In Memory of our beloved David Schwartz, who fell in battle sanctifying God’s name, on 27 Tevet, 5784 (8 January 2024).

“Le’David Barchi Nafshi” is a compilation of essays written on the weekly Torah reading by David Schwartz, of blessed memory. First published on the occasion of his marriage to Meital, David’s unique Torah thoughts that delve into the depths of the Torah are shared now to elevate his memory and sanctify his soul.

Devarim is called “Mishneh Torah” or the “Second Law” (i.e, Deuteronomy). It begins with a series of speeches that Moshe delivered to Israel, a large portion of which consist of words of rebuke and chastisement. Our Sages ask: “What is the lesson from the opening statement “Elah Hadevarim”, or “These are the words”? The opening statement teaches us that Moshe begins with words of rebuke.” In his opening speech, Moshe reminds the people of historical events that occurred to them, and his words of rebuke have a special tone and style.

The Kli Yakar (Shlomo Luntschitz, 1550-1619) writes: “In the Torah, we did not see Moshe speaking to all of Israel as one body … with the exception of here and also in Hakhel (Deuteronomy 31).” The Sefat Emet (Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter, 1847-1905) explains that Devarim includes within it the rest of the five books of the Torah as it “draws the hearts of Israel closer to the Torah.”

Let us look at one way this is demonstrated in the parsha in the emphasis placed on the appointment of judges. In his speech to the people, Moshe prepares them for the challenges ahead as they go to conquer the land, but he begins his speech with the specific mention of the appointment of judges that should be selected in a manner based on the advice offered by Yitro.

If his speech to the people would have been up to me, I could have proposed that it should begin with a number of challenges that the people of Israel would face in the future as they move off to conquer the land. I wonder why the appointment of judges to the courts would be placed as the first order of business, as the people were getting ready to meet the great challenges ahead.

Actually, in our day, we do see how critical the judicial system is and how great the challenges and difficulties are in setting up a judicial system for the people of Israel. But, still, we must wonder about the opening to Moshe’s speech here, which has everyone’s attention at the beginning with “high ratings.” Why does Moshe open this particular address by focusing on the establishment of the judicial system?

In order to understand this line of reasoning, we must first look at the audience for the speech.

These speeches of Moses were delivered at the end of the fortieth year, after all those who had left Egypt aged twenty and above had already passed away, according to God’s decree. Now, the generation that is going to conquer the land is not like the previous generation.

While the members of this generation, like the generation that had come out of Egypt, had experienced firsthand the punishments that followed the sins of the people of Israel in the desert, their entire view and perception of events was completely different. To understand this point, we have to look at the same events that befell the members of this generation in the desert. Members of this generation understood that the heaviest punishments followed certain specific kinds of wrongdoing, but they were not condemned to wander through the desert because of senseless hatred to their fellow man.

The people were not condemned to a long journey through the desert because of their senseless hatred for one another. They were not punished because they did not behave with honor to one another, as would occur much later in Jewish history in the time when we are taught that the students of Rabbi Akiva came to be punished for such a transgression.

The generation of the desert, over the span of many years, did not receive collective punishment for transgressions related to their human relationships in their society. They understood that only one type of sin leads to the severe decrees, and that was offenses between man and God. This distinction can be identified by looking at two main sins that Israel committed in the desert: the sin of the spies and the sin of the complainers.

During the episode of the spies reporting about the land of Israel, the people cried out, “Why is God bringing us to this land to die by the sword” (Numbers 14:3). In the response of Caleb to Joshua, the emphasis was: “But do not rebel against God” (Numbers 14:9). This response shows us very clearly that their transgression was against God, and their lack of faith in God. The people’s complaint was not legitimate and they were punished for a rebellion against God.

In other instances as well, we see that there were sins against God. Rashi explains that the people who complained in the desert did so because, “They were only searching for a pretext by which they could distance themselves from God.” This is not the place to look at those complaints in the desert, but merely to note that their sin was connected to rebellion against God and their penalty was very great.

In the eyes of the generation who would in the future enter Israel, these sins seemed to show that rebellion against God would be the impediment that could thwart the successful settlement of the land. Their leader Moshe wished to get them out of this wrong line of reasoning, so he begins by emphasizing first the importance of establishing a judicial system that will establish peace in society between man and his fellow man.

Moshe explains that indeed they have received punishment for that type of sin in the past, and there should be no need to mention that a failure to follow God’s way and disobedience to His will could upset the plan to successfully conquer the land. Still, they had to know that the directive to make peace in society between neighbors and friends were just as important for this goal of settling the land.

This understanding was critically important for this generation to hear, as it was the second generation that had left Egypt. They had not experienced a punishment that could come from a change in the order of priorities. By prioritizing this issue, Moshe teaches that peace and brotherhood between man and his fellow neighbor must be placed before the settlement of the land of Israel and the fulfillment of the Torah and its commandments.

Moshe emphasizes that the priority of Derech Eretz, or being a mensch, is not just important, but also essential. This is the case for the fulfillment of the commandments and also for settling the land. In order to successfully settle the land, it is not enough to just fulfill the specific commandments and daily rituals.

In the future, the students of Rabbi Akiva would experience the severity of this sin that came about when the important order of priorities was overturned. In order to put such a narrow perspective behind, Moshe opens his address with words of mussar, or moral chastisement, about the importance of establishing a court system.

This system will thereby establish a society based on the principles of justice, peace, and brotherhood - “You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low and high alike. Fear neither party, for judgment is God’s. And any matter that is too difficult for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it” (Deuteronomy 1:17).

There is also a great teaching here about the performance of the commandments as a whole. Before a person determines if he is fulfilling every type of stringency in personal Torah observances, it is upon him or her to check well that he is not harming a fellow person, God forbid, as the fulfillment of the commandments must come with this understanding. This is what Moshe is explaining to us.

Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1816-1893) writes in the introduction to his “Ha'amek Davar” commentary on the Torah: “In the second Temple, there was ‘an immoral and crooked generation.’ The explanation of these words is that they were tzadikim and righteous in their Torah labors, but they were not upright in their ways in the world, because God commanded that we must be straight and upright, and God does not tolerate tzaddikim like these.”

It is appropriate to mention a critical teaching that one finds in the Torah laws of justice. “There is a story of one person who came before the sage Shammai in order to convert. He said to Shammai, “Convert me on condition that I will learn the whole Torah as I stand on one foot. Shammai pushed him away with the builder’s cubit (i.e., a ruler) that was in his hand. Then, he went before Hillel, who converted him. Hillel told him, “That which is hateful to you, do not do unto another. This is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary. Go and learn.”

אמר רבי עקיבא: "וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ" זה כלל גדול בתורה

Rabbi Akiva said: “‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ This is the greatest principle in the Torah.”

Translation: Akiva Herzfeld (akivaherzfeld@gmail.com)