HOW CAN I BEAR UNAIDED THE

TROUBLE OF YOU, AND THE BURDEN, AND YOUR BICKERING!

(Devarim

1:12)

This teaches you that they were contentious and combative towards each

other.

(Rabbeinu

Behayeiy on Devarim 1:12)

That it is said, I cannot

bear the burden of you by myself (Devarim 1:9)

and afterwards, How can I bear unaided the trouble of you (1:12) can

be interpreted in two ways: First, that the expression I cannot refers

to something entirely impossible, while How can I bear refers to

something possible but which is not proper to do. I cannot refers to the future as well, for at the time, in as much as

he was there, the thing was possible.

(Keli

Yakar Devarim 1:9)

And your

bickering: Regarding legalities and property. He told them this to

remind them of their sin; even though he had told them that they would enter

the Land without [fighting] any war – a matter of greater advantage and

importance than all of their property and dealings in the wilderness – they did

not avoid raising up contentious words between a man and his fellow in a manner

that necessitated the appointment of several strata of judges. Every group of

ten men among them required a private judge, because of their bad-heartedness.

(Seforno

1:12)

The Judgment of

the Nations

Amos Bardea

The fifth book of the Torah opens with parashat Devarim, which is always

read on the Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av. Accordingly, it is accompanied by the haftorah Hazon, which

contains elements found also in parashat Devarim. Together they confront us with the great theme of

redemption and exile.

The book of Devarim

is referred to as Mishneh Torah because

it recounts the topics and events already mentioned by the earlier books

(except for Bereishit and Vayikra).

Devarim begins its review from the period immediately

following Moses' giving of the Torah in order to prepare the new generation of

Israelites for their entry to the Land. Rashi, in his

comments of the first verse of the Torah, quotes the words of his father, Rabbi

Yitzhak. He wants to explain why the Torah begins with the creation of the

world. After all, if the Torah is essentially concerned with the great national

mission of serving God in the Land of Israel, why do we have to hear about

creation? The Torah should have begun with the first commandment,

This month is for you (Shemot 12:2). He answers:

Because

of the thought expressed in the text (Tehillim 111:6)

He declared to His people the strength of His works [i.e., He gave an

of the nations. For should the peoples of the world say to Israel, "You

are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nations of

Canaan," Israel may reply to them, "All the earth belongs to the Holy

One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whom He pleased."

The RaMBaN there adds:

Have

not the Kaftorim that came forth from Kaftor destroyed them and dwelt in their stead (Devarim 2:23)?

The world and the fullness thereof belong to the Holy One, blessed be He. When

He willed it, He gave it to you, and when He willed it, He took it from you and

gave it to us. It is this which Scripture says, He declared to His people

in order that He might give them the heritage of the nations. Hence He told

them the account of creation. (Chavel translation)

The RaMBaN quotes a passage from parashat

Devarim belonging to an account of the region's

history of population movements and conquests. The children of Esau conquered

the Hurim and settled in their place, the Ammonites

and Moav conquered the Refaim,

who had earlier conquered the Eymim, and the Kaftorim from Egypt conquered the Aviym

who had lived in Hatzerim. The RaMBaN

chose to mention the Kaftorim who took over land from

the Aviym, rather than Amon

and Moav, who were descendants of Abraham's brother,

Lot, or the children of Abraham's grandson Esau, because the land had been

promised to Abraham, while the Kaftorim were not

connected to Abraham's family. The seven nations of Canaan could have accused Abraham's

descendants of being robbers, like Israel. By mentioning the Kaftorim, he could give an example of conquest carried out

by people similar to the Canaanites. The Torah presents the historical dynamic

in which various peoples undergo geographical and national upheavals, while

some peoples take over others, physically destroying them, or different peoples

assimilate into each other. In this way, some peoples collapse while new ones

rise in their stead.

