Parshat V'zot Habracha

The Last Eight Verses

Rabbi Ari Kahn
The Torah comes to its completion with the following verses:

So Moshe the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moav,
according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in
the land of Moav, opposite Bet-Peor; but no man knows his grave till
this day. And Moshe was one hundred and twenty years old when he
died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the
People of Israel wept for Moshe in the plains of Moav thirty days; and
the days of weeping and mourning for Moshe were ended. And
Yehoshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moshe
had laid his hands upon him; and the people of Israel listened to him,
and did as the Lord commanded Moshe. And there has not arisen
since in Israel a prophet like Moshe, whom the Lord knew face to face.
In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the
land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land.
And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great and awesome deeds
which Moshe performed in the sight of all Israel.

At the outset of the book D'varim we noted the centrality of Divine authorship of
the Torah to the Jewish belief system. Furthermore, we saw the importance of
Moshe’s contribution: the entire Torah is believed to have been dictated by G-d to
Moshe. These last eight verses pose a challenge to that position. For how can
Moshe write after his own death, or alternatively, how does Moshe, when still
alive, write about his own forthcoming demise?

The Talmud offers a number of approaches to these verses.

The Master has said: Yehoshua wrote the book which bears his name
and the last eight verses of the Pentateuch. This statement is in
agreement with the authority who says that eight verses in the Torah
were written by Yehoshua, as it has been taught: [It is written], ‘So
Moshe the servant of the Lord died there.’ Now is it possible that
Moshe, being dead, could have written the words, ‘Moshe died there’?
The truth is, however, that up to this point Moshe wrote, from this
point Yehoshua wrote. This is the opinion of R. Judah, or, according to
others, of R. Nehemiah. Said R. Simeon to him: Can [we imagine the]
Scroll of the Law being short of one word, and is it not written, ‘Take
this book of the Law’? No; what we must say is that up to this point
the Holy One, blessed be He, dictated and Moshe repeated and wrote,
and from this point G-d dictated and Moshe wrote with tears. (Baba
Bathra 15a)

On the one hand, the question of “authorship” is debated in the Talmud. On the
other hand, the question of the divine source of these verses is not debated.
According to both opinions the source of the words of the Torah is certainly G-d.
The point of disagreement is limited to the question of whether Moshe or
Yehoshua was the conduit through which the word of G-d flowed. In a sense, the
opinion of R. Yehuda indicates that the book of Yehoshua begins eight verses
earlier, at the end of D’varim. However, this description is somewhat imprecise,
for there is a major difference between the end of D'varim and the beginning of
the book of Yehoshua, namely the relative holiness. The status of the Five Books
of Moshe, known as the Torah, is clearly superior to that enjoyed by the other
books of the prophets.

Let us return to the Talmudic passage cited above, the conclusion of which is
unclear.

“Which of these two authorities is followed in the rule laid down by R.

Joshua b. Abba which he said in the name of R. Giddal who said it in
the name of Rab: The last eight verses of the Torah must be read [in
the Synagogue service] by one person alone? It follows R. Judah and
not R. Simeon. I may even say, however, that it follows R. Simeon,
[who would say that] since they differ [from the rest of the Torah] in
one way, they differ in another.” (Baba Batra, ibid.)

There is some halakhic debate regarding the proper understanding of these

words. Rashi explains that when the Talmud says that these eight verses are read
by one person, it means that these eight verses should not be divided into two
aliyot. We know that the minimum size of an aliyah is three verses. These eight,
though, according to Rashi, should remain as one unit. This opinion of Rashi has
been codified in the Shulchan Aruch, Section 428:7.1

The Rama (Orah Chaim, Sec. 669) indicates that the custom of Chattan Torah is
derived from this passage. The Rama’s understanding that “one” reads these
eight verses indicates that the one to read is to be a special person in the
congregation.

The Rambam’s formulation is of particular interest.

The eight verses at the end of the Torah are permitted to be read with
less than ten (without a minyan or proper quorum). Even though the
entire Torah is from Moshe based on the word of the Almighty, since
these verses give the indication that they were written after the death
of Moshe, their status is changed and it is permissible for one person
to read them.” (Mishna Torah, Laws of Prayer, 13:6)

The Rambam is unequivocal that the words of the Torah originate from G-d and
were dictated to Moshe. Nonetheless, because these verses give the impression
of having been written after Moshe’s demise, their halakhic status is changed
1
Of particular note are the comments of the Mishna Brurah, section 428 Note 21, which indicate that
the opinion that Yeshoshua authored these verses is authoritative.)
inasmuch as they can be read without a minyan.

In his introduction to the Mishna Torah, The Rambam similarly writes:

“The entire Torah was written by our master Moshe before he died by
his hand.”

The Rambam’s position is clear: the entire Torah, including these eight verses,
was the product of the hand of Moshe.

