1. The Land is Ours for the Taking
The Parsha, which opens the fifth and final book of the Torah, Devarim (Deuteronomy), begins with Moshe addressing the Jewish people shortly before his death. As the nation?s greatest leader, who saw the people emerge from Egyptian bondage, travel to Mount Sinai, defeat their enemies and arrive at the entrance to the Holy Land, Moshe prepares them to face the challenges that lie ahead. As the Jewish people?s elder statesman and spiritual guide, Moshe stands before them, the children of the generation that died in the desert, and teaches them the Torah while recounting the nation?s history. Interestingly, he begins his overview of history with the aftermath of the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai: ?The L-rd our G-d spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ?Enough of your dwelling by this mountain. Turn yourselves around and journey? See! I have given the Land before you; come and possess the Land that G-d swore to your forefathers?? (Chap. 1, verses 6-8).
The question: Why does G-d tell the Jewish people to ?come and possess the Land?, as if it were just waiting to be taken? Wouldn?t they have to fight and struggle to seize control over it?
The answer: Rashi says that G-d was telling the Jewish people that had they not insisted on sending the spies to scout out the Land, they would have been able to take it and possess it without a fight. No one would have questioned their right to the Land and there would have been no need to wage war for it. But, since they did send the spies, they would now have to capture the Land through force of arms. Hence, the verse uses the phrase ?come and possess the Land? to emphasize how easy it would have been for the Jewish people to inherit the Land were it not for the sin of the spies.
The lesson: This week?s Parsha, Devarim, is always read immediately prior to Tisha B?Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. Tisha B?Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, the day upon which the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed and many other calamities later befell the Jewish people. The Talmudic sage Rabbi Yochanan, in Tractate Taanit (29a), tells us that it was also on Tisha B?Av that the Jews in the desert committed the sin of the spies, weeping at the report that ten of them had brought back about the Holy Land. This connection between the two, between Parshat Devarim (which recalls the sin of the spies) and the fast day of Tisha B?Av (the day upon which the sin occurred), is instructive, because as we saw above in Rashi?s comment, it was the Jewish people?s lack of faith in G-d that led them to send the spies. The result was that they had to fight to win what was rightfully theirs.
That was the situation back then, when Moshe addressed the Jews as they were about to enter the Land of Israel, and nowadays it is no different. When so many Jews cast doubt on the justness of the Zionist cause, when so many of our own people sadly came to believe that in settling the Land of Israel we were acting as ?occupiers? and ?thieves?, the result was the Oslo process, which epitomized our nation?s lack of faith in G-d?s promise regarding His Holy Land. And Oslo, as we now see, has endangered Israel?s very existence, forcing us all to struggle to hold onto what is ours by right. The challenge contained in Moshe?s address in the Parsha and the challenge presented to us by Tisha B?Av are one and the same: if we as a people would only put our faith and trust in G-d and His Torah and in His promises regarding the Land of Israel, then, as Rashi says, the Land would be ours for the taking and no one would dare to stand in our way.
2. Justice Without Fear
Moshe describes how the demands of leadership were so immense during the wanderings in the desert that he agreed to appoint judges over the people to streamline the system of justice that was in place. The Torah tells us, ?So I took the heads of your tribes, distinguished men, who were wise and well-known, and I appointed them as heads over you? I instructed your judges at that time, saying, ?Listen among your brethren and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. You shall not play favorites in judgment, you shall hear the small and the great alike, you shall not tremble before any man, for the judgment is G-d's? (Chap. 1, verses 15-17).
The question: What is the meaning of ?you shall not tremble before any man??
The answer: Rashi explains that the phrase means simply that when reaching a decision, judges should not fear the reaction of the parties involved. They should not be afraid to pass the correct judgment. The law, rather than fear, must be the basis of their decision.
The lesson: This past week, a group of Jews petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court seeking to conduct the traditional Tisha B?Av prayer service on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. As in the past, the Court decided to reject the request, citing police concerns that the ?sensitive security situation? does not permit Jewish entry to the Mount at this time. Chief Justice Aharon Barak reportedly told one of the petitioners that, ?Our heart is with you, but we cannot help you.? And so, rather than ordering the police to prevent Palestinian protesters from interfering with the fundamental right of Jews to freedom of worship, Israel?s Supreme Court is instead gripped with fear, afraid to let the law be its guide. Israel?s top judges decided to reward those who riot and punish those who wish to exercise their basic civil rights. But as we saw above, a judge is admonished not to fear, but to decide based on what the law dictates to be true and right. Once fear becomes a factor, the result is that justice suffers. It is time for Israel?s judges to apply this basic lesson and to permit Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.
