Forethoughts And AfterThoughts Archives
- Devarim

The Nine Days, 5767

Reverse Mourning

We are currently within a three-week mourning period for the destruction of the temples and the many other tragedies of Jewish history.

The laws of personal mourning for the loss of a close relative are in reverse order of the laws of national mourning.

Personal mourning practices are applied in decreasing levels of intensity whereas those of the three weeks increase as we approach the Ninth of Av.

I assume that this is because of the process to re-build awareness, which takes time.

From Rabbi Shimshon Pinkus of blessed memory I note that our focus is not on possessions or real-estate that we no longer have. Rather, it is on loss of ability to easily connect with what we are.

We are G-D's children.

It would seem that celebration would be a better vehicle for restoration but in fact it is the reverse. He notes that is not always easy to identify the central figures in a wedding dance because everybody gets involved with happiness. However, in a funeral it is clear who is most affected by personal loss.

The temples were vehicles that enabled us to connect with G-D. The more we demonstrate that their loss is meaningful by recognizing and observing these laws, the more we are able to get in touch with building our relationship with Him.

This is how he understands the teaching that the Moshiach (Messiah) was born during the noon of the Ninth of Av, when these laws reach their climax.

The more this becomes real to us, the more it becomes personal, the closer we come to restoration, both personal and national.

With this we can appreciate how the three week period is a preparation for the month of Elul and the High Holidays that follow, which conclude with the Festival of Succos, a climax of celebration.

May we together all experience much success.

Tisha B'Av 5763

While observed as a day of mourning for the loss of the Temple, other national treasures, and our status, Tisha B'Av is also termed a Jewish holiday (Eicha / Lamentations 1:15). How is this understood?

Also, this day is arguably the most stressful period on the entire Jewish calendar. How can 'us ordinary people' observe it in a positive manner so it doesn't become just a day to get over with?

The following came to mind.

The commemoration of a loss has little relevance to a person unless that person either experienced the loss himself or the person can do something to restore it.

The Temple was destroyed over nineteen-hundred year ago and we are very far removed from that trauma. So, it is difficult for us to feel the relevance in Tisha B'Av from our experiencing the actual loss.

Since the destruction, we have adjusted to our losses through the passage of time and through experiencing many events in our painful history.

Experiencing discomfort through our period of mourning can and must be used to relate ourselves to our ability to restore that which we lost. And we can (and will) achieve restoration when we correct that which caused the loss in the first place, which was petty and baseless hatred of our fellow.

Experiencing discomfort through our period of mourning relates us with the restoration of greatness that a we will achieve when each and every one of us takes the Torah to heart and applies it to action in the manner that G-D intended. It give us hope that we are still growing and that we will someday achieve this goal because G-D promised us and our ancestors that He will help us make this happen.

Experiencing discomfort through our period of mourning relates us with the restoration of a greatness that was promised to our great ancestors, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

Thus our mourning of Tisha B'Av has great relevance and power because it brings home the fact that we can make the restoration happen. (Let's all push a little harder, folks).

The explorer of a murky and unknown cave brings many tools and lines for exploration and survival. The most important line is a string that he attaches to the walls so that he will know how to get back to civilization. It is his lifeline.

Of all the days on our calendar, Tisha B'Av serves as our lifeline to get us back. It is also our insurance that we don't become over-adjusted to our losses.

Thus, Tisha B'Av contains great strength and opportunity. One can't afford to let it become just a day to get over with.

It's now no wonder that our Torah suggests that it is a holiday.

Rosh Hashana 5767

The Talmud (Yoma 56a) cites several levels of transgression in successive degrees of seriousness and lists the requirements for achieving full atonement for them. The least serious is overlooking a commandment to do something. Atonement is achieved by doing repentance. The next level is transgressing a negative commandment. It needs both repentance and Yom Kippur. Atonement for the most serious category is not achieved until the person passes away.

Thus repentance, itself a positive commandment, can be fulfilled without the person having achieved full atonement.

Repentance consists of having deep regret, resolving to change behavior, and confessing.

The Minchas Chinuch (commandment 364) states that confession is a separate commandment. That is, one can do repentance and achieve some atonement without confessing. He then cites the Rambam (Teshuva 1:1) who states that those who bring sacrifices or who receive corporal punishment for their misbehavior do not achieve atonement without also doing confession. He treats this as a contrasting opinion.

It is recorded that Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky SHLITA (Derech Sicha 615) stated that the lack of confession does not hold up atonement.

The Talmud (Kedushin 49b) considers the case of a completely wicked person who married a woman on condition that he was a Tzadik, a righteous person. Now even if this person had just robbed a bank and shot someone to death in cold blood, the Talmud states that we must treat this as a valid marriage because he may have had thoughts of repentance. Therefore, the woman must obtain a divorce from him if she wants to afterwards marry another person.

The Rambam himself cites this case and ruling (Ishus 8:4). This appears to be a contradiction to what he wrote in Teshuva 1:1, that confession is required in order to achieve atonement.

I don't yet understand why the Minchas Chinuch treats the Rambam as a contrasting opinion to his, which is that confession is not required to achieve some atonement. The Rambam in Teshuva 1:1 states that one must confess his sins, which everybody agrees is a commandment. His statement that one does not receive atonement for performing sacrifices or receiving corporal punishment without confessing may mean that the person does not receive a complete atonement without also confessing. Bringing sacrifices and receiving corporal punishment are corrective acts that are done in public. Perhaps a corrective act that is done in private would also achieve full atonement without confession. Perhaps this is why the gangster's thoughts of repentance help. He just has a separate commandment to confess his sins and this can be performed later.

Alternately, perhaps the Rambam would rule that the thug has not achieved atonement, as the Minchas Chinuch appears to view his position. This is still not a contraction to the ruling, that the condition upon which the marriage was based was fulfilled and that he was righteous.

The Talmud states the ruling that one may not read anything during Shabbos (the Sabbath) by the light of an oil lamp because he may adjust it without thinking, which is a transgression. It then cites the story of Rabbi Yishmael son of Elisha who felt that he could trust himself and not accidentally adjust the lamp. Truth be told, he read something during Shabbos by the light of an oil lamp and caught himself too late, after he had already adjusted the lamp. Rabbi Nosson states that Rabbi Yishmael made the following record in his notebook: "I, Yishmael son of Elisha, read something and adjusted a lamp during Shabbos. When the temple is rebuilt I will bring a choice sin offering."

Now, Rabbi Yishmael was a saintly and righteous person. He repented the best way he could and certainly achieved a very significant degree of atonement. Had Rabbi Yishmael married a woman on the condition that he was a righteous then I am certain that no one would question the validity of the marriage, despite the fact that the temple was not rebuilt during his lifetime and he never brought the required sacrifice.

Actually, the term 'Tzadik' has a wide application.

The Tanya states that in the truest meaning of the word, a Tzadik is some who is so great that it is unthinkable of him doing a sin. He also states that the term is used to refer to someone who has more merits than demerits (Chapter 1).

Perhaps then, the Rambam would understand the marriage to be valid enough to require a divorce because the gangster did not specify which meaning of the word Tzadik he intended to apply.

This is how the Rambam defines repentance in 2:1: The sinner abandons his sin, removes it from his heart, and resolves to never repeat it. He also regrets having done it to the degree that the One who knows that which is hidden can testify that he will not do it again. And he must confess and say that which was in his heart.

As stated earlier, we can view the confession as a separate requirement.

Thus, smoking gun and all, we have no evidence that the lowly thug remained a thug throughout the transaction of the marriage and this is why the woman needs a divorce if she wants out. Perhaps he was indeed a Tzadik at that moment, even if he afterwards shot someone else, for at that moment he could have fully resolved to mend his ways to the degree that G-D would have testified on his behalf.

Repentance, atonement, and being classified a Tzadik are three different things. May we achieve them all during the special Ten Days of Repentance, which begin on Rosh Hashana and end on Yom Kippur. May we all be considered righteous throughout our lives.

Rosh Hashana 5768

We are taught that the high holidays are known as days of awe because in part they are a time when heavenly decisions and judgments that affect our future are made.

The Vilna Goan notes that the personal prayers of the high holidays hardly reflect this. Rather, we pray for the visibility of G-D's kingdom on this earth, an era foretold by our prophets when all of mankind recognize G-D and respect His will.

I understand his explanation in the following manner.

For this discussion I pose that heavenly judgment of Rosh Hashana takes the following three aspects into account.

One is the unique mission that G-D assigned every person from birth. Prayer can not undo our mission, neither can it have any affect. So, for example, if a person's mission is to endure the tests of wealth or of poverty then the decisions made on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur will tend to support it.

The second is spiritual opportunity. G-D may want something to occur that will cause a person to grow to a higher level or achieve great reward as a result of it. Prayer on Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur is typically of no avail for this either. Prayer to alter the circumstances that create the opportunity is based on incomplete information, as we are rarely in position to appreciate the benefit. Also, we are not privileged to know the complex and interrelated set of circumstances that are needed to create the opportunity. The circumstances may cause temporal stress and discomfort. However, the benefits are eternal. We were put on this earth to accomplish and the time will come when we will no longer have this opportunity.

The third aspect deals with wrong choices that we made and that require correction. If we don't take sufficient self-corrective action on our own then G-D may decree correction in this world so that we don't have to deal with it in the next, where it is much more painful. Here is where prayer can help for it can focus on the root cause for the need for correction.

Here's what I mean.

The heart problem with a bad choice is that it demonstrates that what we want is more important to us than what G-D wants. It's an old agenda that Mankind needs to deal with. G-D asked Adam to not eat from a tree and ate from it anyway. Each year we get a bit closer to perfection but most of us are not there yet. The problem may show because we did something we weren't supposed to or we didn't do something that was expected.

In this light, having or not having something is not a direct cause of a particular distress for which we want to pray. Rather it is a symptom.

During the awesome high holidays our great sages focused our personal prayers on the root cause, a lack of our recognition of the supremacy of G-D and His will.

The more intensely we mean it when we say "Our Father our King ..." the closer we are towards perfection and the less we are of need for correction.

Days of Awe

The time period from prior to Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur are called Days of Awe.

We are taught that on Rosh Hashana G-D reviews the affairs of mankind. Depending on how we fare, G-D allocates resources and decides the fate of us all, both on an individual basis and on a collective basis.

The period prior to Rosh Hashana should therefore be used for repentance to better our position when these significant decisions are made. The period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur should also be used for repentance, for G-D's decisions are not sealed until Yom Kippur, thereby providing us with an opportunity to improve the outcome.

It is during these days that we remind ourselves where the control of our destiny lies. They also put us back into touch with G-D's great power and mercy.

The reference system within which we are all judged is the Torah, which provides us with instructions for living.

This framework is such that a commandment can apply to everyone but in certain instances, it would only be applied to people who are advanced in piety.

For example, we are charged to always pay our workers, and do so on time. This is an explicit commandment. However, if a worker is careless and causes his employer damage, then one would expect a judgment to be rendered against the worker and if the damage equals or exceeds his salary then the employer should not be obligated to provide compensation for labor and services.

The following excerpt from the Talmud shows that this is not always the case.

Rabba Son of Chanan hired people to move his barrel of wine and they broke it during the move. He demanded compensation and (apparently needed to) take their garment to insure that he would be paid. They took the dispute to court. Rav, who presided instructed Rabba to return their garment. Rabba questioned the decision because it did was not consistent with the letter of the law. Rav responded with a verse in the Torah, "So that you should go in the way of the good (people) (Proverbs 2)." So he gave them back their garments. Thereupon, the workers pleaded before the court that they should receive their salary, for they were hungry and penniless. Rav then instructed Rabba to pay them. Again Rabba questioned the decision because it was not consistent with the letter of the law. Rav responded with another verse, "... and guard the ways of the righteous" (Proverbs 2)". (Bava Metzia 83b).

