Menachem Mirski
Thoughts on Parashat D’varim 5783
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It was in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses addressed the Israelites in accordance with the instructions that יהוה had given him for them. (Deuteronomy 1:3)[/perfectpullquote]
It has been 40 years since the Israelites left Egypt. Do you remember when Moses said that he is not a good speaker?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]But Moses said to יהוה, “Please, O my lord, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Ex 4:10) יהוה became angry with Moses and said, “There is your brother Aaron the Levite. He, I know, speaks readily. Even now he is setting out to meet you, and he will be happy to see you. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth—I will be with you and with him as you speak, and tell both of you what to do and he shall speak for you to the people. Thus he shall serve as your spokesman, with you playing the role of God to him. (Ex 4:14-16)[/perfectpullquote]
What happened to his speech impediment? It seems that Moses overcame it and the Midrash confirms that:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]When Moses was younger he thought of himself as a man of few words (Exod. 4:10), but after he had received the Torah he changed and spoke about it often and at length.[/perfectpullquote]
Moses, who seemed to be shy and insecure at the beginning now knows the entire Divine message by heart and delivers it fluently and spontaneously to his people. Not only that; he is also able to retell the entire history of the Israelites, everything that happened between then and now. It was all there at his fingertips. He doesn’t need Aaron now. Well, it would have been impossible because Aaron is already dead. Actually, the stories the Torah contains between the Exodus and the beginning of Deuteronomy (as well as the way they are told) suggest that he hardly needed him, or any other spokesman, earlier, way earlier. I don’t think it took him 40 years to learn the Torah and to master teaching it. I think he was capable of speaking the Divine word simply by himself much earlier. Maybe he was just waiting for this moment, maybe he wasn’t aware that he was ready way before?
We need helpers to start growing and to grow further. We often assume, out of humility or insecurity, that we will need them for a long time. But that can be a mistake and we should be able to throw away the crutches and walk, or in this case, talk on our own. Yes, there are tasks and projects in our lives that require help and supervision from others. But we all know that being constantly dependent on things, ideas or other people can become unnecessary. Thus, in many other cases we just need to, at least, give ourselves a chance to act independently, alone, without any help!
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Menachem Mirski
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