Parashas Va'eschanan

This Shabbos and Shabbos Parsha is Shabbos Nachamu Parashas Va'eschanan . Shabbat Nachamu is the Shabbos that comes after Tisha B'Av and so this Shabbos gets it's name from the Haftorah which we read on this Shabbos which is Parashas Va'eschanan , where the Haftorah is Yeshayahu Isaiah 40 : 1 - 26 and we read this as the Haftorah after Tisha B ' Av because it's first few words are " Nachamu Nachamu , " - " Comfort , Comfort My People , " for after such a tragic Day Of Tisha B 'Av And The Three Weeks Of Mourning between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B ' Av , we Jews are then Comforted By HaShem , Where HaShem Lets us know That He Is Still With us and we look forward To HaShem Comforting us Also With Bringing On The End Of Days .

In this Parsha of " Va'eschanan , " Moshe continues speaking to the whole nation of the Children of Israel . This Parsha starts out with the word " Va'eschanan " - " Implored , " where Moshe tells the Children of Israel how he " Va'eschanan " - " Implored " and begged HaShem To Cancel The Decree , Where HaShem Decreed That Moshe would not enter The Land and cross over the Jordan and Moshe Implored HaShem To Let Moshe into The Land . Moshe thought That Seeing As HaShem Had Allowed the two and a half Tribes to take their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan And That HaShem Had Allowed Moshe to be a part of the defeating of Og and Sichon and their nations , who were a step toward entering into The Land , Moshe hoped That HaShem Might Change His Mind And Cancel His Decree And Allow Moshe To Enter into The Land , But HaShem Did Not .

Moshe " Va'eschanan " - " Implored " HaShem many times , but still the decree stood . In fact Moshe " Va'eschanan " - Implored " HaShem 515 times to enter The Land . We get this also from the Gematriah of the word " Va'eschanan " which comes to 515 . Our Kabbalah teaches us that every day , the Malachim Angels Supplicate themselves To HaShem 515 times a day . Only HaShem Truly Knows why this decree could not be cancelled . But Whatever HaShem Does , Is For The Good . Even Though HaShem Said " No , " Moshe still continued to ask . This teaches us that no matter how much we may feel that there is no hope , there always is hope and we must carry on praying . Even when a person is set to be executed and the executioner's sword is above the one to be executed's neck , that person should still pray for hope , as even till the last moment , reprieve can come . In the case of Moshe , this was a decree that could not be annulled .

Our Rabbis surmise at a few possible reasons . One opinion is that had Moshe gone into Canaan , the Temple would straight away have been built and seeing as it would have been Moshe's holy built Temple , It could never have been destroyed . This would have meant the total end of our people had we sinned , For HaShem Rather Chose To Destroy His House - The Temple , Rather than destroy us , His people , when we had sinned . Had Moshe built the Temple , it would have been an Eternal Temple and could not have been destroyed and we , as a people , would have had to face that result , Chas Ve Shalom .

Also , Moshe had reached the final level and Gate of Physical Holiness , For HaShem Did Say to him ( mentioned later in Torah ) that " It is too much for you , " in other words dear Moshe , you as Moshe , have now done enough and all that was expected of you and it is time to rest Spiritually and continue to grow further in Spiritual Holiness in another way .

There can be other reasons too , that Moshe was the leader of that generation and Yehoshuah also deserved his time in his generation , to continue on and also gain Kavod - Honour . We are told , that at The End Of Days , Moshe will rise and lead those that never got into The Land , he will lead them ( his generation ) into Israel , at The End Of Days .

But there can also be a much deeper reason . Every Prayer that Moshe Made , was not for himself , besides his " Imploring " HaShem To Let him into The Land . And even that , was not really a prayer for himself , for he wanted to continue teaching the people and bringing them Closer To HaShem . He feared that if he would no longer be present , the people would stray and so he wanted to continue to watch over them and be there for them . Moshe also wanted to have the opportunity to do those Mitzvot that could only be done in The Land of Israel . No wonder HaShem Told him that " It is enough . " The very fact That HaShem Gave these Mitzvos through Moshe , was ( as one reason among others ) so that he too would get the Kavod for them as if he had done them himself in The Land .

