DEVARIM 1:1–3:22

DEVARIM 1:1–3:22

 

              We begin the 5th Book of the Chumash, Sefer Devarim.

 The Greeks and other "Progressives" call it Deuteronomy, "second law".  This name is from a Greek mis-translation of the Hebrew phrase Mishneh Torah, "a repeat of the Law".  Shows you how much the Greeks and other "Progressives" know.  Mishneh Torah is what what we commonly called Devarim way back when.

DEVARIM begins:

 "These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel..."

"אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר משֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל"

All Israel means just that: Young, Old; Rich, Poor; Men, Women; Ashkenazi, Sephardi; Chassids, Misnagedim; Religious, Secular.  Everyone is counted. Everyone counts.

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We had 16 at Reb Yitz’s shiur Monday morning.

Reb Yitz quoted the opening words of the Parsha and Sefer Devarim:

 "These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel..."

"אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר משֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל"

The Hebrew is specific: אֵלֶּה, these, הַדְּבָרִים the words of Moshe.

The entire Sefer is composed with Moshe’s words.

Compare this circumstance where Moshe is a man of many words to the time when he first spoke to Hashem at the Burning Bush:

Exodus 4:10 “Moses said to the Lord, "I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words,…”

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר משֶׁ֣ה אֶל־יְהֹוָה֘ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָי֒ לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים

 

Moshe has grown.  He has reached his potential, a lesson for us all.

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Way back in the Book of Genesis (18:19), Abraham is told that he and his descendants are to:

“…keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice…”

וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה, לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט

But unfortunately we do not:

In the Haftorah portion from the Book of Isaiah, a 100 years or so before the destruction of the first Temple, the Prophet foresees the Destruction because we did not do righteous and justice, and Our eventual redemption (1:27) will occur when:

“Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return of her with righteousness.”

צִיּוֹן בְּמִשְׁפָּט תִּפָּדֶה; וְשָׁבֶיהָ בִּצְדָקָ

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In the third Aliyah despite Moses' protests, the Israelites adopted the scouts' attitude and decided not to enter Canaan. This caused Hashem to bar that entire generation from entering the Promised Land.

 וְלֹא אֲבִיתֶם, לַעֲלֹת; וַתַּמְרוּ, אֶת-פִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.

At 1:26 - But you did not want to go up, and you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, your God.

 וּבַדָּבָר, הַזֶּה--אֵינְכֶם, מַאֲמִינִם, בַּיהוָה, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.

At 1:32 - But regarding this matter, you do not believe the Lord, your God,

 וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה, אֶת-קוֹל דִּבְרֵיכֶם; וַיִּקְצֹף

At 1:34 - And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth,

There may be a lesson here for all of us to learn:

Hashem is long suffering, but -

Whether you like it or not, Hashem has a plan for you. 

Going against Hashem’s plan is done at your own peril.

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The Haftarah opens with first verse of the Book of Isaiah.  Isaiah relates that he prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Since Uzziah's reign was 52 years in the middle of the 8th century BCE, Isaiah probably began his ministry a few years before Uzziah's death, maybe in the 740’s BCE.

Isaiah would have known about the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE, and much of its population deported. For him it was a foreshadowing of what was instore for the Kingdom of Judah.

He is said to have been murdered by Hezekiah’s son and successor,  the very much wicked Manasseh, who after a co-regency, took the throne in 687 BCE.  Manasseh ruled for 55 years.  He re-instituted polytheistic worship, reversed the religious changes made by his father Hezekiah and sucked up to the Assyrian overlords.

In the Book of Isaiah at chapter 45, Isaiah speaks favorably of the Persian king Cyrus the Great.  His rule began in 559 BCE, causing many of us to consider that there may be more than one Isaiah credited with the Book of Isaiah  

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Devarim, is a concluding monologue by Moshe Rabbeinu.

This week's Parshah recounts how Moshe appointed chiefs, the episode of the Twelve Spies, encounters with the Edomites and Ammonites, the conquest of Sihon and Og, and the assignment of land for the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Tribe of Manasseh.

