From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 3:20 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas VeZos HaBeracha, 5765



                                                Nothing Personal
                
                  By Rabbi Joshua (personally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


      The last parsha of the Torah, VeZos HaBeracha, records the blessings that  Moshe bestowed upon the tribes of Israel before his death, as stated in the beginning of the parsha, "And this is the blessing that Moshe, man of God, blessed Israel with before his death" (Devorim 33:1). A number of commentators have noted that the word 'VeZos' - and this - begins with a connective 'vav,' which points to a relationship between the beginning of this parsha, which deals with the blessings that Moshe bestowed on the various tribes of Israel before he died, and the end of the last parsha. What is this connection? Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, in his volume Twerski on Chumash, suggests that the connection is to the shira that Moshe delivered to the nation, as recorded in parashas Ha'azinu. That shira included not only blessings, but also punishments that God would, in the future, bring upon the nation when they transgressed. By using the connecting 'vav,' Moshe was telling them that the chastisements are also a blessing, because they are meant to bring the Jews back to God. Although this idea is certainly a classic Jewish idea, as we find that Moshe had previously told the nation that God chastises them as a father chastises a son, the application here does not seem to answer the question, because the immediate end of parshas Ha'azinu is not the shira. Rather, it relates that God told Moshe that he would not enter the land because of the sin he committed at the waters of Merivah. Instead, he was to ascend Mt. Nevo, view the land, and then die. In what way is this series of events connected to the beginning of VeZos Haberacha, which speaks of the blessing that Moshe gave to the tribes?


Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, in his Oznayim LeTorah, explains that it was the complaints of the people that led Moshe to hit the rock instead of speaking to it, and, thus, it was the people who, ultimately, were the ones who caused Moshe to lose his chance to enter the land. Despite this reality, however, Moshe still went on to bless the nation before he died, and did not harbor any ill feelings towards them for bringing about the divine decree that he could not fulfill his deep desire to enter the land. We may speculate that it was this great humility of Moshe in accepting the justice of the divine decree, and not placing any blame on his beloved people for bringing it about,  that brought him the title of 'man of God,' as mentioned in the first verse of the parsha. Perhaps this is also the reason why the beginning of VeZos Haberacha constitutes the Torah reading for Monday and/or Thursday mornings and/or Shabbos afternoon - depending on the year - before Sukkos. Reb Zodok HaKohein of Lublin writes that the major message of Sukkos is to be humble before God at the time of year during which we bring our crops in from the field. In order to remind us that it is only through God's kindness that we are able to produce these crops, we leave our homes and live in temporary huts for seven days, and take four species of produce and wave them in six directions in praise of God. Since Moshe is the primary example of a man who was humble before God, we read of his great humility, as brought out in the beginning of VeZos HaBeracha, as a preparation for the holiday whose theme is that kind of humility.


 With Rabbi Sorotzkin's explanation of the connection between the end of Ha'azinu and the beginning of VeZos Haberacha in mind, perhaps we can present a modified version of Rabbi Twerski's explanation of that, as well. Moshe, in his humility did more than just accept the justice of God's decree that he could not enter the land, without harboring any ill feelings towards his people. The rabbis tell us that if Moshe had entered the land with the people, and the Temple had been built under his leadership, it could never have been destroyed. If that would have been the case, then instead of God destroying the Temple because of their transgressions, He would have had to pour His wrath out on the people themselves. Moshe understood this, and, therefore, he not only considered the divine decree to be just, but considered it to be a blessing for the people, as well. Thus, the 'vav' connecting VeZos Haberacha to the end of Ha'azinu can be understood as Moshe's message to the people that his inability to enter the land served as a blessing for them, in addition to the blessings that he was about to convey.



Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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