This piece by Rabbi Berel Wein ztz'l has been kindly provided by the Destiny Foundation.
This song of Moshe is the song of the Jewish story. It accurately portrays the arc of Jewish history in moments both glorious and dolorous. The Ramban’s comment on the holiness and accuracy of Moshe’s prophetic words – “If someone stood up and accurately foretold what would happen many centuries later, would not one in hindsight be forced to admit to the truth of that prophet and his words upon seeing the minute fulfillment of that prophecy” –carries even more weight in our age, being a further eight centuries removed from Ramban’s time.
Moshe calls forth the heaven and earth to bear witness to
his words of prophecy, for he is aware that human logic and memory can never
really be trusted. Unfortunately, memory can be dimmed and lost, and logic
distorted or ignored. It is these factors – lost memory and flawed logic – that
Moshe identifies as the cause of the sins of the Jewish people, and of much of
the predicted travail that will accompany them throughout their history.
Moshe concludes his visionary verses on an optimistic note. The
covenantal relationship between God and Israel will remain binding and unbroken
even unto the end of days. There will always be a core group of Jews who will
not allow themselves—or others—to forget. Events will constantly jog the
Jewish memory and new generations will arise and ask: “Who are we and why are
we here?” And the response to those questions can only be found in the eternal
memory bank of the Jewish people and their history.
It is a very difficult task to restore memory but the fact
that Moshe promises us that God and Torah will never be completely forgotten by
the Jewish people reassures us that the restoration of Jewish memory is
possible, and even guaranteed. And our logic will not fail us either. When we
survey our world and our situation, we will reach the logical and holy
conclusion as to what our policy and path in life should be. A nation of wisdom
and insight, creativity and scholarship, will not always remain illogical and
foolish.
Moshe also encourages us by promising that eventually our enemies will be vanquished and shamed. Their nefarious ambitions will be thwarted and the Lord will balance all accounts with those who attempted to destroy the Jewish people. Good sense, accurate memory, strength of purpose and clarity of ideals will prevail and rule the Jewish world. Moshe’s song will continue to be heard throughout eternity.
