Shabbat Hazon, Parashat Devarim, Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22

This Parsha is sponsored by Harriet Train in memory of Louis Train.

Could it be possible to stay too long at the site of Revelation?

We begin this week with a bit of a refresher from English class. Homonyms are words with the same spelling, but different meanings. (You polish a mirror but polish off a meal). These are not to be confused with homophones, words that sound alike but may be spelled differently. (To be is not a bee, too.) Then there are heteronyms, words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently, each pronunciation is associated with a different meaning. (How do you say polish in Polish?) Quiz tomorrow.

All this makes for fun with puns, commonly understood as the lowest form of humour but used extensively in rabbinic interpretation, especially midrash. As Jews spread throughout the world, acquiring multilingual proficiency, the increased vocabulary provided material for rabbinic cross-language punning. Who knew religion could be so much fun?

We get a taste of this with the foreign words that nudge their way into the English language. Take for example, "nudge," pronounced nahj, to give a little push, believed to date back to the 17th century and possible related to the Old English word that also gave us "knock." This is not to be confused with nudge pronounced nooj; a pesky Yiddish word that elbowed its way into English in the 19th century. It is said to be related to the Polish word that also gave us nudnik. What's a nudnik? A nudge (nooj), a person who nudges (nahjez) a bit too much. Which takes us from philology to philosophy: When does nudge (nahj) become nudge (nooj)? Or more simply: When does push come to shove?

As we begin the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) this becomes a pertinent question. Sometimes that extra little push is needed to accomplish something. Is this a tap of encouragement or a slap at procrastination? This question comes to mind as we begin to read this fifth and last book of the Torah. First of all to recap: We come now to the end of forty years of wandering in the wilderness. On the other side of the Jordan, Moses is addressing the Children of Israel. He will spend most of Deuteronomy reviewing what has taken place since the Exodus. And so he begins: The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying: You have stayed long enough at this mountain. (Deuteronomy 1:6)

To clarify, Horeb is a synonym for Mount Sinai, that very special place where we received the Torah from the one and only God. Could it be possible to stay too long at the site of Revelation?

It all depends how you understand the words You have stayed long enough.
Jeffrey Tigay looks at them as relating to the Divine plan:

God's first words in Deuteronomy express impatience, indicating that He was eager for Israel to enter the land immediately. The nearly forty-year delay was not God's intention but the result of Israel's failure to trust and obey Him.

The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy, Jeffrey Tigay, p. 8

From this viewpoint God is nudging a bunch of nudges.

Rashi has a different perspective, actually two perspectives. First of all, he takes the text at its plain meaning: You have stayed long enough, time to move on. Secondly, Rashi draws on the midrash Sifre which sees the long stay in a very positive light. Here's where the pun comes in. The Hebrew for "long enough" is rav which also means "abundant." The phrase You have stayed long enough can be read as "you received abundantly" for being there:

You have received abundant greatness and reward for having stayed at this mountain. You made the Tabernacle, the menorah, and the [ritual] utensils. You received the Torah. You appointed a Sanhedrin for yourselves, and commanders over thousands and commanders over hundreds.

Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:6

Why would we want to leave the mountain? What could be better then to be at the place where our brit (covenant) was established? Despite the wonderful things that took place at Sinai the message is clear: Life is not lived at the mountain. The covenant is implemented only when we leave that special locale.

The brit is useless, unless we act upon it. So we get a Divine nudge: You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Take the memory of the mountain with you but get out of its shadow; go on and live your life, make something of it.

We all need that nudge. We fear new things or are forced into circumstances we don't want. How do we face these situations? The book of Deuteronomy shows us the mistakes and triumphs of our ancestors. There are times when we need that nudge. Leaving the mountain may be difficult but it is vital for human development. (Social scientists even study the most efficient ways to nudge us to make better decisions. Check out this blog by economist Richard Thaler and law professor Cass R. Sunstein who have written about decision-making in a book delightfully titled Nudge.)

This is the second time in the Torah we are nudged. The first time occurred way back in Genesis, when humanity was forced to leave the Garden of Eden. In exiting that sheltered environment all humanity had to learn to grow up. Now, as our ancestors are on the threshold of the Promised Land, we are given another nudge. This one helps us develop as Jews. What would happen if we don't leave the mountain?

There is a danger that the people of Israel will grow too comfortable where they are and will be reluctant to move on into the unknown. There are times when fulfillment as individuals or as a group requires us to leave the familiar and move on toward a goal.

Etz Hayim Commentary, p. 982

We are all on a spiritual quest but too many of us are still searching for the mountain when we should actually be searching for the path leading away from it. We've had other nudges too. Some were small taps, others wallops. Having just entered the month of Av, we are aware of one of those huge nudges. Yet Rabbinic Judaism would not have developed if the Temple had remained standing. We would not be who we are if our ancestors had remained at the mountain.

The lesson here is one of religious growth for the individual and the community. Our ancestors were nudged in the Wilderness. They were nudged and they nudged. But they moved on, took chances, made mistakes. Deuteronomy will remind us of the nudges and mistakes along the way.

You have stayed long enough at this mountain. These words are the boundary between covenant and living covenant. Leaving the mountain means putting things into action. As we are told elsewhere (Leviticus 18:5) regarding the instructions of the Torah: ve-chai ba-hem (live by them).

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Michal Shekel