This week, we have another 'SOS' submission to AIMeMTorah. This week's Dvar Torah was written and recorded by Nussi Samuel, who is once again participating in the 'Summer of Subscribers' program. AIMeMTorah would like to thank Nussi for his Dvar Torah and his continued support for AIMeM.
Moshe Rabeinu starts off this week’s
parshah with veiled mussar in order to avoid embarrassing Klal Yisroel and not
besmirch their honor, by explicitly stating their past failings. However, this
was risky from another standpoint. According to many Meforshim, it was Moshe’s
rebuke to Klal Yisroel that caused him to lose the privilege of entering Eretz
Yisroel. In the story of the Mei Meriva, in which Moshe hit the rock
instead of talking to it, he rebuked Klal Yisroel by saying “שִׁמְעוּ נָא הַמֹּרִים” “Listen,
you rebels” (Bamidbar 20:10). So
how come Moshe was not afraid to give mussar here in Sefer Devarim to Klal
Yisroel? Furthermore, not only does Moshe give mussar to Klal Yisroel at this
time, he even uses the same expression, calling them rebels; he says “וַתַּמְרוּ” “and
you rebelled” in Devarim 1:26 and 43, and later on he says, “מַמְרִים הֱיִיתֶם” “you
have been rebelling” (9:7)!
There are many answers given, but we’ll
focus on three.
The Midrash says that when Hashem told
Moshe to review the Torah by writing Mishnah Torah (the nickname for Sefer
Devarim), Moshe planned on omitting any mention of the Klal Yisroel’s sins, and
didn’t plan on rebuking them (Devarim Rabbah 1:8). R’ Simone says that it can
be compared to the following parable:
There was once a student walking with
his teacher. His teacher was imparting to him the knowledge and craft of
precious stones. The student saw a coal that was on fire and picked it up
thinking it was a gem and got burnt. As he continued walking with his teacher, the
student saw a precious stone and was afraid to touch thinking it was burning
coal. The teacher explained that this stone he could pick up since it was a
precious stone.
Similarly, Moshe was afraid to give any
mussar to Klal Yisroel since he gotten “burnt” back in Sefer Bamidbar when he
told Klal Yisroel “שִׁמְעוּ נָא הַמֹּרִים”,
and subsequently lost the privilege of entering Eretz Yisroel. Therefore, Hashem
told him he had nothing to fear from giving mussar at this time, and encouraged
Moshe to give the mussar.
The second answer is, according to the
Rambam, the sin that Moshe committed that lost him Eretz Yisrael, was not the
fact that he gave mussar, but that he got angry when he exclaimed שִׁמְעוּ נָא הַמֹּרִים"”. Rashi in Parshas
Matos concurs (Bamidbar 31:21) and says that each time Moshe got upset he made
an error in judgement, including the instance of “שִׁמְעוּ
נָא הַמֹּרִים”. His anger caused Moshe to hit the rock rather than speak to
it, which cost him the privilege to enter Eretz Yisroel. So, it wasn’t the
Mussar that was the cause of the punishment but how the Mussar was given.
A third possible answer is that there’s
a difference in the usage of the word ‘rebels’ between Sefer Bamidbar and Sefer
Devarim, When Moshe is saying “שִׁמְעוּ נָא הַמֹּרִים”
in Sefer Bamidbar, he’s calling them out derogatorily and essentially
saying who they are. However, by the instances in Sefer Devarim, the usage of ‘rebels’
seems more removed, as he’s speaking to Klal Yisroel’s actions as opposed to
their character. Instead of attacking Klal Yisroel on a personal level, Moshe instead
becomes a teacher, guiding his students towards the precious stones instead of
screaming at them for picking up fire. That kind of mussar is one more easily heard
and accepted, and one that Moshe wouldn’t get punished for.
We should be careful not to label a
sinner a failure but rather someone who may have made a mistake. This is true
especially for ourselves as we all have shortcomings; we do not let it define
ourselves and we certainly shouldn’t let others define themselves by it. If we
want to be able to overcome our shortcomings and help others overcome theirs,
we must remember that it’s not our true essence, they are actions that are
correctable and forgivable.
Shabbat Shalom!
Nussi Samuel is originally from New York and now lives in Yerushalayim with his family, where he studies and teaches in various yeshivos. He is an annual contributor to the 'SOS' program.
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