Relationships are an art and no two are the same. The nuanced relationship between G-d and the Jewish People is on full display in this week’s parsha.
It opens with Moshe sharing the fact that he prayed incessantly to be allowed to enter the Promised Land until he was told that by doing so he would forsake the generation of Israelites he had led out of Egypt forty years earlier. While this anecdote emphasizes Moshe’s devotion as a leader, it is a stark reminder of the tragic sin that prolonged their dessert journey for forty years and caused the premature death of an entire generation.
The parsha continues to describe the terrible tragedies of exile that would befall the Jewish people in the future as a result of forsaking G-d’s covenant. These verses are so poignant that they are the Torah reading for Tisha B’Av, when we mourn the destruction of both Holy Temples.
But the parsha also plays host to the story of Matan Torah, the revelation at Sinai and the Giving of the Torah. Moshe retells the many details of that momentous event, when G-d gifted us His precious Torah with unbridled love and trust. In addition, we read the famous paragraph of Shema Yisrael - the essential declaration of our faith in G-d.
In one reading, we encounter the highest and lowest moments.
It is a juxtaposition that forces us to discover the essential bond between G-d and the Jewish People that transcends all circumstances.
This past Sunday, during the fast of Tisha B’Av, someone shared with me recording of a talk the Rebbe gave 34 years ago. Quoting from an important Jewish text, the Rebbe elaborated on the fact that when the Holy Temple started to burn on the afternoon of the 9th of Av in 70CE, the Jews witnessing the destruction started to rejoice! How does this make any sense?
When the Romans entered Jerusalem and started massacring the multitudes of Jews, the Jews feared that their total annihilation would happen right then and there. But when they saw the Holy Temple burning, they realized that G-d was venting his fury only on the structural symbol of Judaism and not on Judaism itself. Although the greatest Jewish tragedy was unfolding in front of their eyes, it was from that point on that they knew that Am Yisrael Chai! - Judaism will endure forever!
Because despite the fact that our actions caused divine retribution and we became unworthy of having consistent and clear divine revelation in the structure of the Holy Temple, our relationship with G-d is not limited to our behavior. It weathers the storms of sin and destruction and will one day shine brightly forever with the coming of Moshiach.
We must not sit back and wait for this to happen. The process of revealing this essential bond depends on our active participation. By increasing out Torah study, Mitzvah observance and ensuring our fellow Jews do the same, we expedite the redemption - for real.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Levi Greenberg