Parashat Vaetchanan-I Pleaded-5785-9 August 2025 / 15 Av 5785

Vaetchanan – A Plea, a Warning, and a Declaration of Faith: Moses' Final Appeal, the Ten Commandments, and the Shema

“VAETCHANAN: THE PLEA THAT SHOOK THE HEAVENS – PRAYER, JUDGMENT, AND REDEMPTION IN THE EYES OF THE SAGES”

I. "Vaetchanan" – The Power of Prayer (Gematria 515)

🔹 Midrash Rabbah (Devarim 2:1):"Moses prayed 515 times to be allowed into the Land—the numerical value of 'Vaetchanan' equals 515."

Insight:Prayer (tefillah) is not only supplication; it is transformative effort that rises through the spiritual worlds. The number 515 also alludes to complete and persistent pleading from all angles of Divine mercy.

🔹 Sifrei Devarim:Lists 13 synonyms for prayer, showing its many emotional and spiritual layers (cry, howl, song, judgment, encounter, etc.)

Kabbalistic View:Prayer engages multiple Sefirot—from Malchut (Speech) to Binah (Understanding)—and ascends the spiritual channels to arouse Divine compassion.

🌌 II. Moshe's Immense Desire to Enter Eretz Yisrael

🔹 Yalkut Shimoni (Vaetchanan 3:23):Moses tried everything—even begging to be reincarnated as an animal or a bird, just to “see the Land.”🔹 Zohar (Pinchas 256a):Moshe did not plead for personal gain but to fulfill mitzvot dependent on the Land and to bring the ultimate redemption.Chassidic Teaching – Baal Shem Tov:“The Tzaddik desires no physical reward, only to connect the lower worlds with the Divine Light.”This teaches us how much longing we should have for Eretz Yisrael — not as geography, but as a state of divine service and revelation.

⚖️ III. The Limits of Mercy and the Justice of God

🔹 Midrash Rabbah (Devarim 11:10):“The gates of heaven trembled… Moses’ voice was like a sword that nothing could stop… Yet G-d commanded the gates not to admit his prayer.”This is a chilling and awe-inspiring vision. Even the greatest prophet—whose prayers could overturn decrees for others—was denied when pleading for himself.

🔹 Kabbalistic Interpretation (Ramchal, Derech Hashem):

Sometimes Divine Justice must prevail for cosmic reasons beyond human comprehension.Moshe’s exclusion was necessary for the destiny of Mashiach(as Moshe represents Netzach, notYesod, which is Mashiach's attribute).

🧬 IV. Why Was Moshe Denied Entry?

🔹 Midrash Rabbah (Devarim 2:1):God said to Moshe: "You didn’t admit your Hebrew identity when Jethro’s daughters called you ‘an Egyptian,’ but Joseph did. So Joseph is buried in the Land; you are not."

Moses protested: “Master of the Universe! Joseph’s bones are entering the Land, and I shall not enter?”

God responded: “He who admitted to his land is buried in his land; and he who did not admit to his land shall not be buried in his land. Joseph admitted to his land when his master’s wife said (Genesis 39:14), ‘See, they have brought us a Hebrew man...’ and he did not deny it. On the contrary, he said (Gen. 40:15), ‘I was abducted from the land of the Hebrews.’ Therefore, he shall be buried in his land. You, however, remained silent when the daughters of Jethro said (Exodus 2:19), ‘An Egyptian man rescued us from the shepherds,’ and you did not correct them. Therefore, you shall not cross this Jordan.” -(Midrash Rabbah)

Moral Insight:Even brief moments of silence can carry cosmic consequences. The tzaddik is held to the highest standard, for their actions embody the soul and destiny of all Israel.

💔 V. Moshe vs. Israel: The Rebuke of Love

🔹 Midrash Rabbah (Devarim 2:9):“One man saved 600,000, but 600,000 could not save one man!”Moses wept—anguished that the very nation he had defended at every turn did not plead on his behalf.

🔹 Chassidut (Sfat Emet):

The people’s silence symbolized their immaturity in spiritual sensitivity. Had they understood the depth of Moshe’s greatness, they would have begged Hashem.

🪔 VI. “You Have Begun to Show Me” – The Humility of the Prophet

🔹 Midrash Rabbah (Devarim 2:26):“‘You have begun’ = ‘You have desecrated.’”Moshe challenges G-d:“You began this journey with me at the burning bush… how can You abandon me now?”

🔹 Baal Shem Tov:Even at the end of his life, Moshe saw himself as merely having begun his relationship with G-d.This reveals the true humility of a tzaddik: spiritual greatness never leads to pride, but to ever-deepening longing and yearning.

🌿 VII. The “Goodly Mountain and

the Levanon” – Hidden Meaning

🔹 Rashi (Devarim 3:25):"The goodly mountain" = Jerusalem."Levanon" = Beit HaMikdash, because it “whitens” the sins of Israel.

🔹 Zohar and Chassidut:Moshe’s yearning was not for mere physical entry, but for the full revelation of the Shechinah.His soul ached to unite heaven and earth through entry into the Land—fulfilling the Divine purpose in its most complete form.

🔄 VIII. Parallel to Mashiach and Redemption

🔹 Zohar (Vaetchanan 265b):The same way Moshe's plea was refused to allow for a future redeemer, so too Mashiach’s light is hidden until the world is ready.

Moshe’s death outside the Land left a vacuum that will only be healed with the coming of Mashiach. The refusal of entry was not punishment—it was preparation.

