Devarim "Words"
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
Isaiah 1:1-27
Psalm 137
Mark 10:5-15
Question: What’s different about Moses’ delivery of words in Devarim from his addresses in the other books of Torah?
Answer: He uses more textual hints rather than direct hits, such as “Tophel and Lavan” rather than explicitly point out their quarrelings, slanders, and complaints (tophel) about manna (lavan, white). He’s subtler with the second generation, which has the ability to read deeper meanings in his words. The previous generation was the “2 x 4 Generation.” In his lesson on Devarim, a rabbi said even if you hit them upside the head with a 2 x 4, they’d argue, rebel, shift blame, and complain.
Question: What’s different about the generation receiving the Devarim?
Answer: They received Moses’ teaching words of rebuke silently, without pointing out the obvious. These were the mistakes of the previous generation, the 2 x 4s.
It takes a heightened level of spiritual growth to accept a rebuke that applies to someone else. A person who accepts someone else’s rebuke believes he can nevertheless learn something from it. He or she doesn’t feel the need to shift blame. He or she is not offense-Velcro.
We know the second generation accepted Moses’ critical analysis of the forty-year generation even though they were not guilty of the errors:
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They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the LORD your God be with you as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.” (Joshua 1:16-18)
Silence is supreme confidence in the salvation of Adonai, and an acceptable sacrifice MUST be silent:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth. (Is 53:7)
A sacrificial animal does not have the ability to voice his thoughts concerning his sacrifice. When it comes to things of the spirit, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. Technology has created an “end-around” to times when a person could be silent and meditate, especially concerning his or her daily sacrifices of the flesh. The power of silence in sacrifice was evident in Aaron’s silence concerning his sons.
Rebbe Nachman wrote “A person should be prepared to submit himself or herself as an offering to God. Just as an animal cannot speak, we too, preserve silence. This is the exact point of transformation: we have the capacity to speak but we practice tzimzum.” (Kahn, A. to Shmini, p. 75)
Tzimzum = withdrawing within one’s self.
Scientists have observed through EKG measurements that a tree about to yield its fruit to a harvester will do this self-sedation similarly to the “faint” of a lamb right before kosher slaughter. It must lessen the "pain" that can also be measure on an EKG at the time of picking. Trees don’t scream every time a human picks its apple. The plant and animal kingdoms are an example of sacrifice, perhaps why animals and produce were used for sacrifice in the Temple.
Related to grace in sacrifice is the principle of hospitality. The peoples of Edom, Moab, and Ammon are mentioned numerous times in Devarim. Each is to be handled with specific commandments. There is something to be learned from the repetitive mentions. Even the setting in the land of Moab speaks a specific lesson:
Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying... (Dt 1:5)
Not until Chapter Twenty-three do we receive more complete information about Moab, Ammon, and Edom, nations who are mentioned according to their hostilities, not their hospitalities:
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No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the assembly of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless, the LORD your God was unwilling to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you. You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days. You shall not loathe an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not loathe an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land. The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD. (Dt 23:3-8)
Ruth the Moabitess rectified the omission of bread at Beit-Lechem (Bethlehem), and her “two-loaf” story is read each Shavuot. Edom was judged less harshly (3 generations). They only sought Israel’s physical lives. Moab sought to remove Israel from the World to Come with idolatry and immorality. Moab was expected to respond with hospitality toward their brothers. This omission, for them, was placed even ahead of the sin of sorcery (10 generations of exclusion).
Yeshua taught his disciples about hospitality. From his words, we know when to expect hospitality, and and when to extend it:
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And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city. (Mt 10:5-15)
A Story of Hospitality
After the slaughter of the Jews at Beitar in 135 AD, which is commemorated on the 9th of Av along with the destruction of the two Temples and the evil report of the ten spies, the Torah was in jeopardy along with its long history of interpretation and application. The Romans had banned Torah study until the death of Hadrian. Recognizing the danger of Torah knowledge dispersing and dissipating in the exile, the Jewish sages sent a message to the elders of Galilee and said, “Let anyone who is learned come and teach Torah, and let anyone who is not learned come and learn.” 2§16
The citizens of Usha (and Yavneh) hosted the teachers and students who had come to teach and learn Torah, and they provided them all with food and lodging. The example of Usha, which sounds like the singular of ashishot in Song of Songs 2:4, is used as an example: “sustain me with the hospitality of Usha.” The sages and students were so grateful for the hospitality provided for them that they felt compelled to leave the city with a blessing, just as Yeshua taught his disciples over a century before. The peace and prosperity that Yeshua wanted his disciples to bless upon their hosts' homes is found in what was denied Moab and Ammon for their lack of hospitality.
