Devarim

by Rabbi Yaakov Menken

"I spoke to you at that time, saying...the L-rd your G-d has multiplied you..." [Dev. 1:9-10]]

"How can I alone support your bother, your burden, and your arguments? Take wise and understanding men for yourselves, who are known to your tribes, and I will place them at your head. You answered me and said, 'you have told us to do a good thing.' And I took the heads of your tribes, wise and understanding men, and I placed them as heads over you, ministers over thousands, ministers over hundreds, ministers over fifties, and ministers over tens, and police for your tribes." [Dev. 1:12-16]

The Seforno says that there is an implied rebuke in the appointment of judges over Israel, extending even to "ministers over tens." Moshe related this, he says, in order to remind the Nation of Israel of their sins. For even though they were given the news that they would enter the Land of Israel without fighting for it, receiving something far greater and honorable than all their property, nonetheless they could not stop bickering and arguing - to the point that every group of ten needed its own personal judge.

Despite the universal notation in chumashim to begin the second portion of this week's reading with verse twelve, as above, there is a similarly universal custom to instead make the division one verse earlier. The reason: the first word of verse twelve, "Eichah," is the same as the first word of the Book of Lamentations that we read on the Ninth of Av. The Ninth of Av is the day of mourning for the destruction of our two Temples and other Jewish tragedies, and it (almost?) always follows Shabbos Parshas Devorim according to our calendar.

Here, perhaps, in the connection of "Eichah" to "Eichah," we can find an additional layer of rebuke. Our Sages tell us that the First Temple was destroyed because Israel had violated the "cardinal sins" of idolatry, murder and immorality - while the second was destroyed because of baseless hatred. I think a connection can easily be drawn from the sin described by Moshe, to those things which destroyed the Temples.

On the one hand, the Seforno implies that each person was overly concerned about his own property, to the point of pettiness. But in order for an argument to reach the courts, there also needs to be a lack of communication, an inability to reconcile differences, and a corresponding lack of concern for the _other_ person's property. After going to the courts, when the loser no longer has any justified claims against the other, all that remains is... baseless hatred. The same baseless hatred that can lead to murder - and immorality, which can include a demonstrated lack of concern for another person and the uniqueness of his or her spousal relationship.

If needless hatred begins with a lack of communication, there is hope that increased communication can remove the hatred and divisions that remain between us. With proper communication, we can counter the misinformation that often causes hatred, and develop new relationships outside our own groups. In short, as we mourn the Temple's destruction, we can also find the tools to make our own best efforts to ensure that it is rebuilt - speedily in our day, Amen. [I would like to thank Rabbi Shlomo Cohen for his assistance in developing this D'var Torah. -- YM]