[Par-reg] for Veetchanan - shiur #2

Tue Jul 28 12:40:53 EDT 2009

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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]
          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag
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               PARSHAT  VA-ETCHANAN - shiur #2

     On his final day, why is Moshe Rabbeinu eager to see
Lebanon?
     And when he ascends the mountain for a final view,
why
does God show him a view of Saudia Arabia?
     And why do Chazal interpret all of this as Jerusalem?

     In this 'mini shiur', we'll attempt to answer these
questions as we uncover the very first 'virtual'
Jerusalem!

INTRODUCTION
     In the opening psukim of this week's Parsha, Moshe
Rabbeinu begs God to allow him to cross into the Holy Land
(see 3:23-26).  However, note how the manner in which he
states his request is rather peculiar:
  "Let me pass over and see this good land that is on the
  other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the
  Lebanon" (3:25).

     We can understand why Moshe wants to see the 'good
land',
for that seems to imply the Land of Israel - as it was
described in 'spy-report' by Yehoshua and Kalev:
  "The land that we have passed to scout it, the land is
  very very good" (see Bamidbar 14:7).
          [Note also 'asher avarnu'; compare 'evra na' in
3:25!]

     But why does Moshe express interest to see Lebanon as
well?  True, Lebanon is located on the northern border of
Eretz Canaan, but Moshe doesn't ask to see any of the
other
borders.  Furthermore, why is Moshe only interested in
seeing
mountain ranges?  What about the Negev, the Shefeila, and
the
coastal plain?
  In fact, when he is shown the land (as recorded later on
in
Devarim 34:1-4), God shows him the Negev, the mountain
ranges,
and even the Mediterranean.  Yet, in those psukim, Lebanon
is
not even mentioned!
  In the following shiur, we attempt to explain deeper
motivation behind Moshe Rabbeinu's request.

A GREAT VIEW
     As we all know, God does not grant Moshe's request.
Instead, he instructs Moshe to climb to the top of a
mountain
to get a glimpse of the land that he is not permitted to
enter.  However, here we find yet another difficulty.
Note
the directions that God tells Moshe to look:
  "Climb to the top of the mountain, and lift up your eyes
  to the west, north, south and east - and see with your
  eyes, for you will not cross the Jordan" (3:27).

     Recall that Moshe now stands on Mount Nevo in the
Moabite
Mountains, directly east of Eretz Canaan.  Hence, it makes
sense that he should look towards the west, and even to
the
north and south, for that could be understood as northwest
and
southwest; but why would he look to east?  After all, to
the
east, the only area in sight would be wide plains and
desert
areas of modern day Jordan, Iraq and Saudia Arabia.
  So why does God tell Moshe to look to the East?
  The answer can't be that God wanted to show him the
fullest
borders of the Land of Israel, for Moshe had already seen
them
in his battle against Sichon, and furthermore, Moshe's
request
dealt specifically with the other side of the Jordan.

     To answer these questions, we must note an
interesting
parallel between these psukim and similar psukim in Sefer
Breishit.

THE SAME TOUR GUIDE
     In our study of Sefer Breishit, we discussed the
centrality of Bet El in Avraham Avinu's first journey to
the
Land of Israel.
  His arrival in Canaan from Aram climaxed with his
building
of a mizbeiach in Bet El, where he called out in God's
Name
(see Breishit 12:1-8).  Similarly, upon Avraham's return
to
Canaan from Egypt, he ascended once again to his mizbeiach
in
Bet El - to call out in the Name of God.
  At that same time, Lot had decided to leave him,
choosing
instead the Jordan valley.  After Lot's departure, God
appeared to Avraham once again in Bet El, and reiterated
His
promise that this Land will one day become the homeland of
his
offspring.
  However, note the special preface that God adds to this
promise, and its similarity to our pasuk in Sefer Devarim:
  "And God said to Avram after Lot had left him: Lift up
  your eyes and SEE from the place where you are - to the
  north and south, east and west, for this land that you
  see I will give to you and your offspring" (see Breishit
  13:14-16).

     Note how God tells Avraham to lift up his eyes and
look
in all four directions from Bet El, just as He later tells
Moshe Rabbeinu to look in all four directions from Har
Nevo.
     Of course, this parallel could simply be incidental,
for
this is usually the directions that one looks when he is
on a
high place.  However, we find one additional instance
where
these four directions are mentioned, and once again in
relation to Bet El.

THE FIRST BET ELOKIM
     Recall when Yaakov Avinu was running away from Esav
on
his way to Aram, he stopped overnight at Bet El.  There,
God
appeared to him in a dream, confirming that Yaakov would
be
the inheritor of His covenant with Avraham.  In that
blessing,
note how we find once again all four directions:
  "...And your offspring will [numerous] be like the dust
  of the earth, and you spread out to the west and east,
  north and south, and through you will be a blessing to
  all the nations on the earth" (see Breishit 28:10-15).

