In the beginning of the portion of Ve’etchanan, Moses recounts how he prayed to God in order to be able to come into the land of Israel: “And I implored (ve’etchanan) God at that time saying, ‘My God, you have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for what power is there in the heaven or on earth that can perform according to your deeds and according to your mighty acts? Let me now cross and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:23). Moses continues by relating that God did not accept his plea, but does allow him to see the land from afar.
Based on the numerical value of ve’etchanan being 515, the midrash tells us that Moses prayed 515 different prayers that he merit to come into the land. Rashi further tells us that the word ve’etchanan is one of ten expressions of prayer. And yet after all that effort Moses is not granted his greatest wish. A question would then be: if Moses, the greatest of all the prophets and leaders, was not granted his request after 515 prayers what could we expect from prayer?
The Slonimer Rebbe writes that Moses was not really praying for himself, rather his great desire to come into the land was that he knew that if he could lead the people into the land he would be the Messiah, the Temple could be built and would never be destroyed, and that the final rectification of the world could occur. God in the end revealed to Moses that although in potential all of those things could take place, the time had simply not come and the world was not ready. Again though we are left with the question that if someone as great as Moses was not answered how can we expect any different. And if so what is the point of prayer if not to be granted what one prays for.
In truth, God listens and accepts all our prayers, and responds as well. The problem is that we don’t always hear, understand or feel the answer in a clear and immediate manner. But every thought, word and action of an individual has its effect and is recorded above. Nothing is ever lost and no prayer in the bigger picture is in vain.
Therefore we can ask: how then was Moses answered? By praying so intently and deeply for the merit to enter the land Moses engraved in the hearts of the Jewish people for ever the passionate desire to be connected to the land of Israel. Although he did not personally enter the land he bequeathed to all future generations the strength to never give up the hope to be reunited with our promised land.
History has proven that in fact this has been the case. Even 2,000 years of being separated from the land could not extinguish the burning desire of the Jewish people to return to their home land. And we, who have merited to visit, live for a time, or settle in Israel in our time, are the living proof and the answer to the prayer of Moses. The prayers of Moses were in fact very potent and not one was lost or in vain. This is a crucial understanding to be applied to our own lives.
Near the end of the portion is the Shema, the cardinal statement of faith in the unity of God in the Torah. Some ask that if the Shema is in fact so fundamental to our faith, why is it only revealed towards the end of the Torah? An intriguing answer may be connected to the above discussion.
When everything is going our way it is easy to believe in God and experience His Providence in every aspect of life. It is when we feel God is not answering our prayers that the true test of faith comes. The Shema coming in the very portion where Moses describes his unanswered prayers may be teaching us that until Moses had experienced this reality, his understanding of the true oneness of God was not perfected. It took his own trial of faith to complete his understanding that even when God appears to not answer us, or the answer we receive is not what we had hoped for, still we cling to the belief that all comes from God and that all is ultimately for the good.
This potion is always read on the Shabbat after Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning the collective tragedies of the Jewish people throughout the ages. Perhaps this is another reason the Shema only comes at the end of the Torah. After the fast and the mourning we still declare our belief in the oneness of God. It is in our individual and collective mourning that we most need to strengthen our belief in the justice of God’s decrees and accept his Providence.