Moses reminds the Israelites regarding Hashem's instruction that Edom, Moab and Amon were off-limits because these nations were the inheritance of Esau and Lot.

The Children of Israel are enjoined to keep the Torah and observe its commandments that Hashem has given them as an eternal heritage.

Moshe’s message of encouragement  at 3:22 to his successor, Yehoshua regarding the Canaanites:

“Fear them not, for Hashem your God, He is fighting for you.”

לֹ֖א תִּֽירָא֑וּם כִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם ה֖וּא הַנִּלְחָ֥ם לָכֶֽם

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In the Parshah at 1:24, the activity of the 12 men who were sent out is not called “scouting” as in the Book of Numbers, but here in Devarim it is called “spying”.

יִּפְנוּ֙ וַיַּֽעֲל֣וּ הָהָ֔רָה וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ עַד־נַ֣חַל אֶשְׁכֹּ֑ל וַיְרַגְּל֖וּ אֹתָֽהּ

 "And they turned and went up the mountain, and they came to the valley of Eshkol and they spied it out".

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There is a connection between the Parshah and the 9th Day of Av which begins on sundown the the 6th of August.

 On Tish B’Av we read from the Book of Lamentations. The Book of Lamentations is traditionally called "Eichah", איכה, translated as "How".   The first words read:

יכָ֣ה | יָֽשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד הָעִיר֙ רַבָּ֣תִי עָ֔ם

"How is that she sits in solitude..."?

  And in Parshat Devarim, at 1:12 we read where Moshe says:

אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א לְבַדִּ֑י טָרְחֲכֶ֥ם וּמַשַּֽׂאֲכֶ֖ם וְרִֽיבְכֶֽם

“How (איכה)  can I bear your trouble, your burden, and your strife all by myself?”

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Massei, Numbers 33:1–36:13

 

Massei, Numbers 33:1–36:13

Much of what I am writing about Parshat Massei comes from a recollection of Reb Yitz’s shiur of last Monday morning:

Massei, מַסְעֵ֣י, means journeys.  Massei is in contradistinction to Tiyul, טִיוּל, which means a tour or a hike.

A journey is serious.  It can be physical or spiritual   or a combination of both.

The Book of Numbers describes our 40-year journey that started in Egypt and ends on the bank of the Jordan River ready to cross to the other side into the land of Canaan, a total of 42 stops. Most of us are on our own journey, involving highs and lows, starts and stops, suffering and exaltation. It is very much a part of life.

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At 35:11-13 we  are commanded to designate six cities of refuge. These cities offer refuge to a person who inadvertently kills another. The  perpetrator must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the serving High Priest. 

 וְהִקְרִיתֶם לָכֶם עָרִים, עָרֵי מִקְלָט תִּהְיֶינָה לָכֶם; וְנָס שָׁמָּה רֹצֵחַ, מַכֵּה-נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה.

  וְהָיוּ לָכֶם הֶעָרִים לְמִקְלָט, מִגֹּאֵל; וְלֹא יָמוּת הָרֹצֵחַ, עַד-עָמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה לַמִּשְׁפָּט.

“you shall designate cities for yourselves; they shall be cities of refuge for you, and a murderer who killed a person unintentionally shall flee there.

These cities shall serve you as a refuge from an avenger, so that the murderer shall not die until he stands in judgment before the congregation.”

I think Hashem’s commandment to establish Cities of Refuge is prescient, if not brilliant.

At this stage in our development as a people we had much to learn. For the most part we were a violent tribal society ruled by tribal elders and clan-family leaders.

 

It was pretty much an eye for an eye society: If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you. If you hurt or kill one of my clan, then we hunt you down and take revenge.  The Cities of Refuge allow for an alternative approach. Their establishment tempers the need for vengeance. It did not happen overnight, but was the beginning of instilling into the Jewish people a sense of social justice and mercy. And that is part and parcel of what we are today. We have moved away from a clan society; family is still very much important, but not the end-all. If a family member is off the derech, even disgraced the family name, in Jewish society there are no honor killings.  No one is thrown off a roof because of his or her sexual preference.

