Ilustration Credit: Noa Kelner
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
(יד) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה הֵ֣ן קָרְב֣וּ יָמֶ֘יךָ֮ לָמוּת֒ קְרָ֣א אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ וְהִֽתְיַצְּב֛וּ בְּאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד וַאֲצַוֶּ֑נּוּ...
God said to Moshe: Your days are coming close to dying. Call Yehoshua and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, so I can instruct him…
We're almost at the end of the Torah now, and that means Moshe is going to die soon. But doesn't the way God says that in this pasuk seem a little strange?
רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי קָשֶׁה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לִגְזֹר מִיתָה עַל הַצַּדִּיקִים… תֵּדַע לְךָ כָּךְ הָיָה צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר לְמשֶׁה הִנֵּה אַתָּה מֵת, וְלֹא אָמַר כָּךְ אֶלָּא הִנִּיחַ אוֹתוֹ וְתָלָה הַמִּיתָה בַּיָּמִים, מִנַּיִן, מִמַּה שֶּׁקָּרִינוּ בָּעִנְיָן: "הֵן קָרְבוּ יָמֶיךָ לָמוּת."
The Rabbis say: God finds it hard to decree death on the righteous... The proof is that God should have said to Moshe: "You are about to die." But God didn’t speak this way. God spared him and attached death to his days. How do we know this? From reading the words, "Your days are coming close to dying."
This midrash suggests that God said it in an indirect way, almost hinting at it instead of saying it more clearly, because it's hard for God when people like Moshe die.
- Do you ever feel like it's hard to talk about things that make you sad? Why is that?
- It's sad whenever any person dies. But what might make it especially sad for Moshe to die?
The midrash wonders about this too, and continues.
אֶתְמוֹל הָיָה עוֹלֶה לָרָקִיעַ כְּנֶּשֶׁר, עַכְשָׁו הָיָה מְבַקֵּשׁ לַעֲבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן וְאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל…
אֶתְמוֹל הָיוּ מַלְאָכִים מְרַתְּתִין לְפָנָיו, וְעַכְשָׁו הוּא אוֹמֵר "כִּי יָגֹרְתִּי מִפְּנֵי הָאַף וְהַחֵמָה" (דברים ט:יט)…
אֶתְמוֹל "עִיר גִּבֹּרִים עָלָה חָכָם וַיֹּרֶד עֹז מִבְטֶחָה"(משלי כא:יט) מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְעַכְשָׁו נִטְּלָה מִמֶּנּוּ וְנִתְּנָה לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן ...
אֶתְמוֹל הָיָה מֵסִיחַ כְּעָשִׁיר "שׁוּב מֵחֲרוֹן אַפֶּךָ" (שמות לב:יב), "סְלַח נָא לַעֲוֹן הָעָם הַזֶּה" (במדבר יד:יט), וְעַכְשָׁו הוּא מֵסִיחַ כְּרָשׁ "וָאֶתְחַנַּן" (דברים ג:כג), עֲשֵׂה עִמִּי חִנָּם.
Before, Moshe was able to fly up to heaven like an eagle. But now he has to ask just to cross the Jordan River, and he isn't able to...
Before, angels would tremble in fear before Moshe, but now he says, "I was afraid of the anger and wrath" (Devarim 9:19)...
Before, Moshe was "a wise man who could beat a city of mighty people and bring down strength" from heaven (Mishlei 21:22), but now that power was taken from him and given to Yehoshua...
Before, Moshe would talk to God like he was the one in charge: "Turn away from Your anger!" (Shemot 32:12), "Forgive the sin of this people!" (Bemidbar 14:19). But now he pleads like a beggar...
The special powers Moshe earned in his life symbolized how much he had accomplished, how close he was to God, and how important he was in teaching us the Torah. The loss of those powers is also symbolic - it shows us how much was lost when he died.
- How does this midrash make you feel?
- It's often hard to appreciate how special people are when they're with us, and then it feels like a big loss when they're gone. What was special about Moshe? Why is his death such a big deal in the Torah? Why might it have been extra hard for God?
- What can we do to better appreciate people before we're not with them anymore?
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