Initial Readings of the Krias ha'Torah of Tishah b'Av

Introduction

This post was initially written two years ago on Tishah b'Av. I wrote it in an attempt to understand the import of the krias ha'Torah for Tishah b'Av (Devarim 4:25-40). Originally I was going to rewrite the post for this year, since I've taken up the analysis afresh, but I liked the old post so much that I decided to just clean it up and repost it.

I decided to analyze these pesukim within the context of Moshe Rabbeinu's speech, which starts at the beginning of the perek. The format of this post is unusual in that I decided to capture as much of my analysis as possible. The post begins with a "First Set of Readings," which consists of the translation of the pesukim. This is followed by a "Second Set of Readings," in which I attempt to identify the themes of the pesukim. Next is a "Third Set of Readings," in which I summarize the entire text in my own words. In my "Fourth Set of Readings" I point out certain observations that I made as I read, which I felt might be significant. The post concludes with the major questions and problems. God-willing, I will attempt to answer some or all of these questions on Tishah b'Av itself, depending on how much energy I have and how far I get in my analysis.

(Note: As you'll see from the conclusion, I originally wrote this post at in the wee hours of Tishah b'Av - hence its more conversational, "thinking aloud" tone.)

First Set of Readings: Getting the Facts

Here is the Artscroll translation of the entire 40 pesukim, divided only where the Torah itself makes a division:

Now, O Israel, listen to the decrees and to the ordinances that I teach you to perform, so that you may live, and you will come and possess the Land that Hashem, the God of your forefathers, gives you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it, to observe the commandments of Hashem, your God, that I command you. Your eyes have seen what Hashem did with Baal-peor, for every man that followed Baal-peor - Hashem, your God, destroyed him from your midst. But you who cling to Hashem, your God - you are all alive today. See I have taught you decrees and ordinances, as Hashem, my God, has commanded me, to do so in the midst of the Land to which you come, to possess it. You shall safeguard and perform them, for it is your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of the peoples, who shall hear all these decrees and who shall say, "Surely a wise and discerning people is this great nation!" For which is a great nation that has a God Who is close to it, as is Hashem, our God, whenever we call to Him? And which is a great nation that has righteous decrees and ordinances, such as this entire Torah that I place before you this day? Only beware for yourself and greatly beware for your soul, lest you forget the things that your eyes have beheld and lest you remove them from your hear all the days of your life, and make them known to your children and your children's children - the day that you stood before Hashem, your God, at Horeb, when Hashem said to me, "Gather the people to Me and I shall let them hear My words, so that they shall learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and they shall teach their children." So you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire up to the heart of heaven, darkness, cloud, and thick cloud. Hashem spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you were hearing the sound of words, but you were not seeing a form, only a sound. He told you of His covenant that He commanded you to observe, the Ten Declarations, and He inscribed them on two stone Tablets. Hashem commanded me at that time to teach you decrees and ordinances, that you shall perform them in the Land to which you cross, to possess it. But you shall greatly beware for your souls, for you did not see any likeness on the day Hashem spoke to you at Horeb, from the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make yourselves a carved image, a likeness of any shape; a form of a male or a female; a form of any animal on the earth; a form of any winged bird that flies in the heaven; a form of anything that creeps on the ground, a form of any fish that is in the water under the earth; and lest you raise your eyes to heaven and you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars - the entire legion of heaven - and you be drawn away and bow to them and worship them, which Hashem, your God, has apportioned to all the peoples under the entire heaven! But Hashem has taken you and withdrawn you from the iron crucible, from Egypt, to be a nation of heritage for Him, as this very day. Hashem became angry with me because of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan and not come to the good Land that Hashem, your God, gives you as a heritage. For I will die in this land; I am not crossing the Jordan - but you are crossing and you shall possess this good Land. Beware for yourselves lest you forget the covenant of Hashem, your God, that He has sealed with you, and you make yourselves a carved image, a likeness of anything, as Hashem, your God, has commanded you. For Hashem, your God - He is a consuming fire - a jealous God. 

When you beget children and grandchildren and will have been long in the Land, you will grow corrupt and make a carved image of anything, and you will do evil in the eyes of Hashem, your God, to anger Him. I appoint heaven and earth this day to bear witness against you that you will surely perish quickly from the Land to which you are crossing the Jordan to possess; you shall not have lengthy days upon it, for you will be destroyed. Hashem will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Hashem will lead you. There you will serve gods, the handiwork of man, of wood and stone, which do not see, and do not hear, and do not eat, and do not smell. From there you will seek Hashem, your God, and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have befallen you, at the end of days, you will return unto Hashem, your God, and hearken to His voice. For Hashem, your God, is a merciful God, He will not abandon you nor destroy you, and He will not forget the covenant of your forefathers that He swore to them. For inquire now regarding the early days that preceded you, from the day when Hashem created man on the earth, and from one end of heaven to the other end of heaven: Has there ever been anything like this great thing or has anything like it been heard? Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard and survived? Or has any god ever miraculously come to take for himself a nation from amidst a nation, with challenges, with sings, and with wonders, and with war, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with greatly awesome deeds, such as everything that Hashem, your God, did for you in Egypt before your eyes? You have been shown in order to know that Hashem, He is the God! There is none beside Him! From heaven He caused you to hear His voice in order to teach you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire, because He loved your forefathers, and He chose his offspring after him, and took you out before Himself with His great strength from Egypt; to drive away before you nations that are greater and mightier than you, to bring you, to give you their land as an inheritance, as this very day. You shall know this day and take to your heart that Hashem, He is the God - in heaven above and on the earth below - there is none other. You shall observe His decrees and His commandments that I command you this day, so that He will do good to you and to your children after you, and so that you will prolong your days on the Land that Hashem, your God, gives you, for all the days. 

In my experience, the first step to learning any area of Torah she'bi'Chsav is to just read it several times and let it roll around in your mind. Eventually, you'll start to notice certain themes - or, if you're really lucky, some semblance of order. As you read, note the questions and problems that arise.

Second Set of Readings: Identifying Themes

After reading this several times, I began to notice some distinct themes. By my count, there are seven:

1. Shmiras ha'Mitzvos: exhortations to keep the mitzvos and statements about their character
2. Eretz Yisrael: possessing the Land, living in the Land, and being exiled from the Land
3. Yesodei ha'Torah: reinforcing true ideas about Hashem and uprooting Avodah zarah
4. Ahm ha'Nivchar: Hashem's relationship with Bnei Yisrael and the Avos
5. Maamad Har Sinai: the Revelation at Sinai and its importance
6. Yetzias Mitzrayim: the significance of the events
7. Teshuvah: describing and predicting Bnei Yisrael's eventual teshuvah

Having said that, here is the entire excerpt again - this time, with the themes color-coded (based on the above scheme), and the text broken up into smaller paragraphs based on . 

Now, O Israel, listen to the decrees and to the ordinances that I teach you to perform, so that you may live, and you will come and possess the Land that Hashem, the God of your forefathers, gives you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it, to observe the commandments of Hashem, your God, that I command you. Your eyes have seen what Hashem did with Baal-peor, for every man that followed Baal-peor - Hashem, your God, destroyed him from your midst. But you who cling to Hashem, your God - you are all alive today.  See I have taught you decrees and ordinances, as Hashem, my God, has commanded me, to do so in the midst of the Land to which you come, to possess it. You shall safeguard and perform them, for it is your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of the peoples, who shall hear all these decrees and who shall say, "Surely a wise and discerning people is this great nation!" For which is a great nation that has a God Who is close to it, as is Hashem, our God, whenever we call to Him? And which is a great nation that has righteous decrees and ordinances, such as this entire Torah that I place before you this day?  

Only beware for yourself and greatly beware for your soul, lest you forget the things that your eyes have beheld and lest you remove them from your hear all the days of your life, and make them known to your children and your children's children - the day that you stood before Hashem, your God, at Horeb, when Hashem said to me, "Gather the people to Me and I shall let them hear My words, so that they shall learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and they shall teach their children." So you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire up to the heart of heaven, darkness, cloud, and thick cloud. Hashem spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you were hearing the sound of words, but you were not seeing a form, only a sound. He told you of His covenant that He commanded you to observe, the Ten Declarations, and He inscribed them on two stone Tablets. Hashem commanded me at that time to teach you decrees and ordinances, that you shall perform them in the Land to which you cross, to possess it.  But you shall greatly beware for your souls, for you did not see any likeness on the day Hashem spoke to you at Horeb, from the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make yourselves a carved image, a likeness of any shape; a form of a male or a female; a form of any animal on the earth; a form of any winged bird that flies in the heaven; a form of anything that creeps on the ground, a form of any fish that is in the water under the earth; and lest you raise your eyes to heaven and you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars - the entire legion of heaven - and you be drawn away and bow to them and worship them, which Hashem, your God, has apportioned to all the peoples under the entire heaven! But Hashem has taken you and withdrawn you from the iron crucible, from Egypt, to be a nation of heritage for Him, as this very day. Hashem became angry with me because of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan and not come to the good Land that Hashem, your God, gives you as a heritage. For I will die in this land; I am not crossing the Jordan - but you are crossing and you shall possess this good Land. Beware for yourselves lest you forget the covenant of Hashem, your God, that He has sealed with you, and you make yourselves a carved image, a likeness of anything, as Hashem, your God, has commanded you. For Hashem, your God - He is a consuming fire - a jealous God. 

