The deeper meaning of the opening of Sefer Devarim

  Sefer Devarim is a book of reflection and preparation. Before Moshe Rabbeinu leaves us, he calls upon the generation entering the Land and upon all future generations, to internalize these messages, to strengthen their emunah, and to renew the covenant between Bnei Yisrael and their Father in Heaven.

  Moshe Rabbeinu gives Bnei Yisrael Sefer Devarim, which is called Mishneh Torah (the repetition of the Torah). He repeats mitzvos, explains them, and gives them new dimensions, so that every generation, even during the bitter times of galus (exile), will know how to live, how to strengthen itself, and how to be worthy of geulah (redemption).

  Moshe Rabbeinu continues to teach us and still guides us, on every journey and in every era, both in days of greatness and in days of darkness.

  After these initial subtle allusions, Moshe is about to elaborate upon the sin of the meraglim (spies), a sin that changed the course of history. We will now examine the centrality of this sin, with Hashem’s help.

II

Why does Moshe emphasize the sin of the Meraglim?

  In the opening pasuk of Sefer Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu addresses all of Yisrael with words of rebuke, but only through very subtle allusions, as we explained above at length. After continuing with a review of lessons and events from those years, he speaks explicitly about the sin of the meraglim. This raises a question: What distinguishes this sin from all the others, that Moshe chooses to explain, recount, and emphasize the story of the spies at the beginning of Parashas Devarim rather than just allude to it as he did with the other sins?

The first “Eichah”

  Shortly before relating the episode of the spies, Moshe declares:

אֵיכָה אֶשָּׂא לְבַדִּי טָרְחֲכֶם וּמַשַּׂאֲכֶם וְרִיבְכֶם

“How (Eichah) can I alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your quarrels?” (Devarim 1:12)

  This verse, which opens with the word “Eichah,” is read in the shuls every year to the sad tune of Megillas Eichah (the Book of Lamentations), since Parashas Devarim is always read on Shabbos Chazon, the Shabbos before Tishah B’Av, the day on which we read Megillas Eichah.

  Chazal in Eichah Rabbah (a midrash), see a connection between the Eichah of Moshe, the Eichah of Yeshaya (Isaiah), and the Eichah of Megillas Eichah, which was written by Yirmiyahu HaNavi (Jeremiah, the prophet):

  Three prophesied using the word “Eichah.” Moshe said: אֵיכָה אֶשָּׂא לְבַדִּי “Eichah esa levadi” (“How can I bear alone…?”). Yeshaya said: אֵיכָה הָיְתָה לְזוֹנָה קִרְיָה נֶאֱמָנָה “Eichah haysah lezonah kiryah ne’emanah” (“How has the faithful city become a harlot?” (Yeshaya 1:21). Yirmiyahu said: אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד הָעִיר רַבָּתִי עָם “Eichah yashvah vadad ha’ir rabbasi am” (“How does the city that was full of people sit alone?”) (Eichah 1:1).

  The Midrash compares the three prophets to a distinguished woman who had three friends. One saw her in her tranquility, one saw her in her decline, and one saw her in her destruction. Moshe’s Eichah marks the beginning of a process that reaches its tragic climax in the Eichah of Yirmiyahu.

The sin that changed history

  The parashah immediately following Moshe’s Eichah is about the sin that changed the course of Jewish history. Moshe recounts the nation’s request to send spies:

וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כֻּלְּכֶם וַתֹּאמְרוּ נִשְׁלְחָה אֲנָשִׁים לְפָנֵינוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ לָנוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ

“Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us’” (Devarim 1:22).

  Moshe continues by describing how the spies returned and reported great danger:

עַם גָּדוֹל וָרָם מִמֶּנּוּ, עָרִים גְּדֹלֹת וּבְצוּרוֹת בַּשָּׁמָיִם, וְגַם בְּנֵי עֲנָקִים רָאִינוּ שָׁם

“A people greater and taller than we; cities great and fortified up to the heavens; and we also saw the descendants of the Anakim (Giants) there” (Devarim 1:28).

