מתוך "אתר תהילים" של ד"ר בנימין גזונדהייט
מי יחזיר את הכינורות האבודים לירושלים?
משברים גדולים ועמוקים בחיי אדם ובחיי אומה, שורשם בייאוש; רבים מהאפיקורסים התייאשו (או מריבונו של עולם, או מרבניו) לפני שפנו לכפירה; לכן, ההפך מאמונה הוא ייאוש, הרבה יותר מכפירה.
חורבן הבית היה סיבה מרכזית לייאוש מיציאת מצרים, ומהתגלות ה' בהיסטוריה של עם ישראל, ויהודים רבים פנו אז לעבודת אלילי המנצחים, כפי שמעידות הנבואות הקשות של יחזקאל (כ; כב; ראו בייחוד כ, לב).
אלה שלא ביקשו לזרוק את הכל ולהיות ככל הגויים, התייאשו 'רק' מלשיר, כי "אֵיךְ נָשִׁיר אֶת שִׁיר ה' עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָר"?
במקום לנגן ולשיר לקולות הצחוק והלעג של הבבלים, העדיפו שבויים יהודים לבכות, תלו את הכינורות על עצי ערבה ב"נהרות בבל", והציבו במקום "שיר ה'" את שבועת הנצח - "אִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם - תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי"!
שבועה זו הפכה יסוד מוצק באמונת הגולה היהודית, אמונת השיבה לירושלים!
אין באנטי-מזמור הזה לא 'שיר', ולא 'מזמור', לא 'לדוד', ולא 'הללו י-ה' - רק בכי, ייאוש משירה, ולמרות הכל, שבועת נצח של אמונה יהודית בשיבה לירושלים.
גלות בבל וחורבן הבית נמשכו 'רק' 70 שנה, אבל אותו המזמור עיצב גם את דרכם של הגולים לרומא, בחורבן השני.
אין בעולם חלל ריק(!) - אחרי שחזרו משוררינו המאמינים ותלו את הכינורות על שערי רומא, לקחו הגויים את הכינורות שלנו, ויצרו מהם 'מוזיקה כנסייתית', ואחר כך, 'מוזיקה קלסית', ונשארה התפילה היהודית בלי כינורות ובלי שיר - רק בכי של יהודי הגולה.
מי יחזיר את הכינורות האבודים לירושלים?
שירה בתפילות מחד, וקונצרטים לחזנות מאידך, אינן אלא התחלות. אנו מצפים להלחנה דרמטית של מזמורי תהלים העתיקים, לשיבה אל שירת המקהלות, וליצירה מתחדשת של שירי תהלים ברום ובעומק הראויים לירושלים הנבנית והולכת - "כסא ה'" (ירמיהו ג, יז), כאשר "יום ירושלים" כבר הפך מחורבן העיר לישועת איחודה, ב'ששת הימים'.
האיבה התהומית של האדומים, והשותפות שלהם עם הבבלים, העצימו את חלקה של אדום בחורבן ירושלִַם, והדבר בא לידי ביטוי גם בישעיהו (לד וסג), בירמיהו (מט), בעובדיה, באיכה (ד, כא-כב), וכאן, בתהלים.
"הסלע" הוא בוודאי 'סלע אדום', הדומה קצת ל'מצדה' קטנה בנוף שונה מאד, ברום הרי אדום, ואכן שם נמצאה כתובת ניצחון בבלית (של המלך הבבלי האחרון, נַבּוּנַאִיד), שמעידה על הגמול הנורא של האדומים מיד אותה בבל, אחרי שהיו שותפים בהחרבת ירושלִַם. לכן, הפסוק האחרון חוזר לאדום.
למען האמת, קשה לי לומר פסוק זה, כי אינני יכול לומר "אַשְׁרֵי" בניפוץ עוללים, גם של האויב המר ביותר; אבל גם אינני יכול לשפוט יהודים גולים בדור החורבן, על תחושות הנקם שלהם כלפי מחריבי ירושלִַם, ושותפיהם, 'אחינו' האדומים.
ושוב אני מודה לה', שזיכני לחיות וליטול חלק בשיבה לציון ולירושלים!
