Parashat Va'etchanan – Shema Yisrael: Hearing & Observing

BY: Ilana Gadish

“[T]hey heard as no one else has ever heard. They became history's most alert listeners. Their God was pre-eminently a voice, one who revealed his magesterial presence by speaking into the world from beyond it... Manifested in the image of sound, the divine presence may span all space, be at once in all places, penetrate all barriers.” - Theodore Roszak, Catholic theologian quoted by Dr. Norman Lamm in The Shema, p. 14).¹

Sefer Devarim can be characterized as a series of three speeches given by Moshe Rabbeinu to Am Yisrael before they enter the land of Israel. The three speeches are traditionally enumerated as such: the historical speech (Devarim 1-4:49), the “speech of the mitzvot” (5-27, verses 1-10), and the speeches of the covenant (27:10-30).² In Parashat Va'etchanan, we find ourselves at the end of Moshe's first speech, the historical speech in which Moshe Rabbeinu recalls the past journey of Am Yisrael, and the beginning of his second speech. The first speech culminates in Moshe's retelling of the Revelation at Sinai. When comparing Moshe's retelling of the Revelation at Sinai to the earlier description of the event in Sefer Shemot, a few slight changes can be found. The most striking part of Moshe's retelling is the stress placed on sound versus sight. Verse 11 recalls the image of the mountain and the darkness, fire and cloud, while verse 12 stresses sound: “Hashem spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you were hearing the sound of words, but you were not seeing a form, only a sound.”³ And again, verses 15-16 stress the audial but not the visual: “...for you did not see any likeness on the day Hashem spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make yourselfs a carved image...” Finally, in verse 36, Moshe warns the people, “From heaven He caused you to hear His voice in order to teach you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.”

This focus on the sounds of Ma'amad Har Sinai is quite unusual, since the actual description of the event as it happened in Sefer Shemot allows for more focus on the sights seen there. In Shemot, God's description of preparing for Har Sinai is a visual one: “Let them be prepared on the third day, for on the third day Hashem shall descend in the sight (le-einei) of the entire people on Mount Sinai” (Shemot 19:11). The people see the “anan kaved,” the heavy cloud; they watch the mountain smoking, engulfed in flames (verse 18). Later, the all the nation “saw the thunder and the flames, the sound of the shofar and the smoking mountain – ve-khol ha-am ro'im et ha-kolot ve-et ha-lepidim ve-et kol ha-shofar ve-et ha-har ashen” (20:15). In Shemot, they do not hear the thunder or the sounds (kolot), but they see them! Additionally, in Shemot, God instructs Moshe to tell the people not to make images of Him by specifically mentioning that they saw God speaking from heaven: “atem ra'item ki min ha-shamayim dibarti imachem – you have seen that from the midst of the heavens I spoke to you” (20:19).

It is important to be aware of the finite details and differences between the actual event described in Sefer Shemot, and Moshe's retelling of the story to the new generation of Am Yisrael. In his speeches in Sefer Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu wants to impart certain crucial messages to the nation-- messages that will prevent them from making the same mistakes that the previous generation made. The visual nature of the Revelation at Sinai may have led Am Yisrael to feel the need to create a concrete visual image to “lead them” (Shemot 32:1), the golden calf. Thus, when Moshe retells this story to the new generation that did not die in the desert and did not participate in the making of the golden calf, Moshe downplays these visual images and stresses the sounds and voice of God that Am Yisrael had heard. Moshe gives greater importance to what was heard at Sinai as opposed to what was seen, thus sending a subtle message to the nation that an image of Sinai is not what should endure, but rather the ordinances and commandments given aloud to the nation should remain in their minds as most important.

