If
there is one term that typifies the book of D'varim, it is "transition"
- or "avor" in Hebrew, stemming from the root. e.v.r, (ayin,
vet/bet, resh) meaning to "traverse, cross over, pass by or through,
transgress, get angry/cross, other side, for the
sake of and fords, or passageway," being also the
root for the word “Hebrew”. This
term, with some of those derivatives, shows up many times in Parashat
Va’etchanan, which is why we will follow it not only there, but also throughout
the book of Dvarim (Deuteronomy). This excursion will also provide an
opportunity to observe, once again, patterns of the Hebrew mindset and the
compactness of the language, as well as the mutual effect of thought and
language on each other. We will see how “avor” lends D’varim its special
character, and in turn how it expresses the calling of the People of Yisrael.
In
Sh'mot (Exodus) the Hebrews passed over from one state of existence (slavery)
to another (freedom and redemption) as well as to a new geographical location,
by crossing the Sea
of Reeds. Here, in
Dvarim, they are about to experience another crossing. This time it is the
Yarden, which is to become the passageway that will lead them to the land promised
them by YHVH. They will, once again, go through a change of status, ceasing to
be nomads. In the past we have noted that "Hebrews"-
"Ivrim" - are those who are destined for transitions of one form or
another. This group of people is seen here (and throughout Scripture)
fulfilling this very destiny, already alluded to by the name of their
progenitor Ever (Eber, Gen. 11:14,15) mentioned five generations before
Avraham, whose name they bore. However,
nowhere is the "passing" or "crossing" – designated by
e.v.r - more evident than in D'varim, where the term is used in several
connotations forming, as it were, a series of milestones that enable us to
follow the Israelites through their journeys and transitions as depicted in
this book.
Already
in Dvarim’s opening verse we see Moshe addressing "all Israel on the side of the Jordan – Ever
ha'Yarden" (1:1 italics added). Ever (vowel sounds like in “essence”)
is "the other side", thus rendering the land on the Yarden's
eastern shore, "Ever haYarden". It was also at "Ever ha'Yarden"
where Moshe "began to explain the Torah" (1:5). Sometime later
Yehoshua (Joshua) reminds the Israelites of another "ever" - the place where their forefathers came from,
saying: "Thus says YHVH
the Elohim of Israel: `Your fathers Terah, the father of Abraham and the father
of Nahor, dwelt on the other side [ever] of the River in
old times; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from the
other side [ever] of the River, led him throughout all the
land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants
and gave him Isaac'" (Josh. 24:2,3 italics and emphases added).
In recounting
the wilderness journey and its adventures, Moshe says, "We came
through [a'va'rnu] the nations which you passed by [a'va'rtem]…
"(Deut. 29:16 italics added). About these nations, he made earlier comments,
recalling YHVH’s words to him: "You are passing [ovrim] by
the border of your brothers, the sons of Esau" (2:4). And as to the actual event: "And we
passed [va'na'vor] and turned beyond our brother the sons of Esau…
and we passed [va'na'vor] by way of the Wilderness of Moab"
(2:8). “And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed
over [avarnu] the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, until
all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp,
just as YHVH had sworn to them" (2:14). Although the wording here appears
to be recounting technical details, it captures the tragedy that the Israelites
brought upon themselves - the passing on of an entire generation.
Preceding the crossing of this river (Zered), YHVH exhorted the Israelites: “Now
rise up, and go over [e’e’vru] the river Zered! And we went
over [va’na’avor] the river Zered” (2:13, italics added).
The next “crossing over" [o-ver
in Hebrew] (2:18) was through the territory
of Moav and Ammon, that
according to YHVH's word was not to be trampled. But the command to "cross
[e’e’vru]" the River Arnon, was different! The land of Sichon,
the Amorite king, was to come under Yisrael's dominion. The Amorites ignored
the message, "Let me pass through [e'ebra] your land; I will
keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the
left. You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for
money, that I may drink; only let me pass through [e'ebra] on
foot, just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who
dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross [e'evor] the Jordan to the
land which YHVH our Elohim is giving us" (2:27,28 italics added). Instead,
"Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through
[ha'a'virenu]" (v. 30 italics added). Thus, the land of the
Amorites was conquered. A similar fate awaited Og the king of Bashan,
whose land was also conquered by the Israelites. Moshe recalls: "We took
the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side
of the Jordan [Ever
haYarden], from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon"
(3:8 italics added).
This was also the land requested by the
tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe, who had to meet one condition:
"All you men of valor shall cross over [ta'avru]
armed before your brethren, the children of Israel" (3:18 italics added),
in order to help them take control of the Promised Land. Moshe continues,
promising to Yehoshua: "YHVH will do to all the kingdoms through which you
pass [over]" (v. 21), what He had done to the former
kingdoms”.
In addition to the above promise, there is
an even greater one (preceded by the words "Sh'ma Yisrael - Hear O Israel"
in 9:1): "Therefore understand today that YHVH your Elohim is He who
goes over [ha'over] before you as a consuming fire" (9:3
italics added). And moreover, "YHVH your Elohim Himself crosses over
[over] before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and
you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over [over]
before you, just as YHVH has said" (31:3 italic added). The "crossing
over [ovrim] to possess" or "inherit" the land is
also an inseparable part of the description of the Land itself, as everything
about its conditions constitutes a major change-over and transition
from the setting of the desert (for details see 11:10 -12).
