V'Zos Habracha

Mosha Taragan for the OU all para video series for parasa paras viz sabra like para saz is written as a poem every phrase is laden pregnant with multiple layers of meaning um sometimes people actually get confused I get confused sometimes where is in or because they're both poems in general haz about the history of humanity history of amisol history of the people punish or torturing amisol and divine justice whereas that have to do with and its traits and it are more likely to be in paras not in paren um every p is a shiron to its own and of course the te of mosher ra towards the end of the para and the moniker of in the beginning of the para so it's very easy to get riveted or focused upon a particular because each is a talim has timat that emanate from it. But going to give an overview of something that runs like a thread throughout parasa obviously Moshe is delivering brahos but he's also looking at prophecies and delivering prophecies to the various and he and he delivers blessings to them based on their shit's trajectory. This is pretty clear towards the end of Par's visa where takes Mosha up to and he sees Danali Yehuda all the different locations tell us Rashi quotes it Mosha is not looking at locations on a map but he's looking at events that will unfold most of these events or events that will take place that will occur up into and including the first Bikdash namely Safer Yeshua through Safhim And most of them pertain to either the conquest of Israel or betrayals um in that some of theatim commit but there is one phrase that perhaps stretches Mosher Rabenu's vision beyond those couple centuries in B of Mosha sees sees until the Yama which of course would be the Mediterranan ian sea which would be the end the final border the final frontier of the boundaries of Israel but Rashi says the word yamaron could also mean he sees until the last day which means that isn't just looking about isn't just casting his vision across 3 400 years he's casting his vision or even 700 years he's casting his vision across thousands of years um which means that Moshe's nuos now have to be seen not just as localized or limited to the first B mikdash or even before but as divorce that pertain to all of history. Now the truth is that everything that happens in the Torah recycles doesn't just mean that what happened to our aos serves as guidance to their children and their descendants but it happens again their historical templates. Judaism unlike other cultures does not see history as open-ended and evolutionary. Doesn't seem time as meaningless as some cultures do. Neither of those two both both of those those are separate approaches. We see history as purposeoriented design driven. There's a beginning there's an end. The beginning of history is creation. The end of history is redemption. We drive humanity towards redemption. And we also see that within that arc, within that trajectory, events that happened before happen again. especially if they are redemptive events and not just um anecdotal events. Redemptive events are events that pertain to the Jewish people in particular in their homeland or pertaining their desire and struggle to return to their homeland. So what happens in Shushan is ultimately a redemptive event because Amis is in the process of returning to Israel. The process has begun. It's stalled because of opposition from the locals. So what's happening in Shushan is not just a miracle in a bottle. It's part of the redemptive struggle to get back to Israel in so many ways. So what happens to ouros and certainly what happens in Erit Isel is bound to happen again. And that's why Nvos are not just ancient artifacts of how Yeria or Zakaria or Yeskel describe certain events. But the events that they foretold and foreshadowed recycle upon themselves. So any event that's wrapped up in Jewish history, in Jewish land, the Jewish people, Jewish redemption recycles. And you need the lenses to be able to see through the shell. Well, the shell seems different. We don't hurt goats. We don't wear sandals, although some Israelis do wear sandals. We live in a technologically advanced world of cars and planes and internet, social media, and artificial intelligence. But that's just the shell. If you look through the shell into the life and the heart of the matter, the heart of experience, the prophecies are all relevant and resonant and have contemporary meaning. So in honor of Erit Isel, I want to discuss three prophecies that Moshe sees or envisions that he in the immediate sense he sees them within the context of the Shvatim and the first B mikdash. But as we know what happened in the first B of victors will happen again and they're happening again as we speak as we're beginning the redemptive return and in the of because two years ago when we last read not last but when we read was violated and was attacked. It wasn't just an attack on our people was an attack on our cities. that these cities should be restored and hopefully as I speak. There are processes that are taking place maybe sending and and messengers and agents to perhaps move history forward. Certainly returning our hostages is is an event for for not celebration. Celebration is a is a trivial word. Word that trivializes it, cheapens it, but for success and at least solace and comfort and healing which our people desperately need. Let alone all the soldiers who are away from their families and now for two years including I can speak from personal example. Some of them not all of them obviously it's not like there's a 180°ree turnaround but some of them will be reunited with their families again if um some of the fighting and the war abates. In any event, getting back to these nvors, let's first start with a statement about um let's see about Yoseph and then we'll move to the braha of um I think it's Asher and we'll move to the brah of Zulan and we'll see statements about Israel that happened then but are happening now and then we'll see on the back end something that happened then which was unfortunate even though well-intentioned and maybe happening again. So this is to restore the glory and the honor of Erit Isel to remind ourselves that we're not living in Israel. We're living in Erit Israel. We're not living through a geopolitical struggle. We're living through Mashiach and maybe hundreds of years, but the struggle of Brazil and the struggle to rebuild our people and our peoplehood and our ancient homeland under the eye of. So Yoseph is described as one of the driving forces in the conquest of Erit Israel. The beginning of the para describes or section describes his agricultural success but in the middle he's the leader he has very very exalted horns of and with those horns he will gore the edges of the earth which edges of the earth is y goring so rashi says it means the 31 chieftains and warlords who occupied it eritzkan then and abs then becomes a nickname far is. So why is absar nickname far is the same land that Yseph will conquer with his very beautiful exalted strong horns cars. Why is nicknames? So she says because every single empire in that ancient world wanted a tow hold and a palace or some hold in Israel because they knew it was so important. It's something desired by all the nations. So, everyone made a big to-do about this little country between the river and the sea um that the small Jewish people were inhabiting and they all wanted consulates and embassies. They wanted shares. They all wanted parts of it. Therefore, it was called absor because it was localized and focused geographically. it almost it spread across the entire ancient world because no matter how far you were even if you were in Britain let's say which was the end of the the ancient world I don't know if people were living there that was you know the islands right before the Atlantic everyone even those warlords and chieftains wanted a hold all those gnome all those Vikings and all the uh the barbarians wanted a hold no no insult to the British that's what it was in those days wanted a hold in errant Israel and of course what happened before happens again and this is they didn't just want hold and for random arbitrary reasons they sense subliminally this is the land of Hashem this is the presence of Hashem and therefore everyone wanted to be close to so it was and so it is the disproportion with with which Israel is treated the level of attention that Israel receives the discriminatory policies towards Israel the opposition the fierce opposition towards our being initi it's frustrating it's painful but we're not surprised this is the land of Hashem People don't want Iceland. People don't want Canada. People don't want Venezuela. No insult intended to those listening in those countries. But this is this is the land of Hashem. This is Raglav. This is Shahim. This is Bloim. This is as Kazal tell us, one day will be the metropolis. And every other city in the world from Beijing to Tokyo to Paris to New York to Moscow will all be suburbs of Yusim. Therefore the nations of the world in Sherim are referred to as Benosim. The word Benos being a suburb. So it was in the day of Mosherenu. So it is in our day in 2025 touch literally when asher is described. So Asher's bra is described as your shoes or your locks l ks will be iron and copper. One interpretation which Rashi provides is that you will draw iron and copper from the mountains around you and you'll mine some of that iron and copper. Of course, this is a bra delivered to Asha who lived in the highlands but it's reminiscent of the in which the entire is described. You don't have to beg for your food. You don't have to scrge your own food. Nothing is missing. The stones are iron and from its mountains. So the mountains of Israel pour forth iron and copper and asher lived in the highlands. So he has a specific access to barel. Um not quoting rashi. I'm just quoting what should be obvious from the PK. If you're trying to describe the beauty and the wealth and the affluence of Israel and the brahos, you would normally typically in every culture describe it as mountains that provide gold and silver aim as all the foreign idolatrous cultures decorated and adorned their idols and their sites and their sacral sites and their palaces and their monuments with gold and silver. And gold and silver was wealth. gold and silver are precious metals and yet Israel is not described ever as a land that provides gold and silver um in part because of him doesn't want to associate life in greed and avarest there's a very famous story where and his one of his went to America went to and struck it rich struck gold and the other student the other very jealous of went out to the mountain probably mount meron I think the median is meron I think it's the only time that the mountain of meron is associated with and he miraculously draws gold and silver from the mountains and he says look if you you want gold and silver you don't have to get on a flight you can just stay here but just know that the gold and silver you take in this world will diminish your share in the next world but the Torah doesn't describe the nonsens of Israel naturally providing gold and silver was able to summon it supernaturally miraculously what it does described as copper and iron and I think that Baru is instructing us that we have to provide um utility and technology and science and advance and human welfare and human machinery and human advance. That's the role of Amisl is to to be able to is to provide spiritual guidance, moral guidance, spiritual guidance, cultural repair and also to be a source of material welfare for people. Copper and and um iron are typically associated with manufacturer, typically associated with utility. If you put gold and silver on one side, gold and silver have relatively less utilitarian use. They're just for adorment, for for for for money, for wealth, for affluence, for beauty, for aesthetics. Whereas iron and um iron and copper have real utility. They can be used as metals to create, to craft, to build, to to create shields, to create defense, to create war weapons. And you don't use gold, you don't use silver. These are harsher, more powerful, more sturdy metals. not being a meta metatallergist but or not even knowing how to say meta metallergist metallergist but um what's interesting to me is that this is coming true but in a very different way the uh resource that's most valuable in today's world is oil and interestingly enough Israel at least the dry part