Deut. 32:1-52
PrĂ©cis: The parasha, the shortest in the Five Books, containing only 52 verses, begins with the “Song of Moses,” a hymn sung by Moses within sight of the Promised Land. The song contrasts God’s fidelity with the faithlessness of the People, and the need of the People to learn from their history under God’s care. Moses predicts that Israel’s enemies will be overcome. He is told to climb a mountain to see the Promised Land he will not enter, as he prepares for his death. This is the last parasha read on Shabbat in the annual cycle: the final parasha (V’zot Habracha) is read traditionally on Simchat Torah.
Deut. 32:26 “There is none like the God of Jeshurun riding through the heavens for your help – and His triumph through the skies.
This year, we read this parasha on Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return, which occurs between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rabbi Sacks has written (Covenant and Conversation, 10/6/22) that in this final Book of the Bible, God requites good with good, evil with evil. When bad things happen to us it is because we have been guilty of doing bad things ourselves. The fault lies not in our stars but ourselves.
In this parasha, Moses sees that the People will fail to follow the commandments, and will become comfortable and complacent and they will take credit for their success, only to see disaster befall them. But God will eventually save them. In this verse, we see the first use of the word “Yeshurun.” It comes from a root meaning “upright" or straight ahead. Sacks suggests that its use is deliberately ironic, since the prophecy is that the People will in fact be led astray.
This presents the most fundamental philosophical question of our faith: If God is indeed “upright” and just, why do bad things happen to good people? The question was asked by Abraham, by Moses, the prophets, and philosophers for thousands of years.
Sacks offers three possibilities. The first, from the Talmud, states that this is the one question Moses asked of God for which he received no answer, and thus remains unknowable. The second, developed by all of the Abrahamic religions, he calls “duality.” Namely, that there is a force (Satan, the Devil, the Prince of Darkness, et al.) which brings evil into the world. Because it undermines our belief in monotheism, it has been rejected by our Sages. Finally, the third option, which has been debated by commentators for centuries upon centuries of rabbinic Judaism, posits that justice will come in the world to come. This may offer some comfort to those who face tragic or unanticipated tribulations. However, our Holy Texts make almost no mention of such an idea. Instead, Torah creates a system where it is the responsibility of each and every human being to work for justice and fairness.
Sacks elegantly summarizes: “Difficult though Jewish faith is, it has had the effect throughout history of leading us to say: if bad things have happened, let us blame no one but ourselves, and let us labor to make them better…"
This is an important way of thinking on Shabbat Shuvah, when we seek to “return” to the way in which we are supposed to live.
