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July 23, 2004/Av 5 5764, Vol. 56, No. 44
Words of Torah for the generations
Torah study
RABBI ZVI HOLLAND
Devarim/Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
The book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, is known as Mishnah Torah, a review of the Torah. This is puzzling. First, why is there a need to record a review in the Torah? Furthermore, many mitzvot are mentioned for the first time in Devarim. Upon further scrutiny, this book has unique characteristics that set it apart from the other four books of Torah.
The opening lines do not relate that God commands Moses to tell the Jewish people, but rather, "These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan." We find Moses saying: "God spoke to me" rather than the classic "God spoke to Moses saying..." The Torah tells us that Moses spoke "according to everything that God had commanded him."
It would seem that Moses' words are an expression of accumulated prophecies and commandments from God rather than the direct communication from God to the Jewish people that the Torah normally records. What is Moses trying to communicate beyond the specific laws mentioned in this book? Why did God include these final teachings of Moses in the written Torah itself? Could they have not been included in oral law?
The answers lie in another verse: "On the other side of the Jordan, Moses began to explain this Torah saying..." We must wonder at the expression "began to explain." Why "began to" and not "finished"? What is the significance of the other side of the Jordan?
The commentaries explain that herein lies the depth of Devarim. Moses was helping the Jewish people to transition from having a direct link to God through his crystal-clear prophecy and their spiritual existence in the desert, to a self-sufficient life in the land of Israel both spiritually, through their own study of Torah, and practically, facing issues of daily life as Torah Jews.
Devarim is a roadmap for Torah life in the land of Israel and beyond, without the benefit of Moses' leadership and the miracles that made life in the desert possible. In order to live Torah in the world, the Jewish people needed to learn a mindset that allowed themselves express Torah to the world. The responsibility of Jews in each generation, then, is to discover the Torah's depths, apply it to their world and teach it to the next generation.
Moses knew that the Jewish people needed a roadmap for Torah life. He also knew that he could not complete the map. He therefore used words to model the application of Torah in the light of his knowledge and at the same time remained entirely faithful to "everything that God had commanded him." Moses only "began to explain" because finishing his explanation would have defeated the purpose of empowering the Jewish people with the ability to continue the legacy of Torah in his absence.
Moses was leading the Jewish people toward living the Torah under natural circumstances while constantly developing themselves as God's nation through Torah.
Devarim is the guidebook by which we learn to implement the Torah as links in the chain of mesorah, the tradition of Moses the teacher, as those who express Torah words. We can achieve the designation "Torah Jews" only if we internalize Torah like Moses, to the point where our spoken words become divrei Torah, words of Torah.
Rabbi Zvi Holland is the dean of the Phoenix Community Kollel/Aish Hatorah Scottsdale. Contact him at rabbiholland@aztorah.com.
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