Parshat Devarim: A Leader Who Taught Until the Very End

Parshat Devarim

Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22

 

This Shabbat we begin the final book of the Torah, Devarim/Deuteronomy, in which Moses begins his five-weeks long farewell speech to the children of Israel. Picture it - there they are, preparing to cross the River Jordan and begin their conquest of the Promised Land – and Moses decides to keep them standing and listening for five weeks. Why?

One explanation can be found in the Greek name of this book, Deuteronomy, which means "Second Law".  While in fact this translation is incorrect, in essence there is truth to it. We do not receive the “law”, the Torah, or the 10 Commandments, a second time. What we do receive is a retelling of the experiences that our people have been through since leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah.

 

Once before Moses had stood at the edge of the River Jordan hoping to enter the Land, yet that time the People were not ready. We had the incident with the spies and the subsequent punishment of wandering in the desert for 40 years until that generation died off. Fast forward 40 years and we are standing once again by the River Jordan. Moses might be remembering the last time he stood there, with the current people’s parents and grandparents. He now stands with a group of people who had never been slaves in Egypt and who did not experience receiving the Torah at Sinai.

 

Moses takes this time to bei’air et ha’torah ha’zot (1:5), to expound on or illuminate this Teaching/law. In other words, Moses decided to take his last moments on earth to leave an ethical will of sorts to his adopted children, the Children of Israel. Instead of sitting around and being bitter that he had led his people to the edge of a land that he was not allowed to enter, he chose to end his life with dignity by using his last moments as a gift, as teachable moments.

 

He begins by teaching that the new life that they are about to begin in the land of Israel— which includes obedience to God’s commandments—begins first in accepting responsibility for the Jewish past. That is why his first story is that of the spies – the parents of his listeners, the ones from whom they inherit the responsibility of being the Jewish people. He goes on to review the contents of the 10 Commandments and all the battles that were fought – both militarily and spiritually.

 

Parashat Devarim is always read upon the Shabbat preceding Tisha b’Av – which this year begins Monday night. On Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the month of Av, we mourn a series of sorrowful events that happened to our people throughout history – beginning with the destruction of the holy temple, going on the tragic ending of the Bar Kochba rebellion and in more “modern times” Tisha B’Av is said to be the date of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and the beginning of World War I. Tisha B’av is also the date upon which the spies told their lies about the goodness of the land of Israel.

 

I am always a bit sad when I begin the book of Deuteronomy and must begin anew the process of saying good-bye to Moses. But I take heart in the example he sets of how to leave this world with dignity. Moses leaves us with Devarim – the words of Torah that, according to Ibn Ezra, ensure the future of the Jewish people and according to Hosea, can return us to God.

 

 

1.  Are you familiar with the idea of an ethical will? Here is a good article to learn about it: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/writing-and-reading-ethical-wills/

 

This dvar Torah has been printed in the Washington Jewish Week

 

Manicures and Tefillin

Got my nails done the other day. It was the beginning of The 3 weeks. That period that begins the 3 weeks before Tisha B’Av, the day when we commemorate the destruction of the Temple and attribute all the other bad things in history that have happened to the Jewish people. 

Technically, the 3 weeks begins on the 17^th day of Tammuz and is observed by fasting. It marks the day the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem in 69 CE. This day begins the saddest period of the Jewish calendar and culminates on Tisha B’Av, 3 weeks later. 

While I do not fast, I thought I’d mark the day by taking off the bright pink nail polish I was wearing and changing it to something less garish and bright. So I found a nail place and in the best Hebrew I could muster explained what I was looking for. What followed was an arduous exercise wherein I had to convince the young woman manicurist that I did not want another loud bright color (even though I secretly really did) but required something quite muted. Finally I outed myself by identifying myself as a Rabbah, explaining that the 3 weeks were starting and that I wanted my nails to be appropriate. How ridiculous does that sound?! But she bought it. 

And all was right with my world. Until the next question… 

"!את רבה? אך זה? אי אפשר? יש תפילין? אסור!"

