Moses, the Land and Torah Study

Please let me cross (the Jordan). Let me see the good Land across the Jordan, the good mountain and the Lebanon.                   Deuteronomy 3:25

            Netziv quotes our Sages’ homily [Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 5a]that  "Good refers only to Torah, as the verse states: 'For I gave you good teaching; forsake not My instruction (Torah),'” [Proverbs 4:2] and explains that Moses’ request of God was to merit engagement with Torah within the Land of Israel.

            In commenting on the opening verse of the parasha, Netziv explains that the timing of Moses’ request “at that time” [3:23] is connected to his having given the land on the eastern side of the River Jordan to the tribes of Gad and Reuben. In Netziv’s words:   

(Moses) saw the necessity to inculcate within Israel the power of elucidating and engaging in Torah. And Moses our master wanted this to be within the Land of Israel, which is better suited for Torah study than the eastern side of the Jordan, since “there is no Torah comparable to that of the Land of Israel.”  [Breishit Rabba 16:7] And Jerusalem is even better suited than the rest of the Land, for Torah comes forth from her (based on Isaiah 2:3, Micah 4:2), and even more so, the site of the Temple, “the mountain (where) the Lord will be seen” [Genesis 22:14] (the Temple Mount was the seat of the Sanhedrin, the supreme religious court of Israel [Deuteronomy 17:8]). Thus, Moses’ prayer “at that time” was motivated by the advantage of instilling the power of Torah elucidation within the Land.

            Therefore, Moses did not satisfy himself with the request to cross the River Jordan merely to see the Land in general, but specified that he wished to see “the good mountain” – which our Sages taught is Jerusalem [Mechilta d’Rebbi Shimon bar Yoḥai 17:14] – and “the Lebanon” – which refers to the Temple [ibid.].

            Thus, according to Netziv’s elucidation, Moses’ request was graduated, from the Land which is generally suited to Torah study, to Jerusalem, which is “even better suited for Torah,” to the apex, the Temple “which is best suited to reach the truth (of Torah) in ‘the place which God will choose.’” [Deuteronomy 12:5]

            There has been no greater Torah scholar than Moses, who was taught Torah by God Himself, and yet he yearned to enter the Land in order to advance himself in Torah study, as Netziv comments on next week’s parasha: “Certainly spiritual vitality cannot be completely achieved until reaching the Land of Israel.” If this is so with the cedars, what shall the hyssop of the wall do? [Babylonian Talmud, Moed Katan 25b]

Forty Years' Preparation for Exile

            Netziv [Deuteronomy 8:2] suggests that the purpose of Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness was not only punishment for the generation which despised the Land, but  preparation for the nation’s exile from its Land, “by getting the nation used to wandering from place to place, as they did in the wilderness.”

            We may note two points concerning Israel’s journeys in the wilderness, which must influence the nation’s diaspora experience:

1) The destination of Israel’s forty-year trek was the Holy Land;

2) Throughout the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel journeyed with the Tabernacle at its center, symbolizing the fact that the heart of the national experience and reality is Israel’s connection to God and His Torah.

The Goodness of the Land, Jerusalem and the Temple

And you will eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good Land He has given you.                                            Deuteronomy 8:10

Our Rabbis taught: “Where is reciting grace after meals intimated in the Torah? In the verse, ‘And thou will eat and be satisfied you shall bless’ - this signifies the blessing of “Who feeds;”  ‘The Lord your God’ - this signifies the benediction of zimmun (invitation to reciting the grace);  ‘For the Land’ -this signifies the blessing for the Land; ‘The good’ - this signifies “Who builds Jerusalem”; and similarly it says ‘This good mountain and Lebanon’ [Deuteronomy 3:25]  ‘He has given you’ - this signifies the blessing of “Who is good and bestows good”.”  Babylonian Talmud, Brachot 48b

            According to our Sages, the “goodness of the Land” refers to the Holy City. Similarly, the Sages elucidated Moses’ prayer to be allowed to cross the River Jordan and see “this good mountain and the Lebanon:” [Deuteronomy 3:25] “’This good mountain’ – this is Jerusalem; ‘And the Lebanon’ – this is the Temple.” [Lekaḥ Tov, Deuteronomy 6a]

            Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch comments that the “goodness of the Land” incorporates the concept of the Promised Land being “in accordance with the intended intellectual spiritual and moral development of the nation;” [Commentary on Exodus 3:8] and that the Land “corresponds to the great destiny” of the nation chosen to dwell within her. [Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:25]

            The two definitions of the “goodness of the Land,” Jerusalem and the Temple on one hand, and realizing Israel’s national destiny, on the other, are inherently intertwined.

