Sefer Devarim is Moshe’s final address
to the Bnei Yisrael. The entire sefer contains the information Moshe felt was
most vital to give over before he died; by viewing it as such, we can gain
great insights into Moshe’s thought process as the Bnei Yisrael were about to
enter Eretz Yisrael. Parshas Devarim specifically contains a lot of mussar
given by Moshe to the nation.
At the beginning of Shlishi, Moshe is telling
over the story of when Bnei Yisrael wanted to send the spies into Eretz Yisrael.
The first pasuk of Shlishi says, “וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי
כֻּלְּכֶם” “And all of you approached me” (Devarim 1:22). Rashi
explains that Moshe was saying this as a rebuke; they came so quickly and so
forcefully to Moshe, that no one showed any respect for each other. The younger
people pushed away the older people, and the older people did not show any
respect to the leaders of the nation. This, Rashi explains, is a contrast to
how they acted at Har Sinai, where everyone treated each other with the proper
respect. (Rashi learns this out from the pasuk in 5:20 that discusses the giving
of the Torah.)
The simple explanation
is that Moshe was rebuking Bnei Yisrael by telling them how well they had acted
earlier and how had badly they acted under similar circumstances later on. Asks
the Kli Yakar, if Moshe is rebuking Bnei Yisrael, why does he need to mention
Har Sinai? Why can’t he just say that they acted poorly by the Meraglim?
He explains that this
is really a lot worse than what Rashi originally said. When Moshe saw how the
Bnei Yisrael respected each other at Har Sinai, he assumed it was as he saw it,
that they all respected each other. However, now that he saw how they acted by
the Meraglim, pushing and shoving with no regard for one another, he understood
that the ‘respect’ they showed each other at Har Sinai was not respect either.
When the nation pushed each other by
the Meraglim, they were motivated by the expectation of receiving land and
wealth and other physical pleasures. They couldn’t get to the front of the line
fast enough! (Remember, at this point, the whole nation was expecting to go
into Eretz Yisrael right away. They didn’t think the spies would come back with
a bad report and they would end up spending another 38 years in the desert.)
But by Har Sinai, when it came to receiving the Torah, the ultimate spiritual
reward, all of a sudden they couldn’t wait to give someone else the opportunity
to go first, passing it off as ‘politeness’. The younger people allowed the
older people to go in front by Har Sinai because they didn’t see any value in
Torah for them. “The elders will appreciate Torah because older people
appreciate wisdom. We are young, we need land and wealth; we want the
opportunity to build the new world, which the elders will not be a part of for
too long. So we need these physical things more.” Therefore, they pushed in
front when it came to going into Eretz Yisrael.
It is this middah that led to the
destruction of both Batei Mikdash. When
it comes to Torah, everyone is ready to honor the other. Sometimes it is
legitimate, but often it is because we just want to pass on the burden of Torah
on to someone else. But when it comes to making money, we don’t generally try
to respect other people’s feelings.
The first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because
we committed sins against Hashem, the second Beis Hamikdash was destroyed
because we sinned against each other. Both of these aspects are on display in
this story in Devarim. When the younger people allowed the older people first
access to the Torah, they were sinning against Hashem by showing that they did
not see any benefit in receiving the Torah; they felt that it was unimportant
and irrelevant. When they pushed the elders away, (and when the elders also didn’t
show respect to the nation’s leaders,) they showed that they cared more about their
own personal gains than trying to help out their friend and neighbor.
Even though we don’t commemorate it
until Sunday, this Shabbos is Tisha B’Av, the anniversary of the destruction of
both Batei Mikdash. The saddest day of the year. Tisha B’Av is not even about
doing teshuva (though it is a good time for it), it’s simply about remembering
the Beis Hamikdash and trying to comprehend what we have lost.
Parshas Devarim always falls out the
week before Tisha B’Av. By focusing on this lesson from the parsha, we can see
what we need to work on. We must respect our friends and neighbors, by putting
their physical and spiritual needs before our own, and repair our relationship
with Hashem, by accepting upon ourselves the ‘burden’ of the pleasures of the
Torah, and respecting each and every Jew. Every Jew is extremely important to
Hashem, therefore, all of their needs, both physical and spiritual, should be
our top priority.
Shabbat Shalom!
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