Rashi, in his comments on the Chumash, writes:

’Moshe died there’—is it possible that Moshe died and then wrote
‘Moshe died there’? Rather, until this point, [the text] was penned by
Moshe. From this point forward was penned by Yehoshua. Rebbe
Meir said, ‘Could a Torah be missing something [and still be
considered a valid Torah]’ . . . Rather, G-d spoke and Moshe wrote
with tears.” (Rashi, Dvarim 34:5)

Rashi’s comments are unclear, for he cites both the opinion of Rebbe Yehuda and
of Rebbe Meir despite the fact in the Talmud that these opinions seem
diametrically opposed. Rashi is clearly “bothered” by Moshe’s writing about his
own death in the past tense. It is unclear in Rashi’s comments which of these
opinions he considers normative, or for that matter, what is the nature of his
"compromise" position.

Further analysis of the Talmudic passage can allow us to understand Rashi and
gain insight into the entire issue.

“No; what we must say is that up to this point the Holy One, blessed be He,
dictated and Moshe repeated and wrote, and from this point G-d dictated
and Moshe wrote with tears.” (Baba Bathra 15a)

What does the expression “Moshe wrote with tears” mean? The simple
understanding would be that Moshe wrote these verses while weeping. Moshe,
the faithful servant of G-d, takes dictation for the final time, is overcome by
emotion, and weeps. However, according to this understanding, it is unclear why
Moshe’s tears should change the halakhic status of these verses.

The Ritva explains that when the Talmud says that Moshe wrote with tears, it
means tears literally - in contradistinction to ink. These comments of the Ritva
would indeed explain why different halakhic status was accorded these verses:
they were, on the one hand, written by the hand of Moshe but, on the other hand,
without ink.2

2
For a discussion on the halakhic status of invisible ink, see Rabbi Levi Yitzchak
Halperin, Responsa Ma’aseh Choshev, Vol. II, Sec. 14; see, in general on this
topic, Rabbi Yitzchak Mirsky, Hegyonei Halacha, Vol. II, p. 100-108.
Based on the explanation of the Ritva, we can reinterpret the words of Rashi:
Indeed, Yehoshua wrote these words, and Moshe wrote these words. Moshe wrote
them with tears, based on the word of God, while Yehoshua wrote them with ink.3

The Vilna Gaon understands “dama,” the word we translate as tears, to be

pronounced in a slightly different manner, as “dema,” meaning confusion. These
verses were written by Moshe, but without Moshe understanding the meaning of
the words he was writing (Kol Eliyahu, v’Zot Habracha 133). Based on this
teaching of the Vilna Gaon, The Ketev Vikabalah suggests that R. Shimon and R.
Yehuda did not offer opposing views, and can be reconciled along the lines of
Rashi's explanation to the text cited above.

This teaching of the Vilna Gaon reminds us of the idea popularized by the Ramban
in his introduction to the Torah, where he describes the existence of a primordial
Torah which preexisted creation, written with white fire and black fire. This Torah
is said to contain a string of letters that compose the Divine Name. This teaching
is found in the Zohar:

For the Torah, as we have been taught, consists entirely of His Holy Name;
in fact, every word written therein consists of and contains that Holy Name.
Therefore one must beware of erring in regard to this Name and
misrepresenting it. He who is false to the Supernal King will not be allowed
to enter the King's Palace and will be driven away from the world to
come.’(Zohar Shemoth, Section 2, Page 87a)

The source of the white and black fire may likewise be found in the Zohar:

Said R. Isaac: ‘The Torah was manifested in a black fire which was
superimposed upon a white fire, signifying that by means of the Torah
the “Right Hand” clasped the “Left Hand” that the two might be
fused, as it is written: “From his right hand a fiery law to them” (Deut.
XXXIII, 2).’ (Zohar, Sh’mot, Section 2, Page 84a)

Based on this teaching, one can understand the giving of the Torah as pieces of
divinity being broken off and handed to man. The essence of the Torah is the
unveiled aspect of the Divine mind, of which we are permitted to have a glimpse.
This celestial string of letters was broken off letter by letter, word by word, and
handed to man via Moshe. With poetic justice, at the very end of the Torah, the
same form is reestablished. As the revelation comes to a close, the same
primordial Torah is recalled by the unique character and status of the final verses.

Ultimately, all of Torah has an elusive aspect. Being Divine, indeed it should
transcend human understanding. Our ability to fathom G-d should be less
successful than viewing a cryptic string of letters. Through an incredible act of
Divine benevolence, man was created, and given understanding and choice. As G-
d's crowning gift to man the Torah was given, it's secrets uncovered and revealed
3
See the comments of Maharsha, Baba Bathra 15a.
to the masses.

Perhaps now we understand why at the end of the Torah, the last eight verses
which maintained the Divine lettering are the domain of the individual to be read
as one unit. We are taught that even an individual may read these verses,
because they remind us of the Divinity of the words and of the ability of every
individual to relate to the words and the meaning behind the words of the entire
Torah.

We are fortunate, how good is our portion, and how pleasant our lot
and how beautiful our heritage.

Blessed is He our G-d Who created us for His Glory, separated us from
those who stray, gave us the Torah of Truth and implanted eternal life
within us. May He open our heart through His Torah and imbue our
heart through His Torah and imbue our heart with love and awe of
Him that we may do His will and serve Him wholeheartedly. (Daily
liturgy)

CHAZAK CHAZAK V’NITCHAZEK!!!

copyright Rabbi Ari Kahn 1998