In this last Parsha Vezot Haberacha, Moshe closes with a blessing to his flock. In verse 4 we find “The Torah that Moshe commanded us, is the heritage of the congregations of Yakov.” Prof. Yeshayahu Lebovitz points out that it does not say the house of Yakov, or the descendants of Yakov, but congregations. Each congregation has their own traditions but Moshe’s heritage are the words of the Torah itself, which will always keep us together as one nation.
The next verse is quite challenging, and many of us are familiar with it in Hebrew as it is one of the popular melodies – “vayehi beyushurun Melech…” which translates “And he was King in Yeshurun, when the leaders of the nation and the tribes of Israel gathered together.” Who is the King referred to here and what is the meaning of the word “Yeshurun”? not even translated anywhere in the English translations.
Our classical sages find different interpretations, from the idea that this refers to Hashem, and when all Israel live in harmony then Hashem watches over us, to Moshe who was in a sense a King over Israel, to a reference to the nation of Israel. The Ibn Ezra explains that the word “Yeshurun” is an extension of “Yashar” to be straight and honest. The Sforno suggests it derives from the word “Ishur” to accept, that Hashem will be treat us fairly if we work together in harmony and accept what Moshe brought to us.
Some of our later sages dig a little deeper. The Shem Meshmuel notes that the word “Yeshurun” end with a “nun”, not the usual plural ending in a “mem.” He explains that Hebrew grammatical experts consider this type of ending to indicate something lesser than the usual plural. Yeshurun refers to Israel, our nation, and even though we may not be perfect, if we pull together, we will get through.
The Ktav Vekabalah finds difficulty in the verse before, where we read “The Torah that Moshe commanded us.” Surely this is not Moshe speaking, and he suggests quite beautifully that these two verses were said by the people. All the way through Devarim, Moshe has been reviewing the Torah and in the last few chapters, requesting their acceptance, but we have not actually heard from the audience. These two verses, are all the tribes together as one, finally speaking up and giving their response to their great leader, in his final moments.
R Baruch Halevi Epstein opens a wonderfully different view. Moshe is telling Bnei Yisrael that whatever way the nation is led in the future, the Torah framework will be able to suit our society. There have been times when we have been led by a King, as a single ruler, then times when we have had a leadership council, such as the Sanhedrin, and finally full democracy. Moshe is saying the Torah is our legacy and heritage and can fit into any framework of society, provided we work together as a nation. Rav Epstein notes that after all the challenges of the forty years in the wilderness, Bnei Yisrael came to give respect to their great leader, and to show that they were now going to work together despite the differences between the tribes.
I would add an interesting point here, we can note that we are told “and the tribes of Israel gathered together” not the people of Israel. We are very much a nation of tribes, I think President Rivlin said it in one of his recent speeches. We have so many different groups, just as each tribe had different qualities. To get through these tough times we need to work together and we are certainly having difficulty in Israel in that respect.
On a much smaller scale, in our building we have the gathering of nations, Israelis, French, Russian and English. We built a succah for everyone and invited the children before the chag to come down and make the decorations. What a wonderful experience, all the children, religious or not, working together to celebrate this festival which we call “our time of rejoicing!”
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach