Weekly Torah portion: Va-ethanan
On the twilight of a leader, responsibility and the orderly transfer of power
In parashat Ve-ethanan we find Moses mollified, accepting his fate but trying one last time to convince God to change His decree. Even his words to Israel are placating. He recalls the laws and statutes given to the people, and praises Israel for not straying after Baal Peor: “while you, who held fast to the Lord your God, are all alive today” (Deut. 4:4).
Then, like a great leader, Moses clears the slate and transfers the mantle of leadership to his heir, Joshua, in a manner that would be a credit even to the leaders of today, when changes in leadership have become all too common.
As the end draws near, Moses creates the basis for a constitution and an anthem, and enacts a Basic Law that will provide the foundation for the social fabric of the future state.
The constitutional foundation
Modern Israel continues to suffer from the lack of a constitution. Creating a constitution is particularly difficult in today’s complex, divided social reality. The Ten Commandments formed the basis of Israelite belief in the biblical period. The Sages stressed the severity of transgressing even one of the Commandments. For Rabbi Saadyah Gaon, in addition to their being laws, the Ten Commandments were chapter headings: “Is not my word like fire (Jeremiah 23:29) and its sparks the many mitzvoth shining in every commandment.” Modern scholars like Professor Moshe Weinfeld argue that the Ten Commandments constitute a type of moral definition of society, and anyone who deviates from any of them removes himself from the community of believers.
The Ten Commandments form the basis of God’s relationship with humankind, and of a person’s relationship to family and society, and grant the basic social rights to every individual. The Ten Commandments provide the constitutional basis for the future state that will arise after the conquest.
Anthem
An anthem is a poem, usually set to music, that serves as a symbol of a particular society and represents that society and its values. The Shema that begins and ends a Jew’s daily affairs serves as the Jewish anthem. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one” was the declaration of every Jew for generations. Legend tells of how Rabbi Akiba gave up his soul with the words of the Shema on his lips, and generations of Jews were raised to see the reciting of the Shema as the outward expression of their Judaism. Moses understood that in addition to a constitution, a nation embarking upon a struggle needs symbols, and before handing over the reigns to his successor, he composes an anthem that describes the fundamentals of faith and sets out the basic duties of every believer.
'The cities of refuge ploy'
The legal regime establishing cities of refuge may seem a marginal matter that only concerns individuals, and that is of little practical importance when it concerns a state that has yet to be established. Yet Moses decides to set aside three cities in the territory conquered in Transjordan to serve as cities of refuge to which a person who accidentally causes a death might flee for immunity from the vengeance of a victim’s family.
Moses understands that one of the factors that will decide the society’s strength will be its ability to uproot the common practice of blood vengeance. Revenge engenders revenge, which engenders revenge. A healthy society cannot permit itself to be drawn into an endless cycle of bloodletting. As a realistic leader, Moses does not outlaw the established custom, but rather renders it a nullity, thus breaking the cycle of vengeance.
After completing his task, and stepping off the map of history, Moses makes an orderly handover of authority, and allows his successor to lead a nation that has a constitution, an anthem and a healthy foundation upon which to establish an organized society after the conquest.
Udi Givon is the director of Marom Olami, the international organization of Masorti-Conservative students and young adults