באדיבות אתר 929
שירו לנו משיר ציון
"אמר ר' ירמיה לישראל... אלו זכיתם הייתם יושבים בירושלים ואומרים שירים ומזמורים לפני הקב"ה. עכשיו שלא זכיתם הרי אתם גולין לבבל וקוראים קינים ונהי הוי 'על נהרות בבל" (איכה רבה, פתיחתא, יט).
מזמור קל"ז הוא מזמור קינה שנאמר על ידי גולי בבל. המזמור נחלק לשני בתים מרכזיים. הבית הראשון מתאר את הכאב הכרוך בזיכרון ציון וירושלים ואת הדרכים לשמר בתודעת העם את זכרם (פס' א-ו), והבית השני פותח בפניה לה' לזכור את מעשה אדום ולתת גמול הולם לבבל (פס' ז-ט).
הבית הראשון נפתח בתיאור רגשותיהם של הגולים בזכרם את ציון, ממשיך בתיאור תגובתם לדרישת שוביהם לשיר להם משירי ציון ומסיים בשבועתם לזכור את ירושלים.
הדרישה לדברי שיר באה מפי השובים.
1. הצו לשמוח נובע מאת תוללינו. מה משמעות המילה "תוֹלָלֵינוּ"? עיינו בבראשית ל"א, ז ובשופטים ט"ז, י.
2. עיינו בשופטים ט"ז, כה, וחשבו מה משמעות בקשתם של השובים באמרם "שִׁירוּ לָנוּ מִשִּׁיר צִיּוֹן"?
3. עמדו על משמעות ההדרגתיות בייחוס השיר: שיר, שיר ציון, שיר ה'.
4. אמצעי אמנותי נוסף שתורם ליצירת הלך הרוח של הגולים שמתבטא במזמור הוא השאלה הרטורית המופיעה בפסוק ד': "אֵיך נָשִׁיר אֶת שִׁיר ה' עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָר?" השאלה מבטאת באופן חזק וברור את כאבם של הגולים בבקשת הבבלים לשיר להם משיר ציון. מהי סיבת סירובם של הלוויים לשיר את שיר ה'?
עיינו במדרש ילקוט שמעוני על נ"ך תתפ"ג: על ערבים בתוכה תלינו כנורותינו כי שם שאלונו שובינו דברי שיר. אמר להם נבוכדנאצר מה אתם יושבים ובוכים הכינו עצמכם עד שאנו אוכלים ושותים אני מבקש שתעמדו ותקישו לפני ולפני עבודת אלילים בכנורות שלכם כדרך שהייתם מקישים לפני אלקיכם, התחילו מסתכלים אלו באלו לא דיינו שהחרבנו את בית המקדש אלא עכשיו אנו עומדים להקיש לפני הננס הזה ולפני עבודת אלילים. היה רבי יצחק בר טבלא אומר משל למה הדבר דומה למלך בשר ודם שנשא בת מלכים אמר לה עמדי והשקיני כוס אחד ולא רצתה להשקותו, כעס עליה והוציאה מתוך ביתו והלכה ונשאת למוכה שחין, אמר לה עמדי והשקיני כוס אחד אמרה לו ריקה בת מלכים הייתי ונשאתי למלך ועל שאמר לי השקיני כוס אחד ולא רציתי להשקותו כעס עלי והוציאני מתוך ביתו שאילו השקיתיו הייתי מוסיף על כבודי כבוד עכשיו אתה אומר לי עמדי והשקיני, עמדו כלם ושלטו בעצמם ונתנו אליוני ידיהם לתוך פיהם ומקצצים אותם. שירו לנו משיר ציון וגו' לא נשיר לא נאמר אלא איך נשיר, מראים אצבעותיהם ואומרים היינו כפותים ונתקטעו אצבעותינו...
למעבר לדף הלימוד המלא מתוך התכנית "מתן על הפרק"
שכרם של תלמידי חכמים
"שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת הִנֵּה בָּרֲכוּ אֶת ה' כָּל עַבְדֵי ה' הָעֹמְדִים בְּבֵית ה' בַּלֵּילוֹת" (תהילים קל"ד, א)
ילקוט שמעוני, תהלים פרק קלד, סימן תתפג
מאי "בלילות"?
אמר רבי יוחנן:
אלו תלמידי חכמים העוסקין בתורה בלילה, מעלה אני עליהם כאלו עוסקין בעבודה.
