August 1st: Devarim
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
Though every death is sad, there is something about the death (and finitude) of our heroes that touches our hearts. Thus is there a profound sadness when we read about the death of Aaron:
“Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had left the Land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.” (Numbers 33.38-39: this is a repetition of the narrative in Numbers 20.27-29)
It is also nearing the end of the road for Moses. God tells him in Numbers 20 (v.12), “You shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them,” and then gets more specific while also ordering the war against the Midianites: “Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites; then you shall be gathered to your kin.” (Numbers 31.1-2) Moses’ days are numbered, but he is not quite finished. He takes the little time remaining to him and gives a final set of lessons to his beloved Israelites: the Book of Deuteronomy which begins with, “These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan…” (Deuteronomy 1.1) He hopes that reminding them of their history will help guide them into their future.
As with all histories and reminiscences, there is a certain amount of editorial “spin.” Instead of just stating the facts, Moses adds in comments and lessons. One might worry about such interpretations until one realizes that all histories and stories—even the ones told in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers—are the products of editorial decisions. Someone—whether Divine or human—decided which of the millions of things that happened in the world and in the lives of our ancestors should be included in the Torah—and how it should be told. Everything included involved a decision by God or human storytellers or editors, and every one of these decisions had a purpose. Our job, as Children of the Covenant, is to study the holy words, try to understand their purposes, and find wisdom.
As we mentioned last week, the Jewish way is to study Torah—not simply believe it. Rather than a literal record of God’s words to us, Torah is best understood as a locus for accessing the Divine. As Rabbi Chananyah ben Teradion put it: “When two people sit together and exchange words of Torah, the Divine Presence dwells with them.” (Avot 3.2)
The dynamic of Torah study is fascinating. One approach suggests that every word of Torah has four meanings. Another says that every word of Torah has seventy meanings! Indeed, the Torah grows and grows with each generation. There is even this rather incredible story:
“Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and drawing crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, why are You giving the Torah these additions? God said to him: There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name. He is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these crowns mounds upon mounds of halachot. It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said to him: Turn around. Moses found himself at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned, as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva said to them: It is a halachah transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease, as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive.” (Menachot 29b)
Our Tradition represents Progressive Revelation, a Divinely inspired process in which we study God’s words and reflect on how they fit into the world. It is a developmental process in which God’s wisdom flows and grows and is enhanced by reality and human wisdom.
This is where we get back to Moses and his farewell lectures and interpretations. Rather than simply repeat what happened in the past, Moses enhances the stories with what he considers pertinent insights. Two examples can be found in his restating of the Sabbath Commandment, Number Four from Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. The Exodus version begins with: “Zachor: Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy,” but Moses retells it in Deuteronomy as: “Shamor: Observe/Guard the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.” A Midrash tries to resolve the difference by suggesting that God’s miraculous Voice says one word that the Israelites hear as two words, Zachor and Shamor. (This Midrash is mentioned in the first verse of Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz’s famous poem, Lecha Dodi: “Shamor v’zachor bedibbur echad. Guard and remember in one single word.) However, we can also look at the difference as an attempt by Moses to persuade the Israelites of the importance of Shabbat: Merely remembering Shabbat is not enough; we must observe this holy time that God gives us—practicing it and guarding it against the distractions that can decrease our joy in the Divine.
There is also the difference in God’s rationale for Shabbat. According to Exodus, God establishes Shabbat in remembrance and celebration of Ma’aseh V’raysheet, the Work of Creation: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and God rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.” However, Moses takes the opportunity to remind everyone of another significant and perhaps more personal connection: “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe (to do) the sabbath day.” Moses urges memory, empathy, and compassion: since we were slaves, we should have compassion for our own servants and give them the day off.
As Moses nears the end of his days, he remains steadfast in his faith in God and in the developmental holiness which he has worked so hard to inspire. With his final words, he hopes that his people, the Children of Israel, will rise to the occasions presented to them and continue to bring forth holiness.