Narratives are told from a particular point of view, a focalization, and a center of consciousness. It is impossible to tell a story from a completely detached vantage point, just as no historian is objective. Therefore, in reading, we enter into the mind of the author, and appreciate his value system. The Torah is the word of God. In studying Torah we gain more than the knowledge we gather; we enter into the 'mind' of God. The more one learns in quality and quantity, the more one attunes oneself to the ultimate meaning of existence. This attuning is enabled by many aspects of Torah, on many levels. One may probe the depths of the meaning of a halakha, or develop a sensitivity to the way in which verses of the Torah are worded. When learning Torah, it is essential to keep in mind that it is God's message. While He worded it in human linguistic forms ("dibra Torah kelashon benei adam"), the choice of all content is divine.
This week we begin the book of Devarim. Almost the whole book is an unbroken relation of speeches made by Moshe in the last month of his life. While God later dictated to him that which would enter into the Torah, Moshe originally delivered the speeches on specific occasions, in particular places, and to distinct groups of people. This makes the narrative of the book of Devarim different to that of the rest of the Torah. If we wish to enter into God's 'mind' in the study of Torah, we must notice the differences between that which is worded by God, and that which is presented by man to man. (This distinction is relevant to all quotations of human speech in the Torah.)
Chapters 2 and 3 of Devarim include Moshe's recounting of the wars waged against the two Emori kings, Sichon and Og. The original narrative appears only a few chapters previously, in Bamidbar 21. The difference is phenomenal. While not one particular contradicts the previous description, the emphasis is so altered that the incidents described seem of a completely different nature. To do justice to the text a close reading would be necessary; in this small space we shall permit ourselves a short review.
In Bamidbar 21:21-35 we read the description of the wars against the two kings, their defeat, and the Jewish settling of their land on the eastern bank of the Jordan river. The whole narrative includes only fifteen verses, of which the first two describe the call to peace, five are taken up with a clarification of who exactly the enemy was, and one tells of the settling. Only seven verses (23-25, 32-35) actually describe the wars! In contradistinction, the very same story is told by Moshe to the people, in Devarim 2:24-3:11, over twenty-four verses, of which at least fourteen (2:31-36, 3:1-8) are unquestionably a description of the wars.
We may illustrate the difference by comparing a single verse from Bamidbar, describing the defeat of Og, with its parallel in Devarim, spanning five verses. Bamidbar 21:25 reads, "And they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there remained no remnant of him, and they possessed his land." The very same war is described by Moshe, in Devarim 3:3-7, thus, "And the Lord our God gave into our hands Og also, the king of the Bashan, and all his people, and we smote them until there remained no remnant of him. And we conquered all his cities at that time; there was not one town that we did not take from them, sixty cities, all the line of Argov etc… All these cities were fortified with high walls, doors and bolts, besides unwalled cities a great many. And we destroyed them etc… And all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities etc…" God's description of the wars in Bamidbar provides us with no military, or historically interesting, information; it is both incidental and succinct. However, Moshe retells the story at great length, and is generously informative.
Moshe had good reason to describe the wars in such a manner. His speech was delivered to the generation that would enter the land of Israel. They must be brave, and must trust in God. Moshe encouraged these feelings by reminding the people how God had saved them, and had made them victorious, in the past. But for this particular object, the Torah sees no value in an informative account of wars, however interesting historically. Thus, the very same incident is described in two places from such varying vantage points that it is barely recognizable. By delving into the nuances found by such comparisons we are able to tap into the system of values that the Torah wishes to teach us.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il