Vayelekh | Hope and Fear

 

I. The Words of Moshe

Our parasha consists of only one chapter, Devarim Chapter 31.[1] That chapter, however, is packed with content, in the framework of Moshe's taking leave of the people and the various actions involved in his farewell.

Moshe opens by encouraging the people to go take possession of the land and strengthening their confidence in victory over the Canaanite nations (vv. 1-6). This section opens with the words "And Moshe went (vayelekh)" and ends with a similar phrase, but in relation to God: "For the Lord your God, He it is who goes (ha-holekh) with you." Moshe reassures the people that while it is true that he is leaving, God will continue to accompany them.

Moshe then calls Yehoshua and offers him support and encouragement in the sight of the people (7-8). Once again, Moshe uses the term halikha – "And the Lord, He it is that goes (ha-holekh) before you." The new leader will also be accompanied by God wherever he goes. Moshe's farewell is infused with a positive atmosphere. It is filled with optimism that the people will continue to achieve success, together with their new leader, with close Divine assistance.

What follows also appears promising. Moshe writes the Torah and gives it to the priests and to the elders of Israel (9). They will be his successors and they will see to the continued observance of the Torah. For this purpose, Moshe commands the people about the mitzva of hakhel, the obligation falling upon every individual to assemble together at the end of every Sabbatical year to hear the reading of the Torah. In this way, he makes sure that keeping the Torah will not end with his death, but rather it will continue to be studied and practiced in future generations. Even the following generations "who have not known" – "will hear and learn to fear the Lord your God" (13).

Had the chapter of Moshe's farewell ended here, we would have been left in a state of calm. Moshe said goodbye, while passing the scepter to Yehoshua, who will be responsible for settling the land, and to the priests and the elders, who will be responsible for continuing the transmission of the Torah. Moshe's work was not in vain; he wrote what had to be written in the Torah that will continue to accompany the people. God as well will constantly remain in the picture and continue to accompany the people, as He has until now.

It should be noted that Moshe's taking leave is part of a larger current that runs through the entire book of Devarim. Throughout the book, Moshe has warned the people that living in the land of Israel will require maintaining an elevated spiritual level, walking in God's ways, and taking no part in idol worship. This theme reached its climax in the last two parashot, which described the covenant made with Israel upon entering the land. The covenant makes it clear that Israel's actions will determine how they experience life in the land: if they follow the straight path, they will enjoy the blessings; if they deviate from it, they will be punished with curses. The discussion of the covenant ended at the end of the previous chapter, in which Moshe presented the people with these two paths that lie before them:

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed. (30:19)

Now, in the process of taking leave at the beginning of our chapter, it seems that Moshe is gradually developing a cautious optimism about their future choices. He conveys confidence that the people of Israel are indeed likely to choose the path of the blessings and not the path of the curses. Moshe entrusts the Torah to their hands, and implores them to keep it and that it be taught to the people through the mitzva of hakhel. Thus, Moshe believes that the people of Israel will be able to hold onto the land, even in future generations, thanks to continued adherence to the Torah:

And that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it. (13)

II. The Word of God

          At this point, God enters the picture. Up to this point, the book of Devarim has contained only Moshe’s words to the people; now, for the first time in the book, God turns to Moshe and talks to him. Presumably, He will respond to Moshe's long orations and provide His perspective, in preparation for entering the land. After Moshe's optimistic closing chord, the expectation is that God will join the discussion and encourage the people further in anticipation of their entry into the land.

God's words do indeed open on a similarly optimistic note: He commands Moshe to call Yehoshua, so that they may stand together in the Tent of Meeting (14-15). However, his positive words to Yehoshua are for some reason pushed forward eight verses:[2]

And he gave Yehoshua the son of Nun a charge, and said: Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them; and I will be with you. (23)

For some unknown reason, God's words to Yehoshua are cut off; instead of addressing him immediately, God first has more to say to Moshe, spanning seven verses,[3] in which He totally changes the positive atmosphere:

And the Lord said to Moshe: Behold, you are about to sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land, where they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them... (16-17)

God's words here challenge the entire flow of ideas that Moshe built throughout the book of Devarim! In particular, they seem to contradict Moshe's conclusion of the covenant in the previous chapter, where he said there are two paths before Israel – life and death. God, as it were, pours a bucket of cold water on all this and reveals the choice that the people are actually going to make: "And this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land." The covenant that was made over the course of the previous chapters will not last – "and break My covenant which I have made with them."

God’s statement implies that there is no room for choice, and that the outcome will surely be negative. Reading these verses is not easy; is this all that God has to say to Moshe in response to his orations before entering the land?

He goes on to raise a concern about something that may occur after Israel's sin and punishment:

Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; and they will say on that day: Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? (17)

God describes here a difficulty that may arise in His relationship with the people after they sin. God will hide His face from them, which will cause troubles to befall them. In response, the people will contemplate their troubles and conclude that indeed God is not among them, which will lead to even greater distancing from God. This is how a negative circle is created: Israel moves away from God → God hides His face → Israel infers that God is not among them → Israel moves further away from God.

