A strange aspect of this week’s Parshah, is the interposition of a historical note in the midst of Moses’ speech. This section relates that Moses set aside three cities of refuge in Transjordan. The commentators puzzle over this insertion and its relation to the rest of the Parshah. Some see it as a historical sequence: Moses set aside these cities at the time he started on his exposition of the mitzvot, found in the rest of the Parshah. Others reject this assertion as farfetched and posit a thematic connection with what comes before and after. Having just exhorted the people to follow G-d and observe His commandments, Moses leads by personal example, setting aside three cities for of refuge as commanded at the end of Numbers. Even though they would not come into operation until the conquest of the rest of the Land and the establishment of three cities in western Israel, Moses took the opportunity to do what he could. This understanding of the text provides us with important religious lessons. Firstly, it shows the importance of leadership by example. It is not enough for religious leaders to simply exhort or even educate their flock in the ways of G-d. They must show by their own behaviour how a religious person is meant to live. Personal example provides the best moral education. Moses also teaches us another important lesson. He knows that he will not cross into the Land and thus will not be able to complete the mitzvah of establishing cities of refuge. Yet he does what he can, trusting that others will complete the work. Judaism does not require us to be perfect, neither to do what is beyond our capability. It does require us to do what we can and to observe and perform what is within our grasp. We are not allowed to use the excuse that we cannot perfectly observe everything to observe nothing. A corollary of this is the understanding that sometimes we cannot achieve all we wish. We are not G-d and cannot single-handedly save the world. Some things may indeed be beyond our grasp. That does not mean we should despise or despair of what we have. That does not mean that what we do have or achieve is worthless. It after all takes seven full weeks to go from the despair of Tisha B’Av to Rosh Hashanah. Yet each stage by itself is important and brings us closer to the ultimate goal.

 

ALIYAH BY ALIYAH SYNOPSIS

Rishon	Moses begs to be allowed to enter the Land but is refused.
Sheni	The warning against following other gods and the punishment: exile and destruction.
Shelishi	Moses sets aside three cities in Trans-Jordan to serve as cities of refuge.
Revi’i	The Revelation at Sinai and The Ten Commandments.
Chamishi	The people’s response to the Revelation.
Shishi	The Shema. Don’t forget G-d from the midst of prosperity.
Shevi’i	The command to destroy idolatry.
Haftorah	Isaiah 40;1-26: G-d comforts Zion

 

Sidra Statistics

Parshat Va’ethanan

·               has 105 verses;

·               is the  2nd  in Deuteronomy,  45th  in the Torah

·               6th longest in Deuteronomy, 

·               33rd  longest  in the Torah  

·                has  8 pos + 4 neg = 12  mitzvot.