DEVARIM_DEUTERONOMY I:1-III:22
The fifth book of the Pentateuch, the Chumash, collects Moshe’s speeches and admonitions to the collective. God had ruled that he would not lead the people in the conquest of the Promised Land and Moshe knew that his days were numbered. A sober evaluation of his performance and proper examination of the behavior of the Hebrew people during the years of their journey through the desert could not be postponed. A period that highlights the difficulties of our ancestors to accepting the yoke of the Law, because they had not had to govern their actions in Egypt by any moral imperative. They would have to recognize that only by complying with a set of rules, the Mitzvot, could they live together in harmony, and form a society that would eventually become a sovereign people in a land of their own.
The spies who were sent to examine whether the Promised Land was suitable for the development of the people and assess the possibility of its conquest returned with a discouraging report because they observed that it was inhabited by giants and their cities were fortified. Why didn’t they trust the same God who had redeemed them from Egyptian slavery, who split the waters of the sea so that they could be saved from the Egyptian hoards that persecuted them?
The explorers who reported negatively about the Promised Land did not deny the feats God had performed in the past. But they were aware that the conquest would have to be carried out by the people, who would need to show that they could handle the sovereignty of an independent State. God would be an observer at this stage. While in the Egyptian past the Bible reads HaShem yilachem lachem veatem tacharishun, “God will fight for you and you must remain silent”, this time the people would have to fight the battles while God observed and evaluated Israel’s behavior.
We take a parenthesis to point out that these chapters of Devarim are usually read on the Shabbat that precedes Tish’a B’Av, the commemorative date of the destruction of the 2 Temples of Jerusalem. Several commentators ponder whether during the existence of the second Beit HaMikdash the fast of Tisha BeAv was observed. The question is pertinent, because if the date recalls the destruction, on the other hand, the rebuilding of the Temple must have been sufficient reason for rejoicing. Moreover, Tish’a B’Av should have become a festive date because the tragedy perpetrated by the Babylonians who destroyed the first Beit HaMikdash had been corrected.
Perhaps there were reasons to continue fasting because the second Beit HaMikdash never matched the glory of the first Temple. The Tablets of the Law had disappeared as had some other items of religious worship. But there is an additional reason of greater significance. The destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash was a demonstration that the House of God did not offer permanent protection: it was not indestructible. Apparently, the decisive factor was human behavior, the necessary fulfillment of the Mitzvot, and not a building.
“What good are your offerings when human conduct is not governed by the instructions contained in the Torah?” is the reflection of the prophet. The destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash occurred due to the presence of idolatry among the people. The second Beit HaMikdash was destroyed because of the gratuitous enmity that existed in Jewish society. The fast of Tish’a B’Av recalls the physical destruction of the House of God but, more than that testifies to the breach of the ordinances, disloyalty to God, and insincerity to one’s neighbor.
The reconstruction of the third Beit HaMikdash can only take place by means of an exceptional act that depends on Divine intervention. But for the miracle to be realized, it is necessary for man to correct his behavior, to reconcile himself with the Mitsva, the love for his neighbor that excludes enmity and hatred, inviting mutual respect and harmonious coexistence.
MITZVAH: TORAH ORDINANCE IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 2 PROHIBITIONS
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Do not appoint a judge who is not a Torah scholar, even if he is a scholar in other subjects
- Deuteronomy 1:17 The judge should not fear any human in the course of a trial
