— Moses Rabbeinu's farewell speech: from warning to recognition

Parashat Ki Tavo · Sefer Devarim · 5785

Moses Rabbeinu's farewell speech: from warning to recognition

A shiur · Éditions Gueoula

Moses Rabbeinu's farewell speech: from warning to recognition

A shiur · Éditions Gueoula · · Sefer Devarim · 5785

In this shiur : 📖 The Context: Moses' Farewell Speech · 🔊 The Controversy: Lower or Raise the Voice? · ⛓️ The Apparent Nadir: "And No One Buys" · 👑 The Revelation: "You Are Sons of a King" · ✨ The Beginning of Redemption · 🎵 When to Raise the Voice: The Halakhic Debate · 💊 The Spiritual Medicine of Torah · ❤️ "And God Has Not Given You a Heart to Know" · 📜 The Day of Torah Giving · ✊ The People's Historical Demonstration · 😊 Moses' Joy: Recognition of Attachment · 📚 The Miracle of the 12 Torah Scrolls

📖 Full Text

1 📖 The Context: Moses' Farewell Speech

הדרשן חימי immerses us in the context of Parashat Ki Tavo: we are in the long farewell speech of משה רבנו (Moses Rabbeinu) which constitutes the entire book of Devarim.

The 37 Days of the Final Speech

From 1st Shevat to 7th Adar: 37 days during which Moses prepares the people to enter the Promised Land without him. This speech culminates with the 98 curses of Ki Tavo.

⚠️ The 98 curses: Prophetic warnings that unfortunately came true
🏛️ Destruction of the First Temple: The descriptions recall Megillat Eichah
🏛️ Destruction of the Second Temple: Continuation of realized prophecies
😢 Historical persecutions: Inquisition, Holocaust - Moses' words resonate throughout history
🎯 Purpose of warnings: "So they may see and fear" - to distance us from evil

These curses are not cruel punishments, but warnings from a loving father who wants to preserve his children from danger.

2 🔊 The Controversy: Lower or Raise the Voice?

הדרשן חימי addresses a fascinating halakhic question: how should the חזן (cantor) read the curses?

Two Opposing Traditions

Common tradition: Lower the voice to avoid frightening
Position of הדרשן חימי: Raise the voice to hear well and prepare

Necessary courage: "One must stand upright with pride and courage to hear these reproofs"
Salutary warning: Like a doctor prescribing bitter but necessary medicine
Knowledge of danger: To know what must be avoided
Spiritual preparation: "To know where we are heading"

"Traditions of foolishness" consist of fleeing or closing one's ears. On the contrary, one must listen courageously to better prepare.

3 ⛓️ The Apparent Nadir: "And No One Buys"

הדרשן חימי explores the harshest verse: "והשיבך ה' מצרים באניות... והתמכרתם שם לאויבים לעבדים ולשפחות ואין קונה"

The Slave Market Scene

God will bring Israel back to Egypt on ships, they will be sold as slaves, but no one will buy them. Supreme humiliation or... divine revelation?

🚢 The forced return: Return to the place of original slavery despite the divine promise
💰 Commercial failure: "Not even a shekel" - total rejection even as slaves
😢 Total humiliation: Being considered worthless, even as a slave
🤔 The crucial question: How can this moment be considered positive?

4 👑 The Revelation: "You Are Sons of a King"

הדרשן חימי reveals the extraordinary reversal: the moment of greatest abasement becomes awareness of our greatness.

The Dialogue with the Egyptian Buyer

The merchant: "Where does this merchandise come from?"
The answer: "These are Jews from the Land of Israel"
The reaction: "Jews? They are sons of a king!"

🌟 Recognition by the enemy: The Egyptians themselves recognize Jewish nobility
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 "Sons of the Holy One, blessed be He": People who have tasted spiritual freedom
📚 People of Torah: 40 years in the desert, Torah at Sinai, Solomon's greatness
💎 Spiritual value: "They don't know how to clean floors, they are spiritual people"
🔄 The awakening: The Jew on the platform suddenly understands his true value

"If no one wants to pay me even a shekel as a slave, it's because I am a son of a king!" - Moment of awareness of our divine mission.

5 ✨ The Beginning of Redemption

This recognition of our divine value marks the beginning of גאולה (Redemption).

🎯 Mission in the world: We are a chosen people to illuminate the world
🌍 Current radiance: "Today we do it in a big way"
😤 World's reaction: "That's why they don't like us much"
✅ Positive sign: "If they don't like us, it means we are good"
🔑 Key to redemption: Understanding our value = beginning of healing

True redemption begins when we understand that our rejection by the world confirms our exceptional divine mission.

6 🎵 When to Raise the Voice: The Halakhic Debate

הדרשן חימי explains why some say one must raise the voice precisely at the moment that seems darkest.

Two Opinions on the Moment of Elevation

Opinion 1: Lower the voice during curses, raise after "These are the words of the covenant"
Opinion 2: Raise the voice precisely on "and no one buys" because it's the moment of redemption

🔄 Paradoxical reversal: The worst moment becomes the best
🎭 Positive reading: The same words, but with transformed understanding
👑 "You are not slaves": Revelation of our true nature
🌅 Dawn of consciousness: This recognition is already redemption

"Why does no one buy? Because you are not slaves and maidservants!" - The recognition of this truth is the beginning of redemption.

7 💊 The Spiritual Medicine of Torah

הדרשן חימי compares the Torah's curses to necessary medicine.

👨‍⚕️ The divine physician: "You don't feel well, you must take the medicine"
😖 Bitter taste: "It's bitter, it's disgusting" but necessary
🎯 For our good: The warnings are for our benefit
💪 Courage required: One must be courageous enough to listen and apply

8 ❤️ "And God Has Not Given You a Heart to Know"

הדרשן חימי explores a fascinating verse at the end of the parasha that reveals a moment of extraordinary recognition.

The Mysterious Verse

"ויקרא משה לכל ישראל ויאמר אלהם... ולא נתן ה' לכם לב לדעת ועיניים לראות ואוזניים לשמוע עד היום הזה"

"And God has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear until this day"

🗓️ Crucial timing: 40 years after the exodus from Egypt, Moses' last day
🤔 The question: What changed that day?
💡 Emotional intelligence: "לב לדעת" = combination of heart and intellect
⚖️ Necessary balance: Neither pure intelligence without emotion, nor pure emotion without reflection
🏆 Winning combination: Heart + intellect = perfect emotional intelligence

9 📜 The Day of Torah Giving

הדרשן חימי reveals what happened that day through the Midrash reported by Rashi.

Moses' Last Day (7th Adar)

On that day, Moses finishes writing the Sefer Torah and gives it to the Levites. But something extraordinary is about to happen...

📖 Writing completed: Moses finishes the Sefer Torah
🎯 Initial giving: "ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי" - given to the Levites
❓ Problem in the verse: "And to all the elders of Israel" - apparent contradiction
🔍 Textual clue: Something happened between the two parts of the verse

10 ✊ The People's Historical Demonstration

The Midrash reveals the extraordinary event that took place that day.

The People's Demand

All Israel comes to Moses: "We too stood at Sinai! We too received the Torah! Why do you give it only to the Levites?"

⚖️ Demand for equality: "We are not goats!"
🏔️ Reminder of Sinai: "We too were at Mount Sinai"
👑 Refusal of aristocracy: "You give the Torah to your own tribe?"
🔮 Concern for the future: "Tomorrow they will tell us: the Torah is not for you!"
📢 Collective protest: All the tribes make a demonstration

"We too want the Torah! We want the Torah!" - This passionate demand reveals the people's deep attachment.

11 😊 Moses' Joy: Recognition of Attachment

Moses' reaction reveals the greatness of his leadership and his deep understanding of the people.

Moses' Reaction

Instead of being offended: "ושמח משה על הדבר הזה" - "And Moses rejoiced over this matter"

🎉 Unexpected joy: Moses is happy about their protest
🎯 Deep understanding: "What are you fighting for? For the Torah!"
💝 Revealed attachment: "You want to hold onto the Torah"
🏅 Moment of recognition: "Today you have become a people"
❤️ Proof of love: 40 years of uncertainty resolved in an instant

"Today God has given you a heart to know" - Moses understands that their fight for Torah proves their true attachment.

12 📚 The Miracle of the 12 Torah Scrolls

The miraculous conclusion of the story reveals divine love for His people.

The Final Miracle

On the same day, Moses performs a miracle: he writes 12 Sefarim (Torah scrolls), one for each tribe, plus the original kept near the Ark.

✨ Divine miracle: 12 perfect copies in a single day
🏛️ The original preserved: Hidden under the Temple by King Solomon
🔗 Unbroken chain: Transmission from generation to generation
📜 Our current Sefarim: Direct copies of Moses' original
🌟 Messianic promise: Everything will be revealed with the coming of Mashiach

"God wanted to make Israel meritorious, therefore He multiplied the Torah for them" - The more we attach ourselves to Torah, the more it reveals itself to us.

🎯 Test yourself

Five questions. Click an answer.

According to HaDarchan Himi, what is the true purpose of the 98 curses of Ki Tavo?

The Rav teaches these are warnings from a loving father, "so they may see and fear," not cruel punishments.

What is HaDarchan Himi's position on how the Hazan should read the curses?

Against the tradition of lowering the voice, the Rav teaches one should raise it and stand with courage to hear the reproof.

How does HaDarchan Himi interpret the verse "and no one buys them" (ve'ein koneh)?

The apparent nadir becomes revelation: if no one buys them as slaves, it's because they are not slaves but sons of a king — the beginning of redemption.

What does the phrase "לב לדעת" (a heart to know) mean according to the lesson?

The Rav explains that "lev lada'at" is the balance of heart and intellect — neither pure emotion nor pure reason.

Why did Moses rejoice when all Israel protested, demanding the Torah?

Instead of being offended, Moses rejoiced because their demand "we too want the Torah" revealed their deep love; that day they became a people, and he wrote 12 scrolls.

Result

📅 Seven-Day Programme — Parashat Ki Tavo

Sunday

Sunday: Read a passage of Torah rebuke aloud, standing and with courage, instead of avoiding it — hear the warning as necessary medicine.

Monday

Monday: In a moment of rejection or humiliation today, tell yourself: "If they don't value me, it's because I am a son of a king" — and write down your true spiritual worth.

Tuesday

Tuesday: Study a Torah teaching with passion and claim your heritage, like the people who demonstrated "we too want the Torah."

Wednesday

Wednesday: Make an important decision by balancing heart and intellect (lev lada'at) — neither pure emotion nor pure reason.

Thursday

Thursday: When you receive criticism, look for the good intention behind it and rejoice in the other's passion, as Moses rejoiced at the protest.

Friday

Friday: Do one concrete act of illumination for others (teach, encourage, help), remembering your mission as a people chosen to light up the world.

Shabbat

Shabbat: Take a moment to recognize a "reversal" in your week — a dark moment that became a source of light — and thank G-d as the beginning of healing.

🎯 Test yourself

Result

Shalom Bayit — The Mouth at Home

Gematria — Rav Ménaché

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