“You are a Rabbi? How is that possible? No way? Do you have/use Tefillin/phylacteries? It’s forbidden!!”

And so it began. She wanted to know how I could possibly wear tefillin. Where was it written that it was allowed? I countered with asking where was it written that it was forbidden. In the end, as my nail polish was setting, we agreed that the Jewish world was better off for having lots of different types and opinions and the key was everyone respecting everyone else. Pluralism at the nail salon. She agreed, a bit skeptically. 

All I wanted was to have my nails done in peace to commemorate the upcoming commemoration of the destruction of the Temple(s). But I suppose, if at least one of the Temples was destroyed because of Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred, then this conversation was a good start toward repairing the world. At least I hope it was. And the nails came out looking okay.  

NOTE: The prayer the Siddur is open to in the picture below is Baruch She'amar - Blessed is the One Who Spoke and the World Was... Our world, our very existence is fueled by words. Seemed only appropriate to chose this page.  

My Prayer Experiences: Part I – Where I Prayed

This morning I davened Shacharit (morning prayer) with the Conservative Yeshiva (CY) at Ezrat Yisrael, the “non-Orthodox” section of the Kotel (the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall). What and where is that? It’s a new section of the Kotel, in or near what has been called Robinson’s Arch, a few dozen yards south of the existing plaza, next to the Rambam Gate. The longstanding plaza that one thinks of when visualizing the Kotel still stands  – the large plaza divided in two by a mechitza, a divider/fence of sorts separating a large men’s section from a smaller women’s section. 

But now, if one goes off to the right, past the entrance to the Dome of the Rock, a new mini (and I mean mini) platform has been built where men and women can pray together in an egalitarian, pluralistic manner, unimpeded, 24 hours a day. Prior to this platform being built, access to egalitarian Robinson’s Arch area for prayer had time restrictions. I am happy that the time restrictions are off but personally I'm not so happy about the small space available for prayer. To me the area, while still quite impactful, has lost some of the raw power that it had before the platforms were built.  

Ezrat Yisrael - One can pray under the umbrellas - a bar mitzvah was happening as I took this picture last week. 

Another view. Here the umbrellas are closed. If you look to the right of the umbrellas, there is a triangle of yellow cloth. The space between that cloth and the Wall is where we prayed this morning. Very small. You can see the dug up rocks in the foreground of the picture. 

There was just something so primal in the davening that I would do when I was sitting on the ground, amidst the upheaval of the rocks and uneven pavement that remained from days gone by. The upturned stones are still there, you can see them, but not sit amongst them. 

One of my most powerful prayer experiences was in just this space on Tisha B’Av in the summer of 2009. Tisha B’Av occurred during the second summer session at CY. A group from the CY went to Robinson’s Arch and observed Tisha B’Av evening services along with another group of Conservative Jews, Russians, if I recall. I listened to the aching lament of Eicha (Lamenations) while sitting on the ground amongst the ruins of the Temple by Robinson’s Arch. During our time there we heard church bells ringing and the Muezzin (the Muslim call to prayer). We also heard a huge commotion – some kind of protest outside the old city – punctuated by horns honking and other modern and ancient sounding noises.

What an experience that was! Sitting on the ancient ground, candles lit, listening to Lamentations, hearing the multicultural noises around me – part of that evening seemed to transcend time and space. For the first time I began to feel what it might have been like during the destruction of the Temple – the chaos, the noise, the surreal quality of the experience. It was a Tisha B’Av that I will never forget. And it was only able to happen because of the city where it was located, because of the ground upon which I was seated, and of course because of the wonderful community of the Conservative Yeshiva that I was a part of.

For a blog posting of another experience at Robinson's Arch, go to

http://theitinerantrabbit.blogspot.co.il/2011/07/shacharit-morning-prayer-at-robinsons.html

More to follow.....

Update July 8, 2014 - I was happy to learn that there is a plan to clear stones and make a larger space on the ground.