Several things need to be mentioned before continuing. First is that either Rabba himself was himself impoverished or the workers were excessively obnoxious in their behavior to Rabba prior the court appearance. Second, is that a court is charged to separate law from charity. So, while Rabba may have been a very compassionate person, he was entitled to a legal decision that was consistent with the letter of the law. Perhaps he would have paid them afterwards, but he was the one who should have made that decision to be charitable, not the presiding judge.

I was taught that Rav's decision indicates that circumstances can make a legal decision apply to only certain types of people. Since Rabba was of an exceptional high caliber of morality and charity, Rav ruled that the letter of the law applied to him in a way that is different than to other people.

Thus, the Torah provides us with both a framework for how we are to behave right now and with expectations as we advance upwards. This provides us with both guidelines and direction.

The following provides additional direction.

The Torah provides a person with a right to buy back a home that he sold if the home is located within a qualifying walled city. The right has a time limit of one year.

Now, the Torah forbids one from lending money with interest. The lender may not receive any type of gain. For example, if a borrower gives his home as collateral to guarantee the loan and if the lender is allowed to live in the home then he must pay full rent to the borrower.

In the case of the sale of a home in a walled city, when the seller buys back the home for the purchase price, if the purchaser does not compensate the seller for the period that he lived in the house then this is a potential problem of deriving gain from his money being in the temporary possession of another person. This may very well be prohibited under the laws of interest.

However, the sale and redemption of a home that is within a walled city appears to be a special case and an exception to these rules.

The Talmud (Arachin 31a) deals with this issue.

The Mishna says that it is "interest but it is not interest." A Tannaic Beraisa says that this is "actual interest but the Torah permits it."

The Talmud seeks to determine whether the difference in wording reflects a difference in Torah law.

One of the proposals in the Talmud is that there is indeed a difference and it revolves around a concept that it describes as "single-case" interest. That is, when the transaction was made, it was not known whether the seller would ever repurchase the home. We view this as two cases. Case one is that the seller repurchases the home and case two is that the seller does not repurchase the home. In the case that the seller repurchases the home within the prescribed time limit then he would indeed have been holding onto the purchaser's money for a limited period of time and the purchaser would have deriving gain from this, which is interest. However, in the case that the seller does not repurchase the home, then the transaction was a sale and had absolutely nothing to do with a loan. The purchaser's usage of the home was out of his full ownership, not a benefit that was gained by a temporary transfer of money to another person.

Another proposal is that "single-case" interest is indeed forbidden. Rather, there is a difference on whether it is permitted to derive gain from a loan if the lender has intentions of paying for this gain.

Tosfos (Arachin 31b) gives several explanations on how the Talmud uses this principle to determine whether the Mishna and Beraisa have opposing views. In one approach, Tosfos proposes that there is no conflict. Rather, the Mishna is speaking about a person who pays the rent and the Beraisa is speaking about a person who does not pay rent.

In this approach, the compensation of rent is apparently not mandatory but is done at the discretion of the purchaser.

Therefore, the Mishna is speaking about a person who purchases a home in a walled city, lives in the home for an extended time period, is asked sell it back, and who elects to pay rent for his temporary usage of the home. This transaction is described by the Mishna as being "interest but it is not interest."

However, the Beraisa is speaking about a person who purchases a home in a walled city, lives in the home for an extended time period, is asked to sell it back, and who elects to not pay rent. This transaction is described by the Beraisa is being "actual interest but the Torah permits it."

Typically, rental costs take a significant portion of a person's annual income and the average person would not normally elect to pay rent if he/she could get out of doing so. In the above case, the difference between a person electing to pay rent or not paying rent only affect whether he/she was engaged in a transaction that was "interest but not interest" or whether the person was engaged in a transaction that was "interest but the Torah permitted it."

We see from the Mishna that there are people who will elect to pay a huge sum of money to merely avoid using a loophole that permits taking interest.

This reflects a person who has a significant degree of respect towards the Torah. It reflects his/her awareness of realities that the average person has not yet been able to either perceive or deal with.

This awesome demonstration of a very high level of "fear of heaven" is fitting for us to reflect upon during the coming "Days of Awe."

Day of Judgment; Day of Atonement

Why?

You can't have judgment if there are no laws, or if you can change law to match your behavior, or if there is no judge in the first place.

Forgiveness has little if any relevance if you didn't offend anybody, or if the offended party is not and will never be aware of the offense, or if the offense does not bother them, or if they have no feelings in the first place.

So, going to synagogue and celebrating Rosh Hashana, the Day of Judgment is of great significance. The same can be said for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

If nothing else, a person who respects these great days demonstrates that there are laws, they are absolute, and there is a Judge that is aware of behavior. It demonstrates that there is Something great out there (actually right over here) who cares and who we can offend, despite the gap between our greatness and the greatness of that Being.

So, a little thing as going to Synagogue three times a year is not such a little thing.

Enjoy this taste of greatness. Come back for more.

Don't be satisfied. You can't afford it. We can't afford it.

May you and yours be inscribed and sealed for good life and for peace.

Yom Kippur

The commandment of the day is to repent, to make spiritual restoration.

This year, rather than discuss the 'why' or 'how', we will provide a list for some of the 'whats'.

Sanhedrin Mishna 10:1 begins by stating that all of Israel has a share in the next world. It then lists some types of misconduct that can cause one to lose his share if he does not repent.

• One who asserts that the Torah provides no basis for the belief that dead will come back to life.
• One who asserts that the Torah, in its entirety or any part of it, came not from G-D but from some other source, such as from Moshe's imagination.
• One who vilifies the Torah or those who study it.

Rabbi Akiva adds those who read books of apostasy or who chant a verse over a wound.

Aba Shaul adds those who manipulate nature for personal pleasure or gain by using the Name of G-D.

The Tiferes Yisroel's commentary adds the following from sources in the Talmud.

• One who denies or distorts the existence of G-D. Included are those who deify nature, who assert that G-D is a plurality, or those who claim that G-D is a physical being.
• One who continually and publicly disregards a single commandment.
• One who causes the public to sin.
• One who dissociates himself from the community and does not feel their joy or loss.
• One who denounces a fellow Jew to cause him to suffer pain or financial loss.
• An influential communal benefactor who imposes fear on the community for no other reason than personal gratification.
• One who causes people to lose their lives.
• One who habitually slanderers other people.
• A male who changes his body to look like he is uncircumcised.
• One who denies in the coming of the Moshiach (Messiah), son of David.
• One who calls his fellow by a nick-name in order to denigrate him.
• One who shames another in public.
• One who does not afford the proper respect to intermediate holiday periods, which are the days between the first and last day of Passover and Succos. Instead, the person dresses and eats in a week-day manner and does forbidden work.
• Finally, one who causes a certain type of defilement to sacrificial animals.

May we all have a very meaningful Yom Kippur.

Our literature ascribes sanctity to the succa and views the experience as a personal and private min-encounter with G-D.

Many ascribe meanings to the fact that the holiday immediately follows Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

It came to mind that for some of the things for which we need atonement, the root-cause is spiritual immaturity.

A person's awareness that G-D exists and that He controls the affairs of Mankind is not obvious without observation and study. Even as one comes to acknowledge this, the degree of awareness grows over time, as well and the degree that this is actualized as a reality to the person.

Thus, despite a person's decisions and beliefs, it is common for one to act as if G-D's existence is peripheral and incidental to the reality that he lives in. Our goal is to merge our operative reality with the acknowledged reality.

Perhaps this is another message of the succa, a temporary and peripheral residence.

The forty days leading to the climax of Yom Kipper serve to bring the sincere person to a new level of actualization. The joy of conquering yet another peripheral level becomes a personal celebration together with G-D, who the person is more deeply aware of.

On Succos we hold four species together and recite a blessing over them. They are the Esrog (citron), Lulav (palm leaf), three Hadassim (myrtle branches), and four Aravos (willow-like twig).

Of the many meanings and messages in the literature, the differing characteristics of these four species represent four types of people.

The Esrog has both taste and fragrance. The fruit of the palm tree has taste but no fragrance. The myrtle has fragrance but no taste. The Arava is a simple weed and has neither.

These characteristics represent four types of people. Some have book knowledge and put their knowledge into practice, such as those who have studied the Torah and put what they have studied into practice. Some have only book knowledge but are non-observant. The omission may be with commandments that deal with how one relates with G-D, it may be with commandments that deal with how one relates to other people, or both. Others practice what they believe to be proper Torah behavior but are ignorant and base their behavior on personal feelings. Others are ignorant and non-observant.

We bring together all four species to signify the importance of bringing together all four types of Jews.

It is noteworthy that the Lulav, Hadassim, and Aravos are tied together. The Esrog is isolated and brought together with the other three for the blessing and to fulfill the commandment.

We note that the Lulav, Hadassim, and Aravos symbolize the imperfect practitioner. This brings to mind the vilification that we sometimes find in the press of those who seem to represent the isolated Esrog, making the greatness of Torah observance more out of reach for those who need it.

The analogy for the Lulav needs clarification, for it is the date that has taste, not palm branch. Why do we take the branch and not the fruit? Perhaps the disconnection is itself a message, for people tend to view the inconsistent scholar as a representative of his studies, when in fact he is not.

It is also noteworthy that the blessing mentions only the Lulav and this dominance is of interest. Perhaps the Lulav holds the key to long-sought unity for it is closest to the other groups, who respect knowledge. Also, it is the closest to perfection, for at least it knows what needs to be done. The noble but ignorant Hadassim bring to mind the adage: "If you don't know where you are going then you will never get there."

Three holiday sacrifices are offered by every adult male: An olah for his presentation before G-D in the temple, a holiday shelamim, and an offering for joy (simcha). The olah's meat was completely consumed on the altar. The shelamim's meat was apportioned between the altar, the priest, and the owner.

The Oral Torah derives from the scriptures that the simcha offering is also a shelamim. Deuteronomy 12 discusses the prohibition of making an offering outside of the temple area. Verse seven states, "And you shall eat there (in the temple area) before Hashem your G-D and you shall be happy with all that you do, you and your household, that which Hashem your G-D blessed you." The Oral Torah takes it that this is describing a holiday's simcha offering. This verse is phrased similarly to Deuteronomy 27:7 which states, "And you shall slaughter shelamim sacrifices and eat there. And you shall be happy before Hashem your G-D." The Oral Torah uses the similarity to derive the law that the simcha offering is a shelamim.

It is curious that the holiday's simcha offering is discussed by the verses that prohibit external sacrifice.

The connection to 27:7 is even more curious, as its context is about the solemn covenant that the Jewish people made shortly upon their entry to the Promised Land.

These scriptures describe how the Jewish are to divide themselves into two groups, one ascending the lush and fertile Mt. Grizim and the other ascending the barren and desolate Mt. Eval.

The Levites stood at the foot of these mountains and pronounced blessings and curses. Their blessings were for those who will uphold the Torah and the curses were for those who will not. They faced Mt. Grizim for the blessings and Mt. Eval for the curses.

The event of 27:7, that we shall "be happy before Hashem" occurred by the mountain of the curses. What is about this mountain that evokes happiness? It is further puzzling that this verse contains a teaching for the simcha sacrifices of the three pilgrimage holidays.

The following came to mind.

I suggest three reasons for our being joyous during the holidays, although I'm sure that there are more.

