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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