3. Making it Happen
While recalling the Jews? travels in the wilderness, Moshe recounts how they journeyed in the area where the Edomites (descendants of Esau, the Patriarch Jacob?s brother) lived. While there, G-d commanded the Jews not to fight with the Edomites, but to offer to purchase food and water from them. The Torah says, ?You shall purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; also water shall you buy from them for money, so that you may drink. For the L-rd your G-d has blessed you in all your handiwork?? (Chap. 2, verses 6-7).
The question: Why does the verse specify that G-d blessed their ?handiwork? rather than just say that G-d blessed them with everything?
The answer: The Midrash answers by saying that the verse is teaching us an important principle: One might have assumed that if G-d were planning to bless a person with success, then the person could simply sit back, do nothing and wait passively for the blessing to arrive. But, says the Midrash, the verse above, by using the word ?handiwork?, teaches us that is not the case. For if a person labors and toils, he will receive the blessing that G-d intended for him, but if he fails to do so, he will not.
The lesson: For over two thousand years, the Jewish people have been waiting ? waiting for the Messiah to come, waiting for the Exile to end, waiting to return to their Land. These longings have played a crucial role in keeping the Jewish people alive, giving them something to hope for while struggling to survive the vagaries of the Diaspora. Indeed, waiting for the Messiah is a cardinal value of Judaism, one of Rambam?s 13 principles of faith. Somewhere along the way, perhaps as the Exile deepened and the centuries passed, we somehow confused ?waiting? with ?passivity?. However, as we saw in the Midrash above, the role of the Jew is to be an active partner with G-d, to make himself into a vehicle through which G-d can bless him. Put a different way ? if we want things to change, we can not sit back and expect them to change by themselves. To make Israel a better place, to arouse the Jewish people from its slumber, to stem the tide of assimilation and intermarriage, to bring about the Final Redemption ? all these goals are achievable, all are within our grasp. But the blessing doesn?t come by itself. G-d is happy to grant us success, but we must work for it. The bottom line is that it is up to us to make it happen.
The Parsha, which opens the fifth and final book of the Torah, Devarim (Deuteronomy), begins with Moshe addressing the Jewish people shortly before his death. As the nation?s greatest leader, who saw the people emerge from Egyptian bondage, travel to Mount Sinai, defeat their enemies and arrive at the entrance to the Holy Land, Moshe prepares them to face the challenges that lie ahead. As the Jewish people?s elder statesman and spiritual guide, Moshe stands before them, the children of the generation that died in the desert, and teaches them the Torah while recounting the nation?s history. Interestingly, he begins his overview of history with the aftermath of the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai: ?The L-rd our G-d spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ?Enough of your dwelling by this mountain. Turn yourselves around and journey? See! I have given the Land before you; come and possess the Land that G-d swore to your forefathers?? (Chap. 1, verses 6-8).
The question: Why does G-d tell the Jewish people to ?come and possess the Land?, as if it were just waiting to be taken? Wouldn?t they have to fight and struggle to seize control over it?
The answer: Rashi says that G-d was telling the Jewish people that had they not insisted on sending the spies to scout out the Land, they would have been able to take it and possess it without a fight. No one would have questioned their right to the Land and there would have been no need to wage war for it. But, since they did send the spies, they would now have to capture the Land through force of arms. Hence, the verse uses the phrase ?come and possess the Land? to emphasize how easy it would have been for the Jewish people to inherit the Land were it not for the sin of the spies.
The lesson: This week?s Parsha, Devarim, is always read immediately prior to Tisha B?Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. Tisha B?Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, the day upon which the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed and many other calamities later befell the Jewish people. The Talmudic sage Rabbi Yochanan, in Tractate Taanit (29a), tells us that it was also on Tisha B?Av that the Jews in the desert committed the sin of the spies, weeping at the report that ten of them had brought back about the Holy Land. This connection between the two, between Parshat Devarim (which recalls the sin of the spies) and the fast day of Tisha B?Av (the day upon which the sin occurred), is instructive, because as we saw above in Rashi?s comment, it was the Jewish people?s lack of faith in G-d that led them to send the spies. The result was that they had to fight to win what was rightfully theirs.
