The meaning of the name of today’s Sidra is I prayed. The first passage contains Moses reports that, after the conquest of the territories on the Eastern side of the Jordan, he made the final very personal plea to the Almighty to allow him to enter the land. He thought that, since he had been given the privilege to witness the beginning of the conquest, the decree would be rescinded and he would now be given the privilege of seeing his mission to the very end. However, God refused him permission even to mention the issue again. God promised to show him the land and, before he died, he climbed to the top of Mount Nevo and saw the land to considerable distance.
It does not seem to us that Moshe Rabbeinu deserved such a harsh treatment. He had led the Israelite people with distinction for forty years, constantly putting up with the indignities and insults of leadership. He was always the most trusted servant of the Lord. Many commentators, therefore, use this very sad episode, to impress upon us an important human lesson. Even the most deserving human beings suffer disappointments. There are many people who perform great and beautiful deeds but, tragically, do not enjoy any rewards. They are struck by illness or die young. For others, life is a little better, but, unfortunately, they also suffer the bitter taste of failure, without deserving it. Here the Torah reminds us that we cannot understand divine justice. At the same time, as we contemplate these theological problems, we have to remember, that there are many times in our lives when we do experience blessings. We should be grateful for the many blessings that we have.
The Hebrew term T’chinah, which has the same Hebrew root as the name of the Sidra, refers to private prayer. Both in the morning and the afternoon services, we recite Tachanun after the Amidah. It is called by this name because it was, at one time, a completely private prayer. The words were not fixed. In the course of time, even this prayer received a standardised version. But, we still demonstrate its private nature by reciting Psalm six, with our heads bowed down.
The next passage is a direct consequence of God’s refusal to allow Moses to enter the land. It rouses Moses to repeat his admonition to the Israelites to listen to the statutes and the laws which he is about to teach them. The first law which he mentions is to observe the Torah precisely, in accordance with the instructions given, without adding or subtracting from it. This law has attracted considerable discussion as to how it is to be interpreted in practice. According to Rashi, the most popular commentator on the Torah, this prohibition forbids making changes in the character of the laws. Thus, for example, since we have a tradition that the Tefillin have four biblical portions placed inside their boxes, it is forbidden to add any other portions. Likewise, since on Sukkot we are commanded to take four plants, we are not permitted to increase the number. Conversely, we cannot take less than four plants or place less than four portions inside the boxes of the Tefillin. The mediaeval Italian commentator, Sforno, explains that no one should entertain the idea that when it seems to us that the reason for a mitzvah is not applicable, we can ignore it. This is not so. Our rabbis always cited King Solomon as a classical example of a very wise man who thought that the reasons given for some of the Commandments, addressed specifically to a King, were not applicable to him. As a result, he ignored those Commandments and committed grievous sins.
Moses speech in this Sidra becomes very moving and dramatic. Moses promises the people that, as a result of their obedience to the Mitzvot, they would be seen as extremely wise and intelligent, by the other nations. The other nations will exclaim: Which other nation is so great as to deserve that the one and only God in the universe, is so near to them that He listens to their prayers and willing to fulfil their wishes. Moreover, the other nations will realise that there is no other nation on earth which has such righteous codes of conduct.
Moses warns the Israelites to keep alive in their memory the Revelation at Mount Sinai, with all its drama and magnificence. He commands them to pass on that memory on, generation after generation. He says: Don’t you ever forget the moment that you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, as the mountain was engulfed by huge flames in the midst of extraordinarily dark clouds. Nachmanides explains the purpose of this instruction. We are to understand that we keep the Torah, to this day, not because Moses transmitted it to us, but because the Almighty addressed the Commandments to us directly, without any intermediary. We heard the voice of God speaking to us, on Mount Sinai, from the midst of the fire. The memory of that phenomenal event will ensure that the Torah will be the foundation of our faith for all times.
Chapter 4, Verse 25 begins with Moses’ very sad prophecy that the Jewish people will one day abandon the covenant and become an idolatrous nation yet again, provoking God to extreme anger. He says that we shall be punished and that we shall not remain in the land for long. God will scatter us all over the world amongst the nations, so that we shall remain very few in numbers. But, then Moses continues by declaring that there will be light at the end of the dark tunnel of exile. “When you will be in distress and all these tragedies will happen to you, at end of days, you will return to Hashem, your God, and you will listen to his voice. For Hashem, your God is merciful God.” The phrase ‘the end of days’ of which Moses is speaking here, does not refer to messianic times. According to the Italian commentator SHMUEL DAVID LUZZATO It refers to the days of King David and Solomon when the Israelite kingdom rose to great heights. Nachmanides maintains that it refers to the redemption of the Jewish people after the Babylonian exile, which started in the year 586 BCE and came to an end with the return to Zion, after 70 years, under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. They returned and built the Second Temple. They regretted their sins and returned to God with all their hearts. The Jews of that period laid the foundations for the Judaism that we observe to this very day.