A Mitzvah to Appeal

When G-d says no, it is not always no. When G-d says no to one person it is not necessarily no to others. G-d wants us to protest His will that we languish in exile and bring us Moshiach!

Moses’ Craving

The opening verse of this week’s parsha, Vo’eschanan, describes—in Moses’ own words—how he pleaded with G-d to let him enter the Promised Land, and how G-d refused to change His decree.

According to the Talmud, G-d tried to assuage Moses’ sorrow for not meriting entry into the Land of Israel by saying to him:

“Why do you want to see the promised land? Is it to eat its fruit and to be filled with its bounty? Your reason for wanting to enter the Promised Land is to be able to observe the many Mitzvos that are associated with the Land of Israel. I will consider it as if you had actually observed these Mitzvos.”

In effect, Moses was not interested in Israel for its aesthetic beauty or its bountiful riches;

Moses has only one desire: to be able to perform more of G-d’s commandments.

A Mitzvah is a Mitzvah, is a Mitzvah!

However, this raises an obvious question: If Moses was so devoted to following G-d’s will—which is, after all, the very meaning of a Mitzvah—why did he not feel content to stay behind in compliance with G-d’s directive to him that he would not enter into Israel? Why was the Mitzvah to not enter the Land of Israel not as important to him as the commandments that he would observe in Israel?

After all, the reason for fulfilling a command is not for personal satisfaction but for complying with G-d’s will. What difference does it therefore make if he would follow G- d’s will by not going to Israel or if he entered into Israel and fulfilled other commandments? In the final analysis a Mitzvah is a Mitzvah, is a Mitzvah!

What’s the Connection to Tisha B’Av

Second, the parsha of Vo’eschanan is always read the Shabbos after Tisha B’Av, the national day of mourning for the destruction of our two Holy Temples. There must be some connection between the parsha—and specifically, its beginning that deals with Moses pleas to enter into the Land of Israel— and Tisha B’Av. What is the connection?

Two Categories of Mitzvos

To understand that connection and also explain why Moses was not content with just following G-d’s directive, we must discern between two distinct categories of Divine directives.

There are Mitzvos that G-d wants us to do and to strive for, unequivocally. If one missed an opportunity to do a Mitzvah, it should be viewed by the person as a negative. Conversely, every opportunity to do a Mitzvah should be cherished and savored.

In the words of the Talmudic Sage, Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya: “G-d wanted to bestow abundant merit upon Israel so He multiplied the amount of Torah teachings and Mitzvos for them.” The more Mitzvos we do the more merit it bestows upon us.

Furthermore, the Hebrew word for merit, zechus, also possesses the meaning of refinement. Each Mitzvah is another channel to bring about the refinement of our character, and provides us with the ability to express our soul’s true feelings. The act of the Mitzvah itself removes the exterior barriers to the soul’s inner desires.

There is, however, another category of Mitzvos. To be sure it is also G-d’s will that we comply with them, but, they are not Mitzvos that we are supposed to ask for, and when they come, we do not savor their taste.

Included in this category are the times that G-d denies us of an opportunity to get closer to Him. In times of Divine displeasure, G-d distances us from Him. However, the objective of this distancing is for us to try to “change” G-d’s will, as it were. Of course, G- d’s will cannot be changed by us, rather, G- d’s inner will itself is that we implore him to reverse His decision.

Two Examples

The following are but two examples of this category of Divine directives: Aaron was hurt when he and his tribe were denied a role in dedicating the Mishkan, even though it was G-d’s will that he be denied that role. Similarly, those who were told they could not offer the Paschal offering because they were ritually unclean, were not faulted because they complained about it.

Much like a parent who punishes a child, the parent’s greatest desire is for the child to plead to get out of the state of punishment. The pain caused by the child’s recalcitrance would be magnified if the child did nothing to out of that state of alienation from the parent.

Thus, Moses pleaded with G-d and was persistent in his pleas, because the Divine directive he was given was denial of getting closer to G-d. According to our Sages, he prayed as many prayers as the numerical value of the word “Vo’eschanan-and I prayed,” which is 515! Moses understood well that G- d’s directive to him that he would not enter the land was actually a challenge for him and not a Mitzvah that he was to savor.

The Mitzvah we Should Pray Not to Do!

We are in the same predicament as Moses. We have been sent into exile that began with the destruction of the Holy Temple. We are to follow the example of Moses. Obviously, if we are in exile it is because G-d wanted us to be there. If it is G-d’s will it would appear to us that we should not try to change it. After all, is it not G-d’s will and is that synonymous with a Mitzva which is defined as G-d’s will?

In truth, this is the one type of Mitzvah we must resist. We ought not accept the reality of exile as a Divine decree with which we should be happy to comply.

On the contrary!

It is our obligation to emulate Moses and to plead with G-d incessantly to bring the ultimate redemption and deliverance from the state of alienation that we are in. We must never make peace with the idea that there will always be war and strife in the world. We must never stop demanding an end to suffering and the beginning of an age of unmitigated goodness and holiness.

The Connection to Tisha B’Av

Precisely after Tisha B’av, when we mourn and grieve over the loss of the Temples and lost spirituality, we read of Moses stubborn prayers to G-d to be able to get out of his divinely ordained exile. And while Moses was ultimately told no, the Torah wants us to realize that Moses was not wrong for pleading. Indeed, Moses prayer when augmented with our own will bear fruit. We will ultimately succeed in getting G-d to “alter” His mindset, as it were, and usher in the Age of Redemption, with the imminent arrival of Moshiach.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Voeschanan by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.