Beyond just preventing Am Yisrael from committing the same errors of the previous generation, there seems to be something inherently special about the connection between instruction by sound and the keeping of the mitzvot. The entire end of the first speech and beginning of the second speech contain a motif of shemi'ah, of hearing. Devarim 4:1 states, “Now, Israel, listen to the decrees and the ordinances (shema el ha-hukim ve-ha-mishpatim).” He challenges them to pay close attention to the laws being given orally, and that the takeaway for the nation is not the event, but the lessons and Torah that they heard there. Moshe prefaces the restating of the Ten Commandmendts by saying (5:1) “Shema yisrael el ha-hukim ve-misphatim... Hear Israel, the decrees and the ordinances that I speak in your ears today; learn them, and be careful to perform them (u'shmartem la'asotam). The strength of sound at Har Sinai was so memorable in itself that Moshe Rabbeinu reminds the nation that the people present at Har Sinai found God's voice to be so powerful that they feared they would die, “for is there any human that has heard the voice of the Living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” (5:23).

The pinnacle of Moshe's speech that stresses the importance of listening (The Shema) is prefaced by “Ve-shamata yisrael ve-shamarta la'asot – Hear, Israel, and beware to perform...” (6:3), linking the act of listening to the act of performing the mitzvot. This segment of the speech culminates in the verse “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Ehad – Hear, Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is One” (verse 4). This verse and the following paragraph of “Ve-ahavta et Hashem Elokekha – and you shall love Hashem your God...” is recited aloud, twice daily, by the Jewish people, reminding them of their covenant to love and serve the Almighty, and listen to and perform His commandments.

Focusing on the sense of sound of the Revelation was the best way to transmit and retell the story of Har Sinai. Since the generation going into Israel was not at Har Sinai, and did not see what the previous generation saw, it was more helpful to physically hear about what they had heard. They could not envision or re-see the images that the generation at Sinai saw, but when Moshe repeats the words of God, and repeats the Ten Commandments aloud to the new generation, they could hear those words live! It was more useful for Moshe to retell Ma'amad Har Sinai without focusing on what the previous generation saw, but rather told them out loud-- you cannot hear about an image and see that exact image that you yourself never originally saw, but you can hear words said aloud and experience that hearing, even if you were not there the first time it was said aloud.

The Rambam in Hilkhot Kriat Shema 2:8 specifies that the Shema must be said audibly:

“One should recite the Shema so that his words are audible to himself. [However, even] if he does not do this, he fulfills his obligation. One must enunciate the letters clearly...” One must hear for oneself the words that were spoken by Moshe to the generation about to enter into Israel after they were told about the voice of God heard at the Revelation at Sinai. Thus, by saying the Shema we accomplish what Moshe Rabbeinu tried to accomplish in his retelling of Ma'amad Har Sinai. By saying the Shema twice a day, we reenact this most crucial moment in Jewish history. We do so out loud, repeating the words in our own ears that were spoken thousands of years ago.

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1Lamm, Norman. The Shema: Spirituality and Law in Judaism (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1998).

2This particular break-down is from a dvar Torah by Rav Amnon Bazak, but this idea is a common one. For more on the divisions of the three speeches, see “Parashat Va'etchanan: God's Voice Speaking from Amidst the Fire” By Rav Amnon Bazak, available at: http://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha.64/45vaetchanan.htm.

3Artscroll happens to have a beautiful translation of Ma'amad Har Sinai, so the English is from the Artscroll translation. In some places it was adapted by the author where it was necessary.

Parshat Devarim: רב לכם- Enough Already

BY: Rose Kann

The beginning of parshat Devarim looks, at first glance, to be a quick review of the events from Har Sinai to the end of Sefer Bamidbar. To those of us reading through the parsha this may seem like a natural recap; however since this is Moshe speaking directly to the nation there must be a more significant purpose.

Ramban in his introduction to Sefer Devarim[1] finds a dual purpose for this summary: there is the level of rebuke and the level of consolation. Reminding this generation of their own sins and the sins of their fathers is most obviously the rebuke, but to find the consolation you have to look more closely at the text. Devarim 1:8 reads: “ראה נתתי לפניכם, את-הארץ; בואו, ורשו את-הארץ”-“Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land.”, and Devarim 1:29-30: לא-תערצון ולא-תיראון, מהם. יהוה אלוהיכם ההולך לפניכם, הוא יילחם לכם” “Dread not, neither be afraid of them. HaShem your G-d who goeth before you, He shall fight for you.”

