Reflections from Rabbi Ellis

This week’s Parsha begins Devarim, the fifth and final book of the Torah. The quality and content of Devarim is wholly different than the rest of the Torah. Whereas the rest of the Torah was written by Moshe as dictation from G!d, in Devarim we hear Moshe’s own prophetic voice. It is a unique perspective that we have had limited access to, until now. Devarim is not a reporting of events as they happen but rather a recap of the last forty years that the nation has spent together in the desert. The order of the text is thematic and not chronological as Moshe is trying to teach us morality and not history. The book of Devarim is the final word of Moshe. It is an eclectic mix of criticism, laws, curses and blessings.

The first three Parshiot of Devarim consist of Moshe’s telling the story of the Children of Israel. His recollections are full of criticism aimed at all of Israel, including himself. He tells the story of Israel not according to chronology but according to relevance, his goal is to create meaning not establish historical record. As such it is understood that whatever he mentions earlier is more important than what he mentions later. Thus, the consensus amongst nearly all our sages is that the most important event in the last forty years, according to Moshe, is the rejection of the land of Israel, by the ten spies and then the whole nation of Israel. It is after all the first thing he speaks about.

I agree that Moshe sees this incident as the most important event in the story of the Children of Israel, perhaps for all of history. Moshe though seems to be telling us more. The tragedy of the Children of Israel rejecting the land of Israel came from a failure of leadership, at least this is what Moshe is trying to tell us. The first thing Moshe details when he starts telling the story of Israel is that when G!d said go and conquer the land of Israel, Moshe’s reply was I can’t do this all on my own. He goes directly to the Children of Israel asking them to appoint their own judges. Moshe was right when he told us that one man alone can’t lead a nation, but he lost control of the process of recruitment, letting the people choose their own leaders.

According to Moshe the judges can judge the Children of Israel and settle disputes between different people, what then is the problem? The judges never do more than judge. Knowing and ruling Halacha is not enough to be a leader of Israel. The people choose their own leaders, as such the elected judges that would not leave the court, thus leaving the people to lead the kind of lives they chose to. Being a Jewish leader means doing things that are unpopular and at times even standing against the desire of the people for the good of the people. In our Parsha when the spies deliver a slanderous report about the land of Israel, not one of the judges stands against them. A leader of Israel needs to cultivate the respect and love of the nation so that when he needs to say no the people will hear him.

This week Moshe starts a long list of criticism of the Children of Israel, and he starts by identifying his own failing. When we have leaders who can admit their own faults, G!d willing, we will have a nation that is willing to listen to them when they point out the mistakes of others.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Yehoshua Ellis