Words From Rabbi White

There are several important lessons that we might learn in the first chapter of Devarim. The first thing we notice is the introduction: "These are the words that Moshe spoke..."  As I have mentioned many times in the past, this man Moshe, the man who had claimed, 40 years prior, at age 80, that he was not a speaker, that he was "hard of mouth and hard of tongue, [According to Rabbenu Hananel, as quoted by Rabbenu Bahya, this means the he had trouble pronouncing sibilants and dentals: such as the sounds s,z,d, t, etc] this man Moshe was able to deliver this powerful oration after many years. Through his diligence and trust in HaShem, he made himself into a powerful speaker. There must be a lesson here for all of us, young and old.

In his speech, Moshe reminds the people that, unlike all of them, he won't be allowed to enter the promised land. Why not? The Torah, in Sefer BaMidbar, said it was because he hit the rock, instead of just speaking to it, as he had been told to do 40 years prior in a similar case, as brought down in Sefer Shemot.  Was that such a grievous sin? Many answers have been suggested by rabbis over the years. I would like to suggest the following: what was acceptable 40 years ago was not acceptable now. I myself, having been in the fields of education and rabbanus for many years, can attest that methods and approaches can change, indeed, must change. So, Moshe was punished for not having followed directions, the directions which have changed after 40 years.  Perhaps, again, there is a lesson here for us.

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My intelligence sources tell me that a young man, Ilan Gabriel Korb, did a wonderful job a couple of weeks ago reading the Torah for us. Kol HaKavod. Ilan is the grandson of Raya Sukonic, and the son of my former student Maya.  His birthday is next week, 7 Av. May his family continue to have much nachas from him!

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This week's haftarah, from Isaiah, is one of most powerful passages concerning social justice.  The prophet castigates the people for not living up to the ideal and says that Zion can be redeemed only through justice. Ashkenaz minhag is to read most of the haftarah in the tune of Eichah, thus setting the tone for Tisha Be'av.

Remember: the coming week is the week of Tisha be:av: except for this shabbat, no meat or wine.

Let's hear only good news.  Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Menahem White