When we consider the events that Moshe chose to include in this address and those which he excluded, a clear pattern emerges. Moshe’s concern in delivering this speech is to avoid a recurrence of the sin of the spies.
We read in Parashat Devarim the first of a series of addresses delivered by Moshe to Benei Yisrael before his death. In this first address, he briefly surveys the previous thirty-nine years of travel through the wilderness, from God’s command to disembark from Mount Sinai, through Benei Yisrael’s conquest of the Emorite kingdoms east of the Jordan River. This speech actually continues into the first verses of Parashat Vaetchanan (through the end of the chapter 3), in which Moshe recalls his petition asking God to allow him to enter Eretz Yisrael, and God’s rejection of his request.
In order to identify the general theme and purpose of this address, we need simply to compile a list of the topics it covers:
1) God’s command to Benei Yisrael to take leave of Mount Sinai (1:6-8)
2) The appointment of a judiciary (1:9-18)
3) The arrival in Kadesh Barnea, on the border of Canaan (1:19-21)
4) The sin of the spies and its aftermath (1:22-2:1)
5) God’s commands to refrain from waging battle against the nations bordering along Benei Yisrael’s travel route (2:2-25)
6) The successful battle against Sichon and Og (2:26-3:22)
7) Moshe request that he be allowed to enter Canaan (3:23-29)
Interestingly, Moshe omits most of the major events recorded in Sefer Bamidbar. For example, he makes no mention of any of Benei Yisrael’s sins during the years of travel – such as the mit’onenim, Kivrot Ha-ta’ava, Korach’s revolt and Ba’al Pe’or – with the exception of the sin of the spies. Moshe also excludes important events such as his hitting the rock at Mei Meriva, Bilam’s failed attempts to curse Benei Yisrael, and the successful battles against Arad and Midyan. We should also take note of the fact that Moshe’s survey begins with God’s command to leave Mount Sinai, rather than from the Exodus or from Matan Torah.
When we consider the events that Moshe chose to include in this address and those which he excluded, a clear pattern emerges. Moshe’s concern in delivering this speech is to avoid a recurrence of the sin of the spies. As the nation stands on the brink of entering Eretz Yisrael, Moshe recalls the time when, thirty-nine years earlier, Benei Yisrael were poised to capture the land – until the debacle of the scouts disrupted their plans. In this address – as opposed to the other speeches recorded throughout Sefer Devarim – Moshe’s intent is not to warn the people about the importance of Torah observance and resisting the idolatrous influences of the surrounding nations. Rather, he seeks to impress upon the Benei Yisrael the fact that God has guaranteed to help them capture the Land of Israel, and they thus have no reason to fear crossing the Jordan River, as their parents had thirty-nine years earlier.
For this reason, Moshe begins not with the Exodus or Matan Torah, but rather with God’s command to take leave of Sinai and His promise of victory. His goal is to remind the people of God’s guarantee that they would succeed in capturing the land. This also explains why Moshe places so much emphasis on the stories of the spies and the conquest of the Emorite kingdoms, narratives which together occupy more than half of theparasha (a total of sixty verses out of the 105 verses in Parashat Devarim). Moshe found it necessary to elaborate on the mistake of cheit ha-meragelim and its consequences, as well as on the successful battle against Sichon and Og, which marked the first stage of the conquest of Eretz Yisrael. By emphasizing that the process of conquest has already begun, Moshe hoped to reassure Benei Yisrael of their ability to dispossess the Canaanite peoples – just as they easily captured the territory of Sichon and Og.
Moshe also recalls God’s commands to refrain from waging battle against the other nations in the region, to explain that this was not the result of fear or the nation’s military limitations. As Moshe relates, God granted Edom, Moav and Amon rights to their land in recognition of their ancestors, Esav and Lot. It was thus not due to Benei Yisrael’s lack of strength that they refrained from fighting against these nations, but rather out of deference to these nations’ ancestors.
What remains to be understood is why Moshe recalls his appointment of a judiciary in this context. How did this event help reinforce the people’s faith in their ability to capture Eretz Yisrael and thus avoid a recurrence of cheit ha-meragelim?
The Ramban (1:9) explained that this discussion serves to emphasize to Benei Yisrael that all arrangements for their life in Eretz Yisrael had been completed. Moshe introduces his recounting of cheit ha-meragelim by informing the people that they were ready and prepared to enter the land, with a functioning system of leadership in place, but because of the sin of the spies their entry into Eretz Yisrael was delayed for so long. Abarbanel explains slightly differently, claiming that Moshe here proves to the people that he did not cause the delay. He emphasizes that he was busy making preparations for the nation’s conquest of Canaan, arranging for a well-established leadership network, and it was thus because of the people’s sin, and not Moshe’s hesitation, that their entry into Canaan was delayed for so long.
Thus, this address was delivered in the hope of avoiding the mistake made the last time Benei Yisraelstood at the border, ready to enter Eretz Yisrael. Moshe was determined to fortify the people’s faith in God’s promise and resolve to cross into the land which they are destined to possess and made into their eternal homeland.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il