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Parshat Devarim
1997
I think that the book of Deuteronomy, which we begin this week, is the most poignant and therefore the most human of the five books of the Torah. It consists of Moses' farewell to the Israelites as they - and not he - stand poised to enter the Land.
Moses faces the multitudes of people before him, knowing full well that they have not really listened to him ever before, that they are stubborn and stiff-necked. And the message he has to give them is so urgent. It is critical! Yet, he cannot accompany them across the river. They must go out on their own and he will remain to die on the foreign side of the Jordan.
Moses' frustration is seen throughout the book, but he does not despair altogether. In fact, the book begins with a hopeful strategy. The first verse says, "These are the words which Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan." Our tradition teaches that there is not a single superfluous word in the Torah. The fact that the verse says "*all* Israel," as opposed to simply "Israel" prompted the Chassidic rabbi Simchah Bunem of Prszysucha to comment, "Moses addressed each one according to [his/her] character and age, understanding and level of perception, and measure."
By speaking to all Israel, by addressing each Jew wherever he or she stood, Moses could establish a relationship with each person. The impact of this can be enormous, because relationships are what most often changes a person's life in a profound way. If each of us feels noticed and personally addressed, no one feels lost in the shuffle or marginalized. If we see that someone paid enough attention to us to teach us where we are, we are more likely to listen and to participate.
This is true in ancient days and in our own as well, for we are like Moses. The true results of the work we all do will be revealed in the years after our students leave campus. In most cases, we probably won't be there to see what happens and try to shape it further. All we can do is to speak and act with all the passion we can about being a Jew while our students are still on campus. This is the urgency of our work.
We, like Moses, are also faced with addressing all of the thousands of Jews before us, as a community, and also as individuals, according to many different characters, ages, understandings and measures. We know it is relationships that most profoundly change a person's life. Perhaps this is Moshe Rabbeinu, our Teacher Moses' lesson to us across the centuries.
Prepared by Rabbi Lisa L. Goldstein, Executive Director, Hillel of San Diego
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