We find this situation in parent-child relationships as well. The child fears that his parents are against him. In response, he behaves negatively, which causes his parents to be angry with him. Thus, the child's fears come true, and he concludes that indeed his parents are against him. This situation leads to further distancing, which may escalate the difficulties in their relationship.

III. The Shira (Song)

God then presents a solution designed to break the cycle described above:

Now therefore write you this song for you, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel. For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten their fill, and waxed fat; and turned to other gods, and served them, and despised Me, and broken My covenant; then it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I know their imagination how they do even now, before I have brought them into the land which I swore. (19-21) 

At the beginning of the chapter, Moshe presented the Torah and the mitzva of hakhel as a solution for maintaining Israel's spiritual state. God presents another plan: instead of the Torah – a song. The song will answer the concern presented earlier, as conveyed by a parallel between verse 17 and verse 21:

The concern:

And many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say on that day: Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? (17)

The solution:

Then it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness. (21)

The song under discussion is the song of Ha'azinu, which will be presented in the next parasha. It includes the same gloomy prediction that was made here: the people of Israel will sin, and in response, God will hide His face from them (32:15-20[4]), which will lead to severe troubles (ibid. 21-25). Teaching the song to the people of Israel and their descendants can prevent the cycle: the troubles will indeed come, but there is testimony here from an ancient time that they are expected to come, as a result of Israel's sins. In this way, Israel's fear is liable to dissipate; when the troubles come, Israel's response will not be "God is not among us," but rather an understanding that this is God's response to sins.

If we go back to the previous example about the child and his parents, the song is similar to the parents explaining to the child in advance that their negative reaction does not express distance as he thinks, but rather interest and concern. They don't get angry with or punish other children, but only him, because they are connected to him.

Paradoxically, punishment, anger, and hiding the face indicate interest and connection. As the prophet Amos says:

You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities. (Amos 3:2) 

This is the purpose of the song. It will accompany the people through the different generations, especially during the difficult moments when God will hide His face from them. At that time, the Torah, which Moshe put in the hands of the priests, will not help.[5] What is needed is a simpler and clearer message that can be remembered through song. It is not intended for the upper classes, the priests and the elders of the people, and it does not require study or a hakhel assembly. It will be, relatively easily, "in their mouths," and there is a chance that "it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed."

Now we can understand why God diverts the positive parting atmosphere to a negative place, as it were, and also why this is His "response" to the book of Devarim. At first glance, His response seems pessimistic. However, the idea of the song, which will accompany the people in moments of crisis, teaches precisely about the point of light within the darkness.

In the book of Devarim and the covenant at its end, Moshe tried to create a positive relationship between God and the people of Israel. He showed them the two paths that lie before them and urged them to choose the good. This approach relates to the human effort of the people of Israel to establish a relationship with God and thus take possession of the land and rejoice in its goodness. God leaves this process to the people of Israel and sees no need to respond to it. Instead, He addresses the difficult option, in which the book of Devarim fails to hold the people and the covenant is broken. The big question is what will happen then.

The quality of a relationship is not measured in the good times, but rather in the difficult times of crisis, when the circular process described above can develop. God looks ahead to these moments of crisis and tries to strengthen the connection through the song. It is intended to preserve the relationship precisely in those moments of crisis – then, Israel will remember that this is not abandonment on the part of God, but rather an educational reprisal, which stems precisely from a caring relationship.

IV. The Torah and the Song

Of course, the song does not replace the Torah, but operates in a parallel channel. They become a pair of witnesses:

The Torah:

Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. (26)

The song:

That this song shall testify before them as a witness. (21)

These two witnesses appeal to different mental states of the people of Israel. The Torah guides the people of Israel when they are in a positive state, when they are able to take responsibility, build a relationship with God, and walk in His ways. It is the "preventive medicine" that allows Israel to continue living in Israel. It is written down by Moshe and passed to the leadership, from generation to generation, who must teach the people through the mitzva of hakhel.

However, in moments of crisis, we need the second witness, the song, which comes from God's initiative.[6] It addresses the difficult situations, in which the people need a reminder that despite everything, the relationship is preserved. Their troubles are part of the general relationship between God and Israel, which is expressed in different ways at different times.

The commandment about the song is followed by several verses that are difficult to understand. The difficulty stems from the rapid transitions between referencing the Torah and the song:

So Moshe wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel… And it came to pass, when Moshe had made an end of writing the words of this law [Torah] in a book, until they were finished, that Moshe commanded the Levites, that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: Take this book of the law [Torah], and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you… Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers… And Moshe spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished. (22-30)

It is possible that the frequent transition between the two tracks is intended to show the connection between them. The relationship with God includes constant work on the healthy relationship, through the Torah – but there will also be declines and crises, at which time it must be remembered, through the song, that the relationship still exists. In this way, the relationship with God can continue and grow stronger, despite its different faces.

A precise reading of the verses reveals a chiastic structure – the song appears at the beginning and at the end, while the Torah appears twice in the middle. The Torah is the heart of the matter; it creates and preserves the relationship with God. But the song is the framework that holds everything together from both sides. It allows the relationship not to crash, even when that is difficult.

(Translated by David Strauss)