Nitzavim - Vayelech: The Dual Method of Leadership

by Rav Moshe Leib HaCohen Halbershtat, founder and head of the Yoru Program for the Training of Rabbis and Community Leaders, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The Torah tells us two seemingly contradictory things in this week's Torah portion of Vayelech (which we read together with Nitzavim), regarding the appointment of Yehoshua bin Nun as the successor to Moshe Rabbeinu. In D'varim 31,7, we read that the new leader will "come with this nation into the land that G-d promised their forefathers." Sixteen verses later, we read that G-d told Yehoshua, "Be strong and brave, for you will bring the Children of Israel into the land…" 

So which is it: Will Yehoshua come with them, as one among many, or will he lead them?

Rashi explains (based on Sanhedrin 8a) that Moshe said that Yehoshua should come with the elders and consult with them – but G-d later "corrected" Moshe and said that Yehoshua must be the undisputed leader, with the elders subservient to him.

It thus appears that Moshe made up his own mind, after which G-d came and "tweaked" his approach. This jibes with the Gemara (Megillah 31b) that tells us that the book of D'varim – comprised mostly of Moshe's parting speech to Israel before his death – was Moshe's own words: "Moshe said them from his own mouth." 

But it seems not to jibe at all with a different passage in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 99a), which states very firmly: "Whoever says that even just one verse in the Torah was not stated originally by G-d is considered as one who has "scorned the word of the Lord" (Bamidbar 15,31), which the Torah says there is deserving of karet!  

The Tosafot in Megillah resolved the contradiction in a straightforward manner, explaining that when it is said that Moshe said D'varim "from his own mouth," it means that he spoke with ruach hakodesh, a spirit of prophecy.

Let us elaborate on this. The famous Maggid of Dubna wrote that he asked his great teacher the Vilna Gaon: "What is the difference between the first four books of the Holy Torah and the Book of D'varim?" The Gaon answered him as follows: 

"The first four were heard by G-d Himself through the throat of Moshe – while D'varim was heard by all of Israel in the same way they heard the other prophets after Moshe. That is, G-d would tell the prophet something today, and the next day the prophet went and recounted the vision to Israel. As such, when the prophet spoke to the nation, the Divine voice had already left him – and the same is true for the Book of D'varim when Moshe spoke it to Israel."

Rav Chaim of Volozhin explained it somewhat differently. He wrote in Nefesh HaChaim (3,14) that Moshe Rabbeinu worked so intensely on reaching the highest levels of "unification" (yichud) with G-d that we see in the second passage of Kriat Shma that Moshe said: "… you must love Hashem your G-d and serve Him with all your heart, and I will give you rain in your land…" That is, he was on such a high level that he canceled himself out from physical reality altogether and only the Shechina spoke from his throat. As is written, 'Mouth to mouth I will speak within [and not to!] him' – within him literally. 

That is, Moshe was not on the level of "simple" prophets, but was rather on a much higher level in which the Divine Presence spoke "within Moshe's throat." 

Either way, all agree that Moshe's words were not his own, but were rather those of the Living G-d, stated by Moshe with a spirit of prophecy – either regular prophecy, or an even higher level. This returns us to our original question: How could it be that G-d rejected Moshe's words about how Yehoshua should lead the people, if the words of Moshe are precisely those of G-d!?

It appears to me that we must explain that the above-cited Rashi [in the name of the Gemara] did not mean that Moshe had a different approach than G-d. Rather, Moshe's words were also those of G-d – and the Torah is telling us that Moshe gave Yehoshua one idea as to how to lead the nation, and G-d added another approach, in order to teach us that in general, a leader must have both of these.

That is, on the one hand, a leader who does not consult with others, and especially the elders and wise men of the generation, is liable to quickly become a dictator, with all of the negative ramifications thereof. So said Moshe. But at the same time, Hashem then adds, though this is very valuable advice, a leader must also lead! He may not only take advice from others, for then he could easily become dependent upon them, who will then become leaders themselves! As the Gemara says: "There must be only one dabar, spokesman/leader." This is liable to lead to disputes and strife, and the danger that "G-d's congregation will like a flock with no shepherd" (Bamidbar 27,17). G-d then told Yehoshua that while Moshe is correct in principle, he must also keep in mind the dangers of that approach, and to use his best judgement as to when to listen to the elders and when not. In the end, he must be the sole leader!

We thus learn from the words of the holy Torah two important principles in leadership that supplement each other. There must be teamwork, cooperation, listening, and even following the advice of others many times. But there must also be a sense that the leader is solely in charge, and he must not allow himself to be dragged after the opinions of others, which might be motivated by wrong considerations. He must carefully balance the different ideas that are proposed, and thus lead the nation along the straight path in order to reach the desired goal. 

Shabbat Shalom!

Nitzavim and Vayelekh: G-d Gives Tests – and Provides the Answers

by Rav Moshe Leib HaCohen Halbershtat, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

We will read two Torah portions this week, Nitzavim and Vayelekh (Deut. 29,9-31,30). Nitzavim continues to recount the words of Moshe Rabbeinu to Israel as they are about to enter the Land of Israel, where he specifies what will happen to the nation if they sin. But this is puzzling, given that in last week's Torah portion of Ki Tavo, Moshe told them the same thing! Why the repetition?

The Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) tells us that in Ki Tavo, Moshe was delivering words of rebuke, as well as some optimistic promises, as to what could be expected to happen based on their behavior. But in Nitzavim, Moshe was speaking actual prophecy. Israel was hearing exactly what was going to happen when they disobeyed G-d and how the punishment would be carried out, and then how they would actually repent and return and merit once again to receive all the promised blessings. 

But the question still remains: What need is there for words of prophecy, when it was previously made clear what would happen in any given situation? 

We know that Avraham Avinu was tested by G-d ten different times, and he passed each one successfully. The Mishna in Pirkei Avot (5,3) teaches that this tells us of G-d's great love for Avraham. Though we are amazed and inspired by Avraham's strong faith that emboldened him to withstand a series of difficult tests, we must remember that the very fact that he was tested by G-d shows that he had the requisite strengths to pass them! Why? Because G-d does not send a test to one who is not strong enough to pass it!

How do we know this? From the famous trio Hananya, Mishael, and Azaryah, who were thrown into a fiery furnace by Babylonian King Nevuchadnetzar for refusing to bow to his image (see Daniel 3). This didn't help him, however, because G-d saved them for their faith and they were not consumed by the fires. The Talmud adds an interesting comment: "If they had not been thrown into a furnace, but were rather whipped, they would have bowed down to the figure." The Tosafot commentary explains that it's not that they would have violated a Torah commandment, because this was not really a question of idol-worship, but rather of showing honor to the king. They were willing to give up their lives in order not to have to equate his honor with G-d's honor – but the pain of whipping would have been even harder to withstand, given that what they were being ordered to do was actually permitted.

However, the Chidushei HaRim asks: What is the Gemara trying to teach us here? Why do we have to know that whipping would have been more torturous to them than death? 

He answers as follows: The Gemara is telling us that G-d chose not to bring upon them the test of whipping because they wouldn't have been able to withstand it! For G-d does not bring a test upon a person unless he can pass it. We must therefore always know that if we are faced with a difficult test, we most definitely have the ability to withstand it!

Therefore, when we read that Avraham was faced with ten Heaven-sent tests, it is clear that he had the necessary abilities to withstand them – for otherwise G-d would not have brought them upon him. 

The story is told of a pious Hassid named Berish, who was a follower of a certain Rebbe whom he had never met. One day he decided to make a trip to the big city to meet his Rebbe, hear his Torah, share with him his worries, and ask for his blessings. He slowly saved up the required amount of money for the trip, and finally, the big day came. He hired a wagon driver, and they made their way to the big city. Astounded by the hustle and bustle and the tall buildings, Berish found the Rebbe's court and made his way inside. Making sure he had his list of blessings and requests, he took his place in line to wait for his long-awaited appointment – and all of a sudden he sees his home-town neighbor Kalonymus running wildly and crying out, "Berish, Berish! I'm so sorry!" Berish is quite puzzled, and Kalonymus continues, "Terrible news! Your father has passed away!" Whereupon Berish faints and falls. With everyone in a tizzy, the other Hassidim try to revive him – but to no avail. Every time they manage to wake him up, he remembers the terrible news he heard about his father, and falls again into a faint. After this happens a few times, the Rebbe himself is alerted to the dire situation. His assistant asks the Rebbe, "What should we do? Berish is not waking up!" The Rebbe says, "Tell him it's not true. Tell him his father is alive." The Rebbe's pronouncement does the trick, and Berish begins to come back to himself – and in fact, it is later learned that Kalonymus had been mistaken.

Later, the Rebbe's assistant asked him, "How did you know? After all, the report of the man's death seemed to be quite reliable." The Rebbe answered, "When I heard that Berish was not able to deal with it, I realized that it couldn't be true – for G-d does not bring a test upon someone who cannot meet and withstand it." 

The Medrash Tanchuma tells us that the reason Nitzavim follows immediately after the punishments and curses of Ki Tavo is because when Israel heard all these curses, plus the others at the end of Vayikra, they paled and panicked and asked, "How can we possibly withstand this?!" Moshe therefore gathered them together in Parashat Nitzavim and successfully appeased them. 

To elaborate: The children of Israel said to Moshe, "How can G-d bring upon us such tests that we clearly don't have the ability to withstand?" Whereupon Moshe answered them prophetically, saying, "Here's a preview of everything that will happen to you, including your ability to withstand whatever G-d brings upon you – all the way up to the happy ending of your Redemption." He thus gave them the strength to withstand the difficult tests. Moshe Rabbeinu understood that what they needed to hear now was not warnings and promises – but actual prophecy that would show that they do, in fact, have the ability to succeed, and that G-d will give them only tests that they can pass, leading to the greatness and joy of the End of Days, speedily in our days. 

(based partially on a work by Rav Shalomo Schwadron)