Alone But Secure
D’var Torah for
Parashat V’zot Ha-Bracha
By Rabbi Boaz D.
Heilman
The holiday of Sukkot has undergone many transformations
through the ages. The name “Sukkot”
first appears in the book of Exodus, where it indicates a location, the first place
where the Israelites encamped following the Exodus from Egypt.
We are also told that we celebrate Sukkot in order to
remember the flimsy huts in which our people dwelled during their 40-year trek
through the Sinai Wilderness.
But then, once they had settled in the Promised Land, Sukkot
was transformed yet again, turning into a harvest and thanksgiving
festival. Once again the ancient
Israelites dwelled in fragile booths, both to escape the heat of the last days
of summer and to finish gathering the harvest before the cooling rains
came.
The association with water has remained part of the holiday
of Sukkot, our celebration of renewed life.
In ancient Israel, Simchat Beit
Ha-sho’eiva (Rejoicing at the Wellhouse) was a famously joyous festival that
centered around the water wells that were beginning to fill and overflow again at
this season. When the Temple was yet
standing, during the holiday of Sukkot not only was there abundant sacrifice of
animals (mostly to feed the large numbers of pilgrims that converged on the
city for the holiday), but in addition to the traditional wine libation
prescribed by the Torah, water was also offered on the altar.
This rejoicing at the replenished source of life that water
was (and, of course, still is) is possibly one reason why, at the end of the
holiday of Sukkot, we celebrate Simchat Torah, the festival of Rejoicing With
the Torah. Water and Torah both
represent the life-blessing of God. One
physical, the other more spiritual, both are necessary for survival, and the
gift of both is therefore cause for rejoicing.
Around this time of the seasons’ turning, the two symbols unite,
converging into one thanksgiving celebration.
On Simchat Torah we celebrate the many blessings that the
Torah brings into our life. It is at this festival that we conclude the annual
cycle of the reading of the Torah and immediately begin it anew. V’zot
Ha-Bracha, comprising the last two chapters of the book of Deuteronomy
(chapters 33 and 34), is read on this holiday, immediately followed by the
first few verses of B’reishit, Genesis.
V’zot Ha-Bracha
contains the blessings Moses gives the People of Israel just prior to his
death. In a scene reminiscent of the
blessings given to his sons by Jacob at his deathbed, Moses addresses each
tribe. In beautiful and exalted poetry,
he foresees their future. It isn’t
always rosy. There will be difficult
times ahead, though much glory as well.
Moses then blesses the people of Israel as a whole, foretelling its
future: “Israel then shall dwell in
safety alone” (Deut. 33:28). Alone and
apart (badad), but also safe and secure
(betach).
It’s hard to reconcile these two adjectives. Yet history has proven Moses a true
prophet. Israel’s history has shown the
thread of our existence often weaving in and out of the history of other
peoples. Our exodus from Egypt was our
first emergence onto the world stage as an independent people. Since then, our lives have interwoven with
those of the Persians, Greeks and Romans, to name but a few. In our wanderings throughout the world, there
were times when we seemingly merged with other nations; paradoxically, however,
we always also stayed ourselves. We
remained Jews. Wherever we went, we took
our traditions with us. We took our
Torah and all our holy books with us. We
took our prayerbooks, candlesticks, and even our foods. We took our language, and even though at
times it too merged with other languages—Yiddish and Ladino are but two
examples—Hebrew remained protected, tucked safely inside our holy books, in our
prayers and within our hearts.
Even today, this prophecy of Moses stands true. Israel has emerged yet again from the furnace
into which it was thrown, its traditions intact, its soul and spirit undaunted,
its language still thriving.
Long ago, Moses foresaw the struggles his people would have to
endure; yet he also knew with unbound certainty that God would always ensure
their survival. Provided, of course,
that they continued following God, teaching God’s law, practicing justice,
equality and compassion. No matter how
many enemies rise up against Israel, Moses promises that in the end Israel will
remain secure because of our faith in God.
Alone and separate, but secure.
It is at this point, with his task at last fully
accomplished, that Moses climbs up his final mountain, Nebo. From this peak he sees the Promised Land from
end to end. He sees the peaks of the
northern mountains as well as the depths of the valley of Jericho. He sees the region of Judah (and, presumably,
the future city of Jerusalem) extending all the way to the Negev Desert and the
Mediterranean Sea. And then, still full
of strength and vigor despite his 120 years, Moses dies.
For Israel, it’s a new beginning. Joshua, Moses’s disciple from his youth,
takes over at this point, the People of Israel promising to follow him as they
had followed Moses. It will be Joshua
who will lead them into the Promised Land, Joshua who will help them conquer it
and make it their national home for all ages.
Thanks to Moses, however, the Israelites can look forward
with confidence to a bright future. They
know the dangers and difficulties that loom ahead, yet they are unafraid. Once a tribe of some 70 families, they have
emerged from wretched slavery and become a splendid people. Bound by an eternal Covenant to be God’s
partners in the ongoing, sacred work of Creation, they can now open a new
chapter in their history, and so they do, mi-b’reishit,
from the beginning.
Chazak chazak
v’nit’chazek, “Be strong, be of good courage and we shall all be
strengthened.”
© 2014 by Boaz D. Heilman
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