Questions

regarding the ownership of land by individuals can be decided in the framework

of the laws of a particular regime, but there is no law to decide such matters

between different nations and governments. Sovereignty over a particular

territory is determined by the military, economic, and cultural relations

between nations, which result in conquests or treaties based on mutual

interests. The recounting of these facts expresses the impermanence of nations

and their locations, which are given over to Divine Providence: "When He

willed it, He gave it to you, and when He willed it, He took it from you and

gave it to us." Therefore, Rabbi Yitzhak says, the Torah begins with the

story of the creation in order to tech us about nature, including the nature of

man in whom Divine Providence is realized. Providence allows the Israelites to

possess the Land just as other nations possessed theirs – absolving Israel of

the charge of robbery. It would seem that if Israel possessed its land in the

manner of other nations that they, like the other nations, would also be

destined for eventual destruction in accordance with the natural historical

dynamic. The answer to this problem lies in the connection between the

introduction and the essence of the Torah. The understanding of nature and

Providence is only a preface to the essence of the Torah as symbolized in the

first national commandment; this month is for you the first of

months. That is to say, the natural process of settling the land occurred

only for the sake of Israel's spiritual goal. Here we find the difference

between Israel and the other nations, as RaMBaN

states:

And

in possession; that they might keep His statutes , and observe His laws (Tehillim 105:44-45). That is to say, He expelled those who rebelled against Him, and

settled therein those who served Him so that they know by serving Him they will

inherit it, whereas if they sin against Him, the land will vomit them out, just

as it vomited out the nations before them…Why did the Holy One, blessed be He,

reveal to Israel what was created on the first day and what was created on the

second day? It is on account of the seven nations who inhabited the land of

Canaan, so that they should not taunt Israel and say to them: "Are you not

a nation of robbers?" Israel could then reply to them: "And you, is it not booty in your hands?" (RaMBaN Bereishit

1:1, Chavel translation)

It

seems that the central message of Rashi and RaMBaN's interpretations of the first verse of the Torah is

precisely the core message of the parasha of Devarim, and of the book of Devarim

as a whole. Parashat Devarim,

like the preceding parshiyot Matot

and Masei, deals with reception of the Land. Moses

reminds the generation born to those who had left Egypt how their parents, "men

of war," died in the wilderness as a consequence of their cowardly

unwillingness to take on the mission of acquiring the Land. "Men of war,"

according to some commentators, are called so cynically; they fought against

God and Moses, dying for the sin of not having fought to conquer the Land. In

this context he reminds them of the conquests of other nations in the area, in

order to demonstrate its feasibility. That is why he brought examples of

nations that were considered weak who conquered giants and Eiymim

who were thought to be especially powerful. Moses' words contain the message

that conquest itself lacks a spiritual dimension – it is a completely natural

affair, as the prophet Amos wrote,

To

Me, O Israelites, you are just like the Ethiopians – declares the Lord. True, I

brought up Israel from Egypt, but also the Phillistines

from Kaftor and the Arameans

from Kir. (9:7)

In constrast, the whole point of Israel's very existence in

the Land is a spiritual one of the worship of God and the observance of His

commandments in order to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The

book of Devarim is completely devoted to

admonishments geared towards instilling in the new generation an appreciation

for the spiritual mission of Israel's very existence in the Land in a manner

unlike that of other nations. The "Commandments which are dependent on

residence in the Land" define the Land's sanctity, while Israel's

existence in the Land is defined by "a Land dependent on commandments"

– this is the message woven into the length and breadth of the book of Devarim:

When

you have begotten children and children's children and are long established in

the land; should you act wickedly and make for yourselves a sculptured image in

any likeness, causing the Lord your God displeasure and vexation, I call heaven

and earth this day to witness against you that you shall soon perish from the

land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess; you shall not long endure in

it, but shall be utterly wiped out. (4:25-26)

The essence of this admonishment

is connected with the present season, with the days of national mourning which

find their climax in Tisha B'Av. These days mark the worldly exile which is but an

indicator of the spiritual exile – the departure from God's Torah – which leads

the Land to spit out its inhabitants.

