Questions & Commentary on Parashat Va'etchannan

1. Why is it so important not to forget the day we stood at Chorev (another name for Mt. Sinai; see Deuteronomy 4:9-10)? How do we fulfill this mitzva? 

Leah Vaks

Moses' discourses in Parashat Va'etchannan are saturated with the most important theological and halakhic principles of Judaism, including the 10 Pronouncements and the first passage of the Shema. The goal of these discourses is to give Am Yisrael a firm foundation for observing the mitzvot after Moses' death. There are three basic motivational approaches towards mitzvot developed in our parasha: the practical, the philosophic, and the covenantal.

The first and most common approach promotes the practical motivation: Observe these laws, "so that you will live and enter and inherit the land which the LORD, the God of your ancestors, gives to you" (Deuteronomy 4:1; cf. 4:40; 5:30; 6:18). The promise of reward is reinforced by a corresponding threat: Do not follow other gods, "so that the fury of the LORD your God does not blaze against you and destroy you from the face of the land" (6:15), for example, like it destroyed the worshippers of Ba‘al Pe'or (4:3). This practical, result-oriented attitude was very appropriate for the generation who was about to enter the Promised Land and who needed divine instruction for the creation of a godly society. Following the mitzvot would assure the people of their meritorious standing, tzedaqa, (6:25), in relationship to God, to each other, and to the Land, and thus guarantee their longevity and physical well-being in their new homeland. 

The second approach exemplifies the philosophical motivation. Israel should observe the Torah "because she is your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of the nations, who on hearing all these laws will say: ‘Surely, a wise and discerning people is this great nation.' For what great nation has God so close to it, like the LORD our God, in all our appeals to him? And what great nation has such just laws and statutes like this whole Torah which I place before you today?" (Deuteronomy 4:6-8). This philosophical line of reasoning considers the objective value of keeping the Torah by encouraging a comparison between the religious paths of Israel and of other nations. Moses argues that the Torah deserves a positive appraisal "in the eyes of the nations," i.e. from an objective religious standpoint, both for its spiritual effect on Israel and for its exemplary moral standards. To follow the Torah is therefore to follow the path of wisdom and discernment, chokhma uvina, a universal spiritual aspiration.

Finally, the third approach, expounded in the central passages of the parasha, endorses the covenantal motivation. "The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Chorev. Not with our fathers did the LORD make this Covenant, but with us, ourselves, all those who are alive here today" (Deuteronomy 5:2-3). The Covenant, brit, refers to the 10 Pronouncements, first recorded in Exodus and repeated again in our parasha. The Covenant itself revealed the divine will, establishing God's core expectations for a relationship with Israel; meanwhile, the manner of the Covenant's revelation served to impress Israel with an experiential knowledge of God and with a deep, irrevocable awareness of what relationship with that God means. Such heart-knowledge and awareness, da‘at (4:35, 39), derived from Israel's profound experience at Chorev, remains securely entrenched in Israel's hearts and is transmitted to the next generation through our collective memory of "the day [we] stood before the LORD our God at Chorev" (4:10). 

What lessons should we take to heart from that momentous divine encounter at Chorev? 1. We saw no image of God, but only heard his voice, in order to learn not to worship God through any kind of man-made representation or through any celestial spheres, as do pagan nations (4:12-20); 2. Our entire nation heard God's voice from heaven and saw his fire on earth, an event unparalleled in history, in order to know with true certainty that the LORD is real, and that besides for him there is no God (4:32-39); 3. We saw God's glory and heard his voice and yet did not perish, but were filled with tremendous awe and trepidation, so that we may forever hold that reverence for God in our hearts and obey his mitzvot (5:20-26); 4. We experienced God's faithfulness and love in redeeming us from Egypt, in order to recognize that we are God's holy and treasured people whom he will never abandon or break covenant with, and thus we have no need in making covenants with pagan nations or their gods (4:29-31; 7:1-10).

The memory of Chorev is our national da‘at (heart-knowledge, awareness) of God and his covenantal relationship with us. Best summarized in the words of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), this da‘at is the most potent motivator for our continued choice to love God, to live by his commandments, and to teach them diligently to our children (6:7). While for some the motivation may be tzedaqa (merit, righteousness), this is easily shaken when no practical, visible results are apparent. For others, the motivation may be chokhma uvina (wisdom and discernment), but this too can crumble as soon as the Torah's laws no longer seem spiritually or morally relevant. Only da‘at, rooted as it is in our deepest collective consciousness of encountering God at Chorev, can ensure the perpetuity of Israel's covenantal relationship with God. May we all merit fulfilling the mitzva of "remembering Chorev" by instilling that day's eternal lessons in ourselves and in our children and in the stranger who loves God and takes hold of his covenant.    

2. Why did God give two tablets to Moses at Sinai? How are these two Tablets related? To what might it allude? Why is this Torah portion always read around Tisha B'Av? What important lessons does it have to teach us about this tragic day? 

Rabbi Jason Sobel

Moses came down from Mount Sinai with two tablets on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments. In Judaism, the Divine imperatives written on these tablets are known as the Aseret Haddevarim, the Ten Statements or Principals.  These ten statements are seen as the foundational principals from which all the other commandments in the Torah are derived. The first tablet deals with mitzvot ben Adam laMaqom, commandments that govern the relationship between people and God. The second tablet represents mitzvot ben adam lechavero, commandments between people and their neighbors. That these tablets where given together demonstrates that these mitzvot are inextricably bound together and equally important in God's eyes.

All though the first tablet provides the foundation for the second, the second provides the tangible proof that we are really committed to living out the precepts inscribed on of the first. Faith that does not demonstrate itself in actions is of little worth in God's sight. As Ya‘aqov states, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). How we relate to our Creator and to one another are equally important in God's eyes. One without the other is incomplete and deficient in God's sight. Love of both God and other people go hand in hand and form the foundation of the Ten Commandments as well as the entire Torah and Brit Chadasha. Yeshua underscored this point when he said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 27:26). The first tablet forms the foundation for our relationship with God while the second forms the basis for how we relate to those made in God's image. The breaking of either tablet has dire consequences for God's people. 

Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because during its period there were three sins: idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed . . . But regarding the time of the Second Temple, we know that they studied Torah, preformed the mitzvot, and practiced deeds of kindness; why than was it destroyed? It was due to the fact that senseless/unwarranted hatred was prevalent among them. This teaches us that senseless hatred is equal to the transgressions of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed.

b. Yoma 9b

On account of breaking both tablets, God destroyed both Temples and sent our people into exile until this day. One of the ultimate examples of the unwarranted hatred that led to the destruction of the Second Temple was the crucifixion of Yeshua our righteous Messiah. Our senseless hatred toward Messiah and one another has continued until this day and has prevented the ge'ula shlema, the complete redemption of Israel. By striving to love God and Messiah Yeshua with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves, we demonstrate that we take have turned from the sins of our forbearers, and by so doing hasten the end of our exile and the return of our Messiah. When we collective do this as a people, the Lord will finally turn our fasts of mourning into festivals of joy through Yeshua the Prince of Peace (Zechariah 8:19).