Dvarim: Summary

 In the Talmud, this last of the 5 books of Moses is called Mishna Torah. Mishna is usually used as a name for the six volumes of the collected sayings of the Tanaim (the post-prophetic sages) edited by Judah the Prince. The Mishna is a definitive anthology of legal opinion. The Mishna is the basis for all the law that follows - from the Talmud, through the various generations of printed commentators, down to the responsa literature, the decisions of individual, unique cases. 

The word Mishna contains the root shayni, second. It contains  the idea of  repetition.  Sheina also means to learn ( and probably evolves to tana in Talmudic Aramaic).  I can understand this to mean that the study should be deep enough that all of the original meanings are reproduced exactly.  As a modern, I also understand that the impossibility of that goal in the face of changing circumstances. 

In Dvarim, Moses summarizes and (almost) repeats many of the events and points made in the preceding three books ( Genesis is hardly mentioned here). These are the events  and laws that Moses saw and participated in. It is clearly a book written from the perspective of Moses and the deviations from previous telling's are attributable to this authorship. This seems to be one way to handle the need for a human intermediate between Gd and every day reality (but the human always moves beyond the reach of ordinary folk). 

Now we have Moshe's summary of the preceding 38 years, the journey after leaving Sinai. This is a lesson in summary.

Moshe reveals how he thought the approach to the holy land would transpire: 

אַחַ֨ד עָשָׂ֥ר יוֹם֙ מֵֽחֹרֵ֔ב דֶּ֖רֶךְ הַר־שֵׂעִ֑יר עַ֖ד קָדֵ֥שׁ בַּרְנֵֽעַ׃ 

it is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the Mount Seir route. —

It would be an 11 day journey.... if all went well. The 11 day march was a reasonable plan  - in the context of a Gd that would miraculously provide for the needs of this people.  Instead it took 40 years and a generational change. Since it happened that way, it must have been Gd's plan. 

Moses accounts for the variance.  Dvarim is not an AI summary, mechanical and packed with  "should"s. This is   more than a restatement  of the events. There is a search for attribution - thus, it is a series of lessons.

 

The  terror that struck the people when the spies reported on the fierce indigenous population  is blamed for the change in Divine plan. This plague of fear is seen as a betrayal, loss of a faith in the power that promised the land; a faith that was fully justified by recent miracles of victory over the greatest nation in the world: Egypt. 

When the story is told in Bamidbar, the decision comes from Gd: 

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְ

 אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃

And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying, 

שְׁלַח־לְךָ֣ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְיָתֻ֙רוּ֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֖ן לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אִ֣ישׁ אֶחָד֩ אִ֨ישׁ אֶחָ֜ד לְמַטֵּ֤ה אֲבֹתָיו֙ תִּשְׁלָ֔חוּ כֹּ֖ל נָשִׂ֥יא בָהֶֽם׃ 

Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Kena῾an, which I give to the children of Yisra᾽el: of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them.

In this edited summary in Devarim, we are told some of the prequel: 

וַתִּקְרְב֣וּן אֵלַי֮ כֻּלְּכֶם֒ וַתֹּאמְר֗וּ נִשְׁלְחָ֤ה אֲנָשִׁים֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ־לָ֖נוּ אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ

Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send agents ahead to reconnoiter the land for us 

The idea of sending scouts into the land had come from the people! The fear of entering into an unknown situation, without any prior information was not acceptable. Was this already a challenge to faith? Probably. 

Moses takes  responsibility for the decision: 

וַיִּיטַ֥ב בְּעֵינַ֖י הַדָּבָ֑ר

The idea pleased me. 

It is not clear what parts of the idea pleased Moses. Was  this to be an innocent accommodation to the will of the people?  Did Moses want intelligence so that the attack could be planned? Both? Neither?

Although it is not explicit here, the idea was ratified by Gd. This is demonstrated  by the presentation in Bamidbar. 

And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying, Send thou men, that they may spy out the land. 

Moses adds interesting contextual details to the story. Before  Moses  describes the decision to send the scouts, he talks about the attempts to spread the responsibility for decisions  to trusted judges.  In verse 9, Moses says

וָאֹמַ֣ר אֲלֵכֶ֔ם בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹא־אוּכַ֥ל לְבַדִּ֖י שְׂאֵ֥ת אֶתְכֶֽם׃ 

I said to you at that time saying, ‘‘I cannot carry you by myself

In verse 14: 

הָב֣וּ לָ֠כֶ֠ם אֲנָשִׁ֨ים חֲכָמִ֧ים וּנְבֹנִ֛ים וִידֻעִ֖ים לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶ֑ם וַאֲשִׂימֵ֖ם בְּרָאשֵׁיכֶֽם׃

Provide yourselves men, wise and understanding and renowned to your tribes, and I will designate them your leaders.’’

Gd ratifies the idea. 

Moses puts the fatal decision to send the spies, the decision that led to the tragic failed test of faith within the framework of shared responsibility. Bad decisions are a consequence of democracy. That does not cancel the desirability of considering many opinions; it just demonstrates one danger  of that policy. 

I appreciate this summarization. In the annual cycle of Torah reading, Dvarim is always read on the Shabbat prior to Tisha Ba'av, the fast commemorating the loss of Jewish sovereignty over Israel. It begins the season of reflection  that ends the year. We read Deuteronomy, Moshe's summary, until the new year. It tells me to summarize my own life up to this time, in the hope that I can improve - or at least understand.