 

Not all societies have evolved this way, but we have, and the Cities of Refuge were a beginning

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We have now concluded the Book of Numbers, and traditionally we say with a strong voice:

חזק, חזק, ונתחזק

Be strong; Be strong, and let us strengthen one another.

Chazak Chazak Ve-Nit’Chazek

MATOT, NUMBERS 30:2-32:19

MATOT-, NUMBERS 30:2-32:19

 

Moses is commanded by Hashem to exact revenge from the Midianites for their part in seducing all those Jewish men, a precursor to Jewish assimilation.  A 12,000-strong, hand-picked army is led by Pinchas.  This is Hashem’s war, waged against Midian (but not Moab). All adult Midianite males are killed, along with Balaam and Midian’s five kings. We do not suffer loss of life.

Moses at the age of 120 is ordered to fight a war against Midian, a war for Hashem, just before he is to be gathered to his ancestors…Why him?…Why then?  Could it be that he had to clear the slate because of his Midianite wife or father-in-law or is it because he did not speak out and come forward at the incident of Zimri and Cozbi?

 How many of the Midianite casualties were kinsmen of Yisro, Moses’ father-in-law?

Zipporah, Moshe's wife had six sisters, perhaps their families were involved.  What do you think?

                                        

The Women of Midian Led Captive by the Hebrews, watercolor by James Tissot, 1896-1900.

At 31:14-18 we experience some strong words said by Moses to the officers of the returning army:

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם משֶׁ֑ה הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖ם כָּל־נְקֵבָֽה

“Moses said to them, "Did you allow all the females to live?”

“They were the same ones who were involved with the children of Israel on Balaam's advice to betray the Lord over the incident of Peor, resulting in a plague among the congregation of the Lord”.

“So now kill every male child, and every woman who can lie intimately with a man you shall kill”.

“And all the young girls who have no experience of intimate relations with a man, you may keep alive for yourselves”.

It is difficult to relate to these words and resultant actions, but about 500 years later it will happen again when King Saul is commanded to kill without exception all of the Amelekites…wow.

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The Haftarah portion comes from the Prophet Jeremiah and is in regard to our continuing intransigence:

​ At 2:25 it reads: “but you said, "I despair. No, for I love strangers, and I will follow them."

This verse is reminiscent of Rabbi Meir Kahane:

“For so long as the Jew has even one ally, he will be convinced - in his smallness of mind - that his salvation came from that ally. It is only when he is alone - against all of his own efforts and frantic attempts - that he will, through no choice, be compelled to turn to G-d.

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There is more than one way to view the Parshah.  In 1898 Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber Schneersohn published an authoritative text referred to as a “maimar”.  It is entitled : Heichaltzu”.  In it the Rabbi tries to understand what and why did Midian have anything against the Israelites.  He concluded that Midian harbored a baseless hatred, sinas chinam, שנאת חינם, against the Israelites.

The text for Heichaltzucan be found at https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/83659/jewish/Heichaltzu-Chapter-I.htm

Among many other thingsthe Rabbi found that he name Midian (מדין) is etymologically related to the word  מדון meaning strife and contention.  

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The Haftarah portion is from the first two chapters of Jeremiah; at 2:1-3:

1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2Go and call out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: so said the Lord: I remember to you the lovingkindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, your following Me in the desert, in a land not sown.

3Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of His grain; all who eat him shall be guilty, evil shall befall them, says the Lord. I find this amazing because Jeremiah is seeking to reunite Judea with erstwhile Israel, the Northern Kingdom. In attempting this, the Prophet is in lockstep with King Josiah.  Both men are about the same age.  The time is about 627 BCE. There is peace in the Land. Verse 2 is directed at Judea.  It recalls a time of harmony, of unity.  Verse 3 reaches out to the survivors of the Northern Kingdom, conquered by Assyria some 100 years ago.  There is no enmity from above or “I told you so”, only the spirit of reconciliation.   I see this as a message for the Jewish world today.