  This “testimony” filled the nation with despair and fear and shattered their bitachon (trust [in G-d]). What the spies described made it extremely difficult for the people to envision themselves conquering the Land, and this led them to complaints, weeping, and grief.

The night of Tishah B’Av

  Parashas Shelach relates:

וַתִּשָּׂא כָל הָעֵדָה וַיִּתְּנוּ אֶת קוֹלָם וַיִּבְכּוּ הָעָם בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא

“The entire assembly raised their voices, and the people wept that night (Bamidbar 14:1).

  The Gemara (Sanhedrin 104b) connects that night of weeping with the verse in Megillas Eichah: בָּכוֹ תִבְכֶּה בַּלַּיְלָה “Bacho sivkeh balaylah” (“She weeps bitterly in the night…”) (Eichah 1:2). Rabbi Yochanan explains that the doubled expression, “Bacho sivkeh (“she weeps bitterly”), alludes to the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash. The Gemara teaches that the spies returned and gave their report on the eighth day of Av and the people wept through the night of Tisha B’Av.

  On that very night of Tishah B’Av, Hakadosh Baruch Hu declared:

אַתֶּם בְּכִיתֶם בְּכִיָּה שֶׁל חִנָּם, וַאֲנִי אֶקְבַּע לָכֶם בְּכִיָּה לְדוֹרוֹת.

“You wept a groundless weeping, and so I establish for you a weeping for generations.”

  The tragedies of Tishah B’Av throughout the generations began with the tears shed “that night.” We are all familiar with the calamities that followed from that night, and we continue to mourn them to this very day.

  I would like to add the following. In Parashas Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest of all the prophets, who spoke with Hashem peh el peh (mouth to mouth), prophesies as he speaks to כל יִָּשְׂרָאֵל, all Yisrael, to Klal Yisrael throughout its generations; to that generation and to all the coming generations. He teaches us Mishneh Torah, explaining the Torah and giving us a deeper understanding of the Torah, so that we will always be able to understand it, in every generation, in seventy languages, enabling the Torah to be understood throughout the lands of our galus, wherever we may be scattered.

  From the very opening of the parashah, Moshe rebukes us. From the very first pasuk. First with allusions, and now here with greater detail, he teaches us the lesson of the spies. He rebukes us, and he urges us to learn from the mistakes of that episode, for that is where the decline began. That rebellion changed the course of our history already in the wilderness. The generation of the wilderness wandered for forty years instead of one year and was prevented from entering Eretz Yisrael.

  In the account of the episode of the spies, Moshe reveals a wonderous and surprising fact for the first time:

גַּם בִּי הִתְאַנַּף ה׳ בִּגְלַלְכֶם לֵאמֹר גַּם אַתָּה לֹא תָבֹא שָׁם

“Hashem also became angry with me because of you, saying, ‘You too shall not enter there’” (Devarim 1:37).

  We generally assume that Moshe was barred from entering Eretz Yisrael solely because of the incident at Mei Merivah, when he struck the rock. Why, then, does Moshe connect his fate to the sin of the spies, which had occurred thirty-nine years earlier?

  As I reflected upon this question, the following explanation occurred to me. Had the nation not sinned, they would have entered Eretz Yisrael immediately, and Moshe would have led them into the Land. In that sense, the sin of the spies altered the course of history and ultimately prevented Moshe from entering.

The profound insight of the Ohr HaChaim

  The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh (Devarim 1:37) offers an even deeper perspective. He explains that had Moshe Rabbeinu entered Eretz Yisrael and built the Beis HaMikdash, that Beis HaMikdash would have been eternal. It would have been permanently indestructible. There would never have been the “weeping for generations” associated with Tishah B’Av. The roots of every future destruction are embedded in the sin of the meraglim. On that fateful night, the nation failed in its faith. They failed to demonstrate proper gratitude for the miracles of the Exodus and lost their trust in Hashem’s promise to bring them into Eretz Yisrael. The seeds of all future destruction were planted on that first night of Tishah B’Av.

