Parashat Va'et-Chanan, "Moses, Tisha B'Av and the Shabbats of Consolation," Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11, Haftarah Isaiah 40:1-26.

In a Midrash (Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael 20:15:1) commenting on the events at Mt Sinai R’Yishmael teaches that those who were present that day “saw what was visible and heard what was audible [whereas] R. Akiva says: They saw (what was audible) and heard what was visible.” How can that be, they “saw” what was “audible” and “heard” what was “visible?”  Here in this parasha, Va’et’chanan, we read the words of our central prayer, the Shema, that says, שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖יוֹםּ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֶחָד, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone,” but we must always remember, hearing is just as much about seeing.  Therefore, on Tisha B’Av we not only recall the ill effects of words heard, but we see their outcomes.

On this day of Tisha B’Av we remember what is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, a day that laments the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. Yet the day itself become associated with the remembrance of other major calamities that have befallen the Jewish people such as the spies who rejected God's land, the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans, expulsions, massacres during the Crusades, and of course the Holocaust; a tragedy that has its own day given the degree of loss and evil on a different level. But the sadness of Tisha B’Av is mainly a collective memory, something that we read about in books as most have not encountered such pain, yet this day still has a direct impact in the lives of Jews and on the Jewish community in general. But what does Tisha B'Av have to do with words, or davarim, seen or heard? 
 
Regarding words last week we were reminded by the Sages in Pirkei Avot to “be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile" (Avot 1:11).  Of the tragedy of both Temples in Jerusalem being destroyed, while the first was said to be destroyed because of idolatry, the second was destroyed because of negative words, or lashon hara that resulted in exile.  We read in the Talmud (Yoma 9b) that the reason why the Second Temple was destroyed was because of sinat chinam, gratuitous hatred, between one Jew and another.  Yet the Chafetz Chaim teaches that the real cause was not just sinat chinam but lashon hara, malicious slander and gossip, which came from their baseless hatred. A well-known teaching that also comes from Talmud (Arachin 15b) says:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21)." Actually, a person's tongue is more powerful than his sword. A sword can kill somebody who is nearby; a tongue can cause the death of someone who is faraway...

We learn that in the same way one hears what they see and sees what is audible (ala R’Akiva above), lashon hara can kill even the one who is faraway and never heard the words spoken elsewhere, thus this Talmud continues;

“Lashon hara kills three people: the speaker, the listener, and the subject... Regarding one who speaks lashon hara, God says, "I cannot dwell with him," as it says (Psalms 101:60). One who slanders his neighbor... him I cannot tolerate.”

Parashat Va’et’chanan also speaks about the power of words and their ill effects.  Last week it was about the tragedy of the spies and this week it is about a negative embrace of nature that can lure people away form the morality of the creator (Deut. 4:15ff). Nature is audible, it has words although they cannot be heard, the Psalmist writes, "the heavens declare the glory of God, the sky proclaims God's handiwork. Day to day makes utterance, night to night speaks out " (Psalm 19:2-3). Since lashon hara can cause harm whether seen or heard, so we should reflect on the fact that words can rob us of the hope we deserve. This is why our Rabbis chose this verse from the Prophet Isaiah on this Shabbat that says, “Comfort, comfort My people . . . Announce to Jerusalem that her period of exile has been fulfilled and that her sins have been forgiven.”

Tisha B’Av is a day of grief that is followed by the seven Shabbats of Consolation to help prepare us for the sweetness of Rosh Hashanah, a new year meant to rekindle the flames of our hope and renew our dreams, reminding us of the possibilities of what can be.  Conversely, exile is a loss of hope, but it’s just not from a physical place. In this case the negative results from hurtful words, based on the rhetoric of sinat chinam and lashon hara, have the ability to send both self and others into exile whereas words of renewal and acceptance will create hope and newness.

Tisha B’Av reminds us that we must always be rebuilding or fixing what has been broken by human hands, albeit as an individual or a nation; the Prophet Isaiah reminds us that we do not have to be in exile to words that hurt and divide; and the Shabbats of Consolation remind us that despite what we can not control we can look forward to the sweetness of a new year that has the ability to restore and renew our tomorrows. That time begins today.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam   
 

Parasha Devarim, "Then there are the Results" Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22, Haftarah, Isaiah 1:1-27

This week we begin a new book of Torah, and its first parasha shares the same name Devarim, a Hebrew word that means “words,” although it can also mean “things.”   Most everyone in the English-speaking world refers to Devarim as Deuteronomy, a word that comes from the Greek word deutero (hence Deuteronomy), which means “second” to support the tradition that in this book Moses gives us a “second” rendering of the Ten Words, or commandments.  So, while Devarim is a better name for the book because it's about Moses’ words, I am also going to refer to it as Deuteronomy because it is more recognizable.

