Va’etchanan Drash

This weeks Parashat begins with with Moshe’s request to enter into Israel.

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 3

23“I pleaded with ADONAI at that time, saying, 24‘O Lord ADONAI, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand—for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do deeds and mighty acts like Yours? 25Please! Let me cross over and see the good land across the Jordan—that good hill country and the Lebanon.’

26“But ADONAI was angry with me because of you, so He would not listen to me. ‘Enough!’ ADONAI said to me, ‘Do not speak to Me anymore about this matter.

Right here at the beginning of the Parashat I was suddenly sensitive to what Moshe is telling the Israelites who he helped liberate and lead out of Egypt. Verse 26 tells us Adonai was angry with Moshe because of the Israelites.

Adonai would not listen anymore to Moshe about his entry into the Promised Land.

Moshe was punished for what the Israelites had done. As I mediated on this for a moment, I was sensitive to the affect of other peoples SIN in my life. I have been affected by others SIN and at times I may have been punished for others SIN. Before all of that could be fully thought through, shame came to me as I began to remember the SIN I had committed and how it affected others and how others had been punished for my SIN.

We may like to think that our SIN only affects us and others do not get punished for what we do, but we know that is not true. Not only has Moshe been punished for the SINs of Israel, but also Yeshua was punished for the SINs of the whole world. This week we observed Tisha Ba’hav. A lot of bad things have happened on the 9th of AV to a lot of people, arguably some of the things are punishments and the result of SIN committed by a comparatively few people in comparison to those punished.

It might be a type of blessing that others suffer for our SIN, if they did not do so then we may not be so apt to repent and SIN no more.

I wanted to know "What should I do?”. John the Immerser was also asked the same question by the crowd, “What should we do?”. Of course the answer is simple and impossible on our own. Moshe gave it, Isaiah implies it in this weeks portion in the Prophets, and John the Immerser explained it to the people in this weeks Besorah reading.

John the Immerser told the people do not steal, do not lie, do not extort, as well he told them do give charity, do be satisfied, and set the example of do be humble.

Our obedience should be from love and it must be total. We must have an active obedience. We cannot merely be content with avoiding the do nots (negative mitzvot), we must also accomplish the do’s (positive mitzvot).

With this all of this I learned another way of how to be humble, everyone is carrying a portion of my burden as everyone is affected by my SIN, yet few come to seek justice from me.

Finally in all of this we can rest assured that this mountain of SIN we collectively have created, this burden that none of us can carry alone, this debt that we would never pay off if we lived twice our years, has been settled by the one who knew no SIN and in his death for us, paid the punishment for our SIN. When I think on all that Yeshua has done, John the Immerser said it best “I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.”