Parshat Va'Etchanan
by Rabbi Avi Billet
The Torah portion begins in the middle of Moshe’s explaining how after he appointed Yehoshua as the next leader, he once again beseeched God for permission to enter the Promised Land. The response from the Almighty was “Rav Lakh – do not speak to me any more about this.” (3:26)
The words “Rav Lakh” are translated by Artscroll as “It is too much for you,” by Hertz as “Let it suffice thee,” and by Aryeh Kaplan as “Enough!”
The simplest explanations of the phrase come from R Samson Raphel Hirsch and Netziv in Haamek Davar. Hirsch: “You did yours. Through fulfilling your mission on earth… you’ve achieved your portion in seeing the greatness and strength of my ways.” Netziv: “You did much for the benefit of the community. There’s nothing you can add in the dissemination of Torah.”
These perspectives suggest that God is telling Moshe that your destiny was to get this far, you’ve achieved what your life was all about, and now it is someone else’s turn. There is nothing to discuss.
But the fact is that the term “rav lakh” has many interpretations, not just in terms of the specific meaning of the words, but in terms of the tone that God was employing. Was He angry or empathetic? Was he exasperated with Moshe, or was He trying to soothe Moshe and ease the pain of the harsh reality that his dream of entering the land had no chance of being realized?
Midrash Tanaim has 12 explanations for the term, some of which are presented here:
(1) Moshe said, if the decree is that I should not go as leader, or on the land, or even alive, then let me go as a simpleton, or in burrows/caves, or merely to be buried there. God said “You have enough.”
(2) If you go into the land, you’ll be buried amongst dead people. With Me, you’ll enter the realm of angels, and the angels will bury you. “Your destiny is so much more.”
(3) Were you to enter the land, you’d never manage to see all of it. This way I will have you see the entire land from the mountain top. “You deserve more than what you are unknowingly asking for.”
(4) A person who makes a vow goes to his teacher/master to nullify his vow. You should also listen to your master. “You have a master (a “Rav”)”
(5) “You have much waiting for you in the world to come.” It’s like a person who tells his friend, “I have many things for you, don’t embarrass me by not showing up.”
(6) I performed many miracles and wonders through your hand. Now it’s Yehoshua’s turn. “Don’t take more than your share.”
(7) You never had the yetzer hora (evil inclination) really challenge you. And I’m not letting the angel of death take your life – I’m dealing with it myself. “Is that not enough for you?”
(8) “You have a master,” and He is telling the student what he should be doing.
R Yosef B’khor Shor notes a simple human failing, which I’ll just compare to the children’s book, “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie.” “Once you get into the land, you’ll want to see the Temple…” Be happy with what you have – yours has been a good life.
There is another perspective that suggests Moshe is getting a comeuppance for his behavior in the Korach story. Let us recall that one of the accusations of Korach and co. was that Moshe and Aharon have taken too much responsibility upon themselves. “Rav Lakhem.” (Bamidbar 16:3) Moshe’s response was “Rav Lakhem bnei Levi” – you Levites have plenty of benefits (Bamdibar 16:7)
Even though Moshe was hurling their unfair accusation back in their faces, Moshe is still discredited for having stooped to their level. As a result, God recalls the phrase now, when Moshe is asking for more than his share, saying “Rav Lakh.” Don’t ask for more than your share.
Daat Zekenim record a view that the word “Rav” comes from the word “Riv” which means “argument.” The suggestion is that the one who holds an argument against you is Adam, the human who brought death to the world. You are supposed to die! Stop trying to push off the inevitable. Baal Haturim records this as well, before launching into a few new interpretations. “Many times you did something against me” – at the burning bush (Shmot 4:13), after your first encounter with Pharaoh (Shmot 5:22), your sarcasm in response to the lack of meat (Bamidbar 11:22) as well as the incident with the rock (Bamidbar 20:10). “I can’t deal with your arguments anymore!” Therefore, there is very little tolerance for your slip-ups because “they are too much for a person of your intelligence.”
Kli Yakar notes that the numerical value of the word “Lakh” equals 50. As Moshe himself was the one who said, “Our Years are 70.” (Tehillim 90:10) For Moshe, who is now 120, who has gotten 50 extra years, God is telling him, “You’ve gotten more than your fill with an extra 50 years.”
One final interpretation, also from Kli Yakar, is that the phrase should be read in the form of a question. “Rav Lakh?” “You are going to have a master – now that your student Yehoshua is taking over?”
There are more interpretations, but we’ll stop here due to limited space.
Two points to drive home: First, it is incredible to see how unsimple to understand a two word phrase can be. Loaded with inflection, intent, and even different possible translations, it is an ever present reminder that Torah study and understanding can’t simply be relegated to “What does Artscroll say?”
Second, we see the complexity of Moshe’s experience – as a leader, as someone facing retirement, and someone who is not ready to accept his destiny, as someone who may be asking for more than his share.
Life presents each of us with our own playbook. We certainly make choices, and some of us take better care of our selves and perhaps merit a longer life because of the actions we take. But do we ever want to be the people who are told by God, “Rav Lakh”? Some of the interpretations are positive, but most seem to remind Moshe that his time is up, and he needs to embrace that.
It doesn’t always have to mean that it’s time to die. But it should mean that there is a time and place, within retirement, for example, or simply when one has fulfilled what one set out to do in school or in a place of employment, to let go of certain stances or positions in order to let others have a chance, and to give them the space to shine. It seems that as much as Moshe understood Yehoshua had to take over, maybe he wasn’t so ready to give up everything and to fade into the sunset.
May those of us who recognize it’s time to give others a chance merit to live long lives so we can quell in the nachas that others have a chance to enjoy things we once held onto so dearly (maftir yonah, reading the megillah, leading kol nidrei, being the rabbi or president of a shul (after leaving the position, don’t tell the successor how to do his job), or any parallel example in a workplace, school, and beyond!)
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