THE LORD, YOUR GOD, HAS MULTIPLIED YOU, AND BEHOLD, YOU ARE TODAY AS THE STARS OF THE HEAVENS IN ABUNDANCE.

(Devarim 1:10)

 

And, behold, you are today as the stars of the heavens But were they [the Israelites] on that day as [many as] the stars of the heavens? Were they not only six hundred thousand? What, then, is [the meaning of] "And, behold, you are today...?" [It means]-Behold, you are compared to the sun, [signifying that you will] exist forever, as do the sun, the moon, and the stars.

(Rashi Devarim 1:10, Judaica Press translation)

 

as the stars... One who looks up at the star-strewn heavens will be impressed only by the innumerable multitude of stars, but it will not occur to him to actually count the individual stars. So shall it be with one who takes your general measure. Indeed, there were few opportunities in the course of human history to take a census of an entire nation in one place; six hundred thousand men, about three and a half million souls all told. However, it seems that there is an additional significance to the comparison made between the nation's multitudes and the stars in heaven. With this he dismisses the mistaken conception which views the nation in general as an innumerable crowd, a crowd in which the individual lacks any importance. Rather, the nation's multitudes are compared to the stars of heaven: while they are not countable, each individual is independently important; each is "a world unto itself." Each possesses its own value and God has providence over it individually.

(Rabbi S.R. Hirsch ad loc)

 

R. Abahu said: Come and see the power of repentance from [the case of] King David. The Holy One blessed be He had sworn to the Patriarchs that He would multiply their seed like the stars of heaven, yet David wanted to count them. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: "David, I swore to the Patriarchs that I would increase their seed and you come to invalidate My words. The sheep were given to you to feed them and seventy thousand men have died in just three hours!" R. Shimon says: No one died in Israel save Avishai ben Tzruya, who was the equal of 70,000 men in his good deeds and in the Torah of his heart. [The proof of this is that] it does not say anashim [men] here, but rather ish [man]. David heard this and tore his clothing and asked to repent, as it says, put aside my sin, and he was granted this, for it says, and he said to the angel that destroyed many [rav] among the people, "It is enough; now stay your hand." What does rav mean? That a great man of Israel had fallen. David could not leave him to seek God's counsel because the angel had taken his sword and wiped it on David's cloak; when David saw the angel's sword all his limbs began to shake, and they shook until his dying day.

(Yalkut Shimoni Shemuel Bet 165)

 

"A Vision of Peace"

Shlomo Fuchs

So said the Lord of Hosts: The fast of the fourth [month], the fast of the fifth [month], the fast of the seventh [month], and the fast of the tenth [month] shall be for the house of Judah for joy and happiness and for happy holidays-but love truth and peace. (Zachariah 8:19)

Should the destruction of the First Temple still be commemorated when the Second Temple is already under construction?

The prophet Zachariah mentions the four days that commemorate the destruction of the First Temple and then responds to the above question.

According to the prophet the fast days do not merely relate to the physical hurban [destruction of the Temple]; they also commemorate the destruction of society and the lack of justice and fairness. He prophesizes that when there is justice, fairness, truth, and peace, then the fast days will become festive days.

What kind of peace [shalom] is needed to transform fasts commemorating the destruction into festivals?

On the Shabbat just before the 9^th of Av, we read the parasha of Devarim. This parasha opens with Moses mentioning the stations of the people's journey through the wilderness:

These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on that side of the Jordan in the desert, in the plain opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tofel and Lavan and Hazeroth and Di Zahav. (Devarim 1:1)

The Talmud cites a tradition of the House of Yannai claiming that the place-name Di Zahav alludes to a complaint against Heaven:

R. Eleazar said further: Moses cast words towards Him on high. For it is said: And Moses prayed unto [el] the Lord (Bamidbar 11). Do not read unto [el] but regarding [al]. For indeed, in R. Eliezer ben Yaakov's place, they read alephs as ayins and ayins as alephs. They said at R. Yannai's school: From here we learn [about] and Di Zahav. What does Di Zahav mean? They said at R. Yannai's school: Thus spoke Moses before the Holy One blessed be He: Lord of the Universe, it was the silver and gold [zahav] which You gave to Israel so plentifully that they said "enough" [dai] that caused them to make the [golden] calf. (Berakhot 32a, following El-Am translation)

The silver and gold which the Holy One blessed be He heaped upon Israel had been taken in accordance with the Divine command received by Moses at the burning bush:

And I will put this people's favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it will come to pass that when you go, you will not go empty handed. Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor and from the dweller in her house silver and gold objects and garments, and you shall put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and you shall empty out Egypt." (Shemot 3:21-23; also Shemot 11:2)

And later:

And the children of Israel did according to Moses' order, and they borrowed from the Egyptians silver objects, golden objects, and garments. The Lord gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they lent them, and they emptied out Egypt. (Shemot 12: 35-36)

In contrast to the tradition of the school of Yannai, the midrash (Sifrei Devarim 1) describes the gold as a "raw material" that can be used for various purposes:

R. Shimon says: To what might this be compared? To one who would receive scholars and their students and all would praise him. Gentiles came and he received them, bandits came and he received them. Then people would say: "It is his custom to accept everyone." Just as Moses said to Israel: Ve'Di Zahav ["enough gold"] - for the Tabernacle; Ve'Di Zahav - for the calf.

