Ilustration Credit: Chaim File
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
Just before Moshe died, God gave him a chance to take a good look at Eretz Yisrael. The Torah tells us that God showed him the whole land, all the way to the יָם הָאַחֲרוֹן (yam ha-aharon, the western or Mediterranean Sea) (Devarim 34:1-2).
A midrash suggests that God actually showed Moshe much more than a nice view!
"וַיַּרְאֵהוּ ה' אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ"—מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֶרְאָהוּ אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל מְיֻשֶּׁבֶת עַל שַׁלְוָתָהּ וְחָזַר וְהֶרְאָהוּ מְצִיקִים הַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ.
..."עַד הַיָּם הָאַחֲרוֹן"—אַל תְּהִי קוֹרֵא "עַד הַיָּם הָאַחֲרוֹן" אֶלָּא "עַד הַיּוֹם הָאַחֲרוֹן." מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֶרְאָהוּ כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ מִיּוֹם שֶׁנִּבְרָא וְעַד שֶׁיִּחְיוּ הַמֵּתִים.
“God showed him the whole land” (34:1)— God showed him Eretz Yisrael settled in peace, and then God went back and showed it to him with oppressors holding onto it.
... “To the yam ha-aharon” (34:2)—Don’t read it as yam ha-aharon (the western sea); instead, read it as yom ha-aharon (the final day). This means that God showed Moshe the entire world, from the day it was created until the day when the dead will come back to life.
The midrash suggests that God showed Moshe the “whole” land, not just the way it was in that moment, but what would happen to Eretz Yisrael through history: the good times and the hard times. And not only that, but God showed Moshe the whole entire story of all the world—from the first moment of creation until מָשִׁיחַ (mashiah, the redeemer) comes.
The great story of the Jewish people would not always be an easy one. There would be ups and downs, and times could get very hard. That’s still true even today. And we might wonder: When will the end finally come? What will be the end of our story? According to this midrash, Moshe saw it all.
- How do you think that felt for him?
- Could part of what he saw give you hope? How so?
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