Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center
Date: Wednesday, 12 Aug 1992 23:36:19 EDT
From: ToraByte <CFRQC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: A Byte Of Torah I,XXXVI Ve'eschanan

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                                     A                                   BS"D
   Volume I                       B Y T E     The Electronic
     Issue XXXVI                    O F          Torah Weekly
                                 T O R A H
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 ----                    Editor : Zev S. Itzkowitz                       ----
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                           Dvar Torah of the Week
                           ----------------------

"And Hashem turned Himself over me because of you, and He did not listen
to me. And Hashem said to me: it is 'rav' for you, do not continue to speak
to me on this matter again." (Deutoronomy 3:26)

 This verse is perplexing. What does Moses mean by 'And Hashem turned
Himself over me"? This is to indicate to us that Hashem was against
Moses' request (Rav Hirsch) or was 'angry' with Moses' request (Rashi). Why
was this so? It was "because of you". Meaning, the Children of Israel
caused Moses to sin by hitting the rock, rather than by just speaking to it,
in order to produce water (see Numbers 20:10-11). Hence, Moses blamed
the Children of Israel for causing his transgression, and for setting
Hashem against his entering into the Land of Israel.
 Why does Moses mention both "And Hashem turned Himself over (against)
me", and "He did not listen to me"? Moses' beseaching to and pleading with
Hashem was two-tiered. One part was for himself, i.e., to enter the Land of
Israel, and the other part was for the Children of Israel, i.e. for Moses to
lead them into the Land of Israel (Or HaChayim).
 What does the Bible mean by 'rav'? In Hebrew, 'rav' can have a few
different interpretations. One can define 'rav' as 'many', or as
'master/teacher'. Thus, there can be two interpretations to this verse. In
one interpretation, Hashem said to Moses, enough (Unkelus). In the other,
Hashem rejected Moses' personal request to enter the Land of Israel as a
regular person (Midrash), because he was the teacher and leader of the
Children of Israel. Hence, it would be impossible for Moses to abdicate his
position as teacher and become a student to his student, Joshua, who was
appointed by Hashem to be the succeeding teacher and leader of the Children
of Israel (Keli Yakar).


                             Mussar of the Week
                             ------------------

"And I (Moses) pleaded with Hashem at that time ..." (Deutoronomy 3:23)

 This verse is interesting. What was Moses pleading for? Moses was
pleading for Hashem to let him enter into the Land of Israel because it was
a place that was extremely dear to him (Ramban). Moses was not the only
person who had a yearning towards the Land of Israel. There have been
many people throughout history who have had a longing and desire to enter
the Land of Israel even though it may have been hard to travel or live there.
Some have been successful in completing their dream, while others died
with their dream unfulfilled. In our day and age, we are granted the
oppourtunity to go to Israel, yet many of us fail to seize the chance to do
so. We should all take to heart the yearnings of Moses and strongly
consider the possibility of going to Israel, for at least a visit, as soon
as we possibly can.

Please direct any comments, questions, etc. back to me here at CFRQC@CUNYVM,
or on internet CFRQC@cunyvm.cuny.edu. Please pass it on to a friend. If you
want to subscribe, please send e-mail to listserv@israel.nysernet.org
with the msg: SUB bytetorah <first name> <last name>.  --Zev Itzkowitz
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