Congregation B´nei Israel
San José, Costa Rica
Always Remember
This week we began to read the fifth and last book of the Torah, the book of Devarim, in English called Deuteronomy. In this book Moshe makes a narration of the experience of the people of Israel in the desert, enhancing his hard work of leading the people. After this story, Moshe dies and the people conquer the land of Israel from the hand of his successor, Ieoshua Bin Nun.
Besides remembering the experiences they lived, Moshe also repeats some laws given during their travels throughout the desert, and he admonishes his people for their bad behavior during these years. Moshe’s words are the ones of a father advising his son.
The fact that Devarim repeats many of the stories and laws that appear in the first four books of the Torah, has given this book different names in Jewish tradition, such as “Mishne Toreh”, or “second to the Torah”, “Torah’s summary” or “Torah’s repetition”. The sages that translated the Torah to the Greek called it “Deuteronomion”, that is “second (deuteros) law (nomos)”.
A very interesting question is why Moshe felt the need to repeat the more relevant parts of the Torah before dying. There are two usual answers to this question, which you might find in the traditional commentaries. The first one state that Moshe’s addresses are not exactly a repetition, but the fact that many of these laws are renewed and the stories are not exactly the same, because there are always more details to add. This is true, and in fact, many teachings arise from the similarities and differences of the text in Devarim and the earlier books.
The second common answer states that the same way God had decreed that the generation that left Egypt will inevitably die in the desert, Moshe is really not repeating anything, but rather he was communicating to the new generation ancestors. By the way, this is a very reasonable answer.
Both explanations are certainly right. Nevertheless, in this opportunity, I would like to suggest a much simpler and realistic answer, based in the well-known fact that human beings forget things easily. We have short-term memory, especially with some things. We forget easily, sometimes even fast. That is why Moshe probably felt the need to repeat the laws.
In Jewish tradition, this human trait is very clear. Each year we read the same book and comment it again, one time and another. It is true that we try to learn something new every time, and that besides reading the same text gives people that for diverse reasons couldn’t follow it to do so now. But the truth is that after a year, sometimes we forget the story!
One of the most important books of Jewish tradition is the Mishnah, coded during the first centuries of the first millennium of the Common Era. The word Mishnah comes from the Jewish verb “leshanen”, that literally means repeat, say it again. This refers to the times of the Mishnah when the sages especially prepared to repeat one time and another the laws of the Mishnah, so they wouldn’t forget any details. Repeating was essential.
The Jewish Calendar is another example of repetitions. Each year we celebrate the same festivals again, and study how we should celebrate them. Again: it is true that we tend to discover new meanings each time, but it is also undeniable that studying the traditions of the festivals again is a way of remembering their teachings and customs.
There is something else which is even more important, and it has to deal with the mitzvot between the man and its fellows. The same way when we spend many years without following specific rules or custom rituals, we forget them; the truth is that if we don’t constantly remember our responsibilities with our fellow community members, we can forget them too. We don’t have a rigid ethic disk to access in an immediate way. If we don’t remember diligently the responsibility of giving tzedakah, it is easier to forget about it. If we don’t read again about the responsibility of visiting the sick, we simply forget to do so. If someone doesn’t tell us again that it is important to attend the synagogue and cooperate with the congregation, it will escape our minds. We constantly need to remember, repeat, and review. Or then, don’t we internally need to listen again every year before Yom Kippur an invitation to forgive?
I believe when Moshe explained his speech in the book of Devarim, he did not only bring new concepts or tried to communicate the old laws to the new generations, but he completely understood the frailty of the human memory. Before he died, he wanted to give us this lesson, he wanted to teach us that we should never stop repeating, that we should go back to the principles that guide our lives time and time again. He knew that if we don’t do so… we simply forget, and forgetfulness is one of the worst sins that we can commit as Jews.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky
Congregation B´nei Israel
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