 

PINCHAS, NUMBERS 25:10–30:1

 

PINCHAS, NUMBERS  25:10–30:1

 

 EXTRA-JUDICIAL EXECUTIONS

The Parshah and the Haftorah connect to extra-judicial executions:

 In the Parshah, Pinchas steps forward and does in Cozbi and Zimri.  

As for the Haftorah portion it comes from the First Book of Kings, 18:46, 19:1-21.  The Prophet Elijah is running for his life.  Ahab and Jezebel are after him because on his own volition he summarily had 950 Prophets of Baal put to death.

Whatever concern you may have with the lack of due process, sometimes the only way to deal with evil is to exterminate it.

PASSING THE TORCH

There is another connection between the Parshah and the Haftarah portion.  Elijah is physically exhausted.  He has been running for his life and is utterly spent.  Hashem recognizes that it is time for Elijah to pass the torch on to a successor.  At 19:18 Elijah throws his cloak over Elisha; the torch has been passed. In the Parshah at 27:18 Hashem commands Moshe to take Joshua and lay his hands upon him which Moshe does, and this torch too is passed on.

OPEN REBELLION

The Baal Peor incident was a religious political event that nearly cost the B’nai Yisrael their very existence. It was not just that someone from the tribe of Shimon wanted to have sex with a Midianite woman. Consider these facts:

1. One does not have sex in front of the Ohel Moed, in the eyes of Moshe and in front of the whole congregation unless one is making a political point.

2.The perpetrators were a prince from a substantial Shimonite family and a princess of the Midianite kingdom. (This also calls into question Moshe’s father in law who was a priest of Midian.)

3. Compare the two census’. In the first census, Shimon’s numbers totaled 59,300 people. In the aftermath of the incident Shimon totaled 22,200 souls, a reduction of 37,000 people lost, or about 60 per cent. 

This was a full blown rebellion. Consider the timing just before the death of Moshe, and its effect on Joshua, our soon to be leader.

As for the Tribe of Shimon, land-wise they were subsumed in the Tribe of Judah.

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 Pinchas is inexorably linked to the wiping out of assimilation and an attempt to destroy Judaism.  When we were exiled to Babylonia, we Jews were again faced with the prospect of assimilation, a vestige of which is the pagan names that we have assigned to the months of the years.  Today we are in the month of Tammuz.

Tammuz is the god of the harvest; he was loved by the goddess Ishtar.  She was known as the goddess of prostitutes, and her alternate names of Har and Hora gave rise to the terms “harlot” and “whore”. 

Tammuz was killed by a boar. Ishtar was devastated by his death.

When Tammuz died, all vegetation died.  Humans animals would no longer mate, and the Earth, herself, was dying.  Ishtar journeys to the netherworld and revives Tammuz  saying: "Great Tammuz is reborn, the fruits of the Earth are ours once more. Bring them forth, let us enjoy them!"

 Tammuz should be a reminder for us of the shame of assimilation.

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You can see the inroads of assimilation in our texts as far back as the prophet Ezekiel, 6^th century BCE.  In the Book of Ezekiel at 8:14 consider this verse:

וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי, אֶל-פֶּתַח שַׁעַר בֵּית-יְהוָה, אֲשֶׁר, אֶל-הַצָּפוֹנָה; וְהִנֵּה-שָׁם הַנָּשִׁים יֹשְׁבוֹת, מְבַכּוֹת אֶת-הַתַּמּוּז

“Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz."

At that time, probably before the destruction of the Temple,  Jewish women were ceremoniously mourning for a pagan god, Tammuz.  Today, on the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz we are still mourning, but now for the Temple’s destruction.

