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.
And now O Israel what does your God, the Lord, demand of you? Only this: to revere your God, the Lord, to walk only in divine paths, to love and to serve your God with all your heart and soul (Deut 10:12).
With these words, Moshe tells us that our purpose in this world is to fulfill the commandments with fear and love God. In his commentary, Rashi notes the relevance of the teaching of our Sages: “Everything is in the hands of heaven with the exception of the fear of heaven.” All occurrences in the life of a person are determined by heaven, but fear of God is dependent upon us alone. Our Sages have explained this idea in many ways, but fundamentally this idea leads us to focus on life’s purpose, a question which philosophers have grappled with since the dawn of civilization.
In two verses in parshat Eikev, Moshe provides us with a means to resolve this complicated question. To put it clearly, the purpose and essence of human life is the observance of the mitzvot which leads to fear of God and love of God.
Yet, even though the task demanded of us is great and vast, Moshe does not explicitly provide us with a clear way forward to acquire the attributes necessary to accomplish what is demanded of us. It may even seem, from a first reading, that Moshe’s words about fearing God are said tangentially in the midst of other words of rebuke. Despite the great work needed for this task, Moshe does not tell us what to do to attain the virtue of revering God.
Rashi, above, explained the critical nature of the obligation of loving God with a reference from the Talmud, Tractate Berachot. On the concept that, “Everything is in the hands of heaven with the exception of the fear of heaven,” the Sages asked the following question. “It states: “‘And now, O Israel what does your God, the Lord, request of you but to fear God,” but is the fear of God a minor matter [that it can be presented as if God is not asking anything significant]? Didn’t Rabbi Hanina say in the name of Rabbi Shimion bar Yohai: The Holy One, Blessed be He, has nothing in his treasure other than a treasure of fear of Heaven, as it is stated: 'Fear of the Lord is his treasure'” (Is. 33:6).”
In answer to this question concerning how Moshe could present the need to fear of heaven as a minor matter, the Talmud answers: “Indeed, for Moshe it is a minor matter. As Rabbi Hanina stated: It is comparable to one who is asked for a large vessel and he has one. But it seems to him like a small vessel (Berachot, 33b).
The words of the Talmud only serve to strengthen the question before us. The Sages in Tractate Berachot emphasized that the fear of heaven was a minor matter only for Moshe, but what is the way forward for us to fulfill this task demanded of us?
If we turn to the writings of the Rambam, we see that his special sentiment for the unique character of Moshe is apparent throughout his different works. In the Moreh Nevuchim (“Guide for the Perplexed”) the Rambam devotes chapter 9 to clarifying two main requests of Moshe from God: to make “Himself and His truth known” and to reveal God’s attributes. God promises that His attributes will light the way before Him.
The Rambam writes: "And Moshe attained a level, which no person before or after him was able to reach … as he understood the reality of God’s world with true and certain understanding.” Moshe rose to a height of perfection that is as far as a human being can achieve in imitating the ways of God. The Rambam closes this chapter in the Moreh Nevuchim with a great lesson: "The ultimate purpose of man's virtue is to imitate the Holy One so as to be exalted according to one’s ability, that is to say that our actions resemble God’s actions."
The Rambam taught this point as well in a different work, his “Sefer Hamitzvot.” In the eighth mitzvah, the Rambam presents his explanation of the commandment to “be likened to God as far as we can.”
In light of this, it seems to me that Moshe in his life was the ideal model for the worship of God. He was the only leader who succeeded in imitating God's ways completely. The Rambam’s words may help us to discern what may be a hidden lesson in the Torah verses. The verses may be informing us that Moshe did not continue explaining the way to these virtues for a deliberate reason that we will see.
The words of rebuke at the opening of the parsha were delivered to each person individually as his or her responsibility to assist in the successful settlement of Israel, etc. The words in verse after verse appear in a similar style. “And it will be if you will listen … and guard and perform the commandments for the Lord, your God … then I will love you, and bless you, and multiply you … you will be blessed … when you say in your heart, etc.
However, when we reach the command to love and revere God, the entire focus of the passage changes. Now, the emphasis of the verses shifts and begins to focus specifically on Moshe's personal role in atonement for Israel's sins.
We see how the focus shifts to Moshe, when the Torah states: “And I stood on the mountain, as I did the first time, forty days and forty nights, and God heeded me once again, agreeing not to destroy you (10:10).” Besides the excessive focus on Moshe's actions, it seems that the verse (10:11) immediately preceding the commandment to revere God, hints directly at the intent of the Torah. “And the Lord said to me, “Get up, resume the march at the head of the people.” Within these verses of the Torah we can discern the path that is needed to attain those values that we are discussing, but which Moshe has omitted from the text.
The missing verse should read: Moshe the "servant of God" is a symbol and exemplary model for serving God. It is evident that following the path of Moshe in imitating the ways of God, is a way for us to attain similar virtues to Moshe, so that we can fulfill the important and fundamental commandment of loving and revering God.
Aside from the words of the Rambam that were mentioned, it is known to us as well that humility was the unique attribute of Moshe. As the verse states, “And the man Moshe was very humble (Numbers 12:3). It seems that Moshe may have refrained from teaching this concept about following his example, specifically because of his humility. In order to attain reverence for God, one needs to imitate Moshe’s actions, and specifically his great humility. The verses of the Torah teach us this idea.
The lesson for us is that a Jewish person needs to act with humility and veneration in the manner of Moshe. As the verse in Proverbs tells us: “With humility, one comes to revere God (Proverbs 22:4). And who is as great as Moshe, such that we can learn from his ways?
I will conclude with a teaching that I heard from Rabbi Asher Weiss, on the occasion of his completion of Shas in the month of Sivan:
“What should a man do so that he should live? The gemara answers that one should, as it were, kill himself (Tamid 32a). A person does not know what is more important for God - is it simple faith from a regular person, or is it great acts of teaching Torah? The gemara in Berachot states: I am God’s creature who engages in Torah study and my counterpart who engages in other labor is also God’s creature. One who brings a substantial sacrifice and one who brings a meager sacrifice have equal merit, as long as they direct their heart toward heaven (Berachot 17a, trans. Steinsaltz).
"Only the Holy One who knows our innermost intention can discern how devoted our hearts are to reverence for God. Therefore our Sages said: What should a man do so that he should live forever? He should 'kill himself' by practicing humility in all his actions. When one is humble and devotes his life to respecting others, his life consists of the truth. There is no greater attribute of the Jewish people than humility - this is what it means to be alive.”