"לעולם זאת על ישראל" (דברי הימים ב ב', ג) –
אמר רב גידל אמר רב:
זה מזבח בנוי ומיכאל השר הגדול עומד ומקריב עליו קרבן.
ור' יוחנן אמר:
אלו תלמידי חכמים העוסקין בהלכות עבודה, מעלה אני עליהם כאלו נבנה בית המקדש בימיהם.
ילקוט שמעוני - לקט אגדות, בדרך פירוש או דרשה, המלוקטות מהתלמוד ומספרי מדרש קדמונים, ומסודרות כסדר התנ"ך. חלוקות הדעות מי חיבר את הילקוט. הוא נזכר לראשונה בדברי האברבנאל. בילקוט שני חלקים: תורה, ובו 963 רמזים; נביאים וכתובים ובו 1085 רמזים.
VaEtchanan: The People and Moshe
“At that time I pleaded with G-d, saying, ‘O G-d, Lord…please let me cross the Jordan. Let me see the good land across the Jordan, the good mountain’”(Devarim 3:23-25). Moshe Rabbeinu had not yet given up his hope to enter the land of Israel. He pleaded, prayed, cajoled, negotiated, just so he could enter the Holy Land any which way, even as a foot soldier in Joshua's army. If only we had one iota of the depth of his feelings! Yet it was to no avail.
“But G-d turned Himself against me because of you, and he would not listen to me” (Devarim 3:26). Moshe laid the blame squarely on the Jewish people. This was not the first time Moshe had done so. At the beginning of Devarim, Moshe warned the Jewish people not to repeat the sins of the spies and once again delay their entry into the land of Israel. After reminding them of the punishment that befell their parents' generation – wandering and death – he stated, “G-d also displayed anger at me because of you and He said, ‘You, too, will not enter the land’” (Devarim 1:37). Is that true? On four separate occasions, the Torah refers to the sin of Moshe using such language as, “because you believed not in me” (Bamidbar 20:12), “you rebelled against me” (Bamidbar 20:24), “you rebelled against my commandment” (Bamidbar 27:14) and finally, “you did not sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel” (Devarim 32:51). The Torah seems to make it quite clear that Moshe himself sinned, and that is why he was denied entry to the land.
Yet a closer analysis shows us how right Moshe was. Considering the apparent harshness of the Torah in assessing the actions of Moshe Rabbeinu, one would expect that his sin would be obvious to all. Yet we have no such luck. The commentaries struggled mightily, and perhaps even unsuccessfully, to find some wrongdoing in that incident when Moshe drew water from the rock in the Tzin desert.
The truth is that Moshe committed no obvious sin. At most, it was a slight indiscretion and thus, the name of G-d was not sanctified to the fullest degree. And for Moshe, but nobody else, this was inexcusable. Moshe, as the greatest human being who ever lived, was judged on a much higher plane. And G-d came down hard on him.
In Sefer Devarim, Moshe addresses the Jewish people at large, who time and time again had provoked G-d and Moshe. Yet Moshe, defying normal human reaction, continued to give his heart and soul for the Jewish people. He defended them at every turn. And yet Moshe, quite understandably, had a momentary lapse, lost his temper and did something he would later regret. He was, after all, human. The amazing thing is how seldom he lost his temper. As far as the Jewish people were concerned, it was their fault that Moshe would be unable to enter the land. It was their actions that caused him so much grief and brought him to sin, if ever so slightly. They were the ones who had to mend their ways.
“Eicha, alas, how can I myself alone bear your trouble, your burden, and your strife?” (Devarim 1:12). Rashi, in explaining this verse, quotes the Midrash, which tells us that with which Moshe had to contend. If he arrived to work early, the Jewish people would say he had obviously just had an argument with his family; yet if he arrived late, they would say that he must have been busy plotting against them. Moshe gave everything he had for his people, and instead of expressing even a modicum of appreciation for it, this was the rubbish with which he had to deal with. Truly, it was the fault of the Jewish people that Moshe could not enter the land. And none other than G-d Himself agreed with this assessment. “G-d said to me, you have enough, speak no more to me of this matter.” No, Moshe, you will not be able to get your heart’s desire. But “rav lach”, as Rashi tells us, you have a great reward awaiting you in the World to Come.
It is bad enough that we sin. What compounds our sin is the fact that our sinning can cause our leaders to act inappropriately. For that, we must surely repent.
