Devarim – Peninim on the Torah

ואשלח מלאכים ממדבר קדמות אל סיחון מלך חשבון דברי שלום

I sent messengers from Midbar Kedeimos to Sichon, King of Cheshbon, words of peace. (2:26)

Rashi explains Moshe’s Rabbeinu’s logic in attempting to traverse Sichon’s land peacefully. He conjectured, “Although Hashem did not command me to make overtures of peace toward Sichon, I learned to do so from that which Hashem taught us in Midbar Sinai. When Hashem was about to give the Torah to Klal YIsrael, He first offered it to the descendants of Eisav and Yishmael. He made a gesture of peace towards them. I, too, went to Sichon with words of peace.” It was very nice of Moshe to attempt to circumvent war with overtures of peace, but what about Og? Apparently,…

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אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Devarim

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

The Torah’s vocabulary choice is striking. What are the “words”? These words were a veiled rebuke of the nation. They were an admonishment. Why did the Torah not begin its report of Moshe’s farewell address with: “These are the rebukes,” or “Moshe admonished Klal Yisrael”? Why did it use a neutral term, such as “words” to soften what was actually a rebuke? True, Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to preserve the dignity of the nation, so he alluded to past failings with sensitivity and restraint, but he delivered much more than mere “words.” Thus, the question remains: If this is tochachah, call…

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אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Devarim

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

Moshe Rabbeinu’s parting devarim, words, were not figures of speech. They were deliberate, carefully selected and nuanced words of rebuke. They were veiled, but not subtle; clear, but couched in love. It was not a simple goodbye, a parting of the ways; rather, it was what was intended to be a leader’s direction for life—not just the present, but for generations. In a departure from the usual Peninim style, I would like to present the following scenario with the hope that it leaves an impact on our own lives. Reb Ploni was the embodiment of the devoted husband and father. …

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איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Devarim

How can I alone carry your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels? (1:12)

Moshe Rabbeinu seems to express his personal feelings concerning the many difficulties associated with communal leadership. As a result, officers were appointed to ease the load, with only the most difficult issues coming before Moshe. He states three areas of concern: torchachem, your contentiousness; maasachem, your burdens; rivchem, your quarrels. The commentators have their individual ways of interpreting the meaning and ramifications of these terms. Are they that different from one another? Apparently, if the Torah chose to detail each one, they must each have a singular meaning. Ben Pores Yosef explains that there are different demands placed upon a…

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ד' אלקיכם הרבה אתכם והנכם היום ככוכבי השמים לרב

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Devarim

Hashem, your G-d, has multiplied you and behold! You are like the stars of heaven in abundance. (1:10)

The Torah famously blesses Klal Yisrael with two metaphors, which, on the surface, appear paradoxical. In the above pasuk, we are compared to the stars of the sky in number. In Sefer Bereishis (22:17,) the Torah writes, “I will surely bless you and make your offspring as the stars of the heavens and as the sand of the seashore.” Apparently, being compared to stars alone is insufficient. Our comparison to sand in number is a wonderful blessing, but is it not contradictory to stars? One is elevated, radiant and lofty, while the other is lowly, coarse and trampled upon. Apparently,…

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אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Devarim

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

Moshe Rabbeinu opens Sefer Devarim with words of rebuke. For forty years, he had been their leader, but it was now, shortly before he was to leave this world, that he chose rebuke as his parting words. We derive from here that rebuke should be well-thought out and delivered at a time when the rebuker feels it will be accepted. We do not reproach out of anger, but out of love and caring. We neither waste words, nor do we mince words. We say what must be said, even if being brutally honest may have backlash. Moshe chose his last…

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ובמדבר אשר ראית אשר נשאך ד' אלקיך כאשר ישא איש את בנו בכל הדרך אשר הלכתם... ההלך לפניכם בדרך

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Devarim

And in the Wilderness, as you have seen, that, Hashem, your G-d, bore you, as a man carries his son, on the entire way that you traveled… Who goes before you on the way. (1:31,33)

Moshe Rabbeinu points out to Klal Yisrael that, throughout the nation’s hazardous journey through the Wilderness, they were all under Hashem’s protection. He led them at every step of the way. Hashem is compared to a loving father carrying his child in his embrace – a simile which conveys a sense of care, protection and guidance – which, in effect, is the way we should relate to Hashem at all times. This concept speaks to the comforting belief that we are never alone. Not only is someone always looking out for us, but that someone is Hashem, and He has…

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ואקח את ראשי שבטיכם

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Devarim

So I took the heads of your tribes. (1:15)

Rashi explains how Moshe Rabbeinu “took” the heads of the tribes: “I persuaded them verbally; I said, ‘Fortunate are you! Over whom do you come to be appointed?’ Over the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Over people who are called ‘brothers’ and ‘friends’ of Hashem, a ‘portion’ and an ‘inheritance’ of Hashem and all other expressions of endearment.” Moshe convinced the heads of the tribes that they were about to become leaders of a select group of people – ones whom Hashem esteemed. Likewise, Moshe implied to the people that they were special. A remarkable lesson in chinuch, education,…

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איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Devarim

Eichah, how can I alone bear your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels. (1:12)

Chazal (Eichah Rabbah 1:1) observe that three leaders prophesized using the word eichah, how: Moshe Rabbeinu, Yeshayahu, and Yirmiyahu. Moshe said, Eichah essa levadi? “How can I alone bear?” Yeshayahu said, Eichah haysah l’zonah kiryah ne’emanah? “How has the faithful city become a harlot?” (Yeshayahu 1:21). Yirmiyahu said, Eichah yashvah vadad? “How she sits alone” (Eichah 1:1). This, say Chazal, may be compared to a woman who had three guests: one she saw when she was successful; the other when she was failing; and, the third, following her downfall. According to the Midrash, the three eichah’s represent a timeline of…

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ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Devarim

You drew near to me, all of you, and said, “Let us send men ahead of us and they shall spy out the Land for us.” (1:22)

The episode of the meraglim, spies, was the tragic game-changer for the nascent nation, as their reaction to the spies’ reports catalyzed the decree that they would not enter the Land. That night was Tishah B’Av, the calendar date which was to become our national day of mourning. In as much as the reports which the meraglim brought back were true, injecting their own personal opinions concerning the nation’s ability to overcome the challenges they would confront was their downfall. They conveniently forgot the Hashem factor. The Almighty had taken them out of Egypt, triumphed over Amalek, sustained them miraculously;…

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ואשלח מלאכים ממדבר קדמות אל סיחון מלך חשבון דברי שלום

I sent messengers from Midbar Kedeimos to Sichon, King of Cheshbon, words of peace. (2:26)

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

How can I alone carry your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels? (1:12)

ד' אלקיכם הרבה אתכם והנכם היום ככוכבי השמים לרב

Hashem, your G-d, has multiplied you and behold! You are like the stars of heaven in abundance. (1:10)

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל

These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael. (1:1)

ובמדבר אשר ראית אשר נשאך ד' אלקיך כאשר ישא איש את בנו בכל הדרך אשר הלכתם... ההלך לפניכם בדרך

And in the Wilderness, as you have seen, that, Hashem, your G-d, bore you, as a man carries his son, on the entire way that you traveled… Who goes before you on the way. (1:31,33)

ואקח את ראשי שבטיכם

So I took the heads of your tribes. (1:15)

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

Eichah, how can I alone bear your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels. (1:12)

ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

You drew near to me, all of you, and said, “Let us send men ahead of us and they shall spy out the Land for us.” (1:22)

YEARS

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