of Israel the dry land doesn't have any oil and it's very odd because we're in a region in which almost every one of our neighbors not all of them but many of them have oil resources and Jo doesn't I think that's part of a larger narrative. I don't think Akesh Bar wants us to be burning oil indefinitely and I think at some point science will overtake leisure and we'll discover other forms of energy and I think it's going to create a sea change politically and all the countries whose economies are based solely on oil production are going to face stiff crisis and stiff tests. Um, of course we have discovered natural gas across the ocean. But more importantly, we're producing iron and copper, but not in the literal sense. I don't think we're mining that much from Israel proper, but we're certainly in the copper and iron of the day taking the lead. And that's ingenuity and innovation and technology. And copper and iron should be seen as a metaphor, not as specific metals. So we're not primarily looking to acrue wealth without producing anything. Let's say like some of the countries in our area think of Qatar in particular which has been in the news lately which has created spheres of influence in the modern world simply because of oil money. We're actually producing medical technology, agricultural technology, weapons technology, um many different technologies that help humanity and that advance humanity. And that's of course part of Akadesh Bar's desire that Ara be. So for Moshe was copper and iron because those were the ores and minerals necessary for productivity. Today we we we've moved to a virtual world and hopefully we'll continue to play that role. And which leads me to the next interesting statement about Zeulan. He's a villain who lives across the sea along the sea and their their um region is described as they draw the um the harvest and the abundance of the sea. Very interesting articulation which means things that hide in the sand. Tam is something that hides could again is a strange word but it could mean something sounds like the word something that's Rashi says which could mean that they were very expensive that were on the sea where sea were had to share it could be the Slavana certain types of glass that they had to manufacture with the sea water but basically all these hidden riches and hidden assets of the sea and the and were reaped and harvested by Asher. Rashi then gives a different shot. Rashi says based on the next word or the beginning of the will be called the nation um to the to the mountain and they will give sacrifices. What do the nation of the mountain and the sacrifices have to do with making a lot of money through and making a lot of money through glass? namely what is the end of the Pussk making money through glass and sand resources have to do with the beginning of the Pusk the nation of the mountain who bring sacrifices. Sarashi says that seafarers and and um businessmen and tradesmen will arrive in Israel simply to do business simply to for commercial interests with Zulan to buy and trade on dye very expensive to be called that to buy and trade special glass that they could manufacture to buy and trade other wares and other commodities and they'll say well once we're here already in Israel we've landed for financial motives and financial incentives let's go to and see about their religion because we've heard strange things. These are the people that worship one god. These are the p these are the people um that eat similarly. These are the people that are federalized and centralized. And we all have different gods and different states and different chieftains, different cultures, different fruits. And they realize the the value both theologically as well as experientially of of unity, of federalization, of standardization of one God, but also one people, one culture, one way of life, one system. And they convert. They actually convert. Rashi says Msky to be Jews. A misguire sham. So essentially you have a phenomena where people land in Israel, take an interest in Israel for purely financial reasons just because they want to invest in the Israeli stock market or invest in Israeli startups and at some point that rolls over into non-commercial affiliation in this case religious affiliation, theological commitment, but it could just be uh again national affiliation to see the Jewish people and Jewish state in better light. And we hope this will continue to a degree it continued. October 7th threw a monkey wrench in it and there's been a lot of anti-Israel sentiment in the wake of our justifiable war to defend ourselves. Although some countries are still deeply vested in our people. A lot of Americans who may be listening to this is this is an OU video are less familiar with some of the dynamics in central and eastern Europe. The countries like Hungary and Romania and places that are still deeply committed to the Jewish people, Jewish state, let alone India. Of course, it's not enough to offset some of the other um viferous enemies of the Jewish people, enemies of the Jewish state, hostility towards the Jewish state, but hopefully after the war abates, hopefully some of this can be reversed and people will once again return to be supporters and admirers of Israel, maybe even admirers of Israel's God and the values that we stand for that are under siege and and that are being that are eroding in part because they will be interested in trade agreements with Israel, certainly behind the Abraham Accords and other pe other strides towards peace. So these are three events that Moshe envisions all of which are obviously noteworthy all of which are remarkable and all of which seem to be repeating themselves in the current era. Number one is an absorat people are interested across the globe in having a tow hold in Israel. Number two we're providing copper and iron not gold and silver. We're providing utility, technology, advance, uh, manufacturer. Number three, people are being drawn towards Israel as a financial powerhouse, but hopefully it leads to larger discoveries, whether they be discovery of the Jewish people or ultimately, as we hope, discovery of, and we hope that that process and dynamic continues and actually recovers after it has been