Devarim (Words)
oyrbd July 17 2010 6 Av 5770
The name Deuteronomy means “second law”. Our sages called this book Mishnei Torah or the repetition of the Torah from the term in Devarim 17:18 but for me this is a misnomer since it is only a review or a reminder by Moshe to the people before his departure to join his forefathers. According to the sages it was written in the period of 36 days before his death. It is ha Sefer ha Devarim – the book of the words Moshe spoke to the people.
It differs from the first 4 books both in style and in person where here he is talking directly to his people, Israel while the others were dictated by G-d Himself. In this farewell Moshe is telling them that he is leaving, that they will face many difficult things ahead and that they would do well to learn from the mistakes of their elders or the consequences would be very grave.
This has not changed today. The wise learn from the mistakes of others and theory is worthless unless it can be applied. Young people often think that they know everything. Uneducated people often act as if they know it all. Yet people who really have amassed much knowledge when they reach the end of their lives, like Socrates,admit that they know nothing at all. Moshe is trying to teach the next generation by rebuking them in a way that they will not be discouraged and shut themselves off from listening. After 40 years in the desert Moshe’s job is finished and he is begging the new generation not to do what their fathers did. There is a lesson here in how we reprimand those we love without crushing their spirits but build their characters. Mishlei (Proverbs 3: 11-12; 9: 8, 24:25l 27:5-6 and 28:23 are all Melech Shlomo’s (King Solomon) teaching about this very subject.
Yeshua was a wonderful example of rebuking in love. Christian ethics teach a very different Jesus than who Yeshua actually was. In their portrait of him being a pacifist and turning the other cheek they have completely missed who he was. Turning the other cheek was an expression taken from the Torah meaning equal retaliation. It was meant to save us from lashing out and taking double revenge on someone. He was not a mild person who was afraid of confrontation. He constantly rebuked his religious brothers calling them hypocrites, vipers, white washed tombs when it called for that. But they were family and he knew their hearts.
The generation that left Egypt was not prepared for the battle of building the nation and the land. What should have taken 11 days, took 40 years. The mentality of the people had to be dramatically changed for the task ahead. This new generation was no longer to have the mentality of slaves but that of free men ready to take on responsibility and yet still to trust in G-d as their master but not task-master. G-d had given us rules to live by not out of being a harsh master but a loving father and He was warning us of the consequences of not obeying them. We could never say that Moshe didn’t warn us.
Yaakov (James) teaches us in 4:17 that when we know what is right to do and we do not do it, it is sin. Proverbs 31:8-9 teaches us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to defend the rights of those who need an advocate, to defend the cause of the poor and needy. Who spoke for those who were being murdered during the Holocaust? It was not only the Jews who suffered but the weak, the sick; those were deemed unworthy to live.
Sometimes we look around at the world and feel overwhelmed at the evil. You may ask yourselves “What can I do?” You would be surprised at what one person can do when he knows that justice comes from G-d, that true power within us is from Him and that He will put us in the places He wants us to be and to take action in the right time. In Proverbs 1, 2 and 3 we are to teach our children right from wrong and to discipline so that they will become healthy and good members of the community. Today we are bombarded by the attitude “I’m OK, you’re OK” with the philosophy that I can do anything as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else. We need to understand that we are not an island and our behavior affects more people than we realize.
Moshe warned Israel that many would be fruitful but that some would be rotten and twisted having turned from the G-d of Israel to follow the pagan ways. These ways would destroy the new nation and they would have to rid themselves of them. When G-d told us to destroy the peoples in the land we were to take over, He had his reasons. Since they thought that they are more humane than G-d and disobeyed Him, they suffered the consequences.
Today looking back we can see the results of our disobedience over the centuries. Tuesday is Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the month of Av. In our history we have suffered many disasters on this day and we take the day to remember, fast and to mourn the destruction of the Temple on the 9th of Av and many of the other events that happened on this day such as the expulsion from England, Spain, etc. From the 17th of Tammuz when the walls of Jerusalem fell to the 9th of Av these are days of lamentation. The book Lamentations is in Hebrew Eichah איכהIt is spelled the same way as the word “ayeka”: “where are you?” איכה in Bereshit 3:9 when G-d called out to Adam “where are you?”. There is a great lesson to be learned here when we try to blame G-d for the disasters that come upon us both as individuals and as a nation. He is saying to us “Where are you?”
This parashah begins with Eileh ha Devarim- “these are the words”… the singular is daber meaning “word” is also the root for the word deborah meaning “bee”; the plural is deborim, which is very similar to Devarim. G-d speaks to us in pictures. The little bee is the only creature that has the ability to create. It creates honey which is sweet to the taste but it can also sting. G-d created everything by His Word and the Word is sweet when we love and are obedient to His Word but it can be sting us when we violate His Word.
Let us ask ourselves “where am I” when it comes to being obedient and learning from the mistakes of those who came before us. May we taste the sweetness of Torah and not its sting!
May G-d add blessings to His Word!