When you beget children and grandchildren and will have been long in the Land, you will grow corrupt and make a carved image of anything, and you will do evil in the eyes of Hashem, your God, to anger Him. I appoint heaven and earth this day to bear witness against you that you will surely perish quickly from the Land to which you are crossing the Jordan to possess; you shall not have lengthy days upon it, for you will be destroyed. Hashem will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Hashem will lead you. There you will serve gods, the handiwork of man, of wood and stone, which do not see, and do not hear, and do not eat, and do not smell.From there you will seek Hashem, your God, and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have befallen you, at the end of days, you will return unto Hashem, your God, and hearken to His voice. For Hashem, your God, is a merciful God, He will not abandon you nor destroy you, and He will not forget the covenant of your forefathers that He swore to them.  

For inquire now regarding the early days that preceded you, from the day when Hashem created man on the earth, and from one end of heaven to the other end of heaven: Has there ever been anything like this great thing or has anything like it been heard? Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard and survived? Or has any god ever miraculously come to take for himself a nation from amidst a nation, with challenges, with sings, and with wonders, and with war, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with greatly awesome deeds, such as everything that Hashem, your God, did for you in Egypt before your eyes? You have been shown in order to know that Hashem, He is the God! There is none beside Him! From heaven He caused you to hear His voice in order to teach you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire, because He loved your forefathers, and He chose his offspring after him, and took you out before Himself with His great strength from Egypt; to drive away before you nations that are greater and mightier than you, to bring you, to give you their land as an inheritance, as this very day. You shall know this day and take to your heart that Hashem, He is the God - in heaven above and on the earth below - there is none other. You shall observe His decrees and His commandments that I command you this day, so that He will do good to you and to your children after you, and so that you will prolong your days on the Land that Hashem, your God, gives you, for all the days. 

I'm sure my breakdown of the themes is arguable, as is my highlighting of the text. That doesn't really matter. The main thing is to notice that there are definitely some major themes going on here.

Third Set of Readings: Getting the Flow

In order to solidify the flow of the pesukim in my mind, I like to write my own summary:

Keep the mitzvos of Hashem, without adding or subtracting, so that you may live. Your observance of the mitzvos will cause you to inherit the Land that He gives you. There you will be viewed as a wise, understanding, and righteous nation who is close to God.

Do not forget, nor let your children forget, the Revelation at Sinai. Hashem spoke to the entire nation in order that they may fear Him for all generations. The entire nation heard Him speak, but saw no image. He sealed the covenant of the Ten Declarations with them and He gave them His mitzvos to observe in the Land. Beware, for you did not see any likeness, nor may you make images of any created being. I will not be crossing over into the Land with you. Beware lest you forget Hashem's covenant and make carved images.

When you have been in the Land for many generations, you will grow corrupt and you will make carved images to anger Hashem. He will drive you out from the Land and scatter you among the nations, where you will worship other gods. From there you will seek Hashem and return to Him. He will not abandon you nor destroy you, nor will He forget the covenant He made with your forefathers.

Inquire about the singular events in your history: the Revelation at Sinai and Exodus from Egypt, which demonstrate the Truth and Uniqueness of Hashem's Existence, as well as His relationship to your forefathers and their offspring. Keep His mitzvos so that He will grant you and your children a good life in the Land that He gives you.

I'm pretty sure that captures the major points.

Fourth Set of Readings: Initial Observations

I knew that the first Mikdash was destroyed because of avodah zarah, but I always assumed that the avodah zarah epidemic had its roots in the stereotypical cause: Bnei Yisrael being enticed to worship elohim acherim and avodah zarah like the goyim. According to these pesukim, it seems that this was not the case.

