Moshe's Closing Speech

By Rav Moshe Tzadok (Hesder 6)

 

Our parasha presents Moshe at the end of his life, just thirty-six days prior to his death (Chizkuni, 1:3). Forty years have passed since the realization of his initial goal, the release of the people from Egypt, and from the moment he received the Torah he was privileged to entrench the ideal of Torah study within the nation. Now that he must part ways with the people, who are on the brink of fulfilling their national destiny of occupying the Promised Land under the leadership of Yehoshua, he faces a difficult dilemma: what does he tell them? How does he summarize a forty-year period in such a small time frame? What can he tell them to ensure that they will merit successful entry into the land and settlement thereof?

As the transmitter of the Torah, Moshe decides that his parting words would involve primarily the mitzvot: "...Moshe undertook to expound this Torah" (1:5). After all, the observance and fulfillment of these mitzvot are the keys to the occupation of the land: "Give heed to the laws and rules that I am instructing you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land..." (4:1). Although the most appropriate point of departure would have been the recounting of the Revelation at Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments (chapter 5), that segment of his monologue was prefaced by words of introduction and background, as the Ramban writes in his introduction to Sefer Devarim:

Before he began explaining the Torah, he began to rebuke them and remind them of their sins, how much they rebelled in the desert and how the Almighty acted with the Attribute of Kindness. This was to inform them of His great kindness with them so that they would not return to their iniquity, lest they add to all their sins, and to encourage them, by letting them know that He will forever deal with them with the Attribute of Kindness. Nobody will then say that it is impossible to conquer the land, for there is nobody who does not sin, and were the Attribute of Justice be employed against him, he will be destroyed. Moshe therefore informed them that the Almighty is merciful and full of compassion, and His forgiveness and absolution serve as help and support for people in His service...

In other words, Moshe incorporated into his speech both encouragement and reassurance, as well as warnings and threats. The Ramban continues:

These words of introduction and reproof extend until... the verse 'Observe His laws and commandments, which I enjoin upon you this day, that it may go well with you and your children after you, and that you may long remain in the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you for all time' (4:40). Moshe then called to all of Israel who were before him and said, 'Hear O Israel, the laws...' and began explaining the Torah, the Ten Commandments.

This introductory section of rebuke to which the Ramban refers, a formidable task worthy of none other than Moshe Rabbeinu himself, is quite lengthy, spanning close to one hundred and fifty verses. Upon closer analysis, his words emerge as a beautifully arranged and perfectly organized and structured work. This structure was perhaps best explained by Rav David Zvi Hoffman in his commentary to Sefer Devarim. He sees Moshe's first speech as expressing both historical background as well as the relevant reproof:

The speech is preceded by a heading (1:1-5). The first speech may be divided into two sections. The first is the historical section, which itself divides into two stories. The first story tells of Yisrael's initial military march to conquer the Promised Land, which ended in the nation's downfall and resulted in its retreat (1:6-46). Verse 2:1 serves as the transition to the second story. This second story tells of the successful military march that had commenced only recently, and the victories already achieved which guaranteed the successful conclusion of the country's conquest by Yehoshua, who had been appointed leader in Moshe's stead (2:2-3, 29). It should be noted that these two stories bear resemblance to each other in terms of their opening and closing sections. The first story begins with the words, "The Lord our God spoke to us... 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Start out and make your way..." (1:6-7); similarly, the second story opens, "You have been skirting this hill country long enough; now turn north..." (2:2-3). Correspondingly, the conclusion of the first story - "You dwelled in Kadesh all that long time" (1:46) - resembles "We dwelled in the valley, near Bet Pe'or" (3:29) - the conclusion of the second story.