From Eichah to geulah

  The Midrash’s “three Eichahs” now take on a deeper meaning. Moshe’s Eichah reflects a generation standing at the threshold of greatness. They possessed the potential to attain lofty spiritual heights and true serenity. Yeshayah’s Eichah describes a nation in decline. Yirmiyahu’s Eichah mourns the terrible calamities that followed. “Eichah yashvah vadad…” “How does the city sit solitary…” Yirmiyahu refers to the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash in his own day, and in the very next verse, “Bacho sivkeh” (“She weeps bitterly”), he already alludes, through ruach ha’kodesh (Divine inspiration), to the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash as well. The weeping and grief over the destruction of the Batei Mikdash and Yerushalayim began with the nation’s tears in response to the report of the spies.

  Yet the Torah’s messages do not end with mourning and despair. Through the power of teshuvah, every Jew can change and reverse the course of history. Moshe’s rebuke was given not merely to admonish, but to awaken growth and repair. When we learn from the failures of the past and correct what requires correction, we become true ba’alei teshuvah. Through teshuvah, a complete transformation is possible. We therefore take Moshe Rabbeinu’s tochachah to heart, learning from our past and repairing what requires correction, both for ourselves and for the generations that came before us, in accordance with the words of Chazal:בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁבַּעֲלֵי תְשׁוּבָה עוֹמְדִין, אֵין צַדִּיקִים גְּמוּרִים יְכוֹלִין לַעֲמוֹד “In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, even the completely righteous cannot stand.”

  May it be Hashem’s will that we merit to transform Eichah into joy and witness how (אֵיכָה) the Beis HaMikdash is rebuilt, speedily in our days, Amen.

III

Building on the foundations of previous generations

  The Sfas Emes on our parashah (5634/1874), quoting the Yerushalmi (Yoma 1:1), discusses the well-known statement:

  “Every generation in whose days the Beis HaMikdash is not rebuilt is regarded as though it destroyed it.”

  The Sfas Emes asks: 

  How can we understand this? Since the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, there have been many generations that produced great tzaddikim. How can it be said that it is as though the Beis HaMikdash has been destroyed because of their sins, chas veshalom (Heaven forbid)? To answer this question, the Sfas Emes offers an original and profound interpretation of “in whose days.”

  Before examining his explanation, however, we must first understand the connection between this teaching and Parashas Devarim.

The inner connection between Shabbos Chazon and Parashas Devarim

  At first glance, the connection appears to be that Parashas Devarim is always read immediately before Tishah B’Av, on Shabbos Chazon. Naturally, our thoughts turn to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and our longing for its rebuilding. Upon further reflection, however, there is a more direct connection to the parashah itself. The opening of Sefer Devarim contains Moshe Rabbeinu’s unusual form of rebuke to all of Klal Yisrael. Through various subtle allusions, he reminds the nation of the sins of the generation of the wilderness, including the sin of the meraglim, chet ha’Eigel, and their complaints about the mahn.

  What is striking, however, is that he addresses these words not to the generation that sinned, but to their children, the generation about to enter Eretz Yisrael. Moshe wished to convey to them that they were not merely inheriting the Land. He addressed this new generation in order to emphasize their responsibility to rebuild after the failures of the previous generation. They must continue the work that had been left unfinished.

This idea lies at the heart of the lesson: every generation is entrusted with the responsibility of building on the foundations laid by those who came before it.

A positive interpretation

  Now we return to the Sfas Emes. He explains that Chazal’s statement is not merely a criticism, but an inspiring message. The Beis HaMikdash is not built by a single generation alone.

