Netvort Parshas Devarim 5771:           Another Perspective
Rabbi Joshua (perspectively known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

In parshas Devarim, Moshe begins his farewell address to the Jewish people.  The first section of this address consists of a comprehensive review of the past forty years, during which Moshe led the nation, including a series of rebukes for transgressions that the people committed over the years.  The Talmud in Megillah tells us that the section of rebuke later in the book of Devarim, in parshas Ki Savo, was said by Moshe himself, in contrast to the section in Vayikra, which was said by God.  Ramban explains that, in fact, the entire book of Devarim was said in Moshe's unique style of speaking, and written down in the Torah under the dictate of God.  In other words, Moshe gave over God's message but in his own words, which were later approved by God and written down following his command.  In any case, given that Moshe used his own words in the book of Devarim, we can expect that something of his personality came out in the manner in which he gave over its message, and since Moshe's most salient character trait was that of humility, as the Torah itself testifies to that aspect of his character, it would be natural to find some of his humility reflected in his words to the nation before he died. As we will see, there are a number of instances, in parshas Devarim in which Moshe's humility does, in fact emerge.

Among other events that Moshe reviews in his address, he mentions that while at Choreiv, he commanded the people to choose judges to help him adjudicate and teach the people.  Ramban points out that even though it was Yisro who advised Moshe to appoint these judges, Moshe did not mention that fact.  One reason the Ramban suggests is that since it was ultimately God who approved of this plan and commanded Moshe to appoint the judges, Moshe did not mention his father-in-law's suggestion. However, the first reason that the Ramban gives is that Moshe did not mention Yisro out of humility. This could mean that Yisro was humble and, Moshe, therefore, did not want to mention his praise publicly, in his presence.  However, this would assume that Yisro was, in fact, part of the audience for the farewell address, and, in addition, that Yisro was humble, something for which we don't really have any evidence. Another explanation of the Ramban is that Moshe himself was humble, and he did not want to engage in self-glorification by saying that it was his father-in-law who suggested setting a system of judges. This explanation, I believe, is more acceptable, because, as mentioned, the Torah tells us that Moshe was the humblest of all men.

When Moshe later recalls the incident of the spies, he speaks to the people in general, without singling out the nesi'im, the princes, who were sent on the mission to tour the land.  Ramban says that Moshe, in general, did not want to mention specific people in his rebuke, but, rather, address the people in general, pointing out the mistakes made in the past, and adjuring them not to repeat them. This may also be a measure of Moshe's humility, not feeling that it was his place to single out any specific people.  In fact, as we will see, according to the midrash, Moshe did single himself out in respect to the incident that preceded that of the spies, even though, ostensibly, he did not do anything wrong in regard to that incident.

The first verse in parshas Devarim lists a number of places in which Moshe spoke to the people.  Rashi, citing a midrash, says that these places were really allusions to places where the people sinned, and which Moshe mentioned obliquely, so as not to embarrass the people publicly.  One of these places is Chatzeiros, which, Rashi says, refers to the sin of Miriam and Aharon, who spoke words of criticism against Moshe in that location.  Rabbi Yakov Rabinowits, former dean of Jewish Studies in Yeshiva University, mentions, in his book Yemin Yakov, the Sifrei, which records Moshe as saying to the people, remember what I did to Miriam at Chatzeiros.  Moshe was telling them that they should have learned from that incident not to engage on leshon hora, or evil talk, which they went on to do in regard to Eretz Yisroel, in the incident of the spies.  The problem with this midrash is that Moshe, in fact, did nothing to Miriam, and, in fact, pleaded with God to mitigate her punishment.  What, then, did he man when he referred to what he did to Miriam?

Rabbi Rabinowitz cites the Ohr HaChaim who says that Moshe felt responsible for Miriam's punishment because he was the target of the leshon hora that she spoke.  This remarkable explanation, says Rabbi Rabinowits, gives us a look into the depth of Moshe's soul, and needs further analysis.  I would like to explain this comment of the Ohr HaChaim on the basis of an idea that I once heard from Rabbi Yakov Posen, dayan of the Breuer's community in Washington Heights.  He said that he once wrote, in an article on leshon hora for a kehillah journal, that people make a mistake when, they view leshon hora only from the perspective of the person who spoke the words.  Rather, the person towards whom the leshon hora was directed also needs to examine himself, to see if anything he said or did contributed to the leshon hora being spoken.  This kind of perspective, of course, requires a certain amount of humility on the part of that person, because, after all, he was the one who was spoken about.  Still, it behooves him to look into himself, to understand the situation in a comprehensive way, and see if there is room for improvement on his part as well.  Moshe  Rabbeinu apparently had this measure of humility, and, in the manner in which he addressed the people, sought to inculcate it in them, as well.

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