Our special relationship with G-D. 2. What we have. 3. What we are.

I suggest a correlation between the three holiday sacrifices and these three reasons.

As stated above, the presentation sacrifice was an olah and was completely consumed by the altar. This corresponds to our relationship of devotion to G-D, which is nothing less than total.

I suggest assigning a theme of abundance and blessings with the holiday shelamim and a focus of our role and identity with the simcha sacrifice.

Some people shirk responsibilities. Most people come to realize that responsibility is a great source of satisfaction, inner peace, and happiness. Typically, those who come home to dinner after a day of hard and honest work enjoy their meal and family time much more than a person who comes home from gambling at the race track.

As solemn was our experience at the foot of Mt. Eval was, it served as the basis for the awesome roles and responsibilities that we accepted upon ourselves, thereby becoming a basis of the great happiness that we experience from the achievements that followed.

In this light we can better understand the happiness at Mt. Eval and the connection to the holiday's simcha sacrifices.

We can then better understand the reference to the simcha sacrifices in the section that deals with external sacrifices, for our role and identity is not dependent upon geographic boundaries.

A Mishneh in Succa (51a) states the following: "One who never saw the celebration of the Joy of (Water) Drawing has never seen a celebration in his lifetime. On the night after the first holiday they descended (the steps) into the women's section (of the Temple) and made a great adjustment …"

The Talmud (Succa 51b) describes the "great adjustment" as the installation of a balcony from which the women can stand and view the celebration.

The Talmud then cites a teaching that women initially stood in their section and the men stood elsewhere in the Temple. Despite the separation, they came to socialize in a manner led to frivolity. Thereupon, the men and women were asked to switch places but they still came to frivolity. This was resolved by having everybody in one place and providing the women with a balcony.

The Talmud questions the justification for this renovation, as it was not called for in the Temple's architectural plans, which dated back to the time of King David.

The Talmud answers that they based the decision to add the balcony on verses from Zecharia (Zachariah) 12:12-14.

This prophecy is about a eulogy that will occur in the Messianic era. It emphasizes several times that the men and women were sitting separately during the funeral.

Noting that the evil inclination will lose its power in the Messianic era, the Talmud says that if people will need to be separated to maintain decorum during a funeral and in a time when there will be no stimulation, how much more is a separation needed during a celebration and in the Pre-Messianic era.

Now, the Torah charges us to stand in awe while we are in the Temple area (Leviticus 19:30 and 26:2). It is for this reason that only the sages were permitted to participate in the Joy of Drawing and everyone else was there as observers and to become inspired.

The verse in Zechariah is dated to the period of the Second Temple. This means that there was no women's balcony throughout the entire four-hundred-ten year period of the First Temple.

As stated above, the Talmud questioned the justification for modifying the Temple and answers that they found a verse upon which to base it. Rashi provides the following commentary: "They found a verse" that it is required to provide a separation between the men and women (in the Temple) thereby making a safeguard so that they will not fail.

It appears from Rashi's words that this requirement dates back to the beginning of the Second Temple.

From the context it appears that the need for a physical separation did not exist throughout the first thousand years of Jewish history.

In Jewish law, synagogues are treated as a "Temple in miniature" (Yechezkel 11:16). In part, this is why you will see a women's section in compliant synagogues.

One can only wonder which generation came into the prophet's view. It had to be either our generation or one in the future.

Given today's culture of permissiveness and the frequent suggestions of promiscuity through media and fashion, especially in a society that has traded standards for freedom, the need to institutionalize structure within religious congregations is greater than ever.

We note that the sages of the Second Temple erected the separation prior to the holiday celebration. They didn't provide opportunity for the people to first have a 'good time.'

Meaningful structure and restriction brings to 'good times' in the highest sense.

We get a laugh out of seeing an ape that wears pants. However, we only feel complete when we wear them ourselves, despite the restrictions that they impose.

This provides one of the many reasons for celebration during the holiday of Simchas Torah, for we celebrate the structure that the Torah provides and the resulting greatness that we experience by complying with it.

HR

The Days of Awe precede the holiday of Succos.

These days are spiritually intense.

They are days of judgement.

They begin with Rosh Hashana when G-D decrees our fate for the coming year. They climax with Yom Kippur, when this fate is sealed. Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur we are given opportunity to change our fate through prayer, repentance, and charity.

It is noteworthy that the period of judgement extends into the Holiday of Succos. We are taught that G-D does not deliver the decrees to His messengers for execution until the last day of Succos, Hoshana Rabba. Also, the day after Hoshana Rabba is Shemini Atzeres, when we are judged for rain.

Why is the period of judgement extended? What message does it carry?

The following came to mind.

When forces cause a human being to rapidly extends himself towards one extreme, if these forces suddenly disappear then there is a danger that he may swing back to the other extreme to compensate for the imbalance.

So, by stretching ourselves towards spirituality during the Ten Days of Repentance, we are in danger of swinging back to excessive physicality when the pressure is removed, which is right after Yom Kippur.

So, in His kindness, G-D leaves a trace of judgement immediately after Yom Kippur to keep our pendulum from swinging back to far in the opposite direction.

Exodus 24:7 And Moshe (Moses) took the Book of the Covenant and he read it to the people. And they said, "All that G-D said we will do and we will listen (i.e. understand)."

Rabbi Eliezer said, "When the Jewish people pledged first to observe and then to understand, a voice came forth from heaven and said, 'Who revealed to My children a secret that the ministering angels use?'" (Talmud Shabbos 88a).

Rashi provides the following comment on the Talmud: The ministering angels stand ready to execute any order that they receive, regardless of whether they understand it at the time or not. This is contrast to other servants who first analyze the orders they receive from their master to determine whether they are able to carry them out.

In his work entitled Yaaros Devash, Rabbi Yonoson Eibeshutz provides the following explanation. (Yaari Im Divshi volume 1, page 75).

The scholars and philosophers of the ancient world believed that prophecy and other great spiritual achievements could only be obtained through personal seclusion and meditation. According to them, a person who was a social and/or spiritual deviant could achieve spirituality as long as he/she took the proper approach to study.

In contrast, the Torah scholars taught that spiritual achievements were gifts of G-D and they were only bestowed when one behaved in accordance with G-D's will and one performed His commandments with the proper intent. Therefore, for example, a simple person who performs the commandment of Succa in the proper manner and with joy can achieve spiritual insights that are greater than those achieved by Aristotle and all of his philosophers put together.

The Talmud says that one can not say that he has seen a celebration until he has seen the celebration of the drawing place, when they drew water for the libations of the Succos holiday ceremony (Succa 51a).

More than merely drawing water, we are taught that those who danced out of joy for performing the commandments also drew profound spiritual energies, inspirations, and insights.

We can now better appreciate the secret of the ministering angels, themselves beings of a level of a spiritual purity that is beyond the reach of any philosopher, no matter how many lifetimes he/she spends in seclusion and/or meditation.

No matter how great they are, these angels do not receive the Voice of G-D, their source of perfection and great happiness, unless they have previously earned this privilege by performing His charges. This is their secret road to success.

So the secret is out. Let's then get real busy and may we all have a very enjoyable Succos holiday.

Devarim (Deut. 1-3)

1:1 These words that Moshe spoke to all of Israel.. v'di zahav(1:1)

1:3 And it was on the fortieth year Moshe began to explain

1:22 And all of you came near to me and requested that we send men ahead of us so that they can spy out the land

1:26 And you refused to go up (and enter the Land of Israel)

1:27 And you complained in your tents and you said, 'It is because G-d hates us that He took us out of Egypt..'

The Sifrei provides many insights into these verses.

Moshe was admonishing the Jewish people during his final days of life, at the conclusion of their fortieth year in the desert.

The Sifrei cites reasons for deferring admonition to the final moments. First, this insures that the rebuke will not be repeated. Second, the one being admonished will soon no longer see this person, preventing shame which may result from a subsequent encounter. Third, the admonition will not be a cause for resentment. Finally, the one who is being corrected will be less likely to walk out in protest.

Not everyone can stand up to rebuke. Yet these verses were said to all of the Jewish people, a praise for them that they were all able to accept the constructive criticism.

Some of the admonition is recorded by reference. For example, 'di zahav' (1,1) refers to the Sin of the Golden Calf. 'Die' is Hebrew for enough and 'Zahav' is means gold. Moshe implied that their inability to deal with excessive wealth brought them to this sin.

In analyzing the Sin of the Spies, Moshe points out that the Jewish people were projecting their own lack of love towards G-d by saying that G-d did not love them.

We need to understand the Sifrei's advice about admonition and how it is to be applied.

First, Moshe rebuked the Jewish people many years ago, when they committed these sins in the first place. By rebuking both then and now, Moshe's behavior is a counter-example to the Sifrei's advice.

Second, the Torah (Lev. 19:17) commands us to correct our fellow man. Halacha does not relegate this commandment to a person's final moments on earth.

The following came to mind.

The underlying reasons for sin may not be obvious to the sinner. The deeper levels are sometimes painful for the sinner to face and deal with.

During his lifetime, it was most advisable for Moshe to deal with the shortcomings of the Jewish people on the superficial level. Thus, he was able to clearly tell the Jewish people that they were wrong when they sined with the Golden Calf and the spies. It was only now, near the end of his life, that he was able to help them face the underlying causes of these errors, to provide them with a better focus for self-improvement.

Thus, the Sifrei wisely advises us to apply discression when dealing with the more sensitive levels of rebuke.

1:2 Eleven days (of travel is the distance) from Chorev (where the Jewish people received the Torah) to Kadesh Barnea (where the spies were sent from), by way of Mount Seir.

2:1 And we turned away and traveled towards the wilderness by way of the Sea of Suf, just as G-D spoke to me, and we encircled Mount Seir for many days.

2:2 And G-D spoke to me saying.

2:3 "You have encircled this mountain enough. Turn for yourselves northward."

2:5 …"for I have given Aisav (Esau) the mountain of Seir for an inheritance.

There are many references to Mount Seir in this Torah reading. This reading always occurs during the annual period of mourning and introspection, when we focus on the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people so that we can re-focus to take corrective action.

Of the four exiles that the Jewish people were destined to experience, the final exile, which is represented by Aisav, is by far the longest and most painful.

The Kli Yakar notes that many scholars read a prophetic vision into verse 2:3. That is, just like Mount Seir became a focus of our wanderings through the desert, so has it been throughout the bulk of Jewish history.

To the degree that we see and feel this association, we can take consolation by noting the limit in 2:3 that G-D proclaimed to this wandering. Indeed, it is a matter of our faith that this exile will end and this will occur when G-D wills it to happen.

1:3 And it was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year (that) Moshe (Moses) spoke to the Children of Israel that which G-D commanded him (to say) to them.

Moshe's introductory remarks were of rebuke, as explained by the Oral Torah.

The Sifri also teaches that Moshe made a point of not saying words of rebuke until it was near his death, He learned this from Yaakov (Jacob) who did not rebuke his children until right before his death.

The Sifri cites other people who did the same, such as Yehoshua (Joshua) and Shmuel (Samuel).

The Sifri cites four reasons for doing this. One is to insure that there will be no other opportunity to repeat the rebuke. Another reason is to keep the one who is rebuked from being embarrassed in case he/she meets the one who made the rebuke. A third reason is to prevent the possibility of hard feelings. A fourth reason is to prevent the rebuked person from bolting away.

It is somewhat puzzling that the Sifri cites Shmuel whose rebuke of the Jewish people was done a full two years before his passing away. Not all of the Sifri's reasons seem to apply in his case.

The following came to mind.