Moshe Rabbeinu begins by presenting the ideal shmiras ha'mitzvos: keeping the entire Torah, without adding or subtracting, in a manner of wisdom and understanding - to the extent that the goyim around us see us as a wise and understanding nation with a close relationship to God, founded on righteous decrees and ordinances. That is the ideal that we, as a nation, are striving (or ought to be striving) to achieve.

Now, where does that go wrong? The answer lies in Moshe Rabbeinu's warning. Here he does not warn Bnei Yisrael against being drawn into the worship of elohim acherim directly, or even being tempted by the practices of avodah zarah. Rather, he warns them not to forget the Revelation at Sinai, and to teach the principles of Sinai to their children and grandchildren. Moshe helps elaborates by specifying the key elements of the event. He begins with the fact that the entire nation gathered at Sinai to hear the word of Hashem. He then states the purpose of this national revelation, which is to instill a yiras Hashem which will be perpetuated for all generations. Next, he reviews the particulars of the event: what they perceived (fire, darkness, cloud, thick cloud, the sound of words), what they didn't perceive (an image), and what they received (the covenant of the Ten Declarations, the stone tablets, and the mitzvos to observe in the land).

Then Moshe takes a curious turn. He goes into great deal warning the Jews not to erroneously believe that they saw a likeness at Sinai. He then warns them regarding (again, not about the actual worship of avodah zarah, but) the prohibition to make carved images of any created being - not only the terrestrial beings, but the heavenly bodies as well. Moshe reminds them that he will not be crossing over into Israel with them, and - presumably for this very reason - they must be extra careful to keep the covenant of the Ten Declarations and to not make any carved images (again, the emphasis on carved images, as opposed to actual worship of avodah zarah).

Now Moshe prophesies what will happen to them after many generations. Guess which sin they will stumble in? Again, not actual avodah zarah, but making a carved image. This will cause them to be exiled from the Land and scattered among the other nations. It is at this point where Moshe says that the Jews will worship man-made elohim. 

All of a sudden, BAM: teshuvah. Without any real explanation as to the cause, Moshe Rabbeinu says that "from there" - that is, from our place in exile, steeped in avodah zarah, amid distress and destruction - we will seek out Hashem and find Him, if we seek with all of our heart and all of our soul. Hashem will have mercy on us and not abandon us, nor will He forget the covenant He made with the Avos.

In his conclusion, Moshe Rabbeinu goes back to the Revelation at Sinai. He urges Bnei Yisrael to investigate the events of Maamad Har Sinai and Yetzias Mitzrayim as the basis for establishing our conviction in the Truth of Hashem's Existence, our rejection of avodah zarah, and our shmiras ha'mitzvos which will bring us good, long life in the Land which He gives us.

In other words, it seems that everything comes back to Sinai. If we are careful not to forget Sinai, we will succeed in keeping the mitzvos in the ideal manner, as described at the beginning of the speech. But if we do forget Sinai, the first thing that goes will be our concept of Hashem. We will associate Him (in some way) with a physical likeness. This will lead to us making carved images, and (presumably) incorporating these images into our worship. As a result of this, Hashem will exile us and scatter us among the goyim, where we will pick up hardcore avodah zarah habits and bring upon ourselves a whole host of bad things. From there,  we will somehow do teshuvah. Moshe ends his speech by urging the present generation to brush up on the principles of Sinai (and yetzias mitzrayim) and make sure that our yesodei ha'Torah are solid.

Questions

This leaves me with several questions, which I'll ask in a crude form now and which I may reformulate later:

1. What causes us to "forget" Sinai?
2. Why is associating a physical likeness with Hashem the first symptom (or step) of our undoing?
3. What are the premises and implications of making carved images?
4. What type of yiras Hashem was Maamad Har Sinai intended to instill, and how does the lack of that yiras Hashem lead to our downfall? 
5. How will we seek out Hashem "from there"? What will cause us to do so? How will we be able to do so, considering the dire circumstances? 
6. Practically speaking, what is the proper manner of relating to the events at Sinai which would prevent us from getting into this whole mess?
7. What does all of this have to do with the theme of Tishah b'Av? In other words, why is this the krias ha'Torah for Tishah b'Av, as opposed to, say, the account of the Meraglim?

Yeah, so it's now 2:24am. I can tell by the sloppiness (and probably incompleteness) of my questions that it's time for me to go to sleep. Perhaps I'll continue working on this tomorrow. If not, at least I got it all down in writing so that we can pick up on it sometime in the future.