Both of these quotes are from the middle of the narrative, yet are reassuring this generation that God has every intention of giving them the land. And just to further emphasize this Devarim 3:22 readsלא, תיראום:  כי יהוה אלוהיכם, הוא הנלחם לכם  “Ye shall not fear them; for HaShem your G-d, He it is that fighteth for you.” The parsha ends off with God telling Yehoshua, their new leader, that he will lead him, and the nation that Moshe is speaking to now, into the land.

Now this is the most basic of readings. We’ve outlined above the purpose of Moshe’s speech, but we haven’t looked in detail at the contents of that speech. Moshe starts off with an account of his appointing judges, then with chet hameraglim (the sin of the spies), and then with a quite detailed account of the nation’s victories east of the Jordan. Apart from the appointment of judges, which is from Sefer Shmot, [2] our parsha seems to detail the main events of the narrative from parshat Shelach Lecha until the end of Chukat. It even alludes to Mei Meriva, but there is one event that is conspicuous only by its absence: Korach.

This absence forces connections. One connection which is not obvious but certainly there is the phrase רב-לכם, rav lachem, or in English, long enough. This phrase is used only five times in the Torah, twice in parshat Korach, twice in our parsha and once in parshat Vaetchanan. It can be found in Bamidbar 16:3 and 16:7, Devarim 1:6 and 2:3, and as rav lach in Devarim 3:26.

As you look at these verses you can see that in Bamidbar they are used as rebuke, first of Moshe by Korach and then of Korach (“Bnei Levi”) by Moshe. In our parsha, however, they are used for consolation and reassurance, as seen below.

”רב-לכם שבת, בהר הזה ”
“Ye have dwelt long enough in this mountain” (Devarim 1:6)
“רב-לכם, סוב את-ההר הזה” (Devarim 2:3)
“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough”

Now we can see that the use of rav lachem is incredibly well placed in our parsha. It alludes to both purposes of the speech, rebuke and consolation, while emphasizing consolation.

But we are still left with the question that brought us to this discovery. Why isn’t Korach mentioned in our parsha? Maybe this absence is alluding to an undercurrent in our parsha. The basic conclusion, as we have stated above, is that parshat Devarim is about rebuke for the past and consolation for the future. It is directed at the nation and concerns their future success in conquering the land. But underneath that is the gradual change in leadership, and the need for it. It is important to remember that this is Moshe speaking, and sometimes he gives it away,  “גם-בי התאנף יהוה, בגללכם “- “Also HaShem was angry with me for your sakes.” (Devarim 1:37)

This is the above-mentioned reference to Mei Meriva, and it is obvious that Moshe blames the nation. What he does not seem to realize is that this is not the same nation that God had punished.This is a new generation that is in no way perfect, but has perhaps learned from their fathers’ mistakes. The nation has changed, but Moshe has not, and it seems as though God, with his use of the phrase rav lachem, chooses the nation over Moshe. In our parsha it is used to console the nation, but in the beginning of parshat Va’etchanan it is used to rebuke Moshe.

It seems as though the reason why Korach is left out is that one of the primary themes of Korach is the power structure in the desert. Yet it is this power structure that is being overturned with the appointment of Yehoshua and the entering of the nation into their land. So the story of Korach would be irrelevant to this new generation.

With this new step in the nation’s development rav lachem comes to comfort the nation that had grown up in the desert, and for subsequent generations it consoles and encourages a nation far from its land.

מקדש מלך עיר מלוכה קומי צאי מתוך ההפכה רב לך שבת בעמק הבכה והוא יחמול עלייך חמלה."”
Sanctuary of the King, royal city, arise, go forth from your ruined state. Too long have you dwelt in the valley of tears. He will shower compassion on you.