R. Benya says: Israel worshiped idols - they deserve to be destroyed; let the gold of the Tabernacle come and make atonement for the gold of the calf. R. Yossi ben Hanina says: And you shall make an ark cover [kapporet] of pure gold (Shemot 25:17), let the gold of the kapporet come and atone [vayekhaper] for the gold of the calf.

The midrash does not "blame" the Holy One blessed be He for giving gold to the Israelites, but rather offers directions for the service of God: God gives and commands, He sets up challenges and temptations for those who left Egypt. He tells them to borrow, to empty out Egypt. We shall see what the gold and silver will do to you; we shall see what you do with the gold and silver, whether you will use it to build a Tabernacle or a "calf." The responsibility rests on your shoulders to translate the commands into actions; you must lend significance to the "raw materials," to the gold.

It seems the same is also true of hurban.. One would think that hurban is a catastrophe, but one can also find in it an impetus for development, as the Maggid of Kuznitz (Avodat Yisrael on parashat Massei) says:

The Rebbe [the great Maggid of Mezeritch, and it seems that all this derives from the Ba'al Shem Tov] has already preceded us. "The verse all of her pursuers caught up with her between the straights (Lamentations 1:3) hints that anyone who takes up the pursuit of coronation of the Creator can achieve more in these days of "between the straights." A parable: when the prince dwells in his home he projects fear so that not just anyone can enter [to visit him]. But when the prince travels through the markets and streets outside of his palace, then he is close to all who call upon him and listens to the cries of all who call his name.

Analogically, one should know that at this season as a bird who wanders from its nest, so a man wanders from his place (Proverbs 27:8), therefore permission is granted to every human being to approach the King of the world and He answers them," end of quote.

Like gold, the hurban invites many-faceted interpretations. It can be viewed as a time when God hides His face, a time when we are distant from His service. On the other hand, it can be seen as God's way of drawing near to human dwellings. There is no need for a Temple or the mediation of priests, rather all of her pursuers caught up with her.

Our parasha offers an example of how human beings are responsible for investing a commandment with significance.

Moses is commanded by God to go to war against Sihon:

Get up, journey, and cross the river Arnon. Behold, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: Begin to possess it, and provoke him to war...

Moses, however, makes a call for peace:

So I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying... (Devarim 2: 24-26)

The midrash (Devarim Rabba 5:13) does not criticize Moses for this, but rather teaches that God understood from Moses' deed the importance of making a call for peace and added it to the laws of war. The midrash does not make do with a theoretical command; it insists that the Book of Joshua contains an enactment of it:

When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall propose peace to it (Devarim 20:10) - this is a fulfillment of the verse You will make a decision, and it will be accomplished for you, etc. (Job 22)...

You will make a decision - R. Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of R. Levi; Everything that Moses decided, the Holy One blessed be He agreed with him.

How [do we see this]? The Holy One blessed be He did not tell him to break the Tablets; Moses went and broke them of his own volition.

From whence do we learn that the Holy One blessed be He agreed with him? That it is written: asher shibarta [which you broke] (Shemot 34) - yeyasher kohakha she'shibarta [more power to you for having broken them].

The Holy One blessed be He told him to make war against Sihon, for it says: provoke him to war (Devarim 2), but he [Moses] did not do this, rather, So I sent messengers, etc..

The Holy One blessed be He told him: I told you to make war with him and you proposed peace, by your life, I shall fulfill your edict. Any war they go to will be preceded by a peace proposal, as it says: If you draw near to a city propose peace to it, etc. Who fulfilled this passage? Joshua son of Nun.

Rabbi Shemuel bar Nahman said: What did Joshua do? He would publicize an announcement to the people of each place he set forth to conquer in which it was written: "Whoever chooses to leave, let him leave; whoever chooses to make peace, let him make [peace]; whoever chooses to make war, let him make [war]." What did the Girgashites do? They turned away from them and left, and the Holy One blessed be He gave them a land as goodly as their [original] land, i.e., [He gave them] Africa. The Gibeonites made peace, and Joshua made peace with them. However, the thirty-nine kings who chose to fight him, these the Holy One blessed be He cast down into his hand. We know this because it is said: And he smote him until he left him no remnant (Devarim 3).

What is it about peace that can transform days of hurban into festival days, and what is the significance of the proposal of peace when going out to war?

The enemy threatens our external existence, but that enemy is not the main problem; it is the internal enemy who posses the greater challenge. It is easy to blame the other, it is easy to blame the Egyptians or the gold - but their responsibility is only apparent. The true struggle is internal - do we dare to inspect our own deeds and understand our own responsibility? Will we know what to do with the gold and silver, will we allow our eyes to be blinded by their shine and bribe the legal system? Will we learn from Moses to be daring and complain to Heaven when necessary, and to propose peace - even and most importantly - when we are commanded to make war?

