From: Netvort@aol.com Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 1:59 AM To: JoshHoff@aol.com Subject: Netvort : parshas Vezos Haberacha, 5766                                                                 I Know A Place                       By Rabbi Joshua (locationally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman The Torah reading, on simchas Torah, for the "chosson Torah," the person called up to the Torah for the final aliyah in parshas Vezos Haberacha, concluding the cycle of Torah readings begun a year earlier, begins, customarily, with verse, `As an abode (‘meonah’) of God of old, and below are arms of the world ; He drove the enemy away from before you, and He said ' Destroy!' (Devorim 33:27). There is, however, a different custom, recorded by Rabbi Chaim Benveniste in his work Knesses HaGedolah, according to which the final reading begins several verses later, with the words, "Moshe ascended from the plains of Moav…" (Devorom 34:1). The verses read according to this custom all deal with Moshe, recording the process leading to his death, and noting his outstanding characteristics that distinguished him from all other prophets. This custom is understandable, since the verses that are read all constitute one theme, the greatness of Moshe. Moreover, the Sefer HaManhig writes that the connection between the end of Vezos Haberacha and the beginning of Bereishis, which is read as the aliyah of the "chosson Bereishis" on Simchas Torah, is that in Bereishis, we read of the creation of man, and in Vezos Haberacha, we read of Moshe, who was the greatest man who ever lived. However, according to the common custom, we need to find a link between the verses that precede those which speak of Moshe, and the further connection between both groups of verses and the beginning of Bereishis. What, then, is that link?   Rav Yitzchok Hutner, zt"l, in his Pachad Yitzchok to Sukkos, explains the connection between the two parts of the verse beginning with ‘meonah,' or  "As an abode", that serves as the first verse of the aliyah of the chosson Torah, according to our custom. He says that because God is ‘of old,’ meaning, that He created the world, therefore, of right, He also chased out the nations who inhabited the land of Cana’an so that the Jewish nation could dwell there. This explanation is in line with Rashi at the beginning of parshas Bereishis, who cites a midrash which says that the Torah begins with Bereishis, even though it is essentially a book of commandments to the Jewish people, in order to provide a basis for the claim of the Jewish nation to the Holy land. Since God created the world, it belongs to Him, and He can give the land to whatever nation He wishes to, and then take it back and give it to another nation. We may add that since, as the Ramban says, the Torah is meant to be fulfilled mainly in the Holy Land, it is important in terms of the commandments of the Torah to establish the Jewish nation’s claim to that land. Based on Rav Hutner’s explanation, and our expansion of it, we can now return to the verses read by the chosson Torah according to our custom, and see their interconnection, as well as their connection to the beginning of parshas Bereishis. According to Rav Hutner, as we have seen, the first verse of the aliyah of the chosson Torah establishes our claim to Eretz Yisroel. The following verses describe the state of the nation as it dwells in that land, including their triumph over their enemies. Then, the Torah speaks of the death of Moshe, of his greatness and of his achievements in his lifetime. The significance of Moshe being the greatest prophet who ever lived, according to the Rambam is that he is the only prophet who served as the transmitter of the Torah from God to the nation, and no one after him can change that Torah. The midrash, cited by Rashi in the beginning of parshas Bereishis, tells us that the world was created for the sake of the Torah, that is called ‘reishis, meaning 'beginning,' or 'first,' and for the sake of the nation of Yisroel, which is also called ‘reishis.’ Some commentators say that the verse of ‘meonah’ refers back to the preceding verses, and actually serves as the culminating verse of the section of Vezos Haberacha that recounts the blessings that Moshe gave to the various tribes Rabbi Ya'akov Sakly, a student of Rashba, writes in his Toras HaMincha that the word ‘meonah’ is the same as the word ’maon’ which appears in Tehillim, 90:1 : "My Lord, You have been a dwelling place (‘maon') for us in all generations."  This  chapter, Rabbi Sakly notes, discusses the greatness of the Jewish nation. He adds that even though Moshe gave blessings to eleven of the twelve tribes, omitting the tribe of Shimon, there were only  ten blessings, because the blessings for the tribes of Yissochor and Zevulon were interconnected, and counted as one . The  tribes themselves, he continues, can be considered as ten, and they correspond to the ten sayings by which God created the world. This correspondence is, in turn,  in line with the midrash cited by Rashi that the world was created for the sake of Yisroel. Interestingly, there is actually a third custom in regard to the aliyah of the chosson Torah, which is that the verse of ‘meonah’ is read as part of the previous aliyah, which continues until the end of chapter 33, and also serves as  the beginning verse of chosson Torah. Thus, the creation of the world for the sake of Yisroel is linked with Yisroel’s claim to the Holy Land. This is so because, as we have seen, the Torah is meant to be fulfilled mainly in Eretz Yisroel, and the world was created for the sake of the Torah as well as for the sake of Yisroel, which fulfills the commandments of the Torah. Ramban, in his commentary to parshas Bereishis, points out that the same midrash also says that the world was created in the merit of Moshe, who, in parshas Vezos Haberacha, is also called ‘reishis’ (Devorim 33:21). Thus, the verses beginning with ‘meonah,’ referring to Yisroel dwelling in its land, are linked to the verses describing Moshe’s death and his unique status as the greatest prophet, in that the earlier verses establish the claim of the Jewish nation to Eretz Yisroel, which is the location  for their optimal fulfillment of the Torah, which was transmitted to them through Moshe. These verses are connected to the beginning of parshas Bereishis since the midrash derives from the word reishis that the world was created for the sake of Yisroel for the sake of the Torah, and for the sake of Moshe. Moshe was the only prophet who could transmit the Torah to Yisroel, and Eretz Yisroel is the optimum place for them to fulfill the commandments of the Torah. Moreover, Rav Saadia Gaon writes, in his Book of Beliefs and Opinions, that the Jewish nation constitutes a nation only by virtue of the Torah. By reading the section of chosson Torah according to our custom, and following it with the reading of the beginning of Bereishis, we thereby bring out this fundamental concept of the Jewish religion. May we all attain a greater appreciation of Torah as we end and again begin our yearly cycle of reading it this Simchas Torah. A good Yom Tov to all from the entire Netvort staff. 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