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[1] Ramban’s introduction to Sefer Devarim: http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/olam_hatanah/mefaresh.asp?book=5&perek=1&mefaresh=ramban

[2] Actually the appointment of judges described in our Parsha takes details from both the account in Parshat Yitro and a similar account of appointing judges in Parshat Beha’alotcha. In fact the details in our Parsha (That this happened after they left Chorev, and that Moshe complains that he cannot bear the burden alone.) favor the account in Parshat Beha’alotcha. Making this a continual flow of narrative from the end of Parshat Beha’alotcha to the end of Chukat.

*Biblical text and translation taken from mechon-mamre.org

**Lecha Dodi translation taken from the Koren Siddur.

Parshat Matot: The Transition from Shevatim to Matot

BY: Ms. Neesa Berezin-Bahr

The tribes of Israel are classically known as the shevatim, but in this week’s parsha, Matot, the tribes of Israel are, for the first time, called matot. We translate both the word shevet and the word mateh as tribe, a local division of an aboriginal people[1]; interestingly, shevet and mateh are both alternatively defined as sticks.[2] What is the semantic significance of the lexical use of stick in reference to the “tribes” of Israel?

Shevet and mateh are actually used in distinct places in the book of Shemot.[3] “V’khi yakeh ish et avdo oh amato b’shevet va’met tachat yado…” “And should a man strike his servant or maidservant with a club and he/she dies…”.[4] A shevet is translated as a club, a tool of defense and attack. The mateh, on the other hand, is used with regard to the staff that Moshe and Aharon carried. “…vayashleikh Aharon et matehu lifnei Paroh” “…And Aaron threw his staff before Pharoah”.[5] The staff was a vehicle for G-d’s miracles and symbolic of G-d’s support.

In this parsha, we see am yisrael’s transition from the violence of the “club” to the support of the “staff.” On another level, the English term “club” connotes exclusivity as well as force and brutality. When people are part of a club, they exclude others by indexing[6] their in-group status. This stands in stark contrast with the concept of “mateh”. A staff is used as a support, for those who cannot walk on their own. In English, a staff is also a group of people who are intended as the support system for an organization and a guiding force. With the use of the term mateh, there is a shift from an exclusivity model to a model where a group of individuals can support the whole.

Judaism values both community and the individual within the community, and the mateh becomes the perfect integration of the seeming dichotomy. The staff stresses the importance of a cohesive unit and the value of the individual voice. The staff is the support and the staff can advocate for the opinions of the individuals. 

Bnei Yisrael were ready to embody this new model of existence as a mateh. We too can embrace this within the communities we forge (including our Drisha community). We can operate on the level of matot, as a cohesive group which also appreciates and supports the uniqueness that each individual brings to the whole. May we merit incorporating the lesson of matot into our lives and understanding the value of the group while allowing for inclusion and appreciation of those around us.

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[1] www.dictionary.com

[2] Rav Matis Weinberg points this out in Frameworks, his book on parsha

[3] Based on teachings of Rav Binny Freedman

[4] Shemot 21:20. All translations are my own.

[5] Shemot 7:10

[6] Displaying any sign that points to a social identity.

Parshat Pinchas: Daughters of Zelofchad

BY: Tirtza Spiegel

While the name of this week’s parsha connotes the famous Biblical story of Pinchas’ zealotry, the Torah portion also contains a lesser known narrative. The daughters of Zelofchad, perturbed by the current inheritance laws, present their case to Moses. “Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he had no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father."[i]

This request parallels another story earlier in Numbers, where the origins of the holiday of Pesach Sheini are narrated. The request of the ritually impure Israelites, “'We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of the LORD in its appointed season among the children of Israel?[ii]”, mirrors the request of Zelofchad’s daughters.

These stories share multiple similarities. Both Zelofchad’s daughters and the ritually impure Israelites are impeded from performing mitzvoth and view this hindrance as a challenge. Both parties initiate their claim to enable their fulfillment of mitzvoth, as opposed to lessening their service to God (Hebrew root g-r-a). The daughters of Zelofchad wish to preserve their family’s name through inheriting the land, while the ritually impure Israelites wish to participate in the Passover sacrifice. In both cases, the specific rulings regarding the respective cases are not obvious to Moshe, and require God’s participation. God grants the requests of both groups, and demands that subsequent laws are permanently retained. In both stories, the reactions of the groups (to the rulings) are not described, hinting to the reader that these stories embody laws and lessons greater than the simple narratives imply.

