On Moses' Servitude, Eve's Rebellion, God as Creator & the Death of President James Heller
While I am aware that we read Kohelet this Shabbat, I’m going to talk about V’Zot HaBeracha given that we will be reading it on Simchat Torah, which is very soon.
Here’s what I realized: V’Zot HaBeracha is actually a bookend!
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s a literary term. Think about ‘The Wizard of Oz’. The movie begins in black and white. Then Dorothy travels to the Land of Oz and everything is thrust into color. When she’s back in Kansas, it all goes back to black. (This is also beautifully done in the 2004 version of The Phantom of the Opera- see the intro here.) We call this ‘bookends,’ and sometimes ‘inclusio’ or ‘envelope structure.’
As I was reading through V’Zot HaBeracha, I realized how many of the pesukim [verses] paralleled Bereshit, the opening parsha that begins the book of Genesis. This is not obvious at first blush given that the main focus of V’Zot HaBeracha is Moses blessing all of the tribes. What does blessing the tribes have to do with God creating the world?
But if you look a bit deeper- at how God is described and depicted- you will see all the ways that Moses is drawing upon God as the God of creation in his very last words. This makes V’Zot HaBeracha the perfect parsha to end on, and explains why we go straight from its conclusion back to Bereshit once more.
Look at Moses’ description of God in Deuteronomy 33:2.
וַיֹּאמַ֗ר יְהֹוָ֞ה מִסִּינַ֥י בָּא֙ וְזָרַ֤ח מִשֵּׂעִיר֙ לָ֔מוֹ הוֹפִ֨יעַ֙ מֵהַ֣ר פָּארָ֔ן וְאָתָ֖ה מֵרִֽבְבֹ֣ת קֹ֑דֶשׁ מִֽימִינ֕וֹ אֵ֥שׁ דָּ֖ת (כתיב אשדת) לָֽמוֹ:
He said: "The Lord came from Sinai and shone forth from Seir to them; He appeared from Mount Paran and came with some of the holy myriads; from His right hand was a fiery Law for them.
Do you notice the imagery here? It is filled with light. It is declaring God as the Lord of Light.
God shone forth from Seir. He gave Moses a fiery Law.
This directly focuses on the God of Creation. The very first thing the God of Creation did was separate light from darkness and declare it good.
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִי־א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר:
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
יַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֔ים בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֽשֶׁךְ:
And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated between the light and between the darkness.
What is God known for? His very first action- demonstrating Himself as the Lord of Light.
Then look at Deuteronomy 33:26.
אֵ֥ין כָּאֵ֖ל יְשֻׁר֑וּן רֹכֵ֤ב שָׁמַ֨יִם֙ בְּעֶזְרֶ֔ךָ וּבְגַֽאֲוָת֖וֹ שְׁחָקִֽים:
Jeshurun, there is none like God; He Who rides the heavens is at your assistance, and with His majesty, [He rides] the skies,
Think about that image. God who rides the heavens and rides the skies.
In the very first image we ever have of God, His spirit floats over the face of the everlasting water.
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ:
In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the earth.
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָֽיְתָ֥ה תֹ֨הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְח֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם:
Now the earth was astonishingly empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water.
-Genesis 1:1-2
The fact that God is above the earth and the darkness places him in what we now know to be space- but what could also be deemed the heavens- the point is that He is Above.
But what Moses is doing is even more clever, because He is not only setting God up as Above, but also referencing God as a Man of War (as described in the song Bnei Yisrael sang when they exited Egypt), literally riding to their aid. See Exodus 15:3.
יְהֹוָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה יְהֹוָ֖ה שְׁמֽוֹ:
The Lord is a Master of war; the Lord is His Name.
Moses continues in Deuteronomy 33:27:
מְעֹנָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵי קֶ֔דֶם וּמִתַּ֖חַת זְרֹעֹ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם וַיְגָ֧רֶשׁ מִפָּנֶ֛יךָ אוֹיֵ֖ב וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַשְׁמֵֽד:
which are the abode for the God Who precedes all, and below, are the mighty ones of the world. He expelled the enemy from before you, and said, 'Destroy!'
