Haazinu

At the end of this Parsha Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbeinu to go up to Har Ha’avarim, Har Nevo, “b’etzem hayom haze.” There, Moshe would die and be buried. Rashi writes that there are three places where the Torah states the words “b’etzem hayom haze” with a certain intent; by Noach, yetzias Mitzrayim, and here. The people of Noach’s generation said, “we won’t let Noach enter the teiva, and even more, we will take an ax…and break it down.” Hashem said, “I will bring Noach into the teiva in the middle of the day and no one will stop it.” Similarly, this happened too by yetzias Mitzrayim. Hashem took Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzrayim in the middle of the day and no one stopped them. Here, by the death of Moshe Rabbeinu, Bnei Yisrael said, “we are not going to allow the person who took us out of Mitzrayim, split the sea for us, brought down the mon and the be’er, and gave us the Torah, we won’t let him…”  Hashem said, “I am going to bring him in the middle of the day and no one will stop.”

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz is bothered, it is understandable that by Noach and yetzias Mitzrayim people would physically try to stop them from entering or leaving, but how could Bnei Yisrael have stopped Moshe Rabbeinu from dying?

Some answer that Moshe needed a specific place when and where he would die, therefore, Bnei Yisrael would try to stop him from going there. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz writes that because of Bnei Yisrael’s need for Moshe Rabbeinu to be their leader, after all of the many great deeds that Moshe performed for them, their koach of tefilla and bakasha would be so powerful that it would help keep Moshe with them. Hashem said, “even so, I’m changing the regular order of nature; it is time for Moshe to be taken away and I am going to make it happen!”

Chazal teach if one’s father and one’s Rebbi each lose an object he should first return the lost object of his Rebbi. The reason is because the father brings a person into this world, Olam Hazeh, whereas the Rebbi who teaches Torah knowledge brings him into the next world, Olam Haba

May Hashem direct each of us to the mashpiyim who will strengthen us to grow in our ruchniyus to merit everlasting life!