While the book of Numbers is set in the desert, both of these stories serve as bridges that span the desert-Israel transformation for the Israelites. Both of these requests, one regarding the Passover ritual, reminiscent of the Israelites’ redemption from Egypt and the formation of the Jewish nationality, and the other involving inheritance in the new land, incorporate central tenets of the Israel experience for the Israelites. Contrasted with the spies’ reluctance to enter Israel, these stories enlighten us about the Israelites’ passionate desire to form a permanent nation, solidified via rituals and land claims.

Additionally, the merits of taking initiative are not lost on the reader. Both parties are considered to have been rewarded via the amendments of earlier laws in order that others will be able to participate extensively as well. Rashi also claims that both parties were rewarded by having these laws revealed through the respective narratives of their requests, as opposed to simply recording Moses’ declaration of the law[iii]. The desire to create and secure opportunities to worship God via the complete fulfillment of the commandments allows us to appreciate the significance of actively integrating God into our own lives. We are privileged to have multiple opportunities to expand the borders of our own worship. May we capitalize on all our challenges and transform them to opportunities that will be utilized to their greatest extent to serve God and our nation.

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[i] Numbers 27:4. All English translations of verses from the Torah are from the Artscroll Stone Edition Tanakh.

[ii] Numbers 9:7

[iii] Rashi 9:7, 27:7

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Parshat Balak: Free Will Or G-d's Will?

BY: Eitan Adler

In the Balaam narrative, which takes up the majority of this week’s Torah portion, G-d seems to send Balaam a number of conflicting messages. At first, when Balak sends emissaries to Balaam asking him to curse the Israelites on his behalf, G-d commands Balaam to stay put. Yet, when a second group of messengers from Balak arrive, G-d seems to change his mind. G-d tells Balaam "אם לקרא לך באו האנשים קום לך אתם אך את הדבר אשר אדבר אליך אותו תעשה" – “If men came to summon you, arise and go with them, but only the thing that I shall speak to you – that shall you do.”[1] In this statement, G-d appears to have granted Balaam permission to travel with Balak’s messengers, and perhaps even commands him to do so. This makes the next part of the story extremely perplexing – why is Balaam’s path subsequently blocked by an angel with a fiery sword in his hand? Balaam clearly interprets that confrontation as a sign of G-d’s displeasure with his actions, as he offers to turn around and return home. The angel, however, makes a statement similar to the one G-d made earlier "לך עם האנשים ואפס את הדבר אשר אדבר אליך אותו אדבר" – “Go with the men, but only the word that I shall speak to you – that you shall speak.”[2] Even these two similarly worded statements seem to express ambivalence on G-d’s part. Why would G-d allow Balaam to attempt to curse the Jews if He will not allow him to actually do so?

The Gemara in Makkot 10b (shout-out to Rabbi Flatto’s shiur) picks up on this change in Gd’s responses to Balaam:

אמר רבה בר רב הונא ואמרי לה אמר רב הונא אמר א"ר אלעזר: מן התורה, ומן הנביאים, ומן הכתובים  בדרך שאדם רוצה לילך בה מוליכין אותו.  מן התורה דכתיב: "לא תלך עמהן" וכתיב: קום לך אתם

Rabbah son of R. Huna reporting Rab Huna [some say, R. Huna reporting R. Eleazar] said: From the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Hagiographa it may be shown that one is allowed to follow the road he wishes to pursue. From the Pentateuch, as it is written, “And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them” and then it is written, “[If the men came to call thee] rise up and go with them.[3]

The Amora whose teaching is cited in this Gemara understands these changing answers to be due to G-d’s adherence to the principle of free will. Though G-d did not want Balaam to go with the messengers and would not allow him to curse the Israelites, Gd ultimately allowed Balaam to follow his own chosen path. Balaam’s encounter with the angel unfolded in a similar fashion. Though the angel initially blocked Balaam’s path, he neither killed Balaam nor ordered him to return home; rather, at the conclusion of their exchange, Balaam was allowed to continue on his way.

