Parshat Vaetchanan 5778-The power of the word ‘az’.

מ  וְשָׁמַרְתָּ אֶת-חֻקָּיו וְאֶת-מִצְוֺתָיו, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם, אֲשֶׁר יִיטַב לְךָ, וּלְבָנֶיךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ--וּלְמַעַן תַּאֲרִיךְ יָמִים עַל-הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ כָּל-הַיָּמִים.  {פ}

40 And thou shalt keep His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever. {P}

מא  אָז יַבְדִּיל מֹשֶׁה שָׁלֹשׁ עָרִים, בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן, מִזְרְחָה, שָׁמֶשׁ.

41 Then Moses separated three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising;

In the above pesukim, the word ‘az’ appears, seemingly out of context, in that it does not to follow a previous event after which Moshe reacts in accord with the previous event. The word ‘az ‘ is usually translated as ‘then’, implying that it is following a previous event or command. As we can see above, the previous section of the Torah (which we read on Tisha B’av) talks about the general exhortation to be faithful to God in Eretz Yisrael, so why does the word ‘az’ follow such an exhortation? Is there any connection between verses 40 and 41 above?

The Kli Yakar(17th century E.Europe) asks the question and makes a remarkable observation. He notes that in verse 41, Moshe begins the process of dedication the cities of refuge to which the inadvertent murderer can run to, to save his life from the ‘goel hadam’/ the ‘avenger’ of the deceased person. There were going to be 3 cities of refuge in Israel and correspondingly 3 cities outside Israel, in the area in which Moshe now found himself before the Jews were to enter Israel. Moshe knows he will not enter Israel and he knows that the cities of refuge (even those on the east side of the Jordan) will only take effect when the cities of refuge in Israel are actually designated. Nevertheless, Moshe sees an opportunity to begin the process of a mitzvah, which he does not want to forego. The making of cities of refuge is a great institution in Jewish life and Moshe begins this process, even though he knows he will not finish the project in Israel as he is not going there.

This situation is very reminiscent of the wonderful story in Talmud of the man finding and blessing the tree (T.B Taanit 5b)

כי הוו מיפטרי מהדדי א"ל ליברכן מר אמר ליה אמשול לך משל למה"ד לאדם שהיה הולך במדבר והיה רעב ועיף וצמא ומצא אילן שפירותיו מתוקין וצילו נאה ואמת המים עוברת תחתיו אכל מפירותיו ושתה ממימיו וישב בצילו

The Gemara relates: When they were taking leave of one another, Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: Master, give me a blessing. Rabbi Yitzḥak said to him: I will tell you a parable. To what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to one who was walking through a desert and who was hungry, tired, and thirsty. And he found a tree whose fruits were sweet and whose shade was pleasant, and a stream of water flowed beneath it. He ate from the fruits of the tree, drank from the water in the stream, and sat in the shade of the tree.

וכשביקש לילך אמר אילן אילן במה אברכך אם אומר לך שיהו פירותיך מתוקין הרי פירותיך מתוקין שיהא צילך נאה הרי צילך נאה שתהא אמת המים עוברת תחתיך הרי אמת המים עוברת תחתיך אלא יהי רצון שכל נטיעות שנוטעין ממך

And when he wished to leave, he said: Tree, tree, with what shall I bless you? If I say to you that your fruits should be sweet, your fruits are already sweet; if I say that your shade should be pleasant, your shade is already pleasant; if I say that a stream of water should flow beneath you, a stream of water already flows beneath you. Rather, I will bless you as follows: May it beGod’s will that all saplings which they plant from you

יהיו כמותך אף אתה במה אברכך אם בתורה הרי תורה אם בעושר הרי עושר אם בבנים הרי בנים אלא יהי רצון שיהו צאצאי מעיך כמותך:

be like you. So it is with you. With what shall I bless you? If I bless you with Torah, you already have Torah; if I bless you with wealth, you already have wealth; if I bless you with children, you already have children. Rather, may it be God’s will that your offspring shall be like you.

This wonderful exchange of the Rabbis shows a deep Jewish concept, of seeing life in terms of what I can do for the future. The best ‘investment’ in our tradition is to make sure that there will be a future for our people, in terms of Torah study and the institutions and organizations dedicated to secure our future in the world. I always argue that a teacher is really a ‘farmer’ sowing seeds of knowledge which will then produce ‘fruits’ in ways one cannot even imagine, at a future time.

This is the lesson that Moshe was making at this moment. The cities of refuge were for a future time but that does not preclude Moshe from beginning the process now. The Kli Yakar adds that this is why a famous verse appears in this parsha which seems to be more appropriate for the end of Vezot Habracha.

מד  וְזֹאת, הַתּוֹרָה, אֲשֶׁר-שָׂם מֹשֶׁה, לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel;

This is a generic statement about Torah, which the Kli Yakar links to the above theme. Moshe was teaching us one of the keys to Jewish survival, to always look to the future and prepare the mitzvah, even if you won’t be there to finish it. This is a ‘torah’ lesson which Moshe gave at this time to the children of Israel, which is extremely important. This is also the link to the previous verse quoted above, where it states that our life in Israel is for us and our children following us-

אֲשֶׁר יִיטַב לְךָ, וּלְבָנֶיךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ  ensuring the continuity and future we all wish for.

I would add that this is why the word ‘az’ appears here. Whenever we see this word in the Tenach, it seems to mark a special moment of inspiration, such as the song at the Red Sea or when the Jews praised the well of Miriam or when Joshua asked the sun to stand still in Givon (Joshua 10:12). The word ‘az’ designates a special moment here as well, in that a major rule for the future is being established by Moshe, which deserves the word ‘az’ as an introduction.

After Tisha B’Av and now in the season of consolation with Shabbat Nachamu, it is very comforting to see how this principle is put into practice in so many ways. There have been many philanthropists who have built the Yeshiva buildings in the hope that a grandchild will see the family name on the building and go in and find out what the place is all about. This is a wonderfully optimistic ideal and very suitable for the time of year when we seek to feel comfort and hope after remembering all the tragedies of our history.

May we continue to’ build’ the Temple with each mitzvah that we begin (and hopefully complete) so that we will see the culmination of the process, with the arrival of Mashiach speedily in our days.

Rabbi Ian Shaffer                    Cherry Hill NJ/SCW                 July 2018