That was the situation back then, when Moshe addressed the Jews as they were about to enter the Land of Israel, and nowadays it is no different. When so many Jews cast doubt on the justness of the Zionist cause, when so many of our own people sadly came to believe that in settling the Land of Israel we were acting as ?occupiers? and ?thieves?, the result was the Oslo process, which epitomized our nation?s lack of faith in G-d?s promise regarding His Holy Land. And Oslo, as we now see, has endangered Israel?s very existence, forcing us all to struggle to hold onto what is ours by right. The challenge contained in Moshe?s address in the Parsha and the challenge presented to us by Tisha B?Av are one and the same: if we as a people would only put our faith and trust in G-d and His Torah and in His promises regarding the Land of Israel, then, as Rashi says, the Land would be ours for the taking and no one would dare to stand in our way.
2. Justice Without Fear
Moshe describes how the demands of leadership were so immense during the wanderings in the desert that he agreed to appoint judges over the people to streamline the system of justice that was in place. The Torah tells us, ?So I took the heads of your tribes, distinguished men, who were wise and well-known, and I appointed them as heads over you? I instructed your judges at that time, saying, ?Listen among your brethren and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. You shall not play favorites in judgment, you shall hear the small and the great alike, you shall not tremble before any man, for the judgment is G-d's? (Chap. 1, verses 15-17).
The question: What is the meaning of ?you shall not tremble before any man??
The answer: Rashi explains that the phrase means simply that when reaching a decision, judges should not fear the reaction of the parties involved. They should not be afraid to pass the correct judgment. The law, rather than fear, must be the basis of their decision.
The lesson: This past week, a group of Jews petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court seeking to conduct the traditional Tisha B?Av prayer service on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. As in the past, the Court decided to reject the request, citing police concerns that the ?sensitive security situation? does not permit Jewish entry to the Mount at this time. Chief Justice Aharon Barak reportedly told one of the petitioners that, ?Our heart is with you, but we cannot help you.? And so, rather than ordering the police to prevent Palestinian protesters from interfering with the fundamental right of Jews to freedom of worship, Israel?s Supreme Court is instead gripped with fear, afraid to let the law be its guide. Israel?s top judges decided to reward those who riot and punish those who wish to exercise their basic civil rights. But as we saw above, a judge is admonished not to fear, but to decide based on what the law dictates to be true and right. Once fear becomes a factor, the result is that justice suffers. It is time for Israel?s judges to apply this basic lesson and to permit Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.
3. Making it Happen
While recalling the Jews? travels in the wilderness, Moshe recounts how they journeyed in the area where the Edomites (descendants of Esau, the Patriarch Jacob?s brother) lived. While there, G-d commanded the Jews not to fight with the Edomites, but to offer to purchase food and water from them. The Torah says, ?You shall purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; also water shall you buy from them for money, so that you may drink. For the L-rd your G-d has blessed you in all your handiwork?? (Chap. 2, verses 6-7).
The question: Why does the verse specify that G-d blessed their ?handiwork? rather than just say that G-d blessed them with everything?
The answer: The Midrash answers by saying that the verse is teaching us an important principle: One might have assumed that if G-d were planning to bless a person with success, then the person could simply sit back, do nothing and wait passively for the blessing to arrive. But, says the Midrash, the verse above, by using the word ?handiwork?, teaches us that is not the case. For if a person labors and toils, he will receive the blessing that G-d intended for him, but if he fails to do so, he will not.
The lesson: For over two thousand years, the Jewish people have been waiting ? waiting for the Messiah to come, waiting for the Exile to end, waiting to return to their Land. These longings have played a crucial role in keeping the Jewish people alive, giving them something to hope for while struggling to survive the vagaries of the Diaspora. Indeed, waiting for the Messiah is a cardinal value of Judaism, one of Rambam?s 13 principles of faith. Somewhere along the way, perhaps as the Exile deepened and the centuries passed, we somehow confused ?waiting? with ?passivity?. However, as we saw in the Midrash above, the role of the Jew is to be an active partner with G-d, to make himself into a vehicle through which G-d can bless him. Put a different way ? if we want things to change, we can not sit back and expect them to change by themselves. To make Israel a better place, to arouse the Jewish people from its slumber, to stem the tide of assimilation and intermarriage, to bring about the Final Redemption ? all these goals are achievable, all are within our grasp. But the blessing doesn?t come by itself. G-d is happy to grant us success, but we must work for it. The bottom line is that it is up to us to make it happen.