Perhaps we can derive an insight from a teaching of the Medrash Tanchuma (Metzorah). The Medrash says that slander kills three people: The one who slanders, the one who accepts the slander, and the one who is slandered.

It is not difficult to understand how the Medrash can say that slander kills those who say or accept slander because both acts are transgressions of Torah commandments, which are spiritually destructive. However, given the big difference between a person whose reputation was tarnished and a person who was killed, why does the Medrash view the victim of slander in such an extreme manner?

Perhaps we can say that victim is only considered dead in the eyes of those who accept the slander, for in doing so, the loss the esteem precludes them from deriving full benefit from their relationship with the victim of slander.

For example, consider a person who accepts slander that was said against a brother-in-law. From that point and on, to some degree he no longer has a brother-in-law, for the slander makes him less inclined to assign significance to his brother-in-law's words and acts.

Perhaps, then, in the language of our sages, a loss of opportunity to derive benefit from a relationship of another person is likened to a death.

If this is so, then we can understand why Shmuel's rebuke occurred before his 'death', for it occurred when he transitioned the leadership of the Jewish people from himself to King Shaul (Saul). From that time and on, we no longer enjoyed the benefits of his leadership.

With this approach, it is now easier to see how the Sifri's four reasons apply to Shmuel.

1:5 While (still) on the far side of the Yarden (Jordan) Moshe (Moses) began to explain this Torah, saying.

1:6 Hashem our G-D spoke to us in Chorev (Sinai) saying, "Your stay at this mountain is sufficient."

1:7 Turn and travel for yourselves and come the Emorite mountain and to all of its surroundings, the plain, mountain, valley, the south and the coast. (Come) to the land of the Canaanites and the Levanon, up to the great river, the Europhrates river.

Verse six appears to be an introduction to Moshe's explanation of the Torah. How can one understand this to be an introduction?

The Targum Yonoson Ben Uziel provides the following reading of 1:6 "Hashem our G-D and not myself, spoke to us in Chorev saying, Your stay at this mountain is sufficient."

Moshe seems to be adding a disclaimer. Why is this necessary?

The following came to mind.

In some way, our tenure at Mount Sinai was likened to an academic environment and our departure was likened to a student's entry into the real world, a place of stress and test.

The Otzar Midrashim teaches that "A person should always not bring himself (moral) tests because this was what King David did and he failed."

Besides being responsible for passing our tests of life, I have been taught that a person is expected to reduce the risk of failure by avoiding tests, to the best of his ability.

The Talmud (Bava Basra 57b) therefore considers a person wicked when he chooses to take a morally hazardous route, even though he rises to the occasion and does compromise during the test.

It is perhaps for this reason that Moshe provided this disclaimer. Just as G-D Himself has exclusive authority over our lives, so does He have exclusive authority over selecting our test cases.

In this light, the account of our journey away from Sinai was indeed a fitting introduction to the entire Torah for it serves as a reminder of this basic responsibility.

1:10 Hashem your G-d increased you and today you are as numerous as the stars of the heavens.

This verse compares the Jewish people with that which is in the heavens. The Talmud (Chagiga 12) teaches that the heavens are comprised of seven layers.

With this in mind, we can perhaps find a meaning in the Medrash (Sifrei) that provides the following commentary for this verse:

From here we see that there are seven groups of righteous people in the Garden of Eden, each group higher than the next.

It is written about the first group, "However, the righteous will profess Your Name, the right ones will sit (by) your presence [face] (Psalms 140)."

For the second group, "Fortunate is one who You choose and bring near. He will dwell in your courtyard. (Psalms 65).

For the third, "Fortunate are those who sit in your house." (Psalms 84).

For the fourth, "Who shall occupy your tent?" (Psalms 15).

For the fifth, "Who will dwell on the mountain of your holiness?" (Psalms 15).

For the sixth, "Who shall ascend the mountain of G-d?" (Psalms 24).

For the seventh group, "Who shall stand in the place of His holiness? (Psalms 24).

We are taught that the quality of a person's afterlife will correspond to the way the person lived during this life, a period of test, opportunity, and growth. Each person's test course is can be seen by the way his/her behavior relates to the requirements of Torah observance, given his/her personal context of resources, environment, and circumstances. Besides the degree of quantity and quality of Torah observance, success can be viewed in terms of the extent a person is responsible for his/her level of internalization of an awareness of G-d's existence and His role in the events of a person's life, assuming that this can translate into behavior.

Perhaps we can relate these seven verses with the various levels of achievement.

At the lowest level are people who have succeeded in bringing G-d's existence into their lives to the degree that they professed their faith to others. However, their behavior did not correspond with their faith very well.

The next level is about a courtyard and the one that follows is about a house. They are degrees quality of living space. The behavior of some people indicates that some have succeed in bringing the reality and implications of G-d's existence and role into their figurative courtyard, while others have succeeded further and brought this into their figurative home.

The next level is about a tent, which seems to be a step below that of a home. Perhaps this reflects those who have been able to detach themselves from physicality, reflected by those who leave some of the physical comforts of a home for spiritual opportunity that was only available within the confines of a tent, perhaps referring to the study halls of Torah.

The remaining levels talk to the Mountain of G-d, perhaps a reference to the sanctuary itself. Those on the higher levels have altered their behavior to the degree that have been able to relax much of their natural commitment to physicality. They have reached holiness.

Perhaps those on the fifth level are described as those who dwell at the mountain's lower levels. Those on the sixth level have succeeded to temporarily ascend to higher levels. Those on the seventh level have succeeded in both ascending and in establishing themselves at these higher levels.

1:13 (Moshe [Moses/Moshe] said to the people, ) 'Give (over) for your needs (people who are) men, wise, have understanding, and well known within your tribes and I will appoint them as heads for your (tribes).'

1:15 And I took the heads of your tribes, (people who were) men, wise, and well known ..

Rashi in 1:13 explains some of qualifications for the leaders:

'Men:' .. people who are righteous.

'Wise:' People who are (also) in demand (because of their communication skills.)

'Have understanding:' People who can derive knowledge from previous knowledge.

Moshe listed four qualifications in 1:13. In 1:15, we see that he settled for three.

Rashi provides the following commentary:

'men, wise, and well known:' However, he did not find people with understanding. This quality was one of the seven that were specified by Yisro (Jethro). Moshe could only find people with three of the qualifications.

Yisro initially proposed that Moshe establish a hierarchical network of aids. In Exodus 18:21, he proposed the following qualifications: .. men of power, G-d fearing people, men of truth, people who detest making financial gain..

Moshe lists four qualifications, Yisro lists four, and Rashi here says that there were seven altogether.

The commentaries explain that Moshe's qualification of 'men,' which Rashi explains as meaning righteous people, and Yisro's qualification of 'G-d fearing people' are one and the same.

So, here are the seven qualifications:

1. (Righteous) men [Moshe] / G-d fearing people
2. Wise people
3. Well-known people
4. Men of power
5. People who detest making financial gain.
6. Men of truth
7. People of understanding

We see that Moshe could only find people that had each of the following qualifications:

1. (Righteous) men [Moshe] / G-d fearing people [Yisro]
2. Wise people
3. Well-known people

We see that the people Moshe selected did not have the following qualifications:

1. Men of power
2. People who detest making financial gain.
3. Men of truth
4. People of understanding

How do we understand the lack of these four significant qualifications? Could it be that Moshe appointed people with significant and serious deficiencies?

The following came to mind.

There is nothing wrong with a person who lacks physical power. That's how G-d made him. The only time it's a problem is when the person is appointed to a position that requires power. Apparently, the positions did not require a person to have physical strength. Although having physical strength would have been an asset for these leaders, their wisdom, combined with spiritual and emotional strength sufficed for this great and law-respecting nation.

There is nothing wrong with making a profit, as long as it is done properly and honestly. The people who Moshe appointed were normal and honest. A person who detests making financial gain is a rare individual. The appointees just didn't have this rare and special trait.

It is difficult to say that Moshe was providing a disclaimer by omitting the qualification that the people were men of truth. Most probably, this qualification does not simply mean that leaders must speak and act truthfully. Truth in speech and action is so central a trait for leadership, that if they lacked this vital qualification, they would have never been considered. Rather, this most probably refers to a rare extension to the principle of living truthfully, as described by the Talmud in Makkos 24a.

While Rav Safra was quietly reciting his prayers, he was approached by a businessman who did not know this. The businessman abruptly proposed that Rav Safra sell him some merchandise for a certain amount of money. Rav Safra did not respond. The businessman took the silence to mean that his offer was too low, so he made a better offer. When Rav Safra completed his prayers, he apologized for not responding and he explained the reason. He then agreed to sell the merchandise, but at the lower price. This was because the offer was initially acceptable to him and thought to make the sale crossed his mind, somewhat involuntarily because he was praying. About such a person, the Talmud says that he 'Spoke truth in his heart.' Not only did he speak truthfully and act truthfully, but even his actions and speech were fully consistent with the thoughts in his heart.

As far as not finding people of understanding, one must realize that Moshe is the source of our knowledge of G-d's Torah. G-d expressed His Torah to Moshe and Moshe taught us what he learned and understood. For the past thirty-three centuries, we have been studying Moshe's Torah. We have been deriving that which we have no record of Moshe having said. The principles and laws that we derive must be consistent with that which we know Moshe said or those which were derived by scholars who were in a better position or who were more able to know / derive them. So, throughout Moshe's life, it is therefore quite understandable for our leaders to not have exposed their talents for deriving Torah knowledge, for they had a much better source, Moshe himself.

The people who Moshe finally selected had only three of the seven qualifications. If the above explanations are correct, then these people were highly qualified to be judges and leaders by any standard that has been used by humanity for leadership since then.

1:27 And you complained in your tents and said, "It was out of G-D's hatred of us that He took us out of Egypt to give us over in the hands of the Amorites to destroy us."

Rashi explains that G-D loved the Jewish people but it was they who harbored hatred towards Him. Rashi relates this to a saying that was common in his days: "You feel towards your friend that which your friend feels towards you."

The saying doesn't seem to match what Rashi started out saying, that G-D loved the Jewish people. According to the saying, the Jewish people should have therefore felt love towards G-D because he loved them.

Unless, we say that the people had a basis to feel that G-D indeed hated them. But given all that he did for them, what made them entertain this notion?

The following came to mind.

We frequently fail to realize the impact of the following verse from Yeshiah (Isaiah): "For My thoughts are not (like) yours and My ways are not (like) yours," (so) says G-D (55:8).

Prior to Moshe's (Moses') emergence in Egypt to redeem them, many Jewish people fell into idol worship.

After the Exodus they were deeply ashamed of their behavior. They repented as best as they could. I recall seeing that many people didn't understand how they could have a full reconciliation with G-D. Those people felt that G-D could only harbor some hatred against them for the defection.

We are taught that this is wrong. While a human may never be able to reconcile with his fellow's disloyalty, G-D's ways and thoughts are different and He can. G-D accepted their repentance and it was to him as though they never defected.

Perhaps a shortcoming in their actualizing this teaching caused some people to think that G-D harbored some hatred against them.

Perhaps we can better understand how the saying applies.

"You feel towards your friend that which your friend feels towards you."

There were indeed people who had hatred towards G-D because they thought that G-D hated them because of a disloyalty that appeared to them to be unforgivable.

2:8 And we crossed over before our brothers, the sons of Eisav (Esau) who live in Seir and we crossed over on the road of the Wilderness of Moav (Moab).

2:9: And G-d said to me (Moshe - Moses), 'Do not assault Moav, neither shall you provoke them into battle, because I will not give you their land for an inheritance, for I gave the territory of Ohr to the Children of Lot for an inheritance.