So the deeper reason for him " Va'eschanan , " - " Imploring " HaShem so many times , to the point of such a vast amount of times , 515 times , not only showed Moshe's great love For HaShem And HaShem's People And HaShem's Land , but also , that there was a very deep reason why he prayed this many times - 515 times . Moshe was known to constantly pray for his people . He feared that if he was not there , who would pray for us on our behalf . So within this amount of 515 times , Moshe actually covered us until The Time Of The End of Days ( as is explained in Aish Dass ) . Moshe passed away in the year 2488 from Creation . The true final date till the End of Days is to be exactly in the year 6093 . If you take 6093 and subtract the 2488 , that leaves us with an amount of 3605 years that Moshe will not be present . If you divide this number 3605 by the amount of Sabbatical Shemittah Years ( Midrash Devarim - Rabbi M Weissman ) , it comes to 515 . So Moshe prayed for us and in his " Va'eschanan " - " Imploring " HaShem , he covered us for the full time till Moshiach comes . His prayers are still watching over us . This teaches us also that every prayer that we say has a purpose , even if that purpose does not show itself straight away , HaShem Is Always Listening and everything has a reason and purpose in the scheme of things , even if we might think we are not being answered , there is a much bigger picture that is beyond us so we always need to Have Faith And Trust In HaShem Who Knows Best . So Moshe covered us till The End Of Days when He " Va'eschanan " - " Implored " HaShem . Moshe was a most holy man of total selflessness . No Wonder HaShem Had Moshe ascend the Mountain and put a Blessing on the Land in all directions , for Moshe was covering us and the Land , with his holy prayers .

Moshe continues , in this Sedra , to tell us Of HaShem's Laws . Moshe tells of our Meeting HaShem At Har Sinai And Of How HaShem Gave us The Two Tablets of Stone With HaShem's Holy Ten Declarations On Them .

Moshe warns first of all about Avodah Zorah Idol Worship and to stay away from it and of how the other nations will try to get us to follow their false deities , be they wood That HaShem Created or stone That HaShem Created or even man That HaShem Created ( Numbers 23:19 and Hosea 11:9 and Hosea 13:4 ) . We are to follow HaShem Only and take no note of any nation that entices us to follow anything else that is Not G-D , be it wood or stone , or sun or moon , or man or stars . We are To Pray To HaShem Directly with no intermediaries .

Moshe again reminds the people How HaShem Was Angry With him And Did Not Let him into the Land . How sad , that till this day , we still did not pray for Moshe to be forgiven and be able to enter The Land . So many times did Moshe pray for us . May we , even today , remember Moshe and pray that The End Of Days Comes and that Moshe can finally arise and enter into Israel . So many times did Moshe Pray To HaShem To Forgive us , even offering for himself to be blotted out , so as to put us first . We owe Moshe so much . We should all Pray To HaShem on Moshe's behalf .

Moshe then warns that the time will come when the people will make idols . HaShem Will Then Scatter us Among the nations in Galus Exile . Moshe reminds us To Be Faithful To HaShem And Return To HaShem . Moshe , With Love For HaShem , reminds us How HaShem , unlike for the other nations , Came And Saved us And Performed Great Miracles For us , Out Of HaShem's Love For us , Taking us out of the bondage of Egypt , Letting us hear His Voice , In The Midst Of The Fire . How HaShem Is The ONLY G-D In Heaven Above And On The Earth Below and that there is NO OTHER .

Moshe mentions the Cities of Refuge , where an unintentional murderer can flee to and then Moshe mentions the defeating of Sichon and Og .

Moshe then repeats The Ten Commandments . Moshe's Mentioning of The Ten Commandments , is basically the same as the previous mention of it in Shemos , but here , with regards to the Sabbath , Moshe mentions the word " Shamor " - " Safeguard ," but in the Mention in Shemos , the word there is to " Zachor , " - " Remember , " where these two Commandments Of Shabbos remind us to " Guard - Safeguard " the Shabbos and Keep It's Laws of the 39 Melachos and to " Remember " It , by doing Kiddush on It and Remembering That HaShem Took us out of Egypt , Bringing Miracles When HaShem Saved us , Like the Acts of Creation , where the Observance of Shabbos shows That HaShem Created Shabbos and Thus Created the six Days leading to Shabbos . We are told That When HaShem On Har Sinai , Gave The Commandment Of Shabbos , HaShem Said Both the words " Zachor " and " Shamor , " at the very same instant ( Something Only HaShem Could Do ) and so we Remember and Safeguard HaShem's Holy Shabbos .

Moshe reminds us how we were unable to hear HaShem's Almightiness and how we asked Moshe to relate to us the rest of The Ten Commandments . Moshe Tells us To Keep HaShem's Commandments and so will our days be lengthened on The Land That HaShem Gives us .

HaShem , In This Sedra , Then Gives us The Beautiful Blessed Words Of the first verse Of The Shema , " Shema Yisrael , HaShem Elokeinu , HaShem Echad , " - " Hear O Israel , HaShem Is our G-D , HaShem Is One . " When we Daven the Shema in the morning and evening , as told by the very words in the Shema ( to Daven the Shema when we lie down referring to evening - Maariv and when we arise , at Shacharis referring to the Morning , we are at all times to remember HaShem Taking us out of Egypt . When we Daven the Shema , we say silently after the first verse , " Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto Le'olam Va'ed , " - " Blessed Be His Name Whose Kingdom Is Forever And Ever , " for this goes back to Yaakov , when Yaakov was on his bed with his children all around him and he feared that his sons may not be holy enough and they answered him ' Hear O Israel ( Yaakov's Name That HaShem Gave Yaakov ) , HaShem Is Our G-D , HaShem Is One , " and when Yaakov heard their words that they in truth , acknowledge The Truth That HaShem Is our G-D And That HaShem Is One ( that there is no other ) , Yaakov was filled with happiness in that he now knew for sure that his sons were Holy and That they Followed HaShem Only and so Yaakov answered , " Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto Le'Olam Va'ed , " - " Blessed Be His Name , Whose Kingdom Is Forever And Ever . " Seeing as this second line does not appear here in this Sedra , when we say it in response to the first line of The Shema , that second line that was said by Yaakov , we say silently to ourselves .

Our Rabbis also tell us that when Moshe was up on the Mountain , he heard the Malachim say this second line In Praising HaShem and so , taught it to us . We note that in A Sefer Torah in this first line of the Shema , the letters ' Ayin ' and ' Dalet ' are highlighted and made bigger . The Reason That HaShem Did This , Is Because if we put the ' Ayin ' and ' Dalet ' together , we get the Hebrew word ' Eid ' which means ' Witness , ' for we as the Jewish people , in all that we follow for HaShem , Are To Be A Witness For HaShem , To The World , That HaShem Is One and The One And Only G-D And Creator . For any Jew to say or teach otherwise , that person is taking away from his or her Jewishness .

Also , The Letters also spell ' Dai ' which means ' enough ' For Only HaShem Is G-D and for us humans to go toward HaShem , HaShem's Torah Is ' Enough ' And All That Is Needed , for there will never be another book or Torah ever , For HaShem's Torah Is ' Enough ' And Eternal .

We are To Love HaShem With all our heart and soul and resources and that means that if we are To Acknowledge HaShem , even to our death , then we are called upon and required to do so . This was the case with so many of our martyrs . As we know , with Rabbi Akiva , he among others of our sages at the time was called upon to do a Kiddush HaShem and give His Life For HaShem and while they were combing his flesh with iron combs , he was reciting The Shema . His students were amazed at how he could do this , considering the pain he was suffering at the hands of our enemy the Edomite Romans and he answered that he was now being given the opportunity to fulfil the first words of the Shema , By Loving HaShem With his Heart and Soul and his Resources , as his soul was departing .

The Shema Reminds us To Continue The Eternal Tradition Of HaShem's Holy Torah , to teach it to our children at all times , starting their Torah learning with the sweetness of the words of Torah and Honey . The Shema reminds us of The Holy Tefillin worn by Jewish males and the Mezuzot on our doors , that remind us that all Is HaShem's and that our actions and thoughts ( our arm and hand and head on which the Tefillin are put ) , must succumb To HaShem . The same is with the Mezuzos on our doorposts , on the doors of our house , that remind us that all Is HaShem's And That HaShem Guides our every step wherever we are and that all our actions are to be According To HaShem Always .

