[Par-reg] for parshat veetchanan - additonal shiur

Thu Jul 22 06:16:09 EDT 2010

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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

==========================

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.

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