Va'etchanan 3:23 - 7:11

Summary Points:

• Moses tells B'nai Yisrael how he pleaded with God to allow him to enter the Land of Israel, and says that God was angry because of their behavior, so God refused.
• Instead, God told Moses to ascend the Pisgah mountain range where he will see the Promised Land, and God tells him to mentor Joshua.
• Moses continues his discourse and describes the Exodus from Egypt and Matan Torah, the Giving of the Torah telling B'nai Yisrael that these events are wondrous and never before have these things occurred to any people.
• Moses predicts that in future generations the people will turn away from G‑d, worship idols, and be exiled from their land and scattered amongst the nations; but from there they will seek G‑d, and return to obey His commandments.
• There is a repetition of the Aseret HaDibrot {the 10 Commandments} and the verses of the Shema.

Prayer is called by [thirteen] names: cry, howl, groan, stricture, song, prostration, encounter, judgment, entreaty, standing, appeal and beseeching. ~Sifri

Moses prayed 515 prayers—the numerical value (gematria) of va’etchanan, “and I beseeched”—to be allowed to enter the Land. ~Midrash Rabbah

Kedushat Levi Parashat Va’Etchanan
I pleaded to God at that time saying. The word saying is unnecessary. And it appears that the interpretation is...that he was pleading first that he would be able to pray subsequently.

According to the Kedushat Levi, what we read about in the Torah as the content of Moshe’s prayer is in fact the answer to Moshe’s prayer. Moshe did not only plead with God to let him into the Holy Land, Moshe asked God to enable him to ask for what he desired. Moshe needed help to be able to express himself fully and to the best of his ability, and this request was granted. Moshe was not permitted to enter the land, but Moshe’s request to express himself fully and clearly regarding this deep need, his prayer for prayer, was granted.

Moshe’s predicament was not his alone. We all have difficulty expressing ourselves and we all sometimes need a prayer for prayer...The Gemara in Berakhot (9b) concludes that [the verse of] God, open my lips [and my mouth will tell of Your praises (Tehillim 51:17) which has come to introduce the Amidah prayer]The request is for (1) The prayer itself; (2) the prayer that [a person] be able to pray. And Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him… needed to pray that he would be able to request his prayer from Blessed God to enter into the land of Israel and he asked Him for eloquence (ma’aneh lashon)…

You, O G‑d, have begun to show Your servant Your greatness (3:24)

Moses was G‑d’s faithful servant, the greatest of the prophets, the recipient of the Torah from G‑d. Yet after 120 years of the most G‑dly life ever lived, he sees himself as only having begun in his relationship with G‑d! ~ Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov

You, O G‑d, have begun (3:24) [The Hebrew phrase Moses uses, atah hachilota, translates both as “You have begun” and “You have desecrated.”] ~ Midrash Rabbah

Said Moses to G‑d: Why are You doing this to me? “You have begun”—You began it all by coming to me in a flame of fire from within the thornbush. . . . After raising me up, You cast me down from my greatness?

Said G‑d to him: But I have sworn [that you shall not enter the Land]!

Said Moses to Him: “You have desecrated”—when You so desired, did You not violate Your oath? Did you not swear that You would annihilate Your children when they worshipped the golden calf, and then, [when I appealed on their behalf,] did You not retract Your oath?

Moses said to G‑d: Master of the Universe! Joseph’s bones are entering the Land, and I shall not enter?

Said G‑d to him: He who admitted to his land is buried in his land; and he who did not admit to his land shall not be buried in his land. Joseph admitted to his land when his master’s wife said (Genesis 39:14), “See, they have brought us a Hebrew man . . . ,” and he did not deny it; on the contrary, he said (ibid. 40:15), “I was abducted from the land of the Hebrews.” Therefore, he shall be buried in his land. You, however, did not admit to your land when the daughters of Jethro said (Exodus 2:19), “An Egyptian man rescued us from the shepherds,” and you heard this and were silent. Therefore, “you shall not cross this Jordan.” ~Midrash Rabbah

The Maggid of Mezeritch expounded on this verse, and asked: how can there be a commandment to love? Love is a feeling of the heart; one who has the feeling, loves. What can a person do if, G‑d forbid, love is not embedded in his heart? How can the Torah instruct “you shall love” as if it were a matter of choice? But the commandment actually lies in the previous verse, “Hear O Israel . . .” The Hebrew word shema (“hear”) also means “comprehend.” The Torah is commanding a person to study, comprehend and reflect upon the oneness of G‑d. Because it is the nature of the mind to rule the heart, such contemplation will inevitably lead to a love of G‑d. If one contemplates deeply and yet is still not excited with a love of G‑d, this is only because he has not sufficiently refined and purified himself of the things which stifle his capacity to sense and relate to the divine. Aside from this, such contemplation by the mind will always result in a feeling of love. ~Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch