Ki Savo: Work in Progress? More Like Progress in the Works

By Tuvia Goldstein

The vast majority of our פרשה is devoted to the תוכחה and the accompanying ברית. That focus continues into פרשת נצבים as well, where the פרשה describes the entire nation being present to enter the new ברית. However, a closer look at the end of the פרשה shows that the focus on the תוכחה doesn’t continue smoothly through the end of כי תבא. Instead, משה רבינו provides a short but strange summary of בני ישראל’s history.

ויקרא משה אל־כל־ישראל ויאמר אלהם אתם ראיתם את כל־אשר עשה ה' לעיניכם בארץ מצרים לפרעה ולכל־עבדיו ולכל־ארצו: המסות הגדלת אשר ראו עיניך האתת והמפתים הגדלים ההם: ולא־נתן ה' לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמע עד היום הזה: ואולך אתכם ארבעים שנה במדבר לא־בלו שלמתיכם מעליכם ונעלך לא־בלתה מעל רגלך: לחם לא אכלתם ויין ושכר לא שתיתם למען תדעו כי אני ה' אלקיכם: ותבאו אל־המקום הזה ויצא סיחן מלך־חשבון ועוג מלך־הבשן לקראתנו למלחמה ונכם: ונקח את־ארצם ונתנה לנחלה לראובני ולגדי ולחצי שבט המנשי: ושמרתם את־דברי הברית הזאת ועשיתם אתם למען תשכילו את כל־אשר תעשון:

And משה called to all of Yisrael and he said to them, you have seen all that Hashem has done before your eyes in the Land of Egypt, to Pharoah and all of his servants and all of his land: The great tests that your eyes saw, the signs and those great wonders: And ה' did not give you the heart to know and the eyes to see and ears to hear, until today: And I brought you for 40 years in the desert, your garments did not wear out, nor did your shoes on your feet: Bread you did not eat and wine and beer you did not drink in order that you know that I am ה' your God: And you came to this place and Sichon the king of Cheshbon and Og the king of Bashan went out to greet you in battle and we hit them: And we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half of the tribe of Menasheh: And you should keep the words of this covenant and do them in order that you understand all that you do:

Why does משה provide this brief history while in the context of describing the new ברית? Additionally, why does משה highlight specific events, like the fact that our clothing and shoes didn’t wear out?

The נצי"ב explains that every part of the brief history is meant to be a source of comfort for the terrifying תוכחה that בני ישראל just heard. In this world, בני ישראל has one job: to show the world that הקב"ה is the Master. The stupendous events of יציאת מצרים were all meant to demonstrate ה'’s mastery over the world, hence the focus on “לעיניך/לעיניכם” and “ראיתם”. Ideally, we would have continued that demonstration of ה'’s mastery of the world through our triumphant march to הר סיני, followed by our miraculous conquering of ארץ ישראל.

However, we instead demanded that we conquer the land in a more natural way, as shown by our insistence on sending advance spies to help determine a plan of attack. Because of that tragic mistake, we were exiled into a 40-year גלות, wandering in the desert with a death penalty hanging over the heads of the adult generation. We saw the מעפילים attempt to conquer ארץ ישראל, only to fail disastrously. It can be very debilitating to be in such a state of flux, when one is surrounded by failure and is unsure where to go next. And we remained in that state for 40 years. In some sense, we were living a גלות comparable to the one described in the תוכחה, one filled with fear of the unknown. However, while in such a state, it is important to realize that הקב"ה is always with us. How did He make His presence known to us? Through the small things, like protecting our clothes and shoes. Although we didn’t have basic normal food like meat and wine, ה' always made sure we had food and water.

Finally, the most comforting part of the story is that even after such an experience, one filled with uncertainty, we came out with our first win. We conquered סיחון and עוג. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Even if we may not see the light while we’re in the tunnel, we can always know that הקב"ה is bringing the end of the pain.

This understanding of the פסוקים teaches us four important lessons:

1. We have a mission: to be מקדש שם שמים בעולם.

2. Hashem is always there for us, even in the darkest of times, helping in ways that we may not realize.

3. The importance of getting a win after losses.

4. Hashem always has a plan, and He will always pull us through.

To elaborate slightly on each of these lessons, I think as we all transition more and more into adulthood, it is incumbent upon us to appreciate our unique mission even more. Additionally, with more maturity often comes more of an appreciation for the struggles that are part of each and every one of our lives and we need to know that הקב"ה is always there for us. Thirdly, sometimes when we’re struggling with something, any win we can take can help to cheer us up and serve as a foundation to get us back on our feet. Finally, even when things are tough, we can always know that הקב"ה will pull us out, just as he did for בני ישראל in the desert. With that in mind, as we approach the ימים נוראים, even if we feel that we didn’t live up to our potential this year or we struggled in something, we can always know that הקב"ה has our back and the end of the struggle is reachable!