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Deuteronomy Humash 5 Inquire And Explore With Wisdom Rabbi Michael Graetz הרב מיכאל מרדכי יוסף גרץ תורה שבעל פה Talking Torah How Torah Talks to Us when We Talk Torah A case presentation of the Process of Midrash through generations, which shows how the basic ideas of Judaism were mined and refined from the gold lode of Torah. דברים Volume 5 Deuteronomy Special Shabbatot and Selected Haftarot Omer, Israel 5775 1 Contents Parasha Page Devarim 3 Va-Ethanan 18 Ekev 29 Re'eh 41 Shoftim 51 Ki Tezei 60 Ki Tavo 74 Nitzavim 84 Va-Yelekh 92 Ha'azinu 98 Ve-zot ha-Brakha 111 Special Shabbatot and Haftarot 123 KEY TO TALKING TORAH THEMES 1 H Hebrew language as basis of Midrash and as structure of Torah 2 L Literary characteristics of Midrash 3 MI Midah ke-neged Midah [narrative meaning] 4 T Theology in Midrash 5 K Knowledge and Intellectual power are part of the Holy Spirit which exists because of the partnership of man and God 6 E Egalitarian ideas in Midrash 7 P Pluralism as basis of Judaism's view of humanity 8 U Universal vs. Particular in Midrash 9 M Moral and ethical considerations in Midrash 10 HA Halakha and development of halakha 11 TA Ta’am Mitzvot reasons for Mitzvot 12 PR Prayer 13 B Basic ideas of Judaism 14 ED Education 2 BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY דברים Parashat Devarim *Deut. 1, 1 - 4 These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan. Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab, it is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the Mount Seir route. It was in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses addressed the Israelites in accordance with the instructions that the Lord had given him for them. The beginning of the book of Deuteronomy sets a very specific scene. The location and time are spelled out meticulously. In contrast with most biblical accounts when place and time, the setting of the scene, is unclear or even not told at all, this scene is fixed clearly. We read: "These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan. Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab, it is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the Mount Seir route. It was in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses addressed the Israelites in accordance with the instructions that the Lord had given him for them." (Deut. 1, 1-4) The place and time are clear, but there is a parenthetical phrase, "it is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the Mount Seir route" (v. 2), which is the source of much discussion in Jewish tradition. Why does the Torah tell us this bit of information? We get the exact location which can be coordinated by its place in the center of the places named which are around it. We get the exact time in verse 4. What is the point of telling us that it is 11 days journey from Horeb, that is Mt. Sinai, to Kadesh Barnea? The Midrashic and exegetical tradition understand this phrase as a reminder that the route from Egypt to the land of Israel was very short. It is part of Moses' greatest disappointment, namely that the main goal of his vision and mission was not achieved. A mere 11 days after leaving Egypt the mission to enter the land of Israel could have been fulfilled, but the people transgressed by following the report of the spies. They were almost there, and the incident of the spies intruded. Rashbam has the period of travel even less. He says that the walk to Hatzerot was only 3 days from Horeb. But, then Miriam died, and the nation waited 7 days for her mourning period. The 11th day was the walk from Hatzerot to Kadesh Barnea. (Rashbam on Deut. 1, 2) For Ibn Ezra the 11 day period was the first period of learning of God's commands while on the way from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea. Then the spies were sent out and the nation was destined to return to the desert for 40 years. Now, when they finally return to Kadesh Barnea on the eve of their entry to the land, and the eve of Moses' death, Moses again teaches God's commands. Ibn Ezra says that NO mitzvoth were learned in the interval. Indeed, there are more mitzvoth in Deuteronomy that anywhere else in the Torah. (Ibn Ezra on Deut. 1, 2) The notion that there was no communication with God during the 40 years is a powerful one. Moses did not teach during all that time. This may explain why at the end he crams so much into his last words in the book of Deuteronomy. Perhaps he 3 was waiting for the new generation, but for me this is a lesson in how NOT to lead. We so often put off study or thought in the frenzy of doing things that seem so essential to existence. Perhaps we are meant to learn that we should not put off discussing Torah even if the situation and those present seem not to be fit for such learning. TTT 215 ED The idea that the 11 days period is the real time needed for the nation to get to Israel and it is a kind of mocking of their transgression appears in a most provocative passage. The Boethesians (B's) and the Rabbis debate the issue of the date of the holiday of Shavuot. Since the counting of the Omer is to begin "mi-maharat ha- Shabbat", the B's claimed that it had to begin on a Sunday, and thus Shavuot always fell on Sunday 7 weeks later. The Rabbis interpreted the phrase to mean after the first day of Pesah, and thus Shavuot could fall on many different days of the week. One of the B's taunts R. Yohanan B. Zaccai and says that it is clear why Moses made Shavuot to always fall on a Sunday. Since Moses wanted to be kind to Israel he worked it out so that Shavuot, which was only a one day holiday, would always fall after Shabbat so that people would have two days of rest. Moses invented the long weekend according to the B's. To this R. Yohanan responds: "if Moses loved Israel so much, and he could have taken them into Israel in 11 days (quoting our verse), then why did he make them traipse around the desert for 40 years!" (Menahot 65a-b) Another Midrash sees our phrase as an allegorical scorning of Israel's transgression. Since the number 11 in Hebrew is made up of two words, one and ten, this Midrash has Moses hinting to Israel that of the 10 commandments that you received at Horeb, you transgressed only 1, namely that you shall have no other gods. That is, the sin of the golden cow created the conditions which led to the refusal to enter the land. (Midrash Tanaim to Deut. 1, 2) Another Midrash also puts the 11 day period into the context of the sin of the golden calf. The nation waited for Moses to return for 40 days, and it was because of this long waiting period that in the end they turned to idolatry. This Midrash asks how many days of this period were they faithful to God, and when exactly did they start to plan the move to idolatry. There are many opinions in this Midrash. One is that they were faithful to God for the first 11 days, and for the remaining 29 days they worked on the idol. This turns the phrase into something else, "eleven days from Horeb" is the time that they remained whole with God. The grandiose revelation and religious experience at Horeb had a short life in people's hearts. Without leadership and constant learning it is impossible to keep up the influence even of direct revelation. This is also a telling lesson about the need for constant Talmud Torah and for the life of practice of mitzvoth. (Deut. R. (Lieberman ed.) 10) Finally, the notion that the 11 days are stated as a strong reminder of the nation's transgression for refusing to enter the land of Israel is used in a fascinating response of R. Menashe Klein, the admor of Kiriat Ungwar in Jerusalem. He explains why women are exempt from the mitzvah of sitting in a sukkah. It has nothing, he claims, to do with positive commands which are time bound. He explains that if the nation would have entered the land after 11 days, as our verse so scornfully reminds us, there would have been no need for Sukkot. Sukkot were God's miraculous gift of 4 protection in the desert, and they were only necessary because the nation went back into the desert instead of into the land! Thus, explains R. Klein, the women who did not give up the vision of Israel, who wanted to enter the land on the 11th day (cf. Rashi on Num. 27, 1) did not need Sukkot. They also did not want to build the golden cow, nor did they participate in other transgressions of the wilderness. The Sukkot were only for those who had transgressed by not loving the land enough. This explains, according to Klein, the question of the Tosafot (Pes.
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