Here he is explicitly referencing Genesis. God who precedes all! Hence the obvious Creator and Designer of the world.
He is also making the relationship between God and humans explicit. God is above- below are the mighty ones of the world. But God is always Master, and the one who can expel all enemies from before us- because He is the Creator.
Moses spends the entire parsha talking about God’s unique relationship to Bnei Yisrael -the Children of Israel. He talks about how we are chosen, special, and uniquely protected. Our enemies will flee from before us and God will protect us.
But what he is doing, and this is important, is linking all of that to who God is. The reason that God has this power is because He is the Creator. As Creator and Designer, He is the one who can ultimately determine our fate and the fate of all humanity.
When looked at in this way, V’Zot HaBeracha becomes the perfect ending to the entire Torah. In the beginning God is alone. His spirit hovers over the surface of the water. He creates life, and humanity, and their first act is to rebel against Him.
But in the end, Moses, a human creation, acknowledges His sovereignty. He affirms God as Creator- God of light, God who dwells in the heaven, God Above, God who precedes all.
And then, as his very last act on earth, Moses submits to God. He does not try to flee his fate- attempting to force his way into the Land of Israel, as one of the Maapilim might. He does not rebel against the death that God has set him- a death that references the edict that all men must die as set forth in Genesis. Instead, in an act that is completely the opposite of Adam and Eve’s, he goes willingly to his death. He does not try to become like God.
כִּ֚י יֹדֵ֣עַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים כִּ֗י בְּיוֹם֙ אֲכָלְכֶ֣ם מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְנִפְקְח֖וּ עֵֽינֵיכֶ֑ם וִֽהְיִיתֶם֙ כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים יֹֽדְעֵ֖י ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע:
For God knows that on the day that you eat thereof, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God [or angels], knowing good and evil."
Moses affirms God and His power of Creator. Then, rather than rebel against Him, or attempt to flee or evade Him, Moses goes willingly with Him, and goes to His death. His last act on earth is a rectification of the rebellion that Adam and Eve set in motion. Despite his desire to see the Promised Land- a desire that was just as strong if not stronger than Eve’s desire to eat the beautiful fruit- Moses is content with sight and does not act. He sees the land and then he dies. In contrast, Eve sees the fruit and then plucks it from the tree, eating it.
And so one can argue that not only is V’Zot HaBeracha a bookend to Bereshit, but that Moses and Adam/ Eve are literary foils. They are each aware of God’s role as Creator. There is something that both of them desperately want. The power of sight is permitted- but action beyond sight is not. Eve transgresses but Moses submits. The last act of a human on earth is to change the course of the story that Eve began.
Note the focus as well on locations that cannot be found. When Eve and Adam are exiled from the garden,
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֗ים הֵ֤ן הָֽאָדָם֙ הָיָה֙ כְּאַחַ֣ד מִמֶּ֔נּוּ לָדַ֖עַת ט֣וֹב וָרָ֑ע וְעַתָּ֣ה | פֶּן־יִשְׁלַ֣ח יָד֗וֹ וְלָקַח֙ גַּ֚ם מֵעֵ֣ץ הַֽחַיִּ֔ים וְאָכַ֖ל וָחַ֥י לְעֹלָֽם:
Now the Lord God said, "Behold man has become like one of us, having the ability of knowing good and evil, and now, lest he stretch forth his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever."
וַיְשַׁלְּחֵ֛הוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים מִגַּן־עֵ֑דֶן לַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֻקַּ֖ח מִשָּֽׁם:
And the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to till the soil, whence he had been taken.
וַיְגָ֖רֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩ מִקֶּ֨דֶם לְגַן־עֵ֜דֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֨רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת לִשְׁמֹ֕ר אֶת־דֶּ֖רֶךְ עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים:
And He drove the man out, and He stationed from the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and the blade of the revolving sword, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.