Courtesy of Torah in Motion - www.torahinmotion.org
When God is Uninterested in Sacrifices
The first chapter of Sefer Yeshayahu, which we read as the haftara on the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av, includes a famous series of verses in which God declares His disinterest in the people's sacrificial offerings: "Why do I need your abundant offerings… I am satiated with burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of sheep; and I do not desire the blood of bulls, lambs and goats!" (Yeshayahu 1:11). Several verses later (1:14), God declares His aversion for "your new months and festivals," claiming that He looks upon them as "a burden" (torach) which He can no longer bear.
The Maggid of Dubnow, in his Kokhav Mi-Yaakov, explains that the Almighty's displeasure with the people's festival observance stems from the fact that they had become "your new months and festivals" – the people treated these occasions as "theirs." God commanded the observance of Shabbat and Yom Tov to afford us the opportunity to focus on our spiritual growth to a greater extent than the rigors and pressures of the workweek allow. But the Almighty here observes that Benei Yisrael approached these occasions as "your festivals," as occasions for gluttonous indulgence and frivolous merrymaking. The cessation from work was used not for the purpose of Torah study and greater concentration on the people's relationship with God, but rather for personal gratification. In essence, the people had taken what belonged to God and kept it for themselves; Shabbat and festivals became a time not to enhance their service of the Almighty, but rather to enhance the service of their own selves.
This misdirected attitude towards Shabbat and festivals likely explains the people's attitude towards the sacrifices, as well. God speaks here of the nation's preoccupation with the Temple rituals while their hands were "filled with blood" (1:15) and they deal in counterfeit money and diluted wine (1:22). It seems that the sacrifices, too, became a means of serving themselves, rather than serving God. In the words of Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch, the Temple rituals were seen not as a means of enhancing one's observance, but rather as a substitute for observance. People offered sacrifices in order to soothe their guilty consciences and afford themselves an artificial feeling of religiosity. The sacrificial order allowed them to feel religiously devoted without actually being religiously devoted. What Yeshayahu here describes is the hijacking of the Templerituals, transforming them from an expression of submission and devotion into a source of artificial comfort and emotional satisfaction.
Later, the prophet describes how enemies have plundered the Judean kingdom and burnt its cities to the point where Jerusalem has been left as a "hut in a vineyard" and as a "sleeping hut in a cucumber field" (1:8). Rav Hirsch suggested that the image of a "sleeping hut" provides a particularly poignant analogy demonstrating Benei Yisrael's attitude towards the Beit Ha-mikdash. A meluna ("sleeping hut") was a small, makeshift hut erected in a field where the workers would go when they needed rest or to find refuge from the elements. Sadly, Rav Hirsch comments, this is precisely how Benei Yisrael began to approach religion: as only a place to seek refuge, to find comfort when no other means of comfort are available. Rather than committing themselves fully and unconditionally to the service of God, they instead used His laws to serve themselves, as a source of solace during times of distress.
Understandably, then, God declares, "And when you outstretch your hands – I shall ignore you; even when you pray abundantly, I do not listen" (1:15). If the people use religion only for their own needs, if their "devotion" to God is but a thinly-veiled manifestation of their devotion to themselves, then it will not help them. When the Mikdash is used as a place to serve oneself rather than a place to serve God, then its entire purpose is lost – and, ultimately, so is the Mikdash itself.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il
Haftarat Devarim - Raising Children Who Betray
In Yeshayahu's famous prophecy which we read on Shabbat Chazon (the Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av), the Almighty laments to the prophet, "I have raised and exalted children – but they have betrayed Me!" (Yeshayahu 1:2).
Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch explains this declaration to mean that the Torah has not denied the Jewish people anything that would necessitate or even justify in any way their preference for other lifestyles and modes of worship. The Torah does not demand, encourage or even sanction a life of self-inflicted poverty and suffering. It requires not that we withdraw from worldly pursuits, but that we sanctify them through the observance of the Torah's guidelines, obligations and restrictions. If a child betrays a parent who imposes overbearing responsibilities, treats him abusively or denies him his basic provisions, we could easily justify and support the child's decision. God here emphasizes that this is not the case with Benei Yisrael. God has "raised and exalted" them; He has brought them to a fertile land and encouraged them to till its soil and tap its resources to the very best of their ability within the guidelines of Torah law. He had not denied them anything that would justify their abandonment and rejection.
