You Can’t Have it All
Parshas
Vzos Habracha
Last week, a friend
pointed out to me a very interesting insight. He noted that both the first
direct command in the Torah to an individual and the last have a striking
similarity. Hashem’s last charge in the Torah is the directive to His beloved
servant Moshe. Hashem tells him to stand on a mountain and view the Land of
Israel. He shows him its beautiful hills, valleys, and fertile plains. Then He
says, “you shall not go there.”
Similarly, the Torah
begins with a very similar scenario. Adam, in the Garden of Eden, is shown the
entire Garden of Eden. After he is shown the fruit of all its trees and invited
to partake in all its delicious beauty, he is warned. One tree, The Tree of
Knowledge, is forbidden.
Can there be a
connection between the restrictions placed upon Adam in the Garden and those
placed upon Moshe in the final stages of his life? Why does the Torah begin and
end with bountiful visions that are bordered by restrictions?
As Rav of the tiny
village of Tzitivyan, my grandfather, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky, and his family
lived in dire poverty. On his meager wages, the children went hungry and had
hardly any clothes to wear. It was no wonder that jubilation filled Reb
Yaakov’s home upon hearing that he was the preferred candidate for the
Rabbinate of Wilkomir, the third-largest Jewish city in Lithuania. He was
assured of the position and was told that the K’sav Rabbanus, the Rabbinical
contract, would be forthcoming.
After a few weeks of
waiting, however, Reb Yaakov was informed that his hopes had been dashed. The
position was given to a colleague whose influential family had affected the
revised decision. Though the Kamenetzky family was almost in mourning, Reb Yaakov assured them that sometimes no
is the best answer. “We may not always understand it at the time, but, there is
a clear future even when your hopes and dreams seem to have been destroyed.”
The continued dire poverty solidified my grandfather’s
decision to come to America, where he eventually created a life of Torah
leadership.
The town of Wilkomir was decimated by the Nazis, who killed
almost all of its inhabitants along with their Rav.
Perhaps the Torah is
sending an underlying message through its greatest mortals. Not everything you
would like to have is yours for the asking. And not everything that your eyes
behold is yours for the taking. This world is confined. You can’t have it all.
And what you don’t take may be a true blessing. On this earth there will always
be wants that we will not, can not, and should not obtain.
The Torah is replete
with restrictions. They present themselves in what we put in our mouths, what
we put in our minds, and what we wear on our bodies. Life must embrace
self-control.
Torah Jews are lucky,
however. Their sense of “no” is already in the know. By following the clear
guidelines of the 365 negative commandments, they are safeguarded and
conditioned for many of the difficult responses they face in a very tempting
society.
The Torah surrounds its
entirety with that message. Moshe on his exit had to hear it, just as Adam did
upon his entry. As we just ended a year and begin a new one, it is important
for us to hear it as well.
Dedicated by Dr. and Mrs. Blair
Skolnick in memory of their grandfather, Rabbi Morris Blair of blessed memory.
Mordechai Kamenetzky
– Yeshiva of South Shore
Good Shabbos
Text Copyright © 1997
by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis,
Inc.
The author is the
Dean of the Yeshiva of South Shore.
Tough Love
Parshas
Vzos Habracha
Posted on October 18, 2006 (5767) By
Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein
| Level: Beginner
The final words of
Moshe to the Jewish people in this week’s Torah reading are those of blessings
and prophetic hope. Moshe, who certainly had much cause to remember the Jewish
people in a contrary mood, is most magnanimous in taking leave of them. After
his long oration that constitutes most of chumash Dvarim, which contains many
harsh words and stinging criticisms of the behavior, past and future, of the
Jewish people, Moshe reverts and blesses his people with the love of a father
and teacher.
In his blessings, Moshe
recognizes the different talents and personalities of each of the tribes. Each
one has a specific role to fulfill in Jewish life. Judaism is not a
one-size-fits-all religion. Rather, it recognizes differences of attitudes and
personalities and attempts to unite these different people into a whole nation
under the direction and observance of Torah precepts and values. Moshe’s words
are a clear example of this goal and methodology.
But the outstanding feature of Moshe’s blessings is that they
are suffused with his love for Israel. Love many times is an uncontrollable emotion,
perhaps even more so at the end of one’s life. V’Zot Habracha is therefore a
love song of Moshe to the Jewish people. All of the preceding words of Moshe in
chumash Dvarim are examples of what today is called “tough love.” V’zot
Habracha is an example of emotional, passionate, almost unreasoning love. That
is what makes V’Zot Habracha the most fitting Torah reading for Simchat Torah,
for it is Moshe’s love for Israel that fuels Israel’s love for Torah.
V’Zot Habracha should really be the saddest of all of the
parshiyot of the Torah since it records Moshe’s passing from life in this
world. But the Jewish people revel in joy on the day when this parsha is read.
For Moshe has stood the test of time. The whole world studies his words and
deals with the value system that he taught Israel. And his blessings to his
people remain as vital and encouraging today as on the day that they were first
given.
Judaism measures people
and ideas in a long-run view. Those that still are pertinent and necessary
after many generations are seen as being truly successful in their life’s
mission. Thus the celebration of Moshe’s Torah that the holiday of Simchat
Torah represents and commemorates is what validates Moshe’s life work. The
Torah states that Moshe’s “eye did not dim nor did his vitality disappear.”
The Netziv in his
commentary to Torah states that this was true about Moshe even after his death.
It is true about him as long as Jews study Torah and are faithful to Moshe’s
vision and directives. Moshe remains the supreme teacher of the Jewish people,
our mentor and guide in all matters. If we see him in this light then we can
rejoice in celebrating his Torah and his life achievement. And therefore
Moshe’s blessings are not only fulfilled regarding Israel but they rebound
regarding Moshe himself.
Shabat shalom.
Chag sameach.
Rabbi Berel Wein
Rabbi Berel Wein- Jewish historian, author and international lecturer offers a
complete selection of CDs, audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, and books on Jewish
history at www.rabbiwein.com
Text Copyright © 2006
by Rabbi Berel Wein and Torah.org
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