Another story in Tanakh that also relates to the interplay between the values of Free Will and G-d’s own will, the binding of Isaac, עקידת יצחק, is alluded to throughout the Balaam narrative. In describing Balaam’s initial preparations for his journey the Torah uses the language of "ויקם בלעם בבקר ויחבש את אתנו" - "Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his she-donkey," whereas by Avraham it had stated: "וישכם אברהם בבקר ויחבש את חמרו" - "So Abraham woke up early in the morning and saddled his donkey."[4] Both men are accompanied by “שני נעריו”, two lads. In addition, for both Abraham and Balaam a crucial logistical element of their mission is unknown to them, to be revealed at a later time by G-d. Balaam is uncertain what he will be allowed to say, while Abraham is not told the exact location where he will sacrifice his son.[5]

These literary parallels between Avraham and Balaam’s journeys highlight their extremely different reactions to G-d’s wishes. In response to G-d’s command, Avraham immediately undertook a journey to sacrifice his beloved son and heir. If Avraham protested G-d’s command to sacrifice Yitzchak or had any self-doubts about doing so, it is not recorded in Tanakh. From the narrative of the binding of Isaac emerges an image of Avraham as submitting totally to the will of G-d.

Balaam’s relationship to G-d’s will is less clear. G-d allowed Balaam to go to Balak, but sent repeated signs that He didn’t approve of him actually doing so. G-d also informed Balaam from the start that cursing the Israelites would go against His will as G-d Himself has already blessed them. Yet G-d, in keeping with the principle of free will, allowed Balaam to at least try to ruin His plans. While Avraham recognized G-d’s will and chose to align his own actions with it, Balaam willfully ignored G-d’s repeated signals to him to the extent that he seems to have attempted to subvert G-d’s will.

Balaam was not, after all, able to curse the Israelites or to prevent them from entering the Land of Israel. That would have been impossible, as G-d had already blessed them and promised them that they would inherit the land. Yet, G-d still allowed Balaam to try his best to foil His plans. G-d left Balaam free to choose what route to take and how to act. Despite repeated signals from G-d, Balaam did not choose to follow the example of Avraham and align his will with that of G-d. The mishna in Pirkei Avot states that it is possible for people to become either the students of Avraham or Balaam.[6] The choice of whose attributes to emulate, however, is always left up to the individual.  

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[1] Numbers 22:20.  All English translations of verses from the Torah are from the Artscroll Stone Edition Tanakh.

[2] Numbers 22:35

[3]Translation from Soncino Edition

[4]Genesis 22:3 and Numbers 22:21

[5]There is parallelism in the wording here as well, between Genesis 22:1-"ועלהו שם לעלה על אחד ההרים אשר אמר אליך  and Numbers 22-"את הדבר אשר אדבר אליך אתו תדבר."

[6]  In Pirkei Avot 5:22, the mishna lists three attributes for each, some of which I believe are related to this discussion:
"כל מי שיש בידו שלושה דברים הללו, הוא מתלמידיו של אברהם אבינו ושלושה דברים אחרים הוא מתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע. עין טובה ורוח נמוכה ונפש שפילה תלמידיו של אברהם אבינו.  עין רעה ורוח גבוהה ונפש רחבה תלמידיו של בלעם הרשע" – “Whoever has the following three traits is among the disciples of our forefather Abraham; [whoever has] three different traits is among the disciples of the wicked Balaam. Those who have a good eye, a humble spirit, and a meek soul are among the disciples of our forefather Abraham.  Those who have an evil eye, an arrogant spirit, and a greedy soul are among the disciples of the wicked Balaam.”  (Translation taken from the Artscroll siddur.)