Our Gemorrah Avodah Zorah 11a tells of the story of Onkelos , who was a Roman Convert to Strict Torah Judaism . He was a most holy man . So holy , that his writings appear even today on the side in smaller writing , in every Hebrew Chumash Of HaShem's Holy Torah . Onkelos had an amazing ability to convert people he interacted with , To The True Path Of HaShem . He was actually the nephew of one of the roman leaders . Each time his uncle would send someone to try to talk him out of his Jewishness , they would leave the presence of Onkelos , as and having become , a believer In HaShem . So his uncle decided to again send him men , but warned them not to talk to him and not let him engage them in conversation , in case he persuades them . When they arrived at his home , he invited them in and he started to talk to them About HaShem . They stopped him and told him that they were forbidden to discuss any of these kinds of matters with him and that he was to come with them to his uncle . On the way out , he told them that he would not get into a big discussion with them . He kissed the Mezuzah on his door on the way out and inquired if they knew what It was . They did not know and he told them that with their false beliefs , they have to appoint guards to watch over their fake idol deities and homes , but in Judaism , G-D Himself Humbly Stands Watch Over us And The Jewish Home . They all Converted To Judaism . How Beautiful Is HaShem . How Beautiful Is our Holy Torah . How Beautiful Is our Holy Tefillin , Tzitzis And Mezuzos . How Beautiful Is Holy Judaism . How Beautiful Is The One And Only G-D And Creator HaShem Ha Kadosh Barush Hu , HaShem , The Holy One Blessed Be He .

Moshe then reminds us How HaShem Is Going To Give us A Land Prepared With all its Beauty That HaShem Gave It , Ready for us to enjoy . We are To Fear HaShem And Follow HaShem Only . We are To Love HaShem With all our Heart , Soul and Resources and that also means that we are to give up our own wishes and put them aside And Do Only What HaShem Wants and not what we want .

HaShem Brought us Out Of Egyptian slavery and we are To Serve Only HaShem . We are not to follow the beliefs and false deities of others , the false beliefs and false deities of those around us . We are not to test HaShem , as we did at Massah , but we are To Observe HaShem's Decrees , Ordinances , Testimonies And Laws And Commandments Only . We are to Teach our children to do the same and Teach them How HaShem Took us Out Of Egypt And Did Signs And Wonders For us And Brought us Out Of bondage To A Land flowing with Milk and Honey . We are , in every generation , to continue Keeping HaShem's Laws and never to stop keeping them and never to think the Laws have changed , because They will never change , For The Laws Of HaShem Are Forever and we are To Keep Them Always From Generation to Generation Forever Eternally , just as we did then , For HaShem's Torah Says here , " Le Tov Lanu Kol Ha Yamim Le Chayoteinu K'Ha Yom Ha Zeh , " - " for our good , All The Days , to give us Life , As This Very Day " - Devarim Vav : Chaf Daled - Deuteronomy 6 : 24 .

HaShem Then Warns us Through Moshe , That when we enter The Land of Israel , we are to smite the seven nations of Canaan , the Hittites , Girgashites , Amorites , Canaanites , Perizzites , Hivvites and Jebusites , utterly destroying them , not sealing a covenant with them , nor showing them favour . Not intermarrying with them , Not giving our sons or daughters in marriage to them , for they will cause us to go astray and worship other things , Chas Ve Shalom . We are Only To Worship G-D and nothing else . We are to break apart their altars , pillars and their asheirahs ( false deity trees ) , their carved images are to be burnt in fire . HaShem Reminds us that we are A Holy People Unto Him , Chosen As A Treasured People above all other people on the face of the Earth , Because Of HaShem's Love For us . We are to observe HaShem's Commandments And HaShem Will Bless us , Safeguarding the Covenant for a thousand generations , for those who observe HaShem's Commandments . For all time , HaShem Instructs us through Moshe that we are to " Observe the Commandments and the decrees and the ordinances That HaShem Commanded " then . So ends the Parsha .