This verse thus serves as an appropriate preface to the harsh condemnation that follows (1:3): "An ox knows its owner – a donkey, its master's trough; Israel has not known, My nation has not understood." Animals instinctively show loyalty to those who care for and feed them, if for no other reason than the innate desire to survive. But Benei Yisrael have shown no such loyalty to their "owner," to God, and have instead acted towards Him as though He has not provided them with their needs. Rather than knowing their "master's trough," they have rejected their Master as if He had never given them water.
In this sense, these verses also serve to introduce the prophet's description of the devastation that the kingdom has endured, the destruction of entire cities by enemy nations that has left Jerusalem as "a hut in a vineyard" (verse 1:8; as the Radak notes, Yeshayahu here likely refers to the period of the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem during the reign of Chizkiyahu). God wishes to emphasize that this devastation resulted not from His abandonment of the people, but rather from the people's abandonment of Him. Before the nation's betrayal, He had "raised and exalted" them, caring for them and providing them with all their needs. It was only because of their rejection of the Almighty and the preference they showed for other faiths and religious practices that He has subjected them to foreign rule and denied them the delights of the land.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il
אם אסק שמים
אִם אֶסַּק שָׁמַיִם שָׁם אָתָּה וְאַצִּיעָה שְּׁאוֹל הִנֶּךָּ (פס' ח)
כי בכל מקום שנפלת לשם נמצא איתך ה' יתברך
Parashat Devarim: Don't Provoke Edom
In Parashat Devarim, Moshe recalls God’s commands to Benei Yisrael at various points during their sojourn through the wilderness not to initiate hostilities against other nations. God first issued such a warning as Benei Yisrael passed near the border of Edom (2:4-5), and then again later as the nation approached the lands of Moav (2:10) and Amon (2:19).
On the first occasion, when God warns Benei Yisrael not to wage war against Moav, He announces, “You are passing the border of your brethren, the descendants of Esav, who reside in Se’ir. They will fear you; you shall be cautious – do not start hostilities with them, for I shall not give you of their land…” (2:4-5). Before issuing the command not to initiate hostilities, God informs Benei Yisrael that the Edomites will naturally be afraid of them as they pass along the border. The obvious question arises as to why the Edomites would fear Benei Yisrael, and, moreover, why this fear is relevant to God’s warning that Benei Yisrael make no attempt to wage war against them.
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch offers the following explanation:
…they fear that they may have to suffer a great deal at your hands; they imagine that you must be starved after your long wandering in the desert where you were deprived of everything, and now when for the first time again come into inhabited regions you will greedily jump on everything. Contain yourselves, and show them just the opposite of what they fear.
Edom feared Benei Yisrael because they understood the harsh conditions they had endured over the last several decades. The Edomites anticipated that as Benei Yisrael passed near inhabited territory for the first time in forty years, they would wage a desperate attack to seize Edom’s resources. God therefore warns Benei Yisrael to prove Edom’s fears wrong, to exercise discipline and restraint, and respect Edom’s divinely granted rights to its land and resources.
Difficult circumstances must never be taken as license for misconduct. There is a natural tendency to say to oneself, “I deserve this after all I’ve been through.” But the Torah teaches us otherwise. Life quite often presents us with hardships, challenges and frustrations of one kind or another, and we are expected to conduct ourselves with dignity and discipline regardless of the circumstances we endure. A “bad day” does not justify inappropriate behavior. Just as Benei Yisrael were to respect Edom’s territorial integrity despite the circumstances they have endured, similarly, we must act with civility and decency even when we are beset by understandable aggravations.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il
Moshe's First Speech - Preventing the Sin of the Spies
We read in Parashat Devarim the first of a series of addresses delivered by Moshe to Benei Yisrael before his death. In this first address, he briefly surveys the previous thirty-nine years of travel through the wilderness, from God’s command to disembark from Mount Sinai, through Benei Yisrael’s conquest of the Emorite kingdoms east of the Jordan River. This speech actually continues into the first verses of Parashat Vaetchanan (through the end of the chapter 3), in which Moshe recalls his petition asking God to allow him to enter Eretz Yisrael, and God’s rejection of his request.
