Parashat Ha’azinu 5786, 2025: “B’etzem Hayom Hazeh”

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Rabbi David Etengoff
  
The expression, “b’etzem hayom hazeh,” introduces the tragic narrative that portrays Moshe’s impending death: “And Hashem spoke to Moshe on that very day (b’etzem hayom hazeh), saying: “Go up this Mount Avarim [to] Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is facing Jericho, and see the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel as a possession.” (Sefer Devarim, 32:48-49, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself on Midrash Sifrei, notes that our expression is used when Hashem’s authority is challenged and the futility that accompanies such an act:

And Hashem spoke to Moshe on that very day: …  here (Sefer Devarim 32:48), regarding Moses’ death, the Torah states, “on that very day (בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה).” B’nai Yisrael said, “We swear by such and such, that if we notice Moshe [ascending the mountain to die], we will not let him do so! The man who brought us out of Egypt, divided the Red Sea for us, brought the manna down for us, made flocks of quails fly over to us, brought up the well for us, and gave us the Torah—we will not let him!” Thereupon, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: “I will have Moshe ascend the mountain [to his resting place] in the middle of the day!”
 
What should our ancestors have done for Moshe instead of rebelling against the Almighty? My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his students and disciples, suggested this response:

It was not the fault of the Jewish people that Moses made a mistake [by striking the rock instead of speaking to it, Sefer Bamidbar 20:8-13)]. But had the people possessed a sensitivity and love for Moses similar to the love that Moses felt for them, they would have torn the decree into shreds. It was their fault… When he was told that he would not enter the Land of Israel, Moses pleaded for forgiveness. Had the people joined him in prayer, the Holy One would have been forced to respond. But they did not join. Thus, we read in Parashat Va-etchanan that with tears in his eyes Moses tells them, “Va-etchanan” (Devrim 3:23): I prayed alone. It was not va-nitchanan, we prayed. I was a lonely solitary prayerful person; I prayed, no one else joined in with me. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Vision and Leadership: Reflections on Joseph and Moses, editors, David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler, page 212, underlining, brackets and bolding my own)
 
The Rav’s answer is so heart-wrenching that it brings one to tears. The depth of Moshe’s love for Am Yisrael was nearly unrequited. Moshe had sacrificed every aspect of his personal happiness to serve his people. He divorced his wife, was a stranger to his children and lived alone. All of this was so he could be ready to communicate with Hashem at a moment’s notice, and quite often, on the nation’s behalf. Yet, where was their recognition for Moshe’s total self-sacrifice? Why did they abandon him? Why did they fail to join him in tefilah? The Rav explained this disconnect between Moshe and his beloved people in this manner:

Moses was too great for his generation. He rose high above them. His vision was too penetrating, his depth superhuman, his sweep too high. They could not follow him; they failed to understand him. Had they understood and appreciated him … Moses would have been admitted to the Promised Land. The people’s guilt consisted in their not opening up to Moses’ influence, in resisting his redemptive and cathartic power, in not being willing to become his disciples. Of course, Moses suffered the consequences. (Page, 214)
 
As the Rav notes, it is incredibly tragic that our forebears failed to advocate on Moshe’s behalf before the Master of the Universe:
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[For] if Benei Yisrael had proven themselves worthy of communing with Moses, of being his disciples, if they had displayed the intellectual and emotional capacity to receive and absorb Torat Moshe [and prayed on his behalf], then Moses would have entered and conquered the Promised Land, and he would have been anointed as the King Messiah. Jewish history would have found its realization and fulfillment immediately upon entering the land. (Page, 214)
 
Sadly, our nation continues to wait for Mashiach and the “realization and fulfillment” of Jewish history. Let us hope and pray that he will not tarry long, and Zechariah the prophet’s vision will be fulfilled soon and in our days: “And Hashem shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall Hashem be one, and His name one.” (Sefer Zechariah 14:9) V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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