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                                                   The Daughters of Zelophehad (Dalziels’ Bible Gallery), 1865–81 

At 27:4-5, the four daughters of צְלָפְחָד ask to inherit land from their deceased father’s estate, saying:

“Why should our father's name be eliminated from his family because he had no son? Give us a portion along with our father's brothers. "

לָמָּה יִגָּרַע שֵׁם-אָבִינוּ מִתּוֹךְ מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ, כִּי אֵין לוֹ בֵּן; תְּנָה-לָּנוּ אֲחֻזָּה, בְּתוֹךְ אֲחֵי אָבִינוּ 

Moses does not know the answer since traditionally only sons inherit.

“So Moses brought their case before the Lord”.

    ן וַיַּקְרֵב מֹשֶׁה אֶת-מִשְׁפָּטָ

לִפְנֵי יְהוָה                                    

What is remarkable here is Moses is not fearful of saying that he doesn’t know. 

Even more remarkable is that Hashem is not fearful of setting aside an established tradition and doing justice with kindness.

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BALAK, NUMBERS 22:2–25:9

 BALAK, NUMBERS 22:2–25:9

The setting for this week's Parsha is the Kingdom of Moab where Balak rules as King. Israel has already conquered the Amorite peoples led by Schon and Og.  We are dwelling in what was the Kingdom of Ammon, opposite Jericho across the river.

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Who was Balak, Son of Zippor?

The Zohar interprets Balak as being "The Son of Zippor", (ציפור) means "bird".  This was not the name of Balak's father, but rather a magical metal bird which Balak made use of.  Only the most skilled of wizards could construct such a bird. Balak, the greatest wizard of his age, managed it.

 

As the Zohar recounts, such a bird has a head made of gold, a mouth made of silver and wings made of copper mixed with silver, and its body is made of gold; once the bird is made, it should be put during the day in a window facing the Sun and during the night in a window facing the Moon, while burning incense in front of it for seven days and seven nights. Thereupon, the bird would start talking and foretelling of what is about to happen.

The Zohar tells that the bird spoke true words of prophecy in Balak's ear and warned him not to set himself against the B'nai Yisrael.  It also foretold of the harsh punishment in store for him and for the Moabites.  Nevertheless, Balak persisted in his wrong way and was punished exactly as the bird foretold.

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Who was Bilaam? 

While not specifically set out in this week's Parshah, Bilaam turns out to be an "agent provocateur".   An agent provocateur is a person who entices another person to commit an illegal act.  An agent provocateur is employed to discredit or harm a group by provoking them to commit a crime.  So exactly do we know about this meddler, Bilaam Ben Beor?  When he could not curse us directly, Bilaam in league with Balak and the Midianites found out a way for us to bring down a curse on our heads all by our self.

In 1967 in Jordan, archaeologists found an inscription with a story relating visions of the seer of the gods Bala'am, son of Be'or.  The inscription is dated 840–760 BCE.

Balaam wakes up weeping and tells his people that the gods (not Hashem) appeared to him in the night telling him about a goddess threatening to destroy the land. She is to cover the sky and reduce the world to complete darkness.

Deir Alla Plaster Texts, Prophets and prophecy in the ancient Near East, Vol 12, 138, 2003) 

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Balak initially conferred with his Midianite allies in order to block Israelite settlement, before sending his elders along with Midianite elders to have Balaam curse the Israelites.  After his mission with Balaam to curse Israelites failed, Balak allied the Moabites with the Midianites.  The plan was to gather their women in order to lead Israelites men astray in adultery.

What’s going on with Midianies?  Considering that only 40 years before, Moshe’s father-in-law Yisro a Midianite leader persuaded Moshe to take back Zipporah, this is a very strange happening.  Were the Midianites always our enemy?  What do you think?

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The Haftarah portion is from the Prophet Micah, מִיכָה.     At 6:8 the Prophet says:

“Mankind, what is good has been told to you, and what the LORD requires of you: only to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God”.

הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם, מַה-טּוֹב; וּמָה-יְהוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ, כִּי אִם-עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד, וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת, עִם-אֱלֹהֶיךָ. 

Simple, isn't it?

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