In order to identify the general theme and purpose of this address, we need simply to compile a list of the topics it covers:
1) God’s command to Benei Yisrael to take leave of Mount Sinai (1:6-8)
2) The appointment of a judiciary (1:9-18)
3) The arrival in Kadesh Barnea, on the border of Canaan (1:19-21)
4) The sin of the spies and its aftermath (1:22-2:1)
5) God’s commands to refrain from waging battle against the nations bordering along Benei Yisrael’s travel route (2:2-25)
6) The successful battle against Sichon and Og (2:26-3:22)
7) Moshe request that he be allowed to enter Canaan (3:23-29)
Interestingly, Moshe omits most of the major events recorded in Sefer Bamidbar. For example, he makes no mention of any of Benei Yisrael’s sins during the years of travel – such as the mit’onenim, Kivrot Ha-ta’ava, Korach’s revolt and Ba’al Pe’or – with the exception of the sin of the spies. Moshe also excludes important events such as his hitting the rock at Mei Meriva, Bilam’s failed attempts to curse Benei Yisrael, and the successful battles against Arad and Midyan. We should also take note of the fact that Moshe’s survey begins with God’s command to leave Mount Sinai, rather than from the Exodus or from Matan Torah.
When we consider the events that Moshe chose to include in this address and those which he excluded, a clear pattern emerges. Moshe’s concern in delivering this speech is to avoid a recurrence of the sin of the spies. As the nation stands on the brink of entering Eretz Yisrael, Moshe recalls the time when, thirty-nine years earlier, Benei Yisrael were poised to capture the land – until the debacle of the scouts disrupted their plans. In this address – as opposed to the other speeches recorded throughout Sefer Devarim – Moshe’s intent is not to warn the people about the importance of Torah observance and resisting the idolatrous influences of the surrounding nations. Rather, he seeks to impress upon the Benei Yisrael the fact that God has guaranteed to help them capture the Land of Israel, and they thus have no reason to fear crossing the Jordan River, as their parents had thirty-nine years earlier.
For this reason, Moshe begins not with the Exodus or Matan Torah, but rather with God’s command to take leave of Sinai and His promise of victory. His goal is to remind the people of God’s guarantee that they would succeed in capturing the land. This also explains why Moshe places so much emphasis on the stories of the spies and the conquest of the Emorite kingdoms, narratives which together occupy more than half of theparasha (a total of sixty verses out of the 105 verses in Parashat Devarim). Moshe found it necessary to elaborate on the mistake of cheit ha-meragelim and its consequences, as well as on the successful battle against Sichon and Og, which marked the first stage of the conquest of Eretz Yisrael. By emphasizing that the process of conquest has already begun, Moshe hoped to reassure Benei Yisrael of their ability to dispossess the Canaanite peoples – just as they easily captured the territory of Sichon and Og.
Moshe also recalls God’s commands to refrain from waging battle against the other nations in the region, to explain that this was not the result of fear or the nation’s military limitations. As Moshe relates, God granted Edom, Moav and Amon rights to their land in recognition of their ancestors, Esav and Lot. It was thus not due to Benei Yisrael’s lack of strength that they refrained from fighting against these nations, but rather out of deference to these nations’ ancestors.
What remains to be understood is why Moshe recalls his appointment of a judiciary in this context. How did this event help reinforce the people’s faith in their ability to capture Eretz Yisrael and thus avoid a recurrence of cheit ha-meragelim?
The Ramban (1:9) explained that this discussion serves to emphasize to Benei Yisrael that all arrangements for their life in Eretz Yisrael had been completed. Moshe introduces his recounting of cheit ha-meragelim by informing the people that they were ready and prepared to enter the land, with a functioning system of leadership in place, but because of the sin of the spies their entry into Eretz Yisrael was delayed for so long. Abarbanel explains slightly differently, claiming that Moshe here proves to the people that he did not cause the delay. He emphasizes that he was busy making preparations for the nation’s conquest of Canaan, arranging for a well-established leadership network, and it was thus because of the people’s sin, and not Moshe’s hesitation, that their entry into Canaan was delayed for so long.
Thus, this address was delivered in the hope of avoiding the mistake made the last time Benei Yisraelstood at the border, ready to enter Eretz Yisrael. Moshe was determined to fortify the people’s faith in God’s promise and resolve to cross into the land which they are destined to possess and made into their eternal homeland.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il