disrupted by this war. And then there is a different um different pattern that seems to be repeating itself in the story of God. So God is one of the nations um that choose to dwell in a yard which is generally seen by Moshe and Paris Matos as a um erroneous decision as a dangerous decision. It comes back to bite them as we see they slowly slowly disappear from the Jewish story even before the shivatim and even before they disappear in the end of Yeshua there's a lot of suspicion about them seceding as a different people and and a diplomats have to be sent have to be dispatched to patch things up it's a very fraught decision and at least the way we read the decision in Matos it was a less than holy decision The incentives weren't that pure and lofty. They found the pasture land very fertile. They felt that it was suitable for their cattle, for their children, for their families. Come to Israel. You can live in Israel. You may not strike it rich. You may not have a large house. You may have a have several cars in your driveway, but maybe living in Israel is more important than making a little extra money. But in parasa it sounds like at least according to Rashi that there was a noble cause a noble reason they first saw before we entered Israel they first saw this god is their land because there the portion of the of the lawgiver we all know that refers to but here says refers Mosha the portion of the classic the epitome the our typical moenu is hidden again the word saf this time with a sam not with a sin saf so Mosha's share is hidden so rashi says that god actually lived near haro where Moshe was buried and they chose to stay in a because they wanted to be near Mosha Rabenu now that's a little bit historically intriguing I think there's someone at my door So, um I'm home alone. So, here my door entering opening up. So, I'm just going to shut this for a second and I'll come right back. Okay. It's a good thing I stopped this year. We're having Barak Hashem a lot of people for Yamiff. Uh some of my sons-in-laws are in the are in the army. So, we're hosting grandchildren and parents. And so, we ordered some food for Yam. And I was supposed to be the one listening for the door putting them in the kitchen. So, I did my job. So, he's putting it in the kitchen. And uh I'll continue to share it. Anyway, so historically it's a little bit strange because God already makes the decision to stay in in um init. Does Mosha already know exactly where he'll be buried in Matos? Remember in Pinas he ascends Haravarim but just because he ascends Haravarim doesn't mean that that's where he'll be buried. So this suggests that God already knew the general region where Moshe would be buried and chose to stay in and surrender forfeit their right to live in Israel because they want to be near the gul near Mosher Rabenu. And if we just abstract it beyond just the decision about Mosher Rabenu, it it's it appears to be a trend where people who have the opportunity to live in Erit Israel choose not to live in Erit Israel for what would seem to be justifiable reasons. But yet even though the sh of God has lofty noble reasons they want to be near Mosher Rabenu, generally it doesn't work out. there's very little um favorable opinion of God expressed. So if God is making the choice to stay in because they want to be near Mosher Rabenu ultimately that's the decision that Tanakh our Msara frowns upon namely if you have the chance to be in Israel don't give it up and don't surrender it because there's some other value that can offset it or or kind of other reason not to move to Israel. This isn't a move terrace to Israel or your life is empty message but it it does spotlight the flaw in that logic. Now keep again there there there's in which um certain certain were very opposed to others moving from Bavl to Israel because Bavl was a center of Torah. So in Talara is poised against life in Erit Isel. Well that's part of the conversation of the late 19th century. One second. He's at the door again. I'm sorry about all the interruptions. The person just needed my attention. So the gar does hold up to as a reason at least according to some Amaruda felt that his should not make aliyah and he had to avoid his his um his supervision. So at least in this case the desire to stay in to be near Mosher Rabenu which is attributed to Ben doesn't work out well. God ultimately disappears from Amisoul's history. To say in a more general sense if you're in Israel you're within Jewish history. If you're not in Israel then you're at least facing the peril of disappearing as God did. Doesn't mean that everyone who doesn't live in Israel disappears. We believe in Bzedc and in Mashiach and people coming, but you're already on the periphery of Jewish history. If you're in Israel, you're in the middle, dab smack of Jewish history. Um, which of course raises the whole question that a lot of people are struggling with today. moving to Israel if it will come at the cost of how I raise my children and how much Torah I'll learn and which is an important calculus but don't use American terms like off the derek to describe people in Israel who are battling to defend Jewish history and searching for in ways that may not cohhere with classic modes for all sorts of reasons which obviously is unjust I'm not justifying it but to use a term such as off the derk for people that are squarely on the derk and squarely building the derk it's it's a very inappropriate application and vice versa if you're outside of well obviously if you're mitz you're holding one very very tightly to msara and hopefully you you'll get a messianic ticket but the decision to stay in because you want to be near Mosherenu and near Mosherenu's doesn't work out well for God so three historical patterns that are favorable that end favor favor verbally or not and they're favorable dynamics namely erit Israel is obser number two iron and copper not gold and silver number three people arrive in Israel for commercial interest become interested in our culture hopefully our god and then one which is unfortunate God disappears from history at least according to rashi they had positive and favorable motivations they wanted to be near the hidden portion of our lawgiver maj Rapano.