            Israel’s national destiny is to fulfill God’s wishes within His Land, the place best suited for fulfilling His mitzvot, and within the Holy Land, the epitome of closeness to God is the Temple. In Rabbi Hirsch’s words:

Zion and Jerusalem emboss on the whole Land of Israel the stamp of the nation’s spiritual calling, which is concentrated in Mount Zion, and expressed by “The good Land.” [Commentary on our verse]

            We may add to Rabbi Hirsch’s enlightening comment the approach on Maharal of Prague, that the sanctity of the Land of Israel derives from the fact of the Holy City and the site of the Holy of Holies being located within her. [Gur Aryeh, Genesis 32:1; see also the enlightening comments in Rabbi Yehoshua David Hartman’s edition of Netzaḥ Yisrael, chapter 5, note 57.]

Pharaoh's Chariots and Judah Maccabee

Do not be afraid of them. You must remember (zachor tizcor) what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all the rest of Egypt.                                                                    Deuteronomy 7:18

            Ba’al haTurim notes that each of the words “zachor tizcor” is spelled incomplete, without the letter “vav,” and explains that since the numerical equivalent of “vav” is six, their absence represents the six hundred chariots of Pharaoh which were cast into the Red Sea. [Exodus 15:4] Thus, the verse enjoins Israel that when faced with danger from an enemy, it is to remember God’s salvation of His chosen nation at the Red Sea and anticipate salvation from the current crisis.

            Indeed, one of the greatest Jewish military leaders applied our verse in practice.

            The apocryphal book, First Maccabees describes Judah’s situation as his three thousand inadequately armed men faced a Greek force of 40,000 infantry soldiers and 7,000 cavalry. [4:5] Naturally, Judah’s fighters feared the vastly superior enemy force. Yet Judah rallied his men with the following words:

Judah said to his men, “Do not be afraid of their numbers, and do not flinch at their strength. Remember how God delivered our ancestors at the Red Sea when Pharaoh attacked them with his chariots and horsemen. Now let us implore the Lord our God to grace us with mercy and remember His covenant with our ancestors and destroy this host before our eyes. In order that all nations will know that there is One Who saves Israel from all its enemies.” [4:5-7]

            Clearly, Judah understood that God’s salvation of the Israelites from the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh was not a one-time event, but constitutes a precedent. Alshikh comments on our verse that, lest one think the Divine salvation at the Red Sea was merely for the sake of God’s honor, which had been defiled by Pharaoh, who had said “I do not recognize God,” [Exodus 5:2] the verse stresses “your God,” indicating that God acted (at the Red Sea) on behalf of His people, not for the honor of His name. Therefore, in future crises as well, God will act not only on His own behalf, but for the sake of His nation Israel.

            In truth, saving the Chosen People is preserving God’s honor, a point which Judah Maccabee understood.

Baseless Hatred and the Three Cardinal Sins

Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because of three (evil) things that were prevalent there: idolatry, illicit sexual relations and bloodshed. However, the Second Temple, when people were engaged in Torah, mitzvot and acts of kindness, why was it destroyed? This is due to the fact that during that period there was baseless hatred. This teaches you that baseless hatred is the equivalent to the three (severe) sins: idolatry, illicit sexual relations and bloodshed.

                                    Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 9b

            The Talmudic comment raises a number of questions, among which we shall deal with two:

1] What is the definition of “baseless hatred?” Apparently, there is no hatred which is totally without a reason (whether or not that reason has real validity).

2] Is baseless hatred truly of equal gravity to the three cardinal sins, for which a Jew is expected to forfeit his life?

            Pitron Torah (a compilation of Midrashic material from the Gaonic period [7^th – 11^th centuries]) refers to the “baseless hatred” of Joseph’s  brothers. [Parashat Tzav, p.24] At first glance, this is a perplexing comment, given that the Torah provides us with the reasons Joseph’s brothers hated him:

When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.                                                                 Genesis  37:4;

“Are you really going to reign over us,” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he said.                                                         Ibid. 8

Thus, the verses present three reasons for the brothers’ hatred of Joseph: 1] their father’s blatant preferential treatment of Joseph over them; 2] Joseph’s dream; 3] Joseph’s words to them. How then, can this hatred be called “baseless?” The Midrash teaches that any hatred among Jews is by definition, “baseless.” We must understand that that which unites us as the Children of Israel is vastly more important than the minor things which separate us from each other.        

