(1) These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan...
-Rabbi Judy Shanks
-Rabbi Marc Margolius
-Rabbi Simcha Bunem of Prszysucha
How does Moses craft such a universal, yet personal teaching? What wisdom will bubble up from his twelve-decade-deep reservoir of life?
boundless needs, and expectations (Exodus 18:13-27; Numbers 11:11-15). And now, depleted just by the act of remembering, he cries out again:
-Rabbi Judy Shanks
-Rabbi Judy Shanks
(א) בֶּן זוֹמָא אוֹמֵר, אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קיט) מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי כִּי עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שִׂיחָה לִּי. אֵיזֶהוּ גִבּוֹר, הַכּוֹבֵשׁ אֶת יִצְרוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי טז) טוֹב אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם מִגִּבּוֹר וּמשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ מִלֹּכֵד עִיר. אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר, הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קכח) יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ. אַשְׁרֶיךָ, בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. וְטוֹב לָךְ, לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. אֵיזֶהוּ מְכֻבָּד, הַמְכַבֵּד אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמואל א ב) כִּי מְכַבְּדַי אֲכַבֵּד וּבֹזַי יֵקָלּוּ:
Who is mighty? He who subdues his [evil] inclination, as it is said: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32).
Isralites and the generations to come. Granted the blessings of time and the opportunity to speak at length, Moses skillfully blends g'vurah and chesed in necessary proportion–with messages ranging from castigating them about the spies early in Parashat D'varim to loft inspiration in Parashat Nitzavim–to impart the emotions he hopes to inspire and the memories important to implant.
And it is with chesed alone that Moses concludes the prelide to his greatest sermons. He hearkens back not decades but centuries to family memories, to the divine promises made to the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, blessing his people and calling on God to continue blessing them:
-Rabbi Judy Shanks
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Aks yourself: Which g'vurot, which "strengths," do I possess that allow me to bring goodness into my world or inspire others to do the same? Which gvurot provoke me to demean or alienate others? When do I most often find myself tempering my g'vurah with chesed, bringing kindness to my judgments? How can I increase my
opportunities for connection through strength?
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Imagine your final days and the words you would want to share. Write them
down as the beginning of your own ethical will, or gather your gvurah and say them now in the way each listener will best be able to hear.