Choosing Moses
Reading the last portion of the Torah causes us to feel a measure of sadness. Moses, the faithful leader who spent decades of his life devoted to his people, is unable to conclude his life’s journey. He led the Children of Israel from Egypt to the bank of the Jordan River, but he was unable to see them enter the Promised Land. As is written in the final page of the Torah[1]:
And the Lord said to him, "This is the Land I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there."
Looking back at Moses’ long career, one cannot but think about the many disappointments he endured. If leadership is about influencing people, then Moses achieved only a limited measure of success. In story after story, we witness an ungrateful nation, a nation who is resistant to many of the teachings of Moses.
When, however, we take a deeper look at the words of Moses on his last day on earth, we see that he did find comfort. What looks like a rejection of all Moses stood for, is interpreted by Moses as the greatest act of devotion to Moses and to his teachings.
Just a few weeks earlier Moses was faced with, what he thought was a colossal threat. The tribe of Reuven and the tribe of Gad approached Moses and said that they did not want to cross the Jordan and enter the land of Israel, they preferred to stay east of the Jordan River, in the lands conquered by the Jewish people on their approach to Israel.
At first, Moses was furious. He accused them of being just like the spies, who, almost forty years earlier, dissuaded the Jews from entering the land, causing G-d to decree that the entire generation be barred from entrance to the land. Moses was afraid that he was facing a replay of that disaster.
Only after the two tribes committed to leading the troops in the future battles to conquer the land of Israel, did Moses, seemingly with great reluctance, agree to allow the two tribes to settle in the lands east of the land of Israel.
As he blessed each tribe, on the final day of his Life, Moses turns to the tribe of Gad, one of those who settled east of Israel and says[2]:
He saw the first portion for himself, because there, the portion of the lawgiver is hidden. And he came at the head of the people; he did what is righteous for the Lord, and what is lawful with Israel."
Rashi explains:
He saw the first portion for himself: He saw fit to take for himself territory in the land of Sihon and Og, whose land was the beginning of the conquest of the Land.
Because there, the portion of the lawgiver is hidden: For Gad knew [through Divine transmission,] that within his territory would be contained a portion of the field designated for the burial of “the lawgiver,” namely Moses.
Moses looked at his people, and sensed that beneath every action lies a deep love for their leader Moses. Moses recognized that amongst the Jews, there were some, whose love for him was so deep; they were willing to forfeit their portion of the land of Israel, and to settle outside of Israel just to be in close proximity to Moses. Chasidic Philosophy explains, that what they really wanted was to be close, not only to Moses’ burial place, but also to his ideas. Moses was inspiring his people to come to the holy land of Israel, the land that, as the Midrash says, is a land, which “wants to fulfill the will of its Maker”. The tribe of Gad wanted to apply Moses’ teaching even further. They felt that as students of Moses, they could and therefore must, extend Moses’ vision; they must extend the land of Israel eastward, sanctifying the eastern bank of the Jordan as well. Doing so, allowed them to be in close proximity to Moses, it allowed them to extend the holiness of Israel, and, most remarkably, allowed Moses to be buried amongst his people, allowing him, in some way, to be buried in the extension of the land of Israel.
Could there be a greater expression of love toward Moses? Is there anything that Moses could see in his lifetime that would be more meaningful?
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As we conclude the five books of Moses, on the happiest day of the year, on Simchat Torah, we find comfort and joy from our spiritual bond with Moses. We see ourselves as the tribe of Gad, as people whose task it is to fulfill Moses’ legacy. As people, whose mission it is to bring the Jewish people to the land of Israel, to the place where they have deep desire to connect to their creator. As people, whose mission it is to create Israel wherever we may be.
[1] Deuteronomy 34:4.
2] Deuteronomy 33:21.