The Talmudic discussion of dreams (in Berakhot 56b - the analysis below is inspired by R. Shlomo Fisher's "Derasha le'Pesah Sheini le'Shavu'ot ve'le'Hoshana Rabba," pg. 85 of his Derashot Beit Yishai number 11) may shed light upon this question:

R. Hanan said: There are three [kinds of] peace: River, bird, and pot.

River - as it is written: Behold, I will extend peace to you like a river (Isaiah 66).

Bird - as it is written: Like flying birds, so shall the Lord of Hosts protect, etc. (Isaiah 31).

Pot - as it is written: O Lord, You shall prepare peace for us (Isaiah 26).

R. Hanina said: And regarding the pot that has no meat in it, we learned: and broke them, as in a pot, and like meat within a cauldron (Micah 3).

Are the individuals who form society supposed to meld with each other - or to what extent are they to preserve their individual identities?

R. Hanina's dictum offers three images of peace and unity that can be combined with each other.

The unity of the "bird" - Birds join together to form flocks in order to move quickly from place to place. They know how to help each other without squandering energy. However, at the end of the journey each individual bird goes off in its own direction.

The unity of the "river" - Drops of water merge to form streams and the streams merge to form a river, which itself pours into the sea or into an aquifer. Individual identity is lost in this ingathering. However, the salmon returns to the precise stream where the egg it had emerged from was laid. That is to say: each stream bears its own peculiar character.

Pot - The unity which transforms the various parts into a single dish, while each and every part taken out of the pot has influenced the other parts and was influenced, in turn, by them as well.

The "pot lacking meat" - perhaps this refers to a situation where no one is willing to pay for unity with his own blood.

 

Love truth and peace

Does each and every individual who preserves his own identity in our state and society join together with others like the "bird" - only in order to gain personal benefit? Or do they, God forbid, lose their identities like the "river" while individual memory contains only a point of origin to remind each one of where he came from? It appears that the people achieves its greatest strength with the "peace of the pot," in which each individual imagines what another member of the nation would do, in which there are restrained reciprocal influences of each member of the nation upon his fellow. Not a homogeneous leadership, but rather recognition of the fact that individuals who make up the people are characterized by a variety of leaderships and acceptance of the other.

Such a peace has the power to "propose peace" and overcome the internal and external hurban - until peace arrives...

Shlomo Fuchs teaches in the Hebrew Union College, in Beit Shemuel, and in Kolot. He is the educational director of the IDF project in Beit Morasha.

 

 

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 (Lamentations 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 and 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)

 

Torah and Redemption are Conditional upon Justice

These are the laws (Shemot 21:1), as it is written mighty King Who loves justice (Psalms 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)

 

for you do not judge for man The meaning is: Do not think in your heart: What difference does it make if we pervert the law to declare our friends innocent and pervert the rights of the poor and favor the rich? Is it not so that the judgment is not for the Lord? Therefore, it says, for the Lord. It is for Him. If you convict the innocent, it is as though you take from your Creator's property and pervert the law of Heaven, by bestowing a distorted verdict. Therefore, "see what you are doing," and may your heart be in every judgment, as if the Holy One, blessed be He, is standing before you in judgment, and this is the meaning of: "and [He] is with you in the matter of the judgment." In Sanhedrin (6b) it is stated "What are you doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord." This is explained [as follows]: Perhaps the judge will say, "How does this problem concern me?" Therefore, Scripture states: "and it is with you concerning the matter of the judgment," i.e., it is incumbent upon you to rule justly. And the judge must deal only with that which he sees with his own eyes.

(Rashi on IIChronicles 19:6, Judaica Press translation)

 

And you shall judge justly between a man and his brother and his stranger [convert]

There is no difference whether the judgment is made between two Israelites from birth or between an Israelite from birth and a convert. As soon as he joins the Israelite community, the stranger becomes his stranger, and his status becomes equal to that of any Israelite from birth.

(Rabbi S.R. Hirsch Devarim 1:16)

 

 

 

 

 

If you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider contributing towards its publication and distribution.

• Hebrew edition distributed in Israel $700
• English edition distributed via email $ 100

Issues may be dedicated in honor of an event, person, simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English email.

In Israel, checks made out to Oz VeShalom may be sent to Oz VeShalom-P.O.B. 4433, Jerusalem 91043. Unfortunately there is no Israeli tax-exemption for local donations.

US and British tax-exempt contributions to Oz VeShalom may be made through:

New Israel Fund, POB 91588, Washington, DC 20090-1588, USA

New Israel Fund of Great Britain, 26 Enford Street, London W1H 2DD, Great Britain

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEW ISRAEL FUND IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING DONATIONS UNDER $100.

PEF will also channel donations and provide a tax-exemption. Donations should be sent to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, New York 10017 USA

All contributions should be marked as donor-advised to Oz ve'Shalom, the Shabbat Shalom project.

 

About us

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts that have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

5,000 copies of a 4-page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il.