Parshiyot Nitzavim-Vayeilekh 5786

Caring and Compassion

A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Nitzavim-Vayeilekh

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz

For verse after verse Moses has been speaking to the Israelites in the form of commandments and exhortations, the threat of curse and the promise of blessing.

Parashat Vayeilekh brings a different tone, somewhat softer, as we near the end of our annual Torah reading cycle.  (Spoiler alert – there will be more exhortations after this! But for now, let’s take a pause.)

For forty years Moses has led the Israelites on their journey towards the promised land. He has reached the age of 120, and his life, like our Torah cycle, is coming to an end.  As the people prepare to cross the river Jordan, Moses has been told by God that he cannot go with them.  Surely, he is feeling deep disappointment about being kept from the promised land and about having to give up his role as leader of the Israelite people. Yet he seems to understand that he has a responsibility to assure a smooth transition — for the sake of the people and for the sake of God’s mission to carry them forward.  At the beginning of Parashat Vayeilekh, as he stands before the people on this last day of his life, he reassures them that although he will not be going with them, God will continue to lead them, and Joshua will be their new leader. This can’t have been easy.

As Moses speaks to the Israelites, we read (Deut. 31:6-8):

31:6 Hizku v’imtzu, be strong and resolute; be not in fear or in dread of them, for it is indeed the ETERNAL your God who marches with you… 31:7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: “Hazak v’ematz, be strong and resolute, for it is you who shall go with this people into the land that GOD swore to their fathers to give them…  31:8: And it is indeed GOD who will go before you, and be with you—and not fail you or forsake you. Fear not and be not dismayed!”

We take note of a particular phrase, which we have not encountered before and yet it appears here twice: “hazak v’ematz”, “be strong and resolute” (some translate the phrase as “be strong and courageous” or “be strong and of good courage”). What is the significance of this phrase? We’ve seen the word hazak (“strong”) elsewhere in the Torah; it is usually used to describe forces of nature or inanimate objects.  For example, in Genesis 41:57 the word is used to describe the famine that overcame Egypt during the story of Joseph: “ki hazak ha’rav bekhol ha’aretz /For the famine had become severe [strong] throughout the world.”  And in Exodus 19:16 at the time of the giving of the Ten Commandments, amid all the thunder and lightning, the very loud blast of the shofar is described as “hazak”.

When “hazak” is used to describe human attributes, as in the story of the twelve spies, those who fear what they have seen declare in Numbers 13:31, “We cannot attack that people, for it is stronger than we [ki hazak hu mimenu].”

In Parashat Vayeilekh however, this is the first time that hazak (strong) is paired with ametz (resolve or courage), and we note that, both times that it is cited in Deut. 31:6 & 7, the phrase is accompanied by the reminder of God’s presence, along with words of reassurance to not be fearful. Here we’re not talking about strength of nature or physical strength; rather, Moses is calling on the people to maintain strength of character, and the courage to keep going, in the face of what lies ahead.

As we will see shortly, this is not our last encounter with hazak v’ematz.

A few verses later, we read that God wishes to meet with the outgoing and incoming leaders, Moses and Joshua, at the Tent of Meeting.  You would think that they would be summoned, together, by God; instead, God calls on Moses to summon Joshua (Deut. 31:14).  From the One who presented Moses with the harsh decree that he shall not enter the promised land, is this now a deliberate, quiet Divine Act of compassion and understanding? At the very least it indicates respect: for as long as Moses still lives, he remains the leader of the Israelite people, and that includes Joshua. Therefore, it is fitting for him to summon his successor.

As the pillar of cloud comes to rest over the Tabernacle, God first speaks to Moses regarding the ways in which, after Moses is gone, the people will go astray and therefore Moses must write a shir, (a song, or poem) and place those words into their mouths. We are told that indeed Moses did so.  (Rashi clarifies that the shir referred to here comprises the words Moses will speak in Parashat Ha’azinu, Deuteronomy 32:1-43.)

God then addresses Joshua:

“And [God] charged Joshua son of Nun: “[Hazak v’ematz] Be strong and resolute: for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them on oath, and I will be with you.”  (Deut. 31:23)

In speaking with Joshua, God invokes the same phrase that Moses himself had spoken a few verses earlier! How far has Moses travelled on this forty-year journey: when first called on by God to go up against Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, Moses resisted, insisting that he was “slow of tongue” (Exod. 4:10).  Now at this moment at the end of his life, the phrase that he just spoke to Joshua in Deut. 31:7 is repeated by the Divine Voice.  Having placed so many words into Moses’ mouth over the years, this time God takes words out of Moses’ mouth and places them into Divine Speech.  What a beautiful way to further illustrate God’s qualities of caring and compassion.

We’re not done with “hazak v’ematz”.  After the Torah is complete, in the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, God will again utter the phrase, three times in fact, while speaking to Joshua (Joshua 1:6, 1:7, and 1:9).  And then a few verses later, remarkably, the people will repeat hazak v’ematz back to their new leader (Joshua 1:18).

And wait, as the saying goes: there’s more.

During this month of Elul as we recite the words of Psalm 27 each day, we take note of its closing verse:

קַוֵּה אֶל־יְהוָה חֲזַק וְיַאֲמֵץ לִבֶּךָ וְקַוֵּה אֶל־יְהֹוָה:

Look to GOD; be strong and of good courage! O look to GOD! (Ps. 27:14)

(Steinsaltz translates the phrase as, “be strong and let your heart take courage”.)

As we read these words at the end of Psalm 27, may we remember when Moses spoke them out of love for the Israelite people and for his successor Joshua; may we remember the quiet acts of caring and compassion by God towards Moses, and between Joshua and the people.  In our preparations for the coming Days of Awe and beyond, may we, too, be strong and of good courage.