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Parashat Devarim presents
the opening remarks of Moshe’s final address to Am Yisrael. The
generation that left Egypt had deceased, and Moshe was now facing their
children, who were poised to soon enter the Land of Israel. Though a cursory
reading of the parashah’s general narrative seems to set forth several
disparate past experiences which were haphazardly presented by Moshe, a
sensitive analysis may instead reveal a pervading theme of confidence and inner
strength.
The parashah begins by setting the
context. The location: “Across the Jordan in the wilderness in the Aravah
opposite Suph between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Di-Zahav…”
(1:2). The date: “It was in the fortieth year in the eleventh month on the
first of the month…” (3). And the temporal relevance: “After he had struck down
Sihon king of the Amorite who dwelled in Heshbon and Og king of the Bashan…”
(4). Following their success in recent battles, Am Yisrael raised their
eyes to the horizon and excitedly gazed upon the edge of the Land of Israel.
And in that moment Moshe began to feel the nervous pangs of déjà vu.
He immediately recalled the days following Ma’amad
Har Sinai:
Hashem our God spoke to us
in Horeb, saying, “Long enough you have stayed at this mountain. Turn and
journey onward…See I have given the land before you. Come and take hold of the
land that God swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yisshak and to Yaakov…” (6-8)
As Moshe beheld the optimistic group of young
men and women standing before him, he couldn’t help but remember the nearly
identical situation which he had experienced nearly forty years earlier. And he
then realized that he must now encourage this new generation to learn from the
mistakes of their forefathers.
Where should he begin? What point in the
nation’s history would best highlight the dangers inherent in their current
situation? The incessant complaints of the first generation? Their sin of the
golden calf? Moshe had a different plan. He first recounted his personal
thoughts from back at the beginning of their journey:
“Oh, how can I carry by myself your trouble and your burden
and your disputing? (12)
He then
remembered his solution:
And I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowing men, and
I made them heads over you… (15)
What was the relevance of this historical
event to Am Yisrael at this time?
Without any explanation, Moshe continued:
And I said to you: “You
have come to the high country of the Amorite which Hashem our God is about to
give us. See, Hashem your God has given the land before you. Go up, take hold,
as Hashem God of your fathers has spoken to you. Be not afraid nor be
dismayed.” (20-21)
He then
admitted that those words of inspiration never took hold:
And you came forward to
me, all of you, and you said, “Let us send before us that they probe the land
for us and bring back word to us of the way on which we should go up and the
towns into which we should come.” And the matter was good in my eyes… (22-23)
He recalled the punishment for the sin of the
meragelim – death to the entire generation, took pause to note the
exception of the spies who had set themselves apart – Yehoshua and Calev, and
then continued with the highlight reel of their history.
What was Moshe’s core lesson at this time?
What was the specific relevance of the judge appointments at this juncture? And
what were these people supposed to learn from the sin of the meragelim?
When we were children, we
used to think that when we were grown up we would no longer be vulnerable. But
to grow up is to accept vulnerability. To be alive is to be vulnerable. (Madeleine L’Engle)
Our society lives with the constant thoughts
of “never enough.” Global activist Lynne Twist in fact noted that our first
waking thought of the day is usually “I didn’t get enough sleep.” The next one
is generally “I don’t have enough time.” And the “never enough” syndrome often continues
to plague us throughout the day.
In her best-selling book Daring Greatly,
Brené Brown posited that
the counterapproach to living a life of “never enough” is not about abundance.
It is rather what she refers to as “Wholeheartedness.” At the core of Wholeheartedness
is vulnerability and worthiness. It is about “facing uncertainty,
exposure and emotional risks and knowing that I am enough.”
Acknowledging the grim reality, confidently facing the ensuing feelings of
vulnerability while still believing that you can achieve is to dare greatly.
* * * *
As Moshe gazed at the fresh generation of Am
Yisrael on the brinks of entrance into the Promised Land, he recognized
that look in their eyes. He had seen it in their parents’ eyes forty years
earlier. It was a look that mixed the excitement of a new adventure with the
doubts of uncertainty. Though they truly wanted to conquer the land that had
long been promised to their forefathers, they didn’t actually believe that they
could do it.
Clearing his throat, Moshe began his lesson
by reviewing the past. He validated their feelings of vulnerability, but urged
them to achieve something that their forefathers were unable to do. He tasked
them to dare greatly.
Typifying his greatness as a leader, Moshe
began by professing his own past mistakes in this regard. He first recalled
that God’s initial message to the people consisted of words of encouragement –
“See I have given the land before you...Come and take hold of the land!” But he
then admitted his own feelings of “not enough” at that time, describing how he
had felt overwhelmed by the “burden” of single-handedly leading a nation of
such magnitude. And he recounted that he had succumbed to the pressure and
feelings of incapability. He had complained about the difficulty and then
sought to deflect it by delegating the judicial responsibilities which were
previously his own.
Moshe continued his story, remembering that
as the nation continued their journey he had attempted to raise their
confidence by exclaiming: “See, Hashem your God has given the land before you.
Go up, take hold…Be not afraid nor be dismayed!” But his message had fallen
upon deaf ears. The people couldn’t find the inner strength to overcome their
feelings of weakness, so they turned to Moshe and begged him to send scouts
ahead of them to Israel. The return of the meragelim furthered the
people’s submittal to anxiety. Moshe remembered how they had cowardly “grumbled
in their tents” (1:27), as they doubted their ability to conquer the land.
He now revealed to the people standing in
front of him why the members of the past generation were unfit to enter the Land
of Israel. He subtly explained that a soldier who lacks courage and conviction
cannot be trusted to conquer a country. But Moshe reminded them how two men had
stood out at that time: Calev and Yehoshua. Possessed by an inner strength to dare
greatly, they stared down the fear and overcame their feelings of
vulnerability by declaring “We will surely go up
and take hold of it, for we will surely prevail over it” (Bemidbar 13:30).
Moshe now assured the people that those two men were indeed suited to enter the
Land.
The sermon continued. Moshe told how God had
several times averted the previous generation from battles with the encountered
nations. He contrasted the past to their present situation, reminding the
people of their recent success at battle with Sihon and Og. As his talk of
encouragement winded to an end, Moshe revealed to the people the content of his
recent talk with their future leader, Yehoshua. It was an identical message:
And I charged Yehoshua at
that time, saying: “Your own eyes have seen all that Hashem your God did to
these two kings. So shall God do to all the kingdoms into which you are about
to cross. You shall not fear them, for it is Hashem your God Who does battle
for you.” (3:21-22)
As the lesson ended, the message was clear.
Moshe advised the “new generation” to stand up to the feelings of weakness and
vulnerability in a way that he and the previous generation had failed to do. He
encouraged them to “not fear.” And he urged them – and us – to dare greatly.
