Va’etchanan (“and I pleaded”)
Deut. 3:23-7:11
On the Biblical/Jewish calendar some significant events have
taken place between last week and this week that can be somewhat related in our
weekly Torah portions. Last week we had the event of Tishah B’ Av, the ninth
day of the month of Av which is an annual day of mourning that recalls the many
tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, in particular the destruction
of the first and second Jewish Temples, also the expulsion of the Jews from
both England and Spain on this very day. The consequences of some very bad
decisions from the Jewish people can be seen in other Torah portions before
this one that have lead them to this tragic and sad event that we have on the
Jewish calendar. I have heard commentaries by some Jewish Rabbis that “the
Jewish people not having faith/trust in Hashem to enter the Promise Land and
receiving a bad report from the twelve spies”, to say that Hashem will truly
give the Jewish people something for them to mourn about due to their lack of trust in Him.
Another mini-holiday on the fifteenth day of Av, the Jewish
people celebrate Tu B’Av: Love and Rebirth. On this day Jewish law instructs
that “tachanun” (confession of sins) and similar portions should be omitted
from the daily prayers and that you should increase one’s study of
Torah. The full moon of the tragic month of Av is a festival of the future
redemption of the Jewish people, which in essence it’s an unknowable day. These
two Jewish holidays can be looked at in a positive way in the aspect of turning
our mourning into joy, pointing us to when the Jewish people will enjoy a
redemptive a state with Hashem in the future.
This Torah portion is a building up of Moshe rabbeinu’s
speeches to the Jewish people, about what truly it is to listen to Hashem and
to keep His Torah/Instructions in the right manner. Moshe is retelling them
some of the greatest events that have taken place in this world, of having the
almighty God which is the creator, reveling Himself to and giving the Jewish
people the Torah for righteous living from a
loving father to his people. Moshe knows that his time is limited and he will
soon by passing away, so therefore would like nothing more then to know that
the Jewish people understand and grasp all that Hashem has told them. Some
other basic fundamental key elements are retold like the “Ten Commandments” and
one of the greatest religious proclamations of the oneness of God, know as the
Shema, which are strongly emphasize here in this Torah portion. Moshe’s speeches can
be seen as a call to obedience for the Jewish people to Hashem.
Moshe states that acknowledging the oneness of God, found in
the Shema, to be the first fundamental principle that the Jewish people need to
have. If there’s only one God, then he would be the source of our existence and
the source of all our needs. The fact that He has made a covenant (Deu 5:1-27) with the Jewish people right
before this declaration, we see a binding factor of respect in His relationship
with them. Only when someone takes into consideration the welfare being of
others, by giving them instructions and guidelines, that one can truly say that
it’s no longer about oneself and that would lead to show a caring attitude
towards that other individuals. This is exactly what Hashen has done and Moshe
doesn’t want the people to forget this. Everything that Hashem has done for his
people has been out of love and wanting them to be an example to the other
nations in bringing a restoration to all humanity through them, the Jewish
people. Deu 6:7-8 states “It was not because you had greater numbers than all
the other nations that God embraced you and chose you; you are among the
smallest of all the nations. It was because of God’s love for you, and because
He was keeping the oath that He made to your fathers. God therefore brought you
out with a might hand, liberating you from the slave house, (and) from the
power of Pharaoh king of Egypt .”
Also in Deu 4:5-8 See! I have taught you rules and laws as God my Lord has
commanded me, so (that you) will be able to keep them in the land to which you
will be occupying. Safeguard and keep (these rules), since this is your wisdom
and understanding in the eyes of the nations. They will hear all these rules
and say, “This great nation is certainly a wise and understanding people.” What
nation is so great that they have God close to it, as God our Lord is, whenever
we call Him? What nation is so great that they have such righteous rules and
laws, like this entire Torah that I am presenting before you today?
We see great pleads of exhortations from Moshe to love God
with all of our hearts and with all of our souls and all of our might, by doing
this we show our desires to follow Him fully. Truly Moshe wants to get his
point across when basically going thru almost all of the Torah in the book of
Deuteronomy. Point by point we start to see in this Torah portion and to include the
whole book of Deuteronomy of a complete break down of Hashem’s laws and the
reasons behind them. May we also take heed from these instructions and not overlook the
mistakes that the Jewish people have done in the past, so that we to may hear
and obey (Shema), to be a witness onto other people by living a life reflecting God's essence, which is His Word.
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