2-10: The Aimim lived there previously, they were a great, numerous, and tall nation, like giants.

2-11: (Like) Rephaim, they were as giants, and the Moavites called them Aimim.

2-12: And the Chorim lived at one time in Seir, and the Children of Eisav drove them out, destroyed them, and they (Eisav) lived in their place, just like Israel did to the land of its inheritance that G-d gave them.'

Why does the Torah include the background detail of 2:10-11? The encounter with the Nation of Eisav is discussed in 2:4-8. Why does the Torah provide detail on Eisav in 2:12 in its discussion of Moav? What is the significance of mentioning the Rephaim?

2:17: And G-d spoke to me saying:

2-18: Today you a crossing the Moavite border, Ohr.

2-19: You will be near the Amonite border. Do not assault them and do not provoke them, because I will not give you an inheritance from the land of the Children of Amon, because I gave it for an inheritance to the Children of Lot.

2-20: This is also considered the Land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim previously lived there, and the Amonites called them Zamzumim.

2-21 (They were) a great, numerous, and tall nation, like giants, and G-d destroyed them (the Zamzumim) from before them (the Amonites). And they (Amon) drove them out and they lived (there) instead.

2-22: Just like the Children of Eisav did, who live in Seir, that He (G-d) destroyed the Chorites from before them, and they drove them out and they lived (there) instead, up until this day.

Again, why does the Torah include the additional background detail? Why are we mentioning the Rephaim again? Why are we again mentioning Eisav, this time with the Amonites?

Rashi in 2-20 provides detail on the Rephaim.

.. This is not the (Land of the Rephaim) that I gave to Avraham (Abraham)

Genesis 15:19-2, in the verses that deal with the great Covenant Between The Pieces, lists the lands of the ten nations that G-d promised to give Avraham. We find Rephaim in 15:20.

So, in the conquest for the lands that were promised to their ancestors, the Jewish people were anticipating a battle with the Rephaim. The Moavite and Amonite territories were associated in some way with Rephaim and G-d was telling them here that these were not the lands that were promised.

3-1: .. And Og came out against us to do battle in Edrei, he and his entire nation.

3-3: And Hashem our G-d also gave into our hands Og King of Bashan and his entire nation ..

3-11: For only Og King of Bashan remained from the rest of the Rephaim ..

3-13 And the rest of the Gilad, and all of the Bashan (territory), the Kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Ephraim .. this is called the Land of the Raphaim.

So, the Rephaim territory that was promised to Avraham was Og's Kingdom, not the lands of Moav or Amon.

It is almost as though the Jewish people were expecting a battle with Moav and Amon, as their territories could have been understood to be within the Promised Land. The Torah was thus telling them that the Promised Land was not there and it was yet to be conquered.

We still need to understand the multiple references to the Children of Eisav. It would seem that the Torah is trying to tell us something by making the extra associations between Eisav and the nations of Moav and Amon.

The following came to mind.

As Moshe sees the end of his life draw near, he focuses the task of refining the Jewish people by rebuking them.

In the first verses of Deuteronomy, Rashi shows us how Moshe's seemingly innocuous words were in reality words of rebuke.

1-1: These are the words..

Rashi:

(The section begins in this manner) because they are words of rebuke. Moshe enumerated all of the places where the Jewish people caused G-d to become angry. He therefore spoke in a vague manner and merely eluded to them, out of respect for the honor of the Jewish people.

This spurs us to look for hidden rebukes within this section of the Torah.

Again, we have the unexplained associations of Eisav (Edom) with Moav, and Amon.

Let's take a look at some later verses in Deuteronomy, where the cities of refuge are discussed.

19:8 And if Hashem your G-d expands your border, as he promised your ancestors, and He gives you all of the land that He spoke to give your ancestors.

19:9 When you guard all of this commandment to do it, that which I command you today, to love Hashem your G-d and to walk in His ways all of the days, then I will add for you another three cities (of refuge) ..

Rashi for 19-8:

'Expand:' - Just as He swore to give you, the lands of the Kayni, Knizi, and Kadmoni.

Rashi for 19-9:

'I will add for you another three:' - So we will have nine altogether. Three (cities) in the West Bank of the Jordan, three in the East Bank, and three in the future (the Messianic Era).

As of the period of Moshe, the Jewish people had not yet exerted themselves sufficiently to merit the Messianic Era. The Jewish people will someday inherit the lands of the Kayni, Knizi, and Kadmoni, when the world comes to its spiritual completion.

Who are these three nations?

Rashi in Genesis 15-19, in his commentary on the Covenant Between The Pieces provides the answer.

'And the (land) of the Kenizi:' - Ten nations are listed here. He (G-d) only gave them (- the Jewish people, lands of) seven nations. The three (remaining are) EDOM, MOAV, and AMON, who are called here the Kayni, Knizi, and Kadmoni..

Perhaps we now have an answer to our puzzle.

In Deuteronomy, Moshe disassociates Moav and Amon with the land that is being conquered. He also associates Edom with Moav and Amon.

Perhaps this is another hidden rebuke, that the Jewish people did not sufficiently exert themselves when the opportunities presented themselves. Had they done so, then they would have caused the Messianic era to occur at that time and they would have conquered the lands of Edom, Moav, and Ammon.

Va'eschanan (Deut. 3-7)

3:25 Please let me cross over and see the good land that is on the other side of the Yarden (Jordan river), this good mountain and the Levanon (Lebanon).

3:26 And G-D was angry at me for your sake and He didn't listen to me. And G-D said to me, "Do not continue to speak to Me about this matter."

4:40 And you shall guard His statutes and commandments that I charge you today so that it will be good for you and your children after you and so that your days will be long on the land that Hashem your G-D is giving you for all days.

4:41 Moshe then set apart three cities on the far side of the Yarden, to the east (bank).

4:42 So that one who unintentionally murdered his fellow can escape there, who did so without foreknowledge and to whom he bore no hatred from before. And he will escape to one of the cities and live there (until the high priest dies).

4:44 And this is the Torah that Moshe placed before the Children of Israel.

4:45 These are the testimonies, statutes, and laws that Moshe told the Children when they left Egypt.

The Torah interrupts the record of Moshe's final discourses with a mention that he set apart cities of refuge and then it continues on with Moshe's charges and review. What is the significance of making mention of the cities of refuge at this point?

Furthermore, one could read verse 4:44 to suggest that Moshe's establishing cities of refuge represented the Torah that he placed before the Children of Israel.

4:40 says that Moshe hopes that our days on the land will be long and that also states that they will be for all days. If G-D is giving us the land for all days then why does Moshe hope that our days will be long on the land? Is this a contradiction?

Finally, 3:26 states that G-D expressed anger towards Moshe for the sake of the Jewish people. How do we understand this?

The Sefurno provides the following commentary for 3:26:

I (Moshe) desired to cross the Yarden and establish your residence there so that you would never be able to be exiled. However, He had already raised His Hand (in oath) to disperse you among the nations.

From the Sefurno we see that it was revealed to Moshe that G-D's intention was that the residence of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel would to be temporary at that time in their history. This was due to the path of history that G-D let the Jewish people define and chart at that time. It was caused by some bad choices on our part, some referenced openly and others subtly in Moshe's final speeches.

So perhaps Moshe's hope in 4:30 was to extend the time we would be on the land before we were exiled from it. While the land was ours for all days, our permanent residence on the land would not commence from our crossing the Jordan for we were exiled about a thousand years afterwards. The permanent entry and residence would have to wait until another period in our history.

Moshe realized that the Torah he was giving us was one that would enable us to survive Jewish history. Perhaps this was included in his message for verse 4:44.

Perhaps the significance of recording the cities of refuge in this section was that they were also temporary residences for people.

More than an external coincidence, we note that the unintentional murderer had deficient behavior, but had no evil intent.

Together with the constructive criticism that Moshe was providing, perhaps Moshe wanted to also mention and record that while it may not always come out consistently in our actions, he recognizes that our intentions are good.

Our secure and permanent residence will surely be established once we get our act together and match action with our good intent, for deep down we all want to connect with G-D. And we all know that the only way this will happen is when we do it on His terms. If we do it on our terms then we are only repeating the mistakes of disregarding G-D, not recognizing and appreciating our relationship with Him, and not realizing that there is no other way out.

And we are taught that Jewish history as we know it will not drag on forever. Either we exert ourselves a bit more and come to closure on our own or G-D will manage history before time-out by turning up unpleasant pressures to make it happen anyway.

This Torah reading always follows the Ninth of Av, when the Jewish people commemorate the destruction that was sadly revealed to Moshe in verse 3:26. This is a "Shabbos of Consolation." May the Consolation occur speedily and during our lifetimes.

3:23 And I appealed to G-D at that time, saying.

3:24 "G-D (and) Master, You began to show Your servant Your Greatness and Mighty Hand, for what power is there in the heavens and earth that can do acts and supremacies such as Yours.

3:25 Please let me cross over the Yarden (Jordan) River so that I can see the good land, this good mountain and the Lebanon.

The commentaries say that Moshe's hopes were raised and this is why he made the plea at this time.

What caused his optimism?

Rashi says that it came from his successful conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og. It suggested that G-D annulled the vow which prevented Moshe from crossing the Yarden and leading the conquest.

The Baal Haturim offers a different approach.

The preceding verse records the encouragement that Moshe gave the Jewish people for their conquest.

3:22 Do not fear them [i.e. the enemy] for Hashem your G-D will do battle for you.

Moshe reasoned that his encouraging the Jewish people was an adequate basis for G-D to justify a display mercy and annul the vow.

It is noteworthy that the Baal Haturim takes this different approach.

Moshe's success and accomplishments for the Jewish people did not provide him with a sufficient basis to assume that G-D would be able to justify annulling the vow. Rather, it was his giving the Jewish people the encouragement for them to be successful that made the difference.

"Give me a fish and I'll eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I'll eat for a lifetime."

4:1 And now Israel, listen to the statutes and laws that I am teaching you to do. So that you will live and you will come and inherit the land that Hashem the G-D of your ancestors is giving you.

The painful events of the day where we see thousands of families being amputated from their homes brings to mind the above verse which implies to me that it is indeed possible for a person to come to our ancestral land and live there, but yet not be able to inherit it.

Our Torah reading follows a mournful period in our calendar which culminated in the fast of the Ninth of Av.

This day's customary manners of observance and its special prayer service link us to the many national tragedies that we experienced throughout our history.

However, they serve to be more than a commemoration.. Their design suggests that we need to feel a sense of responsibility for them.

This brings to mind that by assigning ourselves with responsibility for the spiritual welfare of the entire Jewish people, each one of us is afforded the opportunity to connect ourselves with their destiny, during which time the history of mankind as we know it will have a glorious end.

It appears that only a privileged few are born with the physical and spiritual resources to make a significant impact on the Jewish people as a whole.

This should not disable us from sensing responsibility. G-D is just. He will compensate us for any inability we may have that keeps us from making a difference to the Jewish people on a national scale.

4:1 And now, Israel, listen to the statutes and laws that I teach you to do. So that you will live and come and inherit the land that Hashem the G-d of your fathers is giving to you.

4:2 Do not add onto the matter that I command you and do not take away from it to guard the commandments of Hashem your G-d, that which I command you.

4:3 Your eyes see that which G-d did to the Baal Peor (idol). For G-d destroyed from your midst every man that went after Baal Peor.

4:4 And you who cling onto Hashem your G-d are all alive today.

The Sefurno provides the following commentary for these verses.