This book, again made up of Moses’ own words, makes Deuteronomy about one man’s testimony, sharing his thoughts and teachings to Israel over several days as they are encamped east of the Jordan prior to entering the land.  But these inner thoughts and teachings really stem from the view of Torah that Moses is B’tzelem Elohim, or fashioned in the image of God, making his spoken words an outward reflection of an inner intent that was based on his personal connection to the Divine, not only in this parasha, but throughout the entire book.

As such Deuteronomy begins with a prologue, that actually goes from 1:1-4:42, although parasha Devarim is only 1:1-3:22.  Devarim is a historical summation that is in two parts; the first being post Mt. Sinai (1:6-45) and the second being pre-Canaan (1:46-3:22). Next week in Va’et'chanan - from Deuteronomy 4:1-42 - the Law is also taught as part of Israel’s history, which is why history and Law are combined in the Haftarah reading of Isaiah, allowing Moses to conclude his opening remarks by saying in 4:43, “This (zot) is the Teaching that Moses set before the Israelite's.”  But we must understand that “this” presumes everything that went before it, just not the Law of 4:1-42, but all the way back to 1:1, making Israel's assorted history just as much a part of “Torah” that the new generation would possess as they entered this new land after their wanderings. Important, you bet!  For Moses Israel’s history had everything to do with its future and wanted to remind them of that by saying, “Listen Israel, you are about to enter the land, a land that your fathers and mothers are not going to enter, and I want to tell you why!”

When Moses recounts Israel’s history after leaving Egypt, he reminds them of his efforts to lead the community in a fair and partial way. In so doing he felt that he needed leaders beyond himself (1:9-13), a reference that goes back to when they were still camped at Mt. Sinai (cf. Ex, 18:25), with Rashi teaching that the people “at once decided the matter (or said yes for their own) benefit.”  Moses also reminds them that their parents responded by saying “What you say is good” (1:14). Yet Moses further reminds these Chalutzim, or the "pioneers" that are about to enter the land, that their fathers and mothers additionally said, “it is out of hatred for us that the Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to wipe us out” (1:27), a reference going back to the story of the spies and the new land before them. Moses picked this one event for a simple reason; the result of discontent and lack of faith produced unfortunate spoken words that caused an additional 38 years of wondering, with all but two of those people being excluded from entering the land, a source of personal pain for Moses.

Regarding the story of the spies at the very beginning it says, “Shalach L’cha,’ or “send for yourself,” from Numbers 31:2.  Turning to Rashi once again, the great medieval Rabbi, he also interprets that to mean that the spies were sent out according to Moses' own human judgement, with God responding, “I do not command you, but if you wish to do so send them.” The Sforno takes it one step further and teaches that “God was cautioning Moses that by allowing the people to select the spies themselves, that if they chose unsuitable candidates and they came back with a faulty report, the people would blame God for what was wrong with the country instead of the inadequate ability of the spies to correctly evaluate what they had seen,” which is why Moses said “it is out of hatred for us that the Lord …”  All to say, do not blame God for our own words that create our own messes.

Numbers ended with the importance of vows and oaths and Deuteronomy begins with the nature of words. What do we know about the nature of words? Well, words hold significant meaning because they are the primary medium of human communication that express thoughts and emotions, convey information, and establish connections with others. Words have the power to inspire and create, mend and heal, comfort and motivate, educate, and even change the course of history, whether spoken or written, words have the ability to resonate deeply within us and leave lasting impacts. But a bad word is just as powerful, thus we read in Pirkei Avot, "[The] Sages [taught] be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile" (Avot 1:11). In the case of the spies this is exactly what happened and it altered the history of an entire nation, which was Moses' point: you will suffer the same fate as your ancestors in the land by speaking words that divide and conquer. Yes, not only are our words our bond, but we must also remember that the results of those words is another matter.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam