Parshat Va'Etchanan
by Rabbi Avi Billet
In Shmot 19:12, in anticipation of Revelation, Moshe told the people, “'Set a boundary for the people around [the mountain], and tell them to be careful not to climb the mountain, or [even] to touch its edge. Anyone touching the mountain will be put to death.” A few verses later, after Moshe himself was given further instruction, the following exchange takes place. “Moses replied to God, 'The people cannot climb Mount Sinai. You already warned them to set a boundary around the mountain and to declare it sacred.' God said to him, 'Go down. You can then come [back] up along with Aaron. But the priests and the [other] people must not violate the boundary to go up to the Divine; if they do, He will send destruction among them.' Moses went down to the people and conveyed this to them.”
While we certainly know Moshe was on the mountain after Revelation for 40 days, it is interesting to note that the Torah is unclear on where he was during the actual Revelation.
And the people – where are they? It seems that the closest they are is the bottom of the mountain, as they are unable to ascend the mountain in any way.
And yet, in our parsha, Moshe indicates “I stood between you and God at that time, to tell you God's words, since you were afraid of the fire, and did not go up on the mountain” (Devarim 5:5), implying that it was only the fire which prevented them from going up the mountain, but that they otherwise could have gone up.
But didn’t we just read that they were not allowed? And where was Moshe? If Moshe is between God and the people, there is a clear possibility that he is not on the mountain at all!
As for the people, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains Moshe’s words as saying “You (the people) did not dare to approach the mountain to hear the utterance of the Decalogue” – implying that they could have dared, but they didn’t.
Now, it is possible that the reading is different. For example, Chizkuni and Rabbenu Bachaye read it as if Moshe is saying matter-of-factly “You didn’t go up the mountain. I did. So your experience was entirely different.” Perhaps they are having Moshe say, “You were afraid because you didn’t understand God. While I, who was on the mountain, had a very different perception of God.”
Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi, the supercommentary on Rashi, has a combination of these approaches, saying Moshe’s comment was an aside, but he still seems to be blaming them for not going up the mountain. This is contradicted by Or HaChaim who explicitly states that they were, in fact, forbidden from going on the mountain.
The Netziv, however, paints an entirely different picture, culling together all the hints here. “They did not sacrifice themselves to go up the mountain, which is why they did not have a supernatural experience. Moshe, on the other hand, even though he stood at the bottom of the mountain, he was not there because he was afraid, but because he had been instructed by the Almighty to be at the bottom of the mountain. Israel, on the other hand, even if they wanted to go up they were warned against it, and even without a warning they were afraid to go. As a result they did not comprehend the second “Dibrot” in the ways Moshe did. When the Torah writes that they didn’t go up because they were afraid of the fire – this is the Torah’s way, giving one reason even though there is sometimes another reason as well.
There is a moment in time when everyone has the opportunity to be a hero. And the question we all have is how do we face that moment?
The people were told not to ascend the mountain. But what if they said, NO. We’re going to go anyway. Would they have died like Nadav and Avihu, or would they have understood God in the way Moshe did? Would they have died, or would they have have an incredible story to tell for the rest of their lives? It seems – with these different views – that the jury might still be out on this one.
But one thing is clear. If one doesn’t take the risk, the chances of achieving greatness are very slim.
It could be that Moshe is just stating a fact. I was on the mountain and you weren’t. But it could also be that Moshe is saying “You could have been on the mountain. And you chose not to be.”
Is this their fault? How could they know such an option existed?
This is why it’s not fair to point fingers and to blame people. Circumstances happen all the time. A miscommunication. A misunderstanding. Something goes afoul.
Unlike in politics, when a career is ruined but life otherwise moves on for the politician, in the real world people who live real lives need to be able to move on after unfortunate encounters.
So, what do we do? Point fingers? Blame people? Or do we say, This is the reality. Things went down in an unfortunate way. Let us look forward and do our best to fix it. To bring together the shattered pieces and come up with a game plan for the future.
I find that most interpersonal problems that people face all boil down to the inability to sit down at a table and hash things out. Sometimes people need to compromise, give a little and hopefully get something in return
The point we can take from this story with Moshe is that you never know unless you actually take that step. The rule at the mountain was meant to strike fear. But maybe it was to teach awe and reverence. And awe and reverence comes in many forms. And one of those forms is, when God says here’s a limit, we can test that limit, if it is truly in a heartfelt and real way aiming at getting closer to God.
I recognize that this can be construed as dangerous ground. How do we know what is within the realm of right and what is within the realm of wrong?
Nadav and Avihu were wrong. But at the end of their lives they were viewed as having gotten closest to God. The people at Sinai were careful, but they didn’t achieve as special a closeness to God as Moshe did.
How will we know if we’ve achieved the ultimate? We can blame no one but ourselves if we don’t. And we’ll never get there if we aren’t willing to take bigger risks in our connection with God, setting goals for ourselves, taking baby steps to reach those goals.
It’s not a blame game. It’s moving forward. One step at a time, until we too can feel comfortable meeting God on the mountain.
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