4:1 "And now, Israel:" Now that you see the decree of G-d, that He will put you into exile if you sin, guard yourselves from sinning. And guard His commandments without adding to them or taking anything away. For, even the slightest addition or detraction will bring you to the extreme of ruin.

4:2 "And do not take away from it:" A thinker should not contemplate that when the reason (for a commandment) is no longer relevant that there will be no sin in detracting. (This is what) Shlomo (King Solomon) did (when he took additional wives and increased his stock of horses, saying) "I will increase (my home) and will not be led astray. I will increase (my stock) and will not bring people (back) to Egypt (to purchase them", for) he stumbled (and sinned).

4:3 "Your eyes see:" Behold, what you saw by Baal Peor can testify to this. For, those who sinned by worshiping Baal Peor had initially no intentions of doing so. Rather, their initial intentions were only for lust, as it says, "And the people began to have incest." Still, the Torah forbids this because this brings to idolatry, as it says, "And (the non-Jew's) daughter will go astray (to idolatry) and they will lead your sons astray (to idolatry). (Even though) all of those (who fell into the worship of Baal Peor) believed that they would never become (caught up into idol worship), the reverse happened. For, no one remains from the men that went after Baal Peor to join with its daughters. For, each one used his wisdom to guard from worshiping idols until Hashem your G-d destroyed him.

I see from this Sefurno that a person who tries to use irrelevance as a rationale to negate a commandment, that Heaven can bring this person to transgress that very commandment, making him an object lesson to demonstrate that the commandment is still relevant.

We must apply our G-d given wisdom to uphold the commandments, not to disregard them.

4:1 And now Israel, listen to the statutes and laws that I am teaching you to do. So that you will live and you will come and inherit the land that Hashem the G-D of your ancestors is giving you.

4:2 Do not add upon that which I am commanding you and do not take away from it. To guard the commandments of Hashem your G-D that I am commanding you.

Verse 4:2 commands us not to distort the teachings of Moshe (Moses) and relates this to guarding the commandments.

On a simple level, distortion of the commandments relates to guarding them because commandments that are subject to the personal preferences of those who are commanded are non-commandments.

On another level, the charge to listen to the commandments in verse 4:1 gives us focus to study and come to appreciate their value and meaning. In this light, distortion of the Torah is a loss of its great value and meaning.

4:1 And now Israel, listen to the decrees and laws that I teach you to do. So that you will live, come (to), and inherit the land that Hashem the G-d of your ancestors gives to you.

4:2 Do not add onto the matter that I command you and do not take away from it, to guard the commandments of Hashem your G-d that I command you.

The phrase in 4:1, 'So that you will live' seems to imply an imminent threat. Is this Moshe's (Moses) intent? If yes, why do the people need to be threatened at this time? If not, what is the Torah trying to tell us?

How do the admonitions in 4:2 relate to the commandment in 4:1? Again, what is the Torah trying to tell us?

The following came to mind.

Listening to the commandments of the Torah and observing them are two entirely different matters.

Exodus 24:8 And he (Moshe) took the Book of the Covenant and he read it to the ears of the people and they said, 'All that G-d spoke we will observe and we will listen.'

Merely observing the Torah is noble and vital. However, there are higher levels and goals to achieve.

Listening to the commandments implies their study until their underlying principles are understood and accepted. It is mastery and acceptance of both the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.

A person can observe a commandment on the first level. The additional depth brings with it a quality of life.

So, perhaps Moshe is alluding to this extra quality of life when he urges the people to observe and to listen.

One can understand this phenomenon of adding quality to life in this manner with the following background.

We are taught that G-d used the Torah as His design guide in creating the world and in creating man. Thus, a person's entire being is in some way a reflection of the Torah. Therefore, the more one understands the Torah and the more the person observes it, the more his/her life can come to reflect the inner self, providing a person with consistency, confidence, happiness, and inner peace.

There is one important condition to having this added quality of life. The Torah must be studied and observed in the manner that it was taught by Moshe. If G-d forbid it is distorted in any manner then the new set of behaviors will not be a match.

Now, a person's depth of observance and understanding may very well motivate him/her to enhance his/her observance by taking on extra behaviors. Also, a persons' understanding of the consequences of breaking commandments may very well motivate him/her to take on additional safeguards.

Perhaps 4:2 is telling us that this can only be of benefit if the person views his/her enhancements as layer or a fence around the Torah, not as changes or adjustments to the core of the Torah. The Torah must remain unchanged.

Man and the Torah have and must remain unchanged for posterity.

With this background and with the help of the Oral Torah, we can understand another verse that follows.

4:6 And you shall guard and you shall observe (the Torah), for it is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations, that they will hear all of these decrees and they will say, 'This great nation is only wise and understanding.'

Rashi tells us that the phrase, 'you shall guard' is a reference to Torah study.

Again, the Torah is urging us to both observe and study.

As the Torah is a reflection of a person's inner being, responses from a master of Torah knowledge will reflect the master's enhanced awareness of his inner self. Perhaps it is the mastery of the latter knowledge that the nations of the world will be able to initially relate to and appreciate, as they inquire from us about the Torah that we observe. The greater our understanding of the Torah, the greater will be the quality of our responses.

Note that the Torah mentions this all as a side benefit, not as a direct goal of Torah study.

Optimally, Torah study should be done for the sake of Heaven, not for personal gain.

4:5 See that I taught you statutes and laws just as Hashem my G-D commanded me to do. (They are for you) to do thus in the midst of the land that you are going there to inherit.

4:6 And you shall guard and practice them, for this is your wisdom and insight before the eyes of the nations. That they shall hear these statutes and say, "This great people is a wise and insightful nation."

Rashi explains that "And you shall guard" refers to study.

Why should our study and observance of the Torah provide us with wisdom and insight in the eyes of the other nations?

The verse implies that they will praise our wisdom because they will be impressed with the Torah. But the Torah is not a product of our wisdom. The previous verse openly states that Torah is G-D's product, not ours. Why should they give is this credit?

The following came to mind.

Moshe (Moses) is talking to a nation that is about to enter a land that is riddled with idolatry, paganism, and falsehood.

As we have stated elsewhere the overwhelming majority of religions are mutually exclusive. If they can't all be true then at most one is true and the rest must be falsehoods.

It is by far much easier to create and support a fabricated religion than to accept the imposition of G-D's will.

It is by far much easier to present a distortion of G-D's will than to preserve and support the tradition in a true and faithful manner.

Remaining loyal to the Torah can appear to take a toll in a person's popularity, social acceptance, or career. It takes strength.

Perhaps verse 4:6 is pointing out that this also takes wisdom.

And we can infer that those who plan to distort and cheat the Jewish people from the Torah as it has been taught for 3,300 years are fools, even in the eyes of the Gentiles.

4:5 See (that) I have taught you statutes and laws as Hashem my G-d commanded me to

4:6 You shall be careful and do them because this is your wisdom and insight in the eyes of the (other) nations; For they shall hear (about) all of these statutes and they will say, 'This people is surely wise and insightful, this great nation.'

4:7 For what nation is there which has for itself gods that are close to it, as Hashem our G-d (who is close to us) whenever we call (out) to Him (in prayer).

4:8 And which great nation has for itself (such) upright statutes and laws as this Torah that I place before you today?

Moshe our teacher is motivating us to keep the Torah in verses six and eight. Verse seven talks about Hashem listening to our prayers. How does verse seven fit within the context of the other two verses?

The Targum Yonosan Ben Uziel provides the following commentary for verse 4:7:

The pagan nations carry their gods around on their backs. While their gods appear to be physically close to their worshipers, they are actually very distant because they are unable to hear and respond to prayer. However, Hashem our G-d is sitting on most high, on the Throne of Glory, and He listens to our prayers at all times. He does what we request. Thus, while Hashem our G-d appears to be distant, He is actually very close to us.

Can this commentary help us answer our question?

In general, this parsha has many diverse topics. Is there a common theme?

The following came to mind.

As Moshe nears his final days he strives to encourage us to keep the Torah. He gives many reasons throughout this parsha.

4:23-24 Take care not to forget the Covenant For G-d is a consuming fire, a zealous G-d. [Fear]

4:25-26.. (if) you do that which is evil in the eyes of G-d to make Him angry. you will be destroyed from the land.. [Threat]

4:32-34 Please (go) investigate ancient history .. from the day that G-d created Man, and (look) from one edge of the heaven to the other. Did such a great thing ever happen, or was it even claimed? Did a nation ever hear the voice of G-d speaking from fire as you have heard and (were able to )live (through the experience)? Or, has G-d ever made miracles, coming to take for Himself a nation from another nation .. as Hashem our G-d has done for you in Egypt, (and ) before your eyes? [Pride, Distinction]

4:40 And you shall be careful to keep His statutes and commandments that I command you today so that it will be good for you and your children after you and so that your days will be lengthened on the land that Hashem your G-d gives you (for) all the days. [Happiness, Security, Posterity]

4:41-49 Moshe set aside three cities for refuge on the east bank of the Jordan. Even though they would not be validated until the Jewish people would later set aside three more cities on the west bank, Moshe wanted to contribute to this Mitzva in whatever way possible - Rashi 4:41 [Personal Example]

5:1-3 .. listen, Israel, to the statutes and laws that I speak today in your ears, study them and be careful to do them. Hashem our G-d established a Covenant with us at Chorev (Mt. Sinai). G-d did not establish this Covenant with our ancestors. Rather (He established it) with us, we, these (people), here today, all of us, we (who) are living. [Personal commitment]

5:4-28 Review of the trauma and the dramatic revelation of G-d by Mount Sinai. [Association]

5:29-30 And you shall be careful to do that which Hashem your G-d commanded you, turn not aside to the right or to the left. In the way (of life) that Hashem your G-d commanded shall you walk so that you will live and it will be good for you and (so that ) you will have lengthening of days on the land that you are inheriting. [Happiness, Security, Permanence]

6:1-3 This is the commandment, statutes, and laws which Hashem your G-d commanded to teach you to do in the land that you are crossing over there to inherit. So that you shall fear Hashem your G-d to keep all of his statutes and commandments .. so that your days may be lengthened. And you shall listen, Israel, and be careful to do them so that it will be good for you and you will greatly increase (on a) land flowing with milk and honey, just as Hashem the G-d of your fathers spoke to you. [Happiness, Prosperity]

6:4-9 The Shema. This was said by our forefathers. [Heritage]

6:13-15 Fear Hashem your G-d, serve Him and swear by His name. Do not go after the foreign gods from the nations that surround you. For Hashem your G-d is a zealous G-d within your midst, lest the anger of Hashem your G-d be kindled against you and you will be destroyed from the face of the earth [Threat]

6:17-19 Guard carefully the commandments , testimonies, and statutes of Hashem your G-d as He has commanded you. And you shall do that which is proper and good in the eyes of Hashem your G-d so that it will be good for you and (so that) you will come and inherit the good land which Hashem swore to your ancestors (to give you). To push away all of your enemies from before you, as Hashem has spoken (to do). [Happiness, Success, Security]

6:20-24 And when your child shall ask, 'What are these testimonies, statutes, and laws that Hashem our G-d commanded you?' And you shall say to your child, ' and Hashem commanded us to do all of these statutes to fear Hashem our G-d so that it will be good for us all (for) of the days (and) so that we may be alive today. [Happiness, Survival]

7:3-4 Do not intermarry with them. Give not your daughter to his son and take not their daughter for your son. For he (the Gentile) will take your son away from me and (together) they will worship other gods and Hashem will become angry with you and he will destroy you quickly. [Threat]

7:6-8 For you are a holy nation to Hashem your G-d. From all the nations of the Earth, Hashem your G-d chose you to be His treasured nation. It wasn't that G-d desired you because you were the biggest from all of the nations, for you are the smallest of all of the nations. Rather, it was because Hashem loves you and because of His (commitment to) keep the promise which he made to your ancestors [Pride]

7:9-10 And you shall know that Hashem your G-d is the Authority , the reliable Power, who keeps the Covenant and kindness for those who love Him and for those who guard his commandments, (and He will do this) for a thousand generations. And He will repay those who hate Him [Compensation]

We can now address our question about verse 4:5-8. Go back and read it. You will see that Moshe is giving another reason for us to keep the Torah. He is appealing to our ego by saying (4:6) that we be honored by the other nations if we keep the Torah.

