Well, first of all, let me say Mazel Tov to Barbara. I wasn't here to say it last night, so Mazel Tov to be sharing the bimah with me this morning. There is so much to be discussed in these 12 short final verses of the Torah, it's not easy to decide what to concentrate on.
When listening to this parashah each year, I'm always struck by how really sad it is that Moses never gets to enter the promised land. Coincidentally, during her sermon on Rosh Hashanah, Cantor Rachel expressed the same feeling. I spent some time looking at various commentaries before starting to write this debauchery and was surprised that some of our most well known scholars, such as Rashi, the Ramban, and Ebenezer, had nothing to say about this.
Thank you. They all seem to concentrate on verses 4, dealing with God showing Moses the extent of the Promised Land of Israel, and how good it is, rather than the fate of Moses, which is what I have always found difficult to think about. In some ways, I feel it very unfair that after 40 years of dealing with all the trials and tribulations he's experiencing, when carrying out God's commands, Moses is prevented from entering the Promised Land for disobeying God's command on one occasion.
When, in the wilderness of sin, he hit the rock to get water, instead of doing as God commanded and speaking to it. He has battled with Pharaoh, fought with the people to encourage them to continue their 40 year journey, and endured their constant complaining about water, food, and just about everything else.
After all this soros, all that happens is that he's shown the wonderful land that God is giving the Jews, and then God sends him up the mountain to die. However, we need to look deeper for why God doesn't waver and reverse his decree. Firstly, when Moses disobeyed God, but achieved the required result by getting water for the people, it could have made Moses and the people believe that he was more powerful than God.
Because when the water appeared, it could have been assumed that it was Moses power rather than God's which made it happen. Also, when he struck the rock, Moses showed he did so in anger, which God may have thought was not a good example for a leader. By carrying out his decision, God shows the people clearly that however important you are, his commands must be obeyed, or you will have to bear the consequences.
This lesson will be very important when they face all the difficulties and responsibilities of building a new country for themselves, learning to create a society based on mitzvot, They will face a totally new experience and will need to make their own decisions rather than relying on their new different style leader to sort things out.
At the beginning of their journey, Moses generally, with God's help, has dealt with all the problems as they arise. It is only in Parashat Yitro when his father in law advises him to appoint leaders from amongst the people. To deal with all the everyday stuff and only bring major problems to him, that his task becomes a little easier.
Secondly, God already made clear many years earlier, That is a punishment for not trusting God's promises. None of the people born into slavery would be allowed to enter the promised land. Moses is the last of that generation. I think maybe God believed that people who have been born in freedom will be more able to deal with changes in circumstance and make their own decisions on the action to take.
In today's world, we see a familiar situation. Where if people become institutionalized, for example, as a hospital patient or in a care home, they very quickly stop thinking for themselves or making decisions. Thirdly, Moses has been the leader of a nomadic people, almost totally consumed by their day to day needs, and mostly looking to him to supply their needs.
Now there will be a totally different challenge to them, and they will need a new leader with a clear hand over a leadership. By laying hands on Joshua, who we know is younger than Moses, 10, 20 years, Moses affects this handover and in doing so, passes on to Joshua. The wisdom needed if he is to assume the role of leader, the people will require his energy and new ideas, will create an environment where the people learn to take responsibility for themselves and their new country, supporting each other and learning to live, live by Torah.
We know from our own experiences that different decisions require different leaders. For instance, Winston Churchill was an amazing leader during World War II, but was much less effective after the war as a peacetime leader. Oskar Schindler was a mensch during the Shoah, protecting as many Jews as he could by taking them to his factory and ensuring their escape to safety by continuing to insist he still needed them to work for him.
However, through the rest of his life, his behaviour was appalling. Perhaps we can use the ideas in this Parashah as an analogy, as an analogy, for the next period of Sinai's existence. We are all aware of the uncertainty we face with the upcoming upheaval in our communal life, not knowing when we will need to move out of this very familiar building into an unknown future location.
Like the Israelites, we have a relatively new religious leader with Cantor of Rachel, We can take advantage of her new ideas, an enormous selection of new music, to both energize us and help us to deal with the situation. However, like the Israelites, it's down to each one of us to take responsibility for ensuring the successful future of our community, for this period and throughout the future.
Are we up to the challenge? Now there are some thanks I must make. Firstly, to the Board, for bestowing on me the honour of Kala Torah. I am very grateful for this honour and hope to justify your choice. My last word must be thanks to Val, who has spent many hours boosting my confidence as I tried to perfect my reading of this Parashah, helping me clarify my thoughts, as well as frequently offering helpful suggestions as I attempted to write this Dvar Torah.
In addition, she provided a valuable reading service throughout my many attempts to put my thoughts on paper. Val, I'm really grateful to you for your encouragement and wise advice, and also for stepping in for me last night at minute's notice.
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