            Rabbi Ovadya Yosef writes:

It was because of the sin of baseless hatred that the Second Temple was destroyed, and any form of hatred is deemed baseless hatred, for any rationale for hatred is empty an illusion. Yalkut Yosef, Laws of the Priestly Blessing, 128, note 2

            Olelot Ephraim (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, author of Kli Yakar, [1540 – 1619]) phrases our second question thus:

Any intelligent person must pay attention to this statement, which is difficult to comprehend: that the absence of peace (i.e., baseless hatred) is as grave as idol worship.

Did our Sages truly intend that baseless hatred is as severe as a person putting his hands around the neck of another and choking him to death? Is it indeed as grave as illicit sexual relations or one who worships idols?

            Tractate Derech Eretz (dated to the Talmudic period, edited in the Gaonic period) teaches:

The Sages said: “When there is discord in a city, there is bloodshed … when there is dissension in a home, there is lechery. [7:34]

            That is, baseless hatred has the potential to lead to bloodshed and to illicit sexual relations.

            Concerning the third of the cardinal sins, idolatry, our Sages [Midrash vaYikra Rabba 9:9] note that “shalom” (peace) is one of God’s names; thus, baseless hatred, which is antithetical to peace, drives out God’s name from within Israel, and as such, it is equivalent to idolatry.

            Based upon the above, we can understand that our Sages’ equation of baseless hatred and the three cardinal sins is intended to warn that baseless hatred has the potential to lead to violations of the gravest three sins.

            We may note that our Sages comment is a major understatement. The first destruction, brought about by violations of the three cardinal sins lasted only seventy years. (Seventy years after the destruction of the First Temple, the Second Temple was dedicated.) However, the second destruction, caused by baseless hatred has continued and continues for one-thousand, nine hundred and seventy-eight years. Indeed, we have a Midrashic source which states that: “baseless hatred is graver than idolatry.” [Tractate Kallah Rabbati (from the Gaonic period) 5:1]

            The 14^th century Torah giant, Rabbi Nissim of Gerona, comments that the severity of baseless hatred lies in the fact that, by definition it cannot provide any benefit whatsoever.

            If a person murders another, there is a reason (excepting a true sociopath), albeit not a valid one. Similarly, if one chooses to worship idols, it is for some perceived gain. Certainly, illicit sexual relations are motivated by utilitarian reasons. Not so one who hates baselessly. Thus, we can understand the severity of baseless hatred as being grounded in the likelihood that it will lead to violating the three cardinal sins while providing no benefit for the sinner.

            In closing, we may note that the reason the second destruction has continued is the simple fact that our generation has not rectified the sin of baseless hatred, and our Sages taught:

Every generation in which the Temple is not rebuilt is considered as having destroyed the Temple, and what is the reason? Since they have not repented. Midrash Tehillim 137:10

Since our generation has not repented the sin of baseless hatred, we must see ourselves as the generation which destroyed the Temple. 

            We have the power to rectify the sin which caused the Temple’s destruction, and thereby usher in the Third Temple.

Intent in Living in the Land

          

And you shall take possession of the Land and live in it, since it is to you that I have given the Land to possess it.                                         Numbers 33:53

            This verse is the source for Naḥmanides’ determination that there is an active mitzva to settle the Land of Israel. [Criticism of Maimonides’ Sefer haMitzvot, positive commandments, number 4]

            Sefer Ḥaredim (Rabbi Elazar Azikri, 1533 – 1600) quotes Naḥmanides’ opinion and adds:

Every moment that one is in the Land of Israel he fulfills this positive mitzva, and it is well-known that the essential reward for performing a mitzva is when one fulfills it joyously. Therefore, one who dwells in Israel must be perpetually joyful with this perpetual mitzva.

            We may add the comment of Mishna Berura [60:1] that, ab initio, the act of performing a mitzva is insufficient, it is necessary as well to intend to fulfill the mitzva. Based upon this approach, we who live in Israel are obligated to be aware of the fact that our dwelling in the Land is a mitzva.

            In his book Naḥalat haShem, Rabbi Binyamin Leon writes:

Ab initio, fulfilling mitzvot requires intent, therefore, initially; one who dwells in the Land must have the intent of being in the Land in fulfillment of the mitzva. However, if one is aware, on any level, that he is in Israel specifically because it is the Holy Land, he thereby fulfills this mitzva. On the other hand, one who dwells in Israel with no thought whatsoever of the mitzva … apparently has lost the mitzva. Nonetheless, one who lives in the Land, even without fulfilling the mitzva has achieved a lofty level.

