Parashat Ve’etchanan - “and I pleaded..”

Saturday 20 August 2016             Av  16  5776

Parashat Ve’etchanan  -  “and I pleaded..”
(Shabbat Nachamu)   Deut 3:23-7:11; Isaiah 40:1-26; Matthew 23:1-3,16-23

In our portion, Moshe pleads for several things. Firstly, he pleads with God to enter the Holy Land, but is turned down. (Remember, God always answers your prayers -- sometimes with a "yes," sometimes with a "no" ... and sometimes with a "not yet".)

Moshe commands the Children of Israel not to add or subtract from the words of the Torah and to keep all of the Commandments. He then reminds them that God has no shape or form and that we should not make or worship idols of any kind.

The cities of Bezer, Ramot and Golan are designated as Cities of Refuge east of the Jordan river. Accidental murderers can escape there to avoid revengeful relatives. They then await there until tried.

The Ten Commandments are repeated to the whole Jewish people. Moshe then expounds the Shema, affirming the unity of God, Whom all should love and transmit His commandments to the next generation. A man should wear Tefillin upon the arm and head. All Jews should put a Mezuzah (the scroll is the essential part) upon each doorpost of their home (except the bathroom).

The Torah states: "You shall love your God with all your heart" (Deut 6:5).

What lesson can we learn from this verse?

"Do His will out of love. One who serves out of love cannot be compared to one who serves out of fear. The one who serves his master out of fear, once (the master) overburdens him, will leave and go his own way" (Rashi).

These words are the single greatest method whereby parents can prevent their children from deviating. Children who obey their parents out of fear, whether it be fear of punishment or of incurring their disapproval, may well react as Rashi says. When they feel that the parental demands of them are excessive, they may rebel or go their own way. Not so if they obey their parents out of love.

Parents' love of their children is innate. Animals, too, care for and nurture their children. Children's love for parents must be earned. If parents act in a way that merits their children's admiration, they receive their love. Such children are likely to avoid doing anything that will distress their parents. Any parent who relies on authority to make his children do his wishes may find himself disillusioned and disappointed when the children do as Rashi says, "leave him and go his own way."

Parents must indeed discipline their children, but should do so in a manner that will not humiliate them and cause them shame. Discipline or rebuke by intimidation evokes resentment, not love.

We see this lesson powerfully taught in Torah. In order not to embarrass and offend his listeners, Moses did not mention the sins of that first generation explicitly; instead, he alluded to them by using place names or other veiled references. Rashi, Onkelos, and many others teach that the "place names" are code words for sins committed by Israel.

According to the Sifri, the numerous place names listed here are not landmarks or physical localities indicating where Moses spoke these words -- indeed, some of these places do not even exist as geographical locations. Rather, these are words of rebuke by Moses to the people of Israel.

When we examine the prophecies that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s spoke over their progeny as they neared death, we notice that they are often rebukes. Not quite the legacy one we choose to leave with one’s children. The Sage Chazal gives 4 reasons why the rebuke happened towards the end of Moses’ life;
1. it is best to rebuke only once and not several times
2. so the those who are being rebuked will not be embarrassed by the presence of the one who did the rebuking
3. so that those rebuking did not have the opportunity to display anger or even hatred toward the one who did the rebuking
4. when a rebuke is delivered at the end of the life of one who is loved and respected, there is a good chance that his departing words would be taken seriously. People appear to manifest more respect to those who are on their deathbed.

But, it is also a reminder that a rebuke is a sign of caring and love.
Rev 3:19-20
19  Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline . So be earnest, and repent.
20  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Prov 12:1
1  To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

To rebuke the sheep he shepherded for so long, must also been difficult for Moses. How do you think he felt when he had to deliver this rebuke? Nevertheless, learning from the Patriarchs and prompted by the Spirit, he fulfilled his mandate.

Rashi explains that he did so "because of the honour of Israel". Even though the Jewish people warranted the rebuke, to explicitly mention their sins would have been too much of a disgrace to them and Moses did not want to leave this with them at the end of his life.

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz derives an important lesson about rebuke from Rashi's explanation. He writes, "We learn from here how much it is incumbent upon the one who rebukes to worry about and be concerned for the honour of the person being rebuked." This infers that when one rebukes another person, one does so in humility. The motivation is to speak the truth in love without diminishing that person and without pride being present!

We would all do well to learn this lesson!

Shavua tov!