  Rather, the merit of every generation contributes and brings about a small measure toward the building of the Beis HaMikdash. The construction continues throughout all the days of the exile, as it says, “Boneh Yerushalayim” (“He builds Jerusalem”), using the present tense…. Every generation that does not assist in its construction… in whose days it is not built … means a generation whose days were not included in the construction.

     There is no guilt upon the generation for not meriting to see the Beis HaMikdash in its actual physical rebuilding; rather, the blame is upon the generation for not succeeding in joining its days to the ongoing process of building the Beis HaMikdash, a process that continues from generation to generation.

The Sfas Emes concludes:

  Every individual, as well, must realize that all of his deeds assist in building the Beis HaMikdash. According to how much one accepts upon himself the ol Malchus Shamayim (yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven), to that extent does he assist in its construction, as Chazal say: ‘Everyone assists in building the King’s palace.’

  Every individual contributes through his actions. Even the daily acceptance of ol Malchus Shamayim during Krias Shema helps build the Beis HaMikdash. Every sincere effort contributes to its construction.

  The generation is not blamed because it did not merit to witness the Beis HaMikdash rebuilt in a literal sense. Rather, the failing lies in not adding its own days to the ongoing process of rebuilding that spans the generations.

Rectifying the failures of the previous generations

  The following year (5635/1875), the Sfas Emes returned to this theme in a direct discussion of our parashah. Regarding Moshe’s rebuke of the new generation for the sins of their fathers, he writes:

  The rebukes with which Moshe Rabbeinu admonished them concerned the sins of the previous generation, because every generation must rectify the sins of the generation that preceded it. Just as they inherit the merits that the previous generation left them, so too they stand in their place to rectify their sins. This is the meaning of “He visits the sins of the fathers upon the children.” Therefore, he reviewed all of the sins that were rectified afterward. This is also the meaning of the statement that every generation in whose days the Beis HaMikdash is not rebuilt is regarded as though it destroyed it, for had they rectified the sins of the previous generation, it would have been rebuilt immediately.

  Just as later generations inherit the merits of the preceding generations, so are they responsible for repairing the shortcomings of those generations. These words give new meaning to the relationship between generations. We are not disconnected from our predecessors. We stand upon the foundations they laid and inherit all of their spiritual achievements and treasures. At the same time, we also inherit the responsibility of completing what was left incomplete.

Moshe addressed the generation entering the Land, charging them with correcting and completing what their fathers had failed to accomplish. Yet his words are a message to every generation. We bear the responsibility to rectify the sins of our forefathers that led to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, so that we may merit its rebuilding.

Moshe’s message to every generation: the bond to the Oral Torah

 The opening words of Sefer Devarim are:

אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל

“These are the words that Moshe spoke to all of Yisrael” (Devarim 1:1).

  One may suggest that “all of Yisrael” refers not only to those standing before Moshe at that moment, but to every future generation as well. Moshe’s rebuke is delivered through allusions and indirectly. The places mentioned in the verse are difficult to identify because they are not geographical locations at all. Chazal reveal their hidden meanings. For example, “Di Zahav” alludes to the sin of the Golden Calf, while “Lavan” alludes to the complaints about the white mahn. In this way, Moshe teaches us another lesson. In order to understand his message fully, we require the guidance of the Torah Shebe’al Peh (Oral Torah). We must turn to Chazal and to the sages of every generation to uncover the deeper meaning of his words and apply them to our own lives.

Learning from the past and building the future

  The generation of the wilderness sinned, and, as a result, they remained in the wilderness for forty years. Moshe Rabbeinu teaches us that every generation can learn from the generations that preceded it, avoid the same pitfalls and temptations, and even rectify their mistakes. The knowledge of the past becomes a gift that enables success in the future.

  We reflect upon Moshe’s timeless message: Do not become trapped by the failures of the past. Learn from them, build upon them, continue the work that earlier generations began, and complete what they left unfinished on their behalf.

