CHOCHMAS NASHIM: DEVARIM: TRANSITIONING FULL CIRCLE
By: Suri Stern
In a parking lot last Friday, my car was side-swiped and bumper fell off. I try not to see clients on Friday because my children are home from college, and I want to hang with them and prepare for Shabbos, but I had eight people waiting for me for a closing, and a client following the closing, and I was forty five minutes away, needing a tow. It was going to take 90 minutes for the tow, so I took out my Power Bentsching book, which I keep in the car, for when I have down time, and waited. The eight people did what they had to do, and I sat and I learned. Bentsching, is the blessing we say after a meal.
There is so much to say about bentsching. Since I divorced and I support my children, I try everyday to eat bread with a meal so I can bentsch. Thank you G-d for sustenance and for the land of Israel, which is the source of our sustenance. Even when the land wasn’t in Jewish hands, even when we were not harvesting the land, we understood that our sustenance was tied in with the land, which G-d chose as His place to dwell near His chosen people. The source of Jewish abundance.
And so, this week’s torah portion is a transition point. Moshe is preparing the Jews to transition from a life immersed for 210 years in Egyptian slavery, then to a life where for 40 years they lived a life of miracles in the desert, to a life where they will have to learn to sustain themselves in agriculture and nature versus revealed miracles.
We begin the book of Deuteronomy, which is Mishneh Torah, a rehash of prior Torah books. Moshe is reviewing Jewish history in the desert, preparing for his own death, and reminding the Jews of all the good that G-d has done for the Jews, how G-d punishes when the Jews don’t listen to G-d and the rewards the Jews have received and will receive when they listen to G-d.
Moshe starts his soliloquy, which will end in two months, before the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, with an overview of what he will set forth in the coming weeks. First, when it was overwhelming for Moshe to be the sole judge for Jewish disputes, he asked G-d for help, and 70 elders were appointed to carry the justice for the Jewish people. We are taught that the first thing one must do in a society is to set up a proper legal system, one that is just and not tainted.
Secondly, Moshe pointed out to all the times they were in the desert and G-d told them not to start a war with a nation, i.e., with the descendants of Esau and Lot, because their land belonged to them, and if the Jews started a war against them, they would lose.
Moshe reminded them that because Moshe did not listen to G-d, when G-d told him to speak to the rock, and instead, he hit the rock, which forewent the opportunity to sanctify G-d’s name among the Jews and revealed a slight lack of faith in G-d, Moshe lost the privilege of entering the land. Moshe reminded them of the incident with the spies, where G-d permitted the Jews to go the land of Israel, but all but Caleb and Joshua came back reporting that the giants were so great, and the cities were so fortified that there was no hope in conquering the land. For their lack of faith in G-d, the nation lost their ability to enter the land.
The third part of Moshe’s speech in this week’s torah portion, discusses simply reward for following G-d’s words and punishment for not listening to G-d’s words.
In sum: As we enter the holy land, we must respect its sanctity. Establish a system of justice. Have faith in G-d. Follow his commandments so G-d can continue to provide in abundance. That is the introduction to the Book. The coming weeks will expound on this theme.
We are preparing now for Tisha B’av, the day both of our holy temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. What a paradox between preparations for conquering and settling the land in this week’s torah portion, the prologue of our Israel story, and the destruction, the epilogue of our Israel story. It is no coincidence, in that they come out the same time every year. L’maan yiru vyirau/so that we can see what happens if we sin, i.e., the destruction, and we can fear said destruction. This will remind us to stay true to G-d and His commandments, so we merit our continued existence in our tiny holy country, which requires G-d’s constant protection from surrounding enemies.
This year, Tisha B’av falls out on Shabbos, but we move the fast to Sunday. A unique opportunity to see further the circle of our relationship with G-d. On Friday night, it is traditional for women, after lighting Shabbos candles, to say the Song of Songs, the poetry created by King Solomon which reveals his attraction to G-d as a romantic interlude with a lover. On the eve of Tisha B’av we traditionally sit on the floor of our shul and read the Book of Lamentations, which details the horror of the destruction of the holy temple, and the devastation to the Jews, both physical and spiritual.
While Yom Kippur fast can override Shabbos, the fast of Tisha B’av does not. The damage to our relationship with G-d wrought in the time of the destruction will not override the spiritual connection G-d created with man during creation, and the weekly coronation of G-d as our sole provider.
This year is special because instead of reading about the destruction on the eve of Tisha B’av, we recite our love for G-d our ever enduring respect and desire to be close to G-d. An awesome opportunity to come full circle between the love in the Song of Songs and the last verse of lamentations where we state in unison “Hashivenu Hashem eilechah v’nashuvah, chadesh yomainu kikedem/Return us G-d to You, and we will return to you, renew our days, as in the days of yore. Remember G-d has we sit millennia in our diaspora and exile, that we are you beloved chosen people, restore to our favored status as in the old days.
Have a meaningful fast.
Have a good Shabbos.
-Suri