was absolutely aghast when I saw a leader behave in a manner that was completely bereft of a sense of history, and acknowledgment of belonging to a rich tradition, of belonging to an organization that predecessors helped to create. Perhaps even more troubling is that without a sense of history, a person could legitimately believe that until showing up, nothing preceded his/her arrival, and nothing of value will probably follow. That attitude is completely at odds with a person who reveres history and that attitude is completely at odds with Torah, Judaism and Moshe Rabbeinu.

This week’s Parsha is Devarim, which is the first Parsha of the Book of Deuteronomy or Sefer Devarim. Moshe recounts in very wide brushstrokes, the experience of the generation that fled Egypt. Very few details are given. In fact Moshe begins the story at the foot of Sinai; however, the name is changed from Sinai to Horev. In his recounting, Moshe speaks as a participant in this national experience not in the third person, as was presented in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This is quite different from the Moshe we have seen. Until now he spoke as a prophet. God spoke to him and he spoke to B'nai Yisroel. Now Moshe displays a certain amount of freedom as he shares past experience from his perspective. Parsha Devarim is the introductory Parsha to Moshe’s formal teaching of the Torah to this new generation. Moshe begins with a history lesson beginning with the most recent events and working backward to the Exodus. Moshe Rabeinu, now only a few weeks from the moment of his death, imparts his teaching and his wisdom upon B’nai Yisroel like a dying grandparent or parent would to his/her children.  This re-telling or repetition of history and laws to a new generation inspired the Talmudic Sages to call Sefer Devarim (The Book of Words- Deuteronomy) the Mishnah Torah or the repetition of the Torah.

Both the Parsha and the Book of Devarim begin with a narrative statement.  Eilah HaDevarim Asher Diber Moshe El B’nai Yisroel B’Eiver Yarden-These is the words that Moshe Spoke to all Israel, on the other side of the Jordan…(Deut. 1:1) For the next 5 verses, the Torah’s text is in the third person narrative form in which a time and place are clarified. Finally, beginning with verse 6, the third person narrative shifts to Moshe’s words.  What follows in Moshe's teaching and Moshe’s repetition of the Torah embodies tradition. Moshe’s teaching and his repetition of the Torah, exemplifies every parent’s responsibility to strengthen the child’s connection to Judaism, to Torah, and to God. Why do we need to be told that for five verses, Moses’ words will be arriving shortly? Since there are no wasted words in the Torah, why don’t the words Eilah Devarim appear immediately before Moshe begins speaking? The Or HaChaim, Chaim Ibn Attar (1696-1743), was a leading Moroccan Rabbinic Commentator of his day, explained that the word Eilah implies “only” and is therefore restrictive and separates that which came before from that which follows. The words that came before this are God’s the words that follow this Eilah are Moshe’s and are of his own volition.  Citing the Talmud in Tractate Megillah 31, we are reminded that Moshe personally recorded the curses and admonitions in this book and even the legislation which he repeats he does so voluntarily; not because he was commanded to do so.  The first five narrative verses clarify time and space as Moshe’s words are about to follow because we might conclude that just as Moshe felt free to say what he wants here in Devarim, he might have felt free to say what he wanted in the previous books of the Torah. “Only these words” that Moshe spoke of his own volition.

The Book of Devarim will remind us that Moshe Rabeinu was an incredibly humble man. There was none more humble. Here was Moshe Rabbeinu, the elder statesman, the individual that unquestionably had the closes relationship with God, a leader of a people for more than forty years. He had every reason to believe that there was no narrative before he came upon the scene. He has every reason to not care what happens after he is gone since he is prohibited from entering into the land. However by taking on the role of the transmitter, Eilah HaDevarim Asher Dibeir Moshe – “These are the words that Moshe spoke” and was astute enough to write down, Moshe understood his place in History. He understood what it meant to make history, and to do so, inspire people to continue transmitting his message, his words long after he was gone. After watching certain leaders unmake history, fail to understand his place in history; I realize that those leaders don’t have words that inspire a message worth transmitting to future generations.

Peace,

Rav Yitz