There is a reason that Eve and Adam cannot return to the Garden of Eden- the path is barred. It is a land they can no longer enter. A place that we as humans cannot find.
And Moses, too, cannot enter the Promised Land. The way is barred. God Himself buries Moses- in a location that is unknown, a place we cannot find.
וַיִּקְבֹּ֨ר אֹת֤וֹ בַגַּי֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מוֹאָ֔ב מ֖וּל בֵּ֣ית פְּע֑וֹר וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֥ע אִישׁ֙ אֶת־קְבֻ֣רָת֔וֹ עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה:
and He buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Pe'or. And no person knows the place of his burial, unto this day.
More than this, look at the emphasis on sight. The serpent promised that Eve’s eyes would be opened when she ate from the Tree of Knowledge. And indeed, that is exactly what happened.
וַתִּפָּקַ֨חְנָה֙ עֵינֵ֣י שְׁנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיֵּ֣דְע֔וּ כִּ֥י עֵֽירֻמִּ֖ם הֵ֑ם וַיִּתְפְּרוּ֙ עֲלֵ֣ה תְאֵנָ֔ה וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם חֲגֹרֹֽת:
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves girdles.
Look at the depiction of Moses and his eyes.
וּמשֶׁ֗ה בֶּן־מֵאָ֧ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֛ים שָׁנָ֖ה בְּמֹת֑וֹ לֹא־כָֽהֲתָ֥ה עֵינ֖וֹ וְלֹא־נָ֥ס לֵחֹֽה:
Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye had not dimmed, nor had he lost his [natural] freshness.
-Deuteronomy 33:7
In the simplest reading, this means that Moses had not become blind (as opposed to others who did become blind in their old age- like Isaac and Jacob). But one could look at this with a deeper interpretation and consider the contrast. Adam and Eve reached for what was forbidden because of a desire to see, for their eyes to be opened.
But Moses has his eyes open. He can see. They are not dimmed. And despite that, despite the fact that the Yetzer Hara lives inside of him as opposed to outside of him in the form of a serpent, he is able to submit to God, quell his own desire, and do what he is commanded to do.
Is it any wonder, then, that Moses is referred to in this parsha by the greatest of all monikers, the servant of God?
וַיָּ֨מָת שָׁ֜ם משֶׁ֧ה עֶֽבֶד־יְהֹוָ֛ה בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מוֹאָ֖ב עַל־פִּ֥י יְהֹוָֽה:
And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the land of Moab, by the mouth of the Lord.
-Deuteronomy 33:5
When God created the world, He made an idyllic, beautiful place for humanity to dwell. He gave them one rule, and they trespassed. Tempted by a serpent, Eve saw the fruit and wanted it; she wanted her eyes to be opened. In the end, she and her husband were cast out of Eden and the way was barred.
When Moses first encounters God, it is as the Lord of Light, a fire burning in a bush that is still not completely consumed. God has Moses’ own staff transform into a serpent. Then he gives Moses an impossible mission, and despite his pain and sorrow, Moses performs it. At the end of his life, his eyes undimmed, Moses too desires the one thing God has said he cannot have. But he sees, and is content with the gift of sight. He does not transgress. God takes his life with a breath, with a kiss. And the place that Moses rests will never be found.
What a dramatic and powerful ending to the story of humanity’s rebellion- an ending that reflects humanity’s surrender. Not an uninformed surrender, not a forced surrender, but a willing surrender. The surrender of a servant of God- of a man who understands God.
What a powerful way to end the Torah.
Addendum: I love the TV series 24. The scene where Moses accepts his death- and also when King Saul walks onto the Philistine battlefield after knowing he will die that day- in my mind is echoed by Season 9 Episode 8 of ‘24’ when President James Heller walks onto Wembley Stadium. Gives me chills every time. And yes- I cry. This is how I hope to die- with this much courage, and with this much acceptance. Only a true servant of the people has the ability to die like this.