Our understanding of exile

becomes sharp as a razor in the light of the words of Devarim

and of the Prophets. However; redemption, its causality and mode of occurrence,

are wrapped up in mystery, so much so that the vast repertoire of its various

interpretations have motivated many fateful developments in Jewish history

through the generations. "Any generation in which it [the Temple] is not

rebuilt, .is considered as one in which it was destroyed" (Yerushalmi 5:1). Since the Holy Land has become our national

home in the manner of acquisition natural to the history of the nations, it has

become incumbent upon us to strive to possess the Land as a spiritual

possession, observing the covenant and God's commandments while dwelling in it.

To strive to build a society founded upon justice and law as a first and

necessary condition for the Jewish People's historical actualization in the

Land of Israel: Zion shall be saved by justice, and her repentant ones by

righteousness (Isaiah 1:27).

Dr. Amos Bardea

is a PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry, a philosopher and thinker (BA in

philosophy from Bar Ilan University)

Eikhah of

Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah

There is a connection between

the words of Meggilat Eikhah,

which relate to Tisha B'Av

and the parasha itself. In the course of the story of

Israel's arrival, or near arrival at the Land, Moses complains of the people's

failures: Eikhah [how] can I bear

unaided the trouble of you, and the burden, and your bickering (Devarim 1:12). Eight hundred years later, Isaiah speaks of the failure of Israel's

conquest and settlement of the Land, in which the people did not fulfill the

obligations placed upon them: Eikhah [how]

has she become a harlot, the faithful city that was filled with justice, where

righteousness dwelt – but now murderers (1:21). And, in the great words of lament which

tradition (perhaps a legend?) attributes to Jeremiah, we read: Eikhah [how] does the city sit, lonely (Eikhah 1:1).

On the way to the Land's

conquest: How can I bear unaided the trouble of you, and the burden,

and your bickering. While settled in the Land: How has she

become a harlot, the faithful city; and, finally: How does the city sit,

lonely.

This is a deeply meaningful

philosophy of history – the connection between the parasha,

which deals with arrival at the Land, Tisha

B'Av, the memory of destruction and exile, is not

accidental. It is not a by-product of the way the yearly calendar is set up,

but rather touches upon the meaning of Jewish history, and, to a certain

degree, upon the relationships and historical ties between events in the

histories of all peoples.

(Prof. Yeshayahu

Leibowitz, z"l, He'Arot le'Parshiyot ha'Shavua pp. 112-113)

Even when War is Legitimate, One Must Pursue Peace

Israel now sent messengers to

Sihon king of the Amorites (Bamidbar 21:21):

As Scripture says: Shun evil and do good (Tehillim34:15). The Torah did not require the pursuit of commandments, but rather if

you happen upon a bird's nest (Devarim 22:6),

When you happen to encounter your enemy's ox (Shemot 23:4), When you happen to see your enemy's ass

(23:5) when you beat down the fruit of your olive trees (Devarim 24:20), when you gather the grapes (24:21),

when you enter another man's vineyard (23:25). All of them

involve an obligation, if you happened upon them, but you need not chase after

them. But peace – seek it in your place, and pursue it in other places. And so

did Israel: Even though the Holy One blessed be He

told them Begin the occupation, take possession of his land! (3:31),

they pursued peace, as it says: Israel now sent messengers, etc.

(Tanhuma

Hukat 22)

Torah and Redemption are Conditional upon Justice

These are the laws

(Shemot 21:1), as it is written mighty King Who loves justice (Tehillim 99:4). Moses told Israel: God has given you His

Torah. If you do not observe its laws, He will take His Torah away from you.

Why? Because God only gave you the Torah in order that you keep its laws,

for it is said, mighty King Who loves justice. If

you keep the laws, in the future God will give you back your own courts of law,

for it is said: I will restore your judges as of old (Isaiah 1:26). And what is written afterwards? Zion shall be saved by justice

(1:27).

(Shemot

Rabbah 30)

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