So many times did Moshe " Va'eschanan , " - " Implore . " We may wonder at this and ask Why HaShem Did Not Change His Decree . We can certainly understand how Moshe must have felt . He led us through the Wilderness so many years , taking all our moans and groans and complaints . Not easy . He put himself totally out For HaShem And his people , not expecting anything back at all . His only request really for himself and as I explained earlier on , that it was not even totally for himself because he still wished to serve his people , was to enter The Land . So Was HaShem Merciful , in saying " No . " HaShem Never Does Anything For Himself . What does HaShem Get out of Giving us A Most Beautiful Creation around us to enjoy and not destroy , For HaShem Creates , As A Kindness . When we keep destroying the Beauty That HaShem Gives us , HaShem Only Gets Sadness . HaShem Created all things And Gave It All To us To Enjoy . So All That HaShem Does , Is Not For Himself . All That HaShem Does , HaShem Does Out Of Mercy , For HaShem Creates In Order To Give . We may not always see The Mercy In Every Action That HaShem Does , but we certainly do not see all the terrors that people do . We certainly do not see the whole picture of why things happen that may not seem logical to our very limited intelligence . But we do know That HaShem Is Not Getting out of us , a wonderful picnic . Look around today at how some people are behaving and at how we treat our fellow Creation . Look how many people do not even acknowledge HaShem As The Creator Whom HaShem Is , but rather wrongly look to other things to pray to , that are not real and are nothing else but part of The Creation Created By HaShem , That HaShem Who Is The One And Only G-D , Created . Only G-D Is G-D . Look at the cruelty done to our fellow man , at the cruelty and abuse that women and children have gone through . Look at the cruelty that is perpetrated on innocent animals and all life . No . This Is Not How HaShem Wants us to behave . We live in a World today that has so many examples of selfish and self caring people and so one has to fairly realize , How Patient And Merciful HaShem Has Actually Been With us all , Through the ages of time . So we do see That HaShem Is Merciful In All That HaShem Does . So much is hidden and is so deep .

If we wonder About HaShem's Decision About Moshe if that was a merciful decision , we will eventually understand when the time comes at The End Of Days , That HaShem Was Most Merciful . If we wonder if Moshe's " Va'eschanan , " - " Imploring " was An Act Of Mercy On HaShem's Part , all we need to do is to look deeper at the word itself , for within the word " Va'eschanan " - " Imploring " are the words ' Chein , Nachamu and Chanan , ' which refers to ' Mercy , Comfort and Grace . ' Thus on a deeper level , HaShem's Decision , Was Merciful , Comforting And Graceful . We do not see the whole picture on anything . Only HaShem Does And Only HaShem Knows All . There is so much we do not understand and see . HaShem Is Always Merciful . We are not . In all that HaShem Does , not just for us , but for all of Creation , HaShem Is Most Merciful , Comforting And Graceful . Even within listening to Moshe's " Va'eschanan , " - " Imploring . " We just need to look deeper .

In fact with everything , we need to look deeper , not just into things around us , but also within ourselves as well . We may be surprised What Beautiful Things HaShem Might Show us . It starts with Trust and Faith , Emunah And Bitachon In The Creator Of Creation , Who Knows All . HaShem Desires us To Be At One With Him And HaShem So Desires our Closeness . HaShem Gave us Creation . From then on , it starts with us . It has always started with us after Creation . It has always been up to us , depending on what we do and how we act . If we Follow HaShem Wholeheartedly , The Way HaShem Commands Eternally , then Creation will be Complete and we will finally understand so many things and Be Within The Beautiful Light Of HaShem's Closeness And Love . HaShem Has Always Been Merciful To us . May we be the same and be just as merciful and giving As HaShem Has Always Been . May we all follow HaShem As HaShem Asks us To follow Him In His Holy Torah and then our " Va'eschanan " - " Imploring " will turn into " Nachamu , " the Final Comfort That HaShem Has So Longed To Show Us And Give us , Since The Beginning Of Creation . Thank You HaShem , with so much love .

I wish Ever Most Eternally Beloved HaShem With Eternal And Forever Deepest And Sweetest Love , A Very Beautiful And Special Shabbos Kodesh With Forever And Eternal Love and to all of my fellow Jews and to all of Creation , a Very Beautiful and Special Shabbos Kodesh with love .