The sages cited this example from the Torah:
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Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance הַרְחֵק from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. (Ex 33:7)
Moses did this after the sin of the Golden Calf. It symbolized the distance of the Presence from the people. Likewise, the destruction of the Temple and bar-Kokhba’s bloody defeat at Beitar signaled to the Jews their distance from the Presence in exile. From this verse, the sages advanced the idea that while the Mishkan was being built, the Israelites did not stop seeking the Holy One. They continued to seek Him through His servant, their teacher Moses, Moshe Rabbeinu. The Presence would return to the camp when the Mishkan was completed. Rabbi Yehuda, a resident of Usha, expounded:
“So it was that anyone who sought Moses is not written here; but instead, ‘So it was that anyone who sought HASHEM is written.’ From here we learn that anyone who receives scholars [or students] is considered as though he is receiving the Divine Presence.” 2§16
Based on Joshua 3:3-4, the minimum distance from the Ark for the people to follow was 2,000 cubits. Just as the term rachok stated there is a reference to 2,000 cubits, so the term harcheik in Exodus 33:7 is interpreted to be 2,000 cubits, or 1 mil. The mil has been described as a distance walkable in 18 minutes.
Why does this matter to us? The words spoken to those who gathered to study Torah explain:
- “If those who traveled only two thousand cubits to study Torah are considered to have sought God, then you, our brothers, our teachers, scholars of Torah, those among you who troubled yourselves to travel a distance of ten, twenty, thirty, or forty mil in order to hear words of Torah shared at a gathering, much more so will the Holy One, blessed is He, not withhold your reward in this world or the World to Come.”
Torah teaches that we must trouble ourselves to reach the teaching of the Torah and the Tent of Meeting, or Ohel Moed, the meeting place of the feasts and their silent sacrifices. Sacrifices without excuses or complaints. It is common courtesy to greet one who has come from traveling on the road with food and drink. This was a practice in Temple times when pilgrims would arrive to Jerusalem.
Moab and Ammon did not show the least amount of courtesy even though the Israelites already had food and water and likely would have taken very little, only a token amount. The Moabites and Ammonites simply didn’t trouble themselves with hospitality. They, too, were a 2 x 4 generation. More specifically, their inhospitality affected even to the tenth generation. In her generation, Ruth quietly works and provides comfort and food to her mother-in-law Naomi. She receives instruction. She seeks the righteous assembly. She becomes the ancestress of King David and King Messiah Yeshua. Hospitality changes the world.
When we commit to study the Torah in exile, the conditions are less than ideal. For the transaction Yeshua desired, there are three parties who extend themselves: the teachers who bring the healing Word, the students, and those who extend the hospitality of food and lodging to facilitate this human interaction in the little "tents of meeting."
While many today are separated from like-minded believers and depend upon live streaming and online interactions, and for them it is a blessing to enjoy the hospitality of such events, Shabbat services, and studies, there are a few who wouldn't cross the street to attend a Bible study with in-person human interaction. They prefer pajamas to people. This is contrary to the instructions of the apostles in Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 5:10; Hebrews 13:2.
The Greek word for hospitality has two Hebrew cognates: re-ah and ahav. You might be familiar with these words in the following: "And you shall love (ahav) your neighbor (re-ah) as yourself."
Torah study can require a sacrifice of time, trouble, or money. If you have the opportunity, host a Bible study, a conference, a Sukkot gathering, or a visiting teacher of good repute in your home. Bring a dish to share. Sponsor sack lunches on Shabbat for those who are newer students or disabled at a conference or seminar. Learn. Teach. Love. We learn Torah from giving; we learn Torah from receiving. In such transactions, there is a blessing in this world and the World to Come. The question of Moab is "Hostility or hospitality?"
May our Torah gatherings start BURSTING with hospitality so that the peace and prosperity of the Kingdom will come!