However, there is a flaw and this particular reason can be nullified. It appeals only to those who are motivated by honor. Not only do we have a Torah ethic to shun away from honor, but Moshe himself is distinguished by G-d as being the most 'humble of all people on the face of the Earth.' (Numbers 12:3).

So, a person may be tempted to respond to Moshe and say that he has no interest in getting honor from others by his keeping the Torah.

Perhaps the purpose of verse 4:7 is to supplement Moshe's appeal. Per the Targum, it pokes fun at idol worship.

The Jewish people have already gone on public record as being promoters of Monotheism. Since we openly deride pagan idol worship, the pagans are ready to seize every opportunity to defend their wounded pride by ridiculing us.

We are fortunate to have upright statutes and laws. Even pagans can see this. (4:8) It is therefore absurd for us not to keep them, and if we don't the pagans will mock us.

So, while not everyone may be eager to jump at an opportunity to gain honor from pagans (verse 4:6), no one will want to give them the opportunity to call us fools (verse 4:7).

As a punishment, Moshe was not permitted to cross over the Jordan and enter the promised land. Moshe's misfortune is repeated twice in this portion of the Torah. Why?

Also, this portion has several verses about Moshe setting up the cities of refuge. These verses do not appear to be associated with the flow of the discussion where they are inserted.

4:41-42 Moshe then set apart three cities (of refuge) in East Jordan .. So that an (accidental) murderer can flee to that place ... he will flee to one of these cities and will live.

Why does the Torah seem to digress and insert these verses, again relating to Moshe?

The following came to mind.

The Torah provides us with great incentives to keep its commandments. It also warns of dire consequences to those who choose to abandon them.

The Oral Torah discusses reward and punishment in the next world.

Curiously, the written record (the Written Torah) focuses exclusively on reward and punishment in this world.

By not deferring behavioral consequence to an unseen and future world, the Torah (actually G-d) thus reflects confidence in its truth and reality for all future generations.

With this, the student of ancient pagan religions can thus better understand why those faiths place great emphasis on reward and punishment in the next world, alone.

We are taught the following in the Oral Torah (Avos 4:22):

(Rabbi Yaakov said ... the pleasure which one experiences during) one moment in the World To Come is finer than the pleasures of this world (that were experienced by everyone from the time of creation and on.)

Elsewhere in the Oral Torah:

The suffering that is required in the next world to purge out even the slightest transgression is more intense than Iyov (Job) endured in this world.

We see that the current configuration of this world is not capable of providing the true reward for fulfilling the Torah's commandments. Neither can the full consequences of sin be withstood by the average person in this life. Reward and punishment in the next world are on a scale that is different from that which is used in this world.

However, this does not preclude us from receiving some benefit in this world for compliance with the Torah, that which G-d gave as our instructions for living in this world. Neither does this mean that a person can not suffer in this world for a lack of compliance.

Now, this portion of the Torah contains a proportionately high number of statements about the physical benefits that a person can experience by upholding the commandments of the Torah. Conversely, this portion contains many statements about physical misfortune when one does not keep the Torah.

Again, we view them as being side benefits and consequences. The main place of reward and punishment is in the next world, as explicitly stated in the Oral Torah.

Now, Moshe received punishment in this world for his transgression.

Perhaps the Written Torah makes reference to them several times in this portion as an object lesson for us. Using Moshe as an example, the Torah helps us to associate compliance to the Torah with the types of incentives that the Written Torah focuses on, those that occur in this world.

Here are the verses in this portion that deal with benefits and consequences in this world, Moshe's and our own.

3:26 And Hashem became angry with me (Moshe - Moses) .. (and I was not able to enter the Promised Land.

4:1 And now, Israel, listen to the laws and judgements that I teach you today so that you will live, enter, and inherit the land.

4:3 Your eyes have seen ... Hashem your G-d destroyed from within you every man that went after the (worship of) Baal Peor.

4:4 And (you who remained) attached [loyal] to (the service of) G-d are all alive today.

4:6 And you shall guard and do (the commandments) because it (provides) your (reputation for) wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the (other) nations, when they hear all of these laws they will proclaim, 'This great people can only be a wise and understanding nation.'

4:21 And Hashem became angry with me because of your words and He swore not to let me cross over the Jordan and not to let me come to the good land that Hashem your G-d is giving you for an inheritance.

4:22 For I (Moshe) will die in this land, I will not cross the Jordan.

4:26 (If you go after idolatry then) I make the Heaven and Earth testify before you that you will be quickly and thoroughly destroyed from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to inherit there, you will not have prolonged days on it, for you will be entirely destroyed.

4:27 And G-d will scatter you among the nations

4:37 And because He loved your ancestors (who were loyal to Him) ... [G-d chose their descendants, took you out from Egypt with His great strength, let you drive out powerful nations, and is bringing you to the Promised Land]

4:40 And you shall guard His laws and commandments, that which I command you today, so that it will be good for you and for your children that survive you, and so that your days will be lengthened on the land that Hashem your G-d is giving you for all of the days.

5:9 Do not bow down before them and do not worship them, becaue I, Hashem your G-d am a zealous G-d, who visits the transgressions of parents on their children (who continue to live in a corrupted manner) ...

5:10 (I shall also) do kindness to those who love Me and who preserve my commandments, to thousands of (their) generations.

5:16 .. so that it will be good for you on the land that Hashem your G-d is giving to you.

5:26 .. to respect me and to preserve my commandments all of the days, so that it will be good for them and their children forever.

5:29-30 Take care to do that which Hashem your G-d commanded you .. so that you will live, it will be good for you, and your days will be lengthened in the land that you are inheriting.

6:1-2 And this is the commandment, the laws and judgments that Hashem your G-d commanded to teach you .. so that your days will be lengthened.

6:3 You must listen Israel, take care to fulfill (the commandments) so that it will be good for you and so that you will tremendously increase, just as Hashem the G-d of your ancestors told you, (in) a land flowing with milk and honey.

6:14-15 Do not go after the other Gods ... for Hashem your G-d is zealous within your midst, lest the anger of Hashem your G-d be directed against you, destroying you from the face of the land.

6:18-19 And you shall do that which is proper and good in the eyes of Hashem, so that it will be good for you, and you will (be able to come) and inherit the good land about which Hashem swore to your ancestors. To push away all of your enemies from before you, just as G-d spoke.

6:24 And Hashem commanded us to do all of these laws .. to have it good for ourselves all of the days, to keep us alive as we are this day.

7:3-4 Don't intermarry with them ... the anger of Hashem will become directed against you and you will be quickly destroyed.

7:9 And you must know that Hashem your G-d is G-d, the Power who is trustworthy, who preserves to the thousandth generation the Covenant and kindness of those who love Him and who are the guardians of his commandments.

7:10 He pays back His enemies while they are (still alive) before Him, to destroy (the enemy), He will not delay (reaction against His enemy, before his face He will pay him back.

We still need to understand how the verses about Moshe's cities of refuge fit in.

As stated above, both this world and the next have a role in our reward and punishment. Typically one can receive side benefits in this world and one receives full reward in the next.

(As an aside, our tradition teaches that G-d may decide for a person to substitute suffering in this world for purge in the next. G-d may also decide for a person to substitute pleasure in this world for pleasure in the next. The former is good for a person and the latter is a great misfortune, reserved for the very wicked. When this happens, it is done with a formula that makes a correspondence between the intensities of existences within the two worlds. A little bit of suffering in this world counterbalances a lot of suffering in the next. A little bit of pleasure in this world counterbalances a lot of pleasure in the next.)Again, the Oral Torah provides a focus on reward and punishment in the next world and the Written Torah openly discusses reward and punishment in this world, alone.

(Another aside: The Written and Oral Torahs do not conflict. The Oral Torah derives reward and punishment in the next world from the Written Torah. The written Torah acknowledges the significance of the next world. It just doesn't openly discuss it.)

Regardless of where the consequences are experienced, the only place one can fulfill the commandments and get rewarded for doing so is in this world. Once our brief encounter with this world comes to an end, our opportunity to meaningfully enhance our greatness also ceases. (This is the true sadness of death for the righteous.)

This is clearly pointed out in the last Rashi of this portion.

7:11 And you shall guard the commandment, the laws, the judgments, that I command you today to do.

Rashi:

'Today to do' .. and tomorrow in the next world to receive their reward.

Now, from the standpoint of Jewish law, Moshe's three cities of refuge did not have the status of being cities of refuge until the Jewish people crossed the Jordan and established three corresponding cities on the other side. From the standpoint of law, Moshe's act was basically meaningless. Yet, the Oral Torah gives Moshe great credit for doing this. It notes that this reflected Moshe's great desire to fulfill as much of the Torah as he could, while he was able to in this world, and to the degree that he could.

So, the verses that deal with the cities of refuge now share a common and broad theme with the rest of this portion of the Torah: the role and the significance of our experiences in this world. Moshe is our greatest role model and he serves to link these concepts with his own life.

We can now better understand why the Torah selected the cities of refuge as a context our example, as they deal with life in this world. Murder is a loss of life and the cities of refuge are designated to protect the life of the accidental murderer.

It is significant that we read this portion after the Ninth of Av, a day is set aside to remember and learn from our misfortunes. We are now better prepared to take advantage of the coming High Holiday period, reserved for growth, atonement, fulfillment of commandments, and celebration for the Torah.

Let's all get busy and enjoy this world - within the framework of the Torah, of course.

6:18 And you shall do that which is proper and good in the eyes of G-D so that He will do good to you and you will come and inherit the good land that he swore to your ancestors (to give you).

The Written Torah does not define behavior that is 'proper and good in the eyes of G-D.'

As with every aspect of Torah observance, the Oral Torah provides us with levels of detail so that nothing is left to interpretation , which can be subjective and/or preferential.

One application is cited in the Talmud (Bava Metzia 16b).

If a person can not repay a loan but he has property to cover the debt then the court can assign ownership of that property to the lender to repay the loan. Should the borrower later come onto money and wants his land back then it appears fair for this restoration to be dependent on the lender's discretion. However, we apply this verse to require the lender to take the money and restore the property to it's original owner since the transfer of ownership was involuntary and the lender got back that which he initially extended.

Another application is cited in the same volume of the Talmud, 108b.

While is free to sell his property to anyone he wishes, if his neighbor wants to purchase it then he must be given the first right of refusal, given that the neighbor is willing to pay as much as anyone else. This is because maintenance of adjoining properties is far less than disjoint properties. The neighbor therefore has a greater need to purchase this particular property than any other buyer.

Ekev (Deut. 7-11)

7:11 And you shall guard the commandment and statutes and laws that I command you to do them today.

Rashi's commentary reminds us that fulfilling our obligations are for today, meaning in this world, and that the time to be rewarded is for the next world, in the afterlife.

7:12 And it will be in exchange for your listening to these laws, and your guarding and doing them, that G-D will guard for you the covenant and kindness that He swore to your ancestors.