In both stories, Moshe illustrates for the people the blessing and the curse. He shows them how rebellion against God leads to the nation's downfall and wandering in the desert, and how return to God and following in His ways leads to fortune and victory, promising them this for the future, as well. Moshe therefore adds to these two historical accounts his words of reproof (4:1-40), in which he warns the people to remain loyal to God and His Torah, not to serve other gods, so that they will not be destroyed and driven from the land. Thus, the first speech consists of three segments, each almost equivalent in length. The first segment (1:6-46) describes in historical fashion how disobedience towards God brought catastrophe upon the nation. The second segment (2:2 - 3:29) tells how God offered the next generation, which avoided the sins of its predecessors, the right to begin its march to victory. The third segment (4:1-40), which opens with the words "And now, Israel...," reaches the appropriate conclusion from the two historical accounts, namely, that Israel cannot succeed unless it heeds the Voice of God.

Until now, we have dealt primarily with the structure of Moshe's rebuke. With regard to its actual content, however, the Abarbanel points out the difficulty latent in Moshe's monologue:

If Moshe's intent was to offer his rebuke for their sins, then it seems awfully difficult: why did he not begin with the incident of the golden calf, which was the first sin... One cannot answer that this sin was forgotten, because he does, in fact, recall this incident at length in Parashat Ekev (Devarim 9). So why did he first mention the sin of the spies, which occurred later, and only later he recounted the sin of the golden calf, which was the first sin? Furthermore, the sin of the "mitonenim" (Bemidbar 11:1)... and the sin of those who desired meat at Kivrot Hata'ava (Bemidbar 11:34), both of which preceded the affair of the spies - why did Moshe not mention them here, waiting instead until Parashat Ekev (Devarim 9:22)?

And if these incidents weren't included for the sake of rebuke, but rather to recount what had transpired, like Divrei Ha-yamim, then again it seems difficult - why were the events not recorded chronologically, as they occurred?

The answer seems to be that Moshe is a disciplinarian, focused on rebuking the people, and not a historian, who merely tells events of old. Therefore, he has the freedom to present historical events in any manner in which he deems appropriate, and is not bound by chronological accuracy. He employs past events as clay in the hands of the artisan, who molds the clay in accordance with his plans and purposes. It is therefore clear why Moshe begins with the sin of the spies, rather than the previous misdeeds such as the golden calf. The sin of the spies was the transgression that caused the generation of the Exodus to die in the wilderness rather than entering into the land. Moshe's current audience is in the same situation as were their parents - the generation of the Exodus - on the eve of the sin of the spies: they stand on the brink of entry into the land. Certainly they were concerned - will the promise be actualized or once again be wasted? Moshe, the faithful shepherd of his people, stands bethem and reminds them of their previous failures, urging them not to repeat the same mistake.

Thus, the location of the incident of the spies within Moshe's discourse is well understood. But how do we justify his earlier comments with which he opens his monologue: "Thereupon I said to you, 'I cannot bear the burden of you by myself... Pick from each of your tribes men who are wise, discerning and experienced, and I will appoint them as your heads... I charged your magistrates at that time...' (1:9-19)? What is Moshe's purpose in recalling the appointment of judges in Parashat Yitro? How does this incident fit into context with the rest of Moshe's rebuke?

It would seem that Moshe here wishes to contrast his preparations for entry into the Land of Israel with those of the people. In his mind, the most critical preparations for the occupation of Eretz Yisrael related to the establishment of an effective legal system. The people, however, had their minds on other types of preparations: "All of you, together with your scholars and leaders, came before me, and you asked for spies, and everything was disrupted" (Ramban 1:9).

Thus, Moshe's incorporation of the issue of the nation's judiciary system into his opening remarks to the nation serves to sharpen and emphasize the sin of the spies, during which "the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night" (Bemidbar 14:1). Regarding this tragic night, the gemara comments, "Rabbi Yochanan said: That night was Tisha Be-av. The Almighty said to them: You cried for no reason; and I will establish this night as a night of crying for many generations to come..." (Ta'anit 29a).

May it be His will that we merit the long-awaited end of this annual weeping, and that we shall be comforted with the building of Jerusalem.

 

(Translated by David Silverberg)

 

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