  The Sefas Emes teaches that this is the deeper meaning of the statement, “Every generation in whose days the Beis HaMikdash is not rebuilt is regarded as though it destroyed it”: The question is not whether we can complete the entire building ourselves. The question is whether the days of our generation become part of the collective process of building shared by all generations.

  Every generation is significant, and even every individual, through a lifetime devoted to Torah and mitzvos, advances the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. Generation after generation, layer upon layer, Klal Yisrael continues to build Yerushalayim. Through the cumulative effect of our efforts, together with those of all the generations that preceded us, may we all, together with Klal Yisrael throughout the generations, merit to rebuild the Beis HaMikdash speedily in our days. Amen. Kein yehi ratzon.

Maharal Tzintz

How wonderful it is to be a Jew!

The Torah states in our parashah:

וּבַמִּדְבָּר אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתָ אֲשֶׁר נְשָׂאֲךָ ה‘ אֱלֹקיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא אִישׁ אֶת בְּנוֹ

“And in the wilderness, where you saw that Hashem your G-d carried you, just as a man carries his son (Devarim 1:31).

It is elucidated in this pasuk that HaKadosh Baruch Hu bestows goodness upon His people by carrying them as a father carries his son. But we wish to understand: in what way is this goodness expressed? What benefit did Bnei Yisrael derive during their journey through the wilderness from the fact that Hashem regarded them as His children? To this, our master, the Maharal Tzintz, offers a sublime answer that transforms our entire perspective on serving Hashem and on the concept of reward and punishment.

Am Yisrael is compared to Hashem’s flock. Thus, Tehillim states concerning Yisrael’s journey through the wilderness: נָחִיתָ כַצֹּאן עַמֶּךָ בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן “You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moshe and Aharon” (77:21). The Midrash explains (Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim 818): “Just as sheep damage the trees, yet their owner does not become upset with them, so too Hakadosh Baruch Hu.” Just as an owner does not punish his sheep, so too Hashem bears the sins of Yisrael. However, in a prophecy of Yechezkel it says: וְאַתֵּן צֹאנִי צֹאן מַרְעִיתִי אָדָם אַתֶּם “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are man” (Yechezkel 34:31). An explanation is needed, for there appears to a contradiction here: Are Yisrael compared to sheep, like sheep in the hands of their shepherd, or are they compared to man, responsible for his own actions?

To resolve this contradiction, Rabbeinu cites the Midrash on Tehillim:

Thus, does it say: “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are man.” If they are sheep, why are they called man? And if they are man, why are they called sheep? Rabbi Yochanan said: “They are sheep with regard to punishment, and man with regard to reward. If they are liable, He treats them like sheep. But if they perform mitzvos, He treats them like man, giving them their reward.”

This teaching is astonishing. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as it were, grants Klal Yisrael special favor. Regarding their sins, He does not deal with them strictly but views them as innocent sheep that should not be punished. Regarding their mitzvos, however, He grants them their full reward, viewing them as intelligent, responsible human beings. In other words, the system of reward and punishment established by Hashem is highly “profitable” to Yisrael. Their reward for mitzvos is far greater than their punishment for sins. How wonderful it is to be a Jew!

Says Rabbeinu: If so, this is the intention of the pasuk  כַּאֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא אִישׁ אֶת בְּנוֹ “Just as a man carries his son.” Hashem regards Klal Yisrael as a darling young child. Just as when a person has a small child, and the child does some improper deed, the parent does not become upset with him or act strictly with him for his actions but forgives him because he is young and does not understand, so too the sins of Klal Yisrael did not prevent HaKadosh Baruch Hu from continuing to bestow goodness upon them.

It is as simple as that. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is exceedingly lenient with Yisrael when it comes to their sins and judges them favorably, as though they were small children. When it comes to their mitzvos on the other hand, He grants them their full reward, regarding them as mature adults responsible for their deeds. How fortunate we are! How goodly is our portion!