7:13 And He will love you and bless you and make you numerous. And He will bless the fruit of your abdomen and the fruit of your land, your grain, vineyard, and olive grove, the offspring of your cattle and flocks of your sheep, on the land that He swore to your ancestors to give you.

7:14 You will be blessed of all of the nations. There will not be among you any barren man, woman, or domesticated animal.

7:15 And G-D will remove from you all sickness. And He will not afflict you with any of the severe maladies of Egypt that you know about. And He will afflict your enemies with them.

Verses 7:12-15 appear to contradict the notion that we receive no reward in this world for observing G-D's commandments.

My teachers explain that the goodness that verses describe is not intended to be taken as compensation for the good that we do. Rather, it is intended to be used a resource to enable us to do more good.

Conversely, should Heaven remove resources from a person because he/she evades responsibilities, the resulting inabilities serve to reduce blame for continued evasion.

7:12 And it will be that in turn for your listening to these law, you will guard them and you will do them, that Hashem your G-D will guard the covenant and kindness that He swore to your ancestors.

The Rashi commentary on this verse provides us with the following reading: "And it will be that in turn ('ekev') for your listening:" If you will listen to the light ['minor'] commandments, those that people trample with their heel ('ekev')."

The Sefurno commentary provides us with the following:

The King commanded this all so that you will become worthy of His guarding the covenant and kindness. And this will happen when you begin insuring that you keep His laws out of your love of G-D and not out of an expectation of reward from Him.

It came to mind that Rashi and the Sefurno are not diverse.

The Misha (Avos 2:1) says the following in name of Rebbi: Be careful with the minor commandments in the same manner that you are careful with the serious commandments, for you do not know the compensation of the commandments.

This lack of knowledge can be understood in several ways.

One is that the degree of reward for even the slightest act of merit is beyond our comprehension. This is for several reasons. One is that every moment of reward in the next world is greater than the entire human experience of enjoyment, from creation and on (Avos 4:17). Another reason is that the reward is eternal.

Another way of understanding this lack of knowledge is that besides being a statement of fact, it is also a cause for the reward to be even greater and more significant.

If we were to fully know the great reward for observing the commandments then this may cause us to focus on having it. Rather, by concealing the reward, we have more opportunity to begin focusing on motives for observance other than our own self-benefit, the most dominant of which is our relationship with the One who gave us the commandments in the first place. This brings a person closer to viewing observance as a privilege and as an expression of love and regard towards G-D. This gives every commandment an equal footing, for while they may have varying schedules of compensation, they all are expressions of the person's love towards G-D. This much higher level of observance exponentially magnifies the significance and meaning of the act.

Saying this in a different light and viewing this in terms that we can relate with, perhaps some people will be more thrilled in Paradise by having 'more toys' and other people may be even more thrilled by G-D periodically spending some time with them.

Placing all of the commandments on a equal footing demonstrates that the person's focus is on the Commander, not on him/herself. Perhaps this is what Rashi is reflecting. This being the case, the observance becomes focused on the relationship between the person and G-D. The more a person guards himself to focus on the relationship he has with G-D, the more one can expect G-D to insure that the relationship he has with the person is also maintained, reflecting what the Sefurno is saying.

7:7 G-d has a passion for you and he chose you not because of your abundance in numbers (in comparison) to all of the (other) nations, for you are the smallest of all the nations.

7:8 Rather, it is because of G-d's love for you and because of His guarding the oath that me swore to your ancestors that He took you out with a mighty hand and He redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

G-d did great things for the Jewish people and He made them what they are as the Chosen People. From the above verses in last week's Torah reading we see that the Jewish people did not need to do anything in order to receive these distinctions. G-d provides no justification for doing this other than the Jewish People are the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

The next verses are from this week's Torah reading.

9:4 As G-d pushes them (the seven nations) out (of the Land of Israel), do not say in your heart, "G-d is bringing me to inherit this land because of my righteousness," as G-d is driving them out from before you because of the wickedness of these nations.

9:5 It is not because of your righteousness and straightness of heart that you are coming to inherit their land. Rather, it is because of the wickedness of these nations that G-d is driving them out from before you and in order to keep the matter that G-d swore to your ancestors, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov.

9:6 You should know that G-d is giving you this good land to inherit it not because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.

As compared to the previous verses, in 9:4-6 we see that G-d had to provide a justification for driving the nations away and for giving us their land.

It appears that no justification is needed for G-d making the Jewish People into what they are. However, it appears that G-d needs a justification for giving the Jewish People what they have.

It also appears that our having the Land of Israel is not dependent on how we behave. Now, there is a great difference between having the land and living on it. From elsewhere in the Torah, we know that our living on this land is dependent on how be behave. So, we can have the land without living on it and the majority of the Jewish people has not been living in the Land of Israel for thousands of years. From these verses we see that merely the corruptive behavior of the existing residents is sufficient justification for us to have the land, together with the oath that G-d made with our ancestors.

7:17 You may say, 'These (seven) nations are more numerous than us (so) how will we be able to drive them out?'

7:18 Do not fear them. Remember what Hashem your G-d did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt.

7:21 Do not (feel) broken before them, for Hashem your G-d is in your midst, a Great and Mighty Power.

7:23 And Hashem your G-d will give them over before you. And He will stun them greatly to their destruction.

7:24 And He will give over their kings into your hand and you shall destroy their name from under the heaven. No man shall stand before you until you destroy them.

7:25 Burn the images of their gods in fire. Do not desire the silver and gold that is on them and take it, for this is a detestable thing of Hashem your G-d.

7:26 Bring no abomination into your home, turning you into an abomination like it is. Detest it thoroughly and abhor it thoroughly, for it is banned.

Why does the Torah write a warning to destroy pagan idols immediately after the promise of Divine assistance in battle? What is the Torah trying to tell us?

The following came to mind.

On a simple level, G-d foresees that some of the spoils from this particular conquest relate to idol worship and they must be destroyed.

Another thought came to mind.

Physical strength and victory have little to do with spiritual strength and victory.

It is said that a victorious and powerful warrior once returned home from the battlefield and met a Torah scholar. The sage reminded him that despite the recent military success, the soldier needed to prepare for an even greater upcoming battle, that with our natural inclination to do evil.

Rebbi Shimon Ben Lakish said, 'A person's inclination refreshes each day and seeks to (spiritually) destroy him. We know this from the verse, 'The wicked looks out for the righteous and seeks to kill him (Psalms 37).' Without G-d's assistance, the person would be unable to prevail, as it says, 'G-d will not forsake him..' (ibid.).' (Succos 52b).

Material success is completely up to G-d. Spiritual accomplishment is up to us, with G-d's help.

We must deal with spiritual peril in a responsible manner.

Perhaps the victorious Biblical warrior may let the military success suggest that there is no risk in decorating his home with an ornate idol. Just as he found strength on the battlefield, he may assume that he will certainly be able to keep himself and his family from being charmed by idol worship.

So, the Torah charges us here to avoid spiritual peril, not to merely confront it.

Elsewhere, the scriptures charge us to guard the Torah. The Oral Torah teaches that this as a commandment for our sages to make safeguards for Torah observance, of which we have many.

8:1 You shall take heed to do all of the commandment that I command you today so that you will live, increase, come and inherit the land that G-D swore (about) to your ancestors.

On the take of the verse's wording to, "do all of the commandment," the commentaries reference teachings that urge us to carry out to completion each commandment that we start.

Rashi says the following: If you start doing a commandment then complete it because the one who completes a commandment is referenced in the scriptures as the one who did it. We see this from Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:32 where it states: "And the Jewish people who brought Yosef's (Joseph's) bones from Egypt buried him in (the city of) Shechem." Although Moshe (Moses) exclusively cared for Yosef's remains to bring them to the Promised Land, since the Jewish people completed this commandment and not Moshe, they are given the recognition.

The Daas Zekainim commentary cites the above teaching and adds Rav Yanai's words that tragedy can befall one who begins to perform a commandment but does not complete it. We derive this from Yehuda (Judah) who began to save his brother Yosef from destruction by suggesting that they sell him to the Yishmaelites instead of abandoning him in a pit to die of starvation and exposure. Yehudah stopped there and let Yosef be sold. He did not complete the rescue. Later in the scriptures we find that Yehuda lost his wife and two sons.

Rav Yanai's teaching is difficult to understand. Both Yehudah and Moshe did not bring a commandment to completion. If tragedy befalls a person who begins a commandment but does complete it then why did tragedy befall just Yehudah and not Moshe? While Moshe did experience the tragedy of being barred from entry into the Promised Land, the scriptures clearly state in several places that this was a punishment for his hitting the rock, not for abandoning a commandment.

We could perhaps understand this with a teaching (Medrash Tehilim 30) which states that if a person wants to perform a commandment but is unable to do so that the scripture consider it as though he/she actually did it. So, since Moshe dearly wanted to enter the Promised Land but G-D's decree prevented him from doing so, then he should have been protected from tragedy.

However, this teaching itself presents another difficulty because it derives this principle from King David who dearly wanted to build the Temple but was prevented from doing so by G-D (Shmuel / Samuel II, 7:5). The Medrash Tehilim states that David was credited in the scriptures with the construction of the Temple (Tehilim / Psalms 30).

Because he dearly wanted to construct the Temple but was unable to do so, the scriptures give David credit for fulfilling this commandment. Yet, although Moshe dearly wanted to enter the Promised Land and he certainly would have buried Yosef, since he did not complete this commandment he was not give credit by the scriptures even though was precluded from doing it.

How do we understand these teachings?

The following came to mind.

We know that G-D actively manages the affairs of each and every person. We also know that everyone is unique. We know that G-D put us on this Earth to be tested and that G-D wants to help us succeed. Finally, we know that spiritual endeavors have momentum. That is, commencement of commandment generates a momentum that helps the person carry his/her action to completion.

It follows that every opportunity to do good or otherwise is personalized by G-D. It also follows that we have the resources to take each opportunity and we have even more resources once we begin.

So, Yehudah was punished because G-D expected him to carry his commandment to completion.

Moshe could not have been punished because G-D precluded him from completing it.

However, Moshe did begin to carry out the commandment. David, on the other hand, was prevented from even starting his involvement in the construction of the Temple. The scriptures and the supporting Oral Torah clearly state that G-D sent Nosson (Nathan) the Prophet to David immediately after David conceived of the idea.

So, Yehudah could have completed the commandment but he didn't. He was therefore punished.

Moshe began a commandment but G-D prevented him from completing it. Credit was therefore given to those who completed it.

David was prevented by G-D from even starting on a commandment so the scriptures were able to give him credit for doing it.

My teacher (Horav Naftali Kaplan SHLITA) noted that G-D had great reason for crediting David with the construction of the Temple because this insured that David's many critics would be eventually silenced.

8:10 And you shall eat, be satisfied, and bless Hashem your G-D on the good land that He gave you.

8:11 Watch yourself lest you forget Hashem your G-D to no longer guard His commandments, judgments, and statutes that I command you today.

8:12 Lest you eat and become satisfied. And you will build nice homes and settle

8:13 And your cattle and sheep increase. And gold and silver will increase for you. And all that you have will increase.

8:14 And your heart will rise high and you will forget Hashem your G-D, who took you out from Egypt, from the house of slavery.

8:17 And you will say in your heart, "My power and the might of my hand made all of this wealth."

8:19 And it will be that if you totally forget Hashem your G-D and you go after other gods and worship and bow down to them then I testify among you that you will become totally obliterated.

8:20 Just like the nations that G-D obliterated before you, so will you also be obliterated, (all) because you did not listen to the voice of Hashem y