            Therefore, I have decided, bli neder, and with God’s help, to recite the following on a daily basis, until one hundred and twenty years:

May it be Your will, our God and the God of our fathers, that You help me to honor Your holy name and cherish the Land of Israel with all my heart, at all times, at every hour and every moment, to fulfill the mitzva of dwelling in the Land of Israel, as the verse states: “and settle in it” [Numbers 33:53]. May I be perpetually joyful in dwelling within the Land, with great longing for her, as one longs for his mother. [Prayer for Those Who Dwell in Israel, Shela (Rabbi Yeshaya haLevi Horowitz 1558 – 1630)]

May my dwelling in the Holy Land be for the sake of loving and yearning for the Holy Land which God chose … with my thoughts centered on the elevated traits of the Land, and not for any tangible benefit. [Or haḤayyim, commentary on Leviticus 19:23]

I express my appreciation that I have been able to enter the place which Moses and Aaron could not enter. [Based on Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 112a]

Help me to avoid defiling Your palace with my actions. [Sefer Ḥaredim: Those who come to the Land of Israel and do not pay attention to the fact that they are in the palace of the King, and sin there, of them the verse says “You have defiled My Land and made My inheritance detestable.” (Jeremiah 2:7)]

As You have given me the privilege of dwelling in the Land of the Living [Isaiah 53:8, et al.; translated by Yonatan ben Uziel as the Land of Israel] so too grant me the privilege of inheriting the World to Come. [Based on Babylonian Talmud, Pesaḥim 113a]

The Exact Blessing

God spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: Thus (koh) shall you bless the Children of Israel, saying to them…”             Numbers 6:22-23

            Verse 23 is the source for the positive mitzva requiring ”Kohanim to bless Israel daily.” [Maimonides, Book of Mitzvot, positive mitzva 26] Naḥmanides notes that this mitzva applies for all generations, and with the use of the word “koh” God Himself dictated to the sons of Aaron the exact words of the blessing they are to convey to His nation throughout the generations. Beyond introducing the formulation of the blessing, the word “koh” teaches a series of practical halachot regarding the Priestly Blessing: the Kohanim must be standing while they invoke the blessing; the blessing must be recited in the Holy Tongue; the Kohanim must raise their hands while blessing Israel; they must face the congregation; the blessing must be recited in a loud voice and with the explicit name of God (when invoked within the Temple). [Maimonides, Laws of Prayer and The Priestly Blessing 14:11, based upon the Babylonian Talmud, Sota 38a]

            Homiletically, Ḥassidic Master Rabbi Yisrael of Modzitz applied the word “koh” to refer to the Children of Israel as well, writing that the Torah commanded the sons of Aaron to bless the nation of Israel as it is, without distinguishing between the great ones and lesser ones, or between the righteous and less righteous, “for the Torah’s intent is that the Kohanim bless equally all Jews who stand before them, and thereby the mitzva conveys the great value of the unity of Israel.”

            We can add two comments which support the Master’s homily:

            🔼 The Lord phrased the Priestly Blessing in the singular “May God bless you (singular), etc.,” an expression of the value of each Jew as an individual.

           🔼 Our Sages taught that there is a connection between “Thus (koh) shall you bless the Children of Israel” and “That is (koh) how numerous your descendants will be,” [Genesis 15:5] as we read in Midrash Breishit Rabba: [43:8]

Why did Israel merit the Priestly Blessing? Rabbi Yehuda says: in the merit of Abraham, to whom it was said “That is (koh) how numerous your descendants will be,” therefore God said “Thus (koh) shall you bless the Children of Israel.”

            In God’s statement to Abraham “That is (koh) how numerous your descendants will be” He compared Abraham’s descendants to the stars of the heavens. Our Forefathers received two blessings concerning their offspring: that they shall be as the sand of the sea shore and as the stars of the heavens. Malbim, in his commentary on Genesis [22:17], explains that the blessing as the sand of the sea shore is one of quantity, while that of the stars of the heavens includes f both quantity and quality. The blessing as the stars of the heavens adds the dimension of greatness to the aspect of quantity, namely, “that the Forefathers’ descendants be righteous and each be an entire world unto itself, as each individual star is an entire world.”  Beyond this, if a single star is missing, the cosmos is incomplete.

            Indeed, this is the connection between the two verses’ use of the word “koh,” an expression of the pre-eminent value of the unity of Israel and the supreme worth of every Jew as a member of the nation.