And while Moshe was thus preparing the
nation, which he had so greatly nurtured and for whom he had been willing to
give up his life, he did not conceal from them and from posterity the sad fact
that he had "pleaded with YHVH at that time, saying: ‘O my Adonai YHVH,
You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand… I
pray, let me cross over [e'ebra] and see the good
land beyond [ever] the Jordan,
those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’
But YHVH was angry [va'yita'ber] with me on your account, and
would not listen to me" (3:23-26 italics added). Yes, "angry"
in this context is also made up of the root ayin, vet/bet, resh! Thus, there is
more than one way to 'cross over'. ‘Crossing over' to the 'wrong side'
and 'crossing' YHVH's will, will incur His anger (“evrah”).
Moshe
continues to relate his plight, as pronounced by YHVH: "Go up to the top
of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the
east; Behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over [ta'avor]
this Jordan.
But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go
over [ya'avor] before this people…" (3: 27,28 italics added).
Just before Moshe's death on Mount
Nevo (Nebo), called here
“Avarim” (32:49) - the Mount of Crossing - he is once again
reminded by his Elohim, "I have caused you to see it [the land] with your eyes, but you shall not cross
over [ta'avor] there" (34:4 italics added). In Psalm 106:32
this story is repeated: “They angered him also
at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes
[ba’a’vu’ram]” (italics added). The singular form “(ba)avu’r,” literally means “one who has been caused
to pass over”. Thus, even a
common preposition such as “for someone’s sake” is rooted in e.v.r – i.e.
“crossing or passing over” - pointing to the centrality of this term and to an
active force, or agent, outside of one’s self who, as this preposition shows, acts
as the Prime Cause.
In our
text the covenant and the commandments are not 'passed over' either. In his discourse, Moshe elaborates
extensively on these issues. YHVH made another covenant with the Children of Yisrael,
"in the land
of Moab besides the
covenant which He made with them in Horeb… that you may enter [le'ov'recha]
into covenant with YHVH your Elohim" (Deut. 29:1, 12 italics added). Thus,
in “entering” this covenant they were literally "crossing"
into it. "Transgressing" YHVH's commandments, according to
26:13 is also referred to as "crossing". Some of these commandments
are: "When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged
[ya'avor] with any business…" (24:5 italics added), and "There
shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass
through [ma'avir] the fire…" (18:10 italics added).
"For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for
you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, `Who will
ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'
Nor is it beyond [meh’ever] the sea, that you should say, `Who will
go over [ya'avor] the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may
hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your
heart, that you may do it" (30:11-14 italics added). According to these
words, it appears that fulfilling Elohim's Word does not necessarily require a
physical crossing or passing over; it is simply a matter of turning inwardly,
to that which had already been deposited there by the Almighty (see Rom. 8:11).
Finally, "And it shall be, on the day
when you [plural] cross over [ta'avru] the Jordan to the
land which YHVH your Elohim is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves
large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the
words of this law, when you have crossed over [be'ovre'cha], that
you may enter the land which YHVH your Elohim is giving you, a land flowing
with milk and honey, just as YHVH the Elohim of your fathers promised you.
Therefore it shall be, when you [plural] have crossed over [be'ovre'chem]
the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal
you shall set up these stones, which I command you today…" (27:2-4 italics
added). Thus, the "crossing over" is to be marked by stones that were
to be a testimony of a genuine "crossing over" and a “change over” undertaken
by the Hebrews, the 'People of Transition'!
The root e.v.r, however, is also being
applied to the enemies of Yisrael. Prior to the actual crossing, Yehoshua sent
two spies to Yericho (Jericho).
These two were pursued by men who themselves had to cross the Yarden’s
"fords”. These “fords” are “ma’a’barot,” literally, “that
which enables passage” (ref. Josh. 2:7).
Interestingly, the Hebrew translation for
Hebrews 6:20, speaking about the Place of the Presence (behind the veil),
states that Yeshua has “gone over” (in Hebrew - ‘o’ver’) there
for us, as a forerunner.
In
closing, let us pause briefly on “va’etchanan”, the title of our
Parasha, which takes us back to its opening verse (3:23) where Moshe pleads
with YHVH to let him cross the Yarden. “And I pleaded” or
implored…” – etchanan – is of the root ch.n.n (chet, noon, noon), which
means to “show favor or be gracious”, while “chen” (chet, noon) is
“grace” (e.g. Zech. 4:7, 12:10). Thus, he who
pleads with, and implores YHVH knows he is invoking His grace, cognizant of the
fact that even the pleading itself is linked to YHVH’s compassion and favor active
in the one who is pleading with expectancy.
Note:
In the synagogue, the Torah scrolls are placed in an ark called “teiva”. When the representative of the congregation
who prays on their behalf stands before the ark, he too is said to be “passing
[over] before the teiva”.
Hebrew Tools
for Everyday Use
Many of the
Hebrew words which we encounter in the Tanach are not used in Modern Hebrew,
while others are still in use, but differently than in the scriptures. Let us
take a look at a few of the variations of the common root ayin, bet, resh in
its contemporary usage.
I am moving (away)
from here
Ani o’ver
mi’poh (m.)
Ani o’veret
mi’poh (f.)
It is forbidden
to transgress the law (literally, forbidden to transgress/pass over the law)
Asur la’avor al
ha’chok
Over the sea
Meh’e’ver
la’yam
Parents do much
for their children
(literally,
parents do much for the children theirs)
Horim osim
harbeh avur haye’ladim she’la’hem
(ha’ye’ladim
she’lo – the children his
ha’ye’ladim
she’la – the children hers)