✨ Conclusion: Lessons for Us Today

🔹 What do the sages teach us through Vaetchanan?• True prayer is relentless—but must surrender to Divine will.• Longing for the Land of Israel is a spiritual ideal, not merely nationalistic.• Humility and repentance are the beginning of true greatness.• Even Moshe, the greatest prophet, teaches us to accept Divine concealment when it serves the greater redemptive plan.• Tzaddikim suffer silently for the sake of the people—through their hidden sacrifices, future generations are empowered.

📜 Final Reflection

“Vaetchanan” is not simply a story of denial—it is a model for how to pray with fire, yearn with purpose, and trust in G-d’s plan even when our greatest dreams are withheld.It is the song of the soul in exile—still singing, still hoping, still beseeching the One Above.

“And I pleaded with HaShem at that time…”— A cry that continues to echo until the final redemption.

"SHEMA YISRAEL" IN CHASSIDUT AND KABBALAH-UNIFYING THE DIVINE NAME AND THE HUMAN SOUL

🕯 1. Shema: The Soul’s Cry Toward Oneness

🔹 Baal Shem Tov (Keter Shem Tov, 1:112):“The word ‘Shema’ is not merely to hear, but to internalize and unify— to draw all scattered awareness back to the root of unity.”

In Chassidut, “שמע” is the awakening of the soul to its root in Ein Sof (the Infinite Light). It is a teshuvah ila’ah— a return not out of fear, but out of love and divine yearning.

🔠 Hebrew Letters of Shema (שמע):•ש (Shin): Fire — Divine inspiration•מ (Mem): Water — Torah consciousness•ע (Ayin): Eyes/Vision — Inner perception

Together, these letters express a sacred progression:Inspiration → Reflection → Inner Seeing.

🧬 2. Hashem Elokeinu: Unity of Transcendence and Immanence

🔹 Arizal (Eitz Chaim, Sha’ar HaTefillah):“Hashem (Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh) is the name of divine compassion and transcendence. Elokim is the name of judgment and concealment. When we say ‘Hashem Elokeinu,’ we unify the two—we recognize that all forces come from one root.”

This is the secret of Yichud (unification): even the difficulties, limitations, and apparent separations in the world are emanations of Hashem’s hidden light.

🔹 Tanya (Chapter 33):“The Jew proclaims: Even within Elokim (nature, judgment), there is only Y-H-V-H— there is nothing but Him.”

🌈 3. Hashem Echad – The Absolute Unity

🔹 Zohar (Vol. 2, 211a):“‘Echad’ means that the supernal worlds, the lower worlds, and all directions are one reality under Hashem.”

The word אֶחָד is unpacked:

• א (Aleph) = 1 → the Infinite One

• ח (Chet) = 8 → the seven heavens and the earth

• ד (Dalet) = 4 → the four directions of the world

Thus, “Echad” proclaims: The Infinite One (Aleph) rules overall of space and dimension (Chet and Dalet).

🔠 Chassidic Commentary – Sfat Emet (Vaetchanan):“Saying ‘Echad’ with deep kavana is a form of birur (clarification)—it clarifies all confusion and reminds the soul that only Hashem is true.”

🧠 4. Yichud Hashem – The Mystical Unification

🔹 Ramchal (Da’at Tevunot):“All of creation exists only to reveal the yichud of Hashem—that everything, even seeming multiplicity, is only an expression of the One.”

In Kabbalah, saying the Shema with kavana unifies Ze’ir Anpin (the masculine divine expression) with Nukva (the Shechinah).This creates a tikun (repair) across all spiritual worlds.

This is why the Shema must be recited with full kavana—it has the power to affect the heavenly realms not just our own soul.

🕊 5. The Enlarged Ayin(ע) and Dalet (ד): Witnesses of Oneness

Midrash and Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 61:2):The ע (Ayin) in “Shema” and ד (Dalet) in “Echad” are written large in the Torah scroll. Together, they form the word עֵד (eid) — “witness”.

Zohar (Vol. 3, 265a):“Israel becomes a witness to Divine unity by saying the Shema. Through this, the worlds above and below are united.”

In Kabbalah, we are called to be witnesses of unity in a fragmented world.Our kavanah becomes the bridge that unifies what is separated.

🔥 6. Chassidic Kavanot During Shema (Baal HaTanya, Shulchan Aruch HaRav)

During the recitation of Shema, one should enter into the following meditative intentions:

• Contemplate that Hashem is the only true existence

• Recognize that all of creation is nullified before Him

• Understand that Hashem is One in heaven, earth, and all four directions

• Unify Hashem’s transcendent and immanent names (Havayah and Elokim)

This sacred moment becomes a spiritual elevation of the soul— a taste of Olam Haba, the World to Come.

🕯 7. Shema as Personal Redemption

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (Likutey Moharan II:2):“Every person has their own Egypt (Mitzrayim)—places of constriction. Saying Shema with kavana is a geulah (redemption), a declaration of inner freedom from illusion and ego.”

In Chassidic thought, Shema is the soul leaving exile and returning to its Source.

Every Jew who truly says Shema with deep intent redeems a piece of the Shechinah.

✨ 8. Application: Living the Shema

"Hashem Echad" is not just theology—it is a way of seeing reality.

Daily Applications:

• Before every action, ask:“Is this part of Hashem’s unity?”

• Transform mundane moments—eating, working, speaking—into divine actsby infusing them with kavanah.

• In moments of anxiety, whisper "Hashem Echad"—

  
  

  remind yourself there is no chaos, only Divine purpose.

🪔 Conclusion: The Soul as a Conduit of Oneness

When a Jew says: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד,they unite heaven and earth, the inner and outer self, and all Names of God into one great song of unification.

Zohar:“Whoever unifies the Divine Name with truth, causes joy Above and Below, and draws the day of Mashiach closer.”

Vaetchanan- I Pleaded - Moshe

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