And Moshe summoned all of Israel and told them, "You have seen everything Hashem did before your eyes in the land of Egypt...those great signs and wonders...But Hashem did not give you a heart to know, or an eye to hear, until today..."

            The commentaries explain that these words were said on the day of Moshe's death. The Meshech Chochma explains that Moshe was making two points, one, that he was not immortal, and two, that The Jewish People had not yet achieved the predestined goals Hashem assigned to them. The first point was needed because many were not yet convinced that Moshe was not a demi-god with super natural powers. With Moshe's death it would become clear that he was not.

         The second point was that Moshe wanted to ready the Jewish People for a drastic change that was about to come. It would be a catalyst for their growth in the service of Hashem. No longer would Manna fall from heaven, nor would the Clouds of Glory surround them with their protective and cleansing abilities. All this would come to an end with the passing of the torch of leadership to Yehoshua. They would now face a life of reality and true free choice. Moshe now tried to prepare them for a world where they could truly work on themselves and attain the goals destined for them by Hashem in this world.

           The Meshech Chochma quotes the Medrash which tells us that Moshe then understood what Hashem was alluding to when He responded to Moshe's request to enter the Holy Land. Hashem said, "I wanted to destroy The Jewish People on account of the sin with the golden calf, and you asked "Selach Na", please forgive. I then nullified My Will for yours. Now, once again, you want for Me to do the same. You cannot have both, either you receive forgiveness for The Jewish People and you can't enter the land, or you can go over but nobody comes with you."

The Meshech Chochma explains that Hashem knew that The Jewish People would face two formidable adversaries among the Canaanite nations, the giants and Amalek. Even though they would ultimately miraculously vanquish them, the initial effort had to come on their own. Moshe prepared them for the giants by killing the giant, Og. This showed The Jewish People that the giants were not indestructible and with the help of Hashem they could be conquered.

               Amalek was a different story. The Medrash tells us that The Jewish People was attacked by Amalek the first time they complained. The verse tells us, "Let the Kufuy Tov, those who don't give recognition for the good done for them (Amalek) exact punishment from those who as well don't give recognition for the good for them (The Jewish People)." The only one who could override this equation would be a descendant of Yosef, who was the opposite of a Kufuy Tov, for Yosef had repaid the bad done to him by his brothers with good. It would be in his merit that The Jewish People would be able to overcome Amalek. Moshe was not a descendant of Yosef, but Yehoshua was. Hashem knew and Moshe now understood that if he, Moshe, were to lead them against Amalek, The Jewish People would be very nervous. This would affect the trust in Hashem they needed to kick start their battle with Amalek. This was what Hashem was trying to convey to Moshe.

          The Meshech Chochma points out that it is not only in physical battle that a sincere initial attempt can bring salvation, but even with our battle with the Yetzer Harah and the process of repentance. One can be overwhelmed by the magnitude of his sins in the days preceding Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the need to repent. But we learn from the above not to give up hope, even for sins against our fellow Jew which Yom Kippur does not absolve.  If one makes an initial sincere effort, Hashem will put it into our friend's mind to forgive us! May we succeed with our effort to repent and may this lead us to enter Eretz Yisroel with all of The Jewish People speedily in our day.