He reviews history and takes from it the lessons to be learned and taught. He enjoins the people to take these words to heart. The parashah concludes with God telling Moses that he is to ascend Mount Nebo and to see the promised land from afar, and there, to be gathered to his people. The story of our people begins with a song of triumph and freedom at the Red Sea and ends with the final song of Moses as we stand ready to enter the Land of Israel. The unequivocal victory over Egypt has given way to ambiguity.
Physical survival is assured, but spiritual health is still in question.
Neither God nor Israel has abandoned each other in spite of disappointments and anger, but the frustrations of God are clear, as if God must be convinced to protect the people of the covenant. Israel seems, as always, to be searching for itself, hoping to find in alien gods and other cultures a greater sense of wholeness. Israel is uncomfortable with its status as a sacred and unique people, its obligations to follow God rather than the commonness of its neighbors. The commentators jump on this, realizing that the rejection of Torah is not toward a higher goal, but a repudiation of the Jewish mission to be a covenental people. It is not simply that the environment around us is so compelling, but that we are tired of the burden.