     Here once again we find all four directions, and in
fact
these three sources are the only times in Chumash where
these
'four directions' are found.  However, this source
concerning
Yaakov is most significant, for when he awakes from his
dream
Yaakov makes a special promise concerning this site.
  "And Yaakov awoke in the morning and took the rock that
  was by his head and erected it as a monument and
anointed
  it with oil.  Then he named this spot Bet El... and he
  vowed that when he returns... this monument will become
a
  Bet- Elokim [House for God]..." (see 28:18-21).

     These psukim establish a connection between this
special
site of Bet El and a House for God - a Bet Elokim.  [In
case
you didn't notice, that's why it is called Bet El.]
     This site was destined to house the bet ha-mikdash -
that
would become the symbol of the very purpose of God's
choice of
the Jewish nation.  A site where man will be able to focus
on
perfecting his connection [through prayer] to God.

VIRTUAL JERUSALEM
     With this background, we can suggest an alternate
reason
for both Moshe's request and for God's response.
     Surely, Moshe wants to see the land, but not simply
as a
tourist; rather Moshe wants to see the achievement of the
ultimate goal for Am Yisrael, as reflected in Yaakov's
dream
at Bet El and Avraham's vision from Bet El.  When Moshe
requests to see 'ha-har ha-tov' - the good mountain
(3:25),
one could suggest that he wants to 'see' the Temple Mount
[note 'tov' in Breishit 1:4,10,12 etc.], and when he
requests
to see Ha-Levanon - he may be hinting not only to that
northern mountain range, but to the bet-ha-mikdash that
will
one day be constructed from the wood of the cedars of
Lebanon
(see I Melachim 5:16-32!).
     In a similar manner, we can now understand God's
response
to Moshe.  He instructs Moshe to climb to the highest
mountain
and to look out in all four directions, just as Avraham
Avinu
had done at the dawn of Jewish History.  Moshe wishes to
see
the dream of God's promise to Avraham Avinu fulfilled, and
God
allows Moshe an experience that would reflect its
fulfillment.
     Moshe looks in all four directions for God has
'virtually' placed him in Jerusalem.  With that vision, he
can
proceed to charge Yehoshua, for he will lead Bnei Yisrael
into
the land (see Devarim 3:28), and it will be his
responsibility
to make Moshe's dream come true.

     Not only is this week's Haftara ('Nachamu') most
fitting
for the shabbat after Tisha Be-av, so too are its opening
psukim of the Torah reading form Parshat Va-etchanan.

               shabbat shalom,
               menachem

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FOR FURTHER IYUN

A.  See Rashi on Devarim 3:25.  Note how our shiur
attempts to
explain the pshat of the drash that Rashi quotes!
     See also Chizkuni on 3:25.  How is his peirush
different?
How does he explain the connection between Levanon and the
bet
ha-mikdash (based on Yoma 39b!).

B.  In your opinion, does Moshe also want to remain the
leader
of Bnei Yisrael, or does he just want to enter as [sort of
a]
'rabbi emeritus', while allowing Yehoshua to lead the
nation?
     Which possibility does 3:28 support?
     Relate your answer to Bamidbar 20:12 [& our
conclusion in
regard to this topic in our shiur on Parshat Chukat.]
Does God explain to Moshe why His answer is no?
     If so, what is that answer?  [Does it relate to
1:36?]
     If not, can you explain why He doesn't?

C.  Note the use of the 'shoresh' ayin.bet.reish. in both
3:25, 3:26 and 3:28.  Does this shoresh have the same
meaning
in each of these psukim, or different meanings?  Explain.
     Now read Bamidbar 27:12-14 (see also 27:15-23).
     In your opinion, is this the same story or a
different
one?
       [How do these two accounts complement each other?
               See Rashi & Chizkuni on 27:12.]
Now, note the name of the mountain that Moshe is
instructed to
ascend - 'Har Ha-avarim'.  Note again the shoresh
ayin.bet.reish!!
     What is the 'real name' of this mountain - see
Devarim
32:49!  Based on the above questions, why do you think
that
the Torah refers to it as Har Ha-avarim instead of Har
Nevo?
     Is there a geographical reason as well for this name?
          See Ramban 27:12.
     [Note also the use of ayin.bet.reish. in Bamidbar
27:6-
11!
          Note also the use of verb 'latet' - to give -
both
in 27:7 and 27:12! (cute?)]

Relate your answer to this question to the above shiur.