Select your language

לימוד תורה

The Curse of the contrarian disposition and the Redemption

אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א טָרְחֲכֶ֥ם וּמַֽשַּׂאֲכֶ֖ם וְרִֽיבְכֶֽם

How can I bear the trouble of you, and the burden, and the bickering!

Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald

The Parasha in the everyday life – Parashat Devarim - Chazon – 5780

Moshe Rabbeinu’s parting words from the people of Israel, allow us to identify social and public phenomena that he had to deal with, as a leader. Unsurprisingly, some of them still exist today, more than three thousand and three hundred years later, and they challenge the society and the leadership.

וָאֹמַ֣ר אֲלֵכֶ֔ם בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹא־אוּכַ֥ל לְבַדִּ֖י שְׂאֵ֥ת אֶתְכֶֽם… אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א לְבַדִּ֑י טָרְחֲכֶ֥ם וּמַֽשַּׂאֲכֶ֖ם וְרִֽיבְכֶֽם׃ הָב֣וּ לָ֠כֶם אֲנָשִׁ֨ים חֲכָמִ֧ים וּנְבֹנִ֛ים וִידֻעִ֖ים לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶ֑ם וַאֲשִׂימֵ֖ם בְּרָאשֵׁיכֶֽם׃

Thereupon I said to you, “I cannot bear the burden of you by myself… How can I bear unaided the trouble of you, and the burden, and the bickering!... Pick from each of your tribes, men who are wise, discerning, and experienced, and I will appoint them as your heads.” (Devarim 1:9-13).

What is the 'triad': the 'trouble', the 'burden' and the ‘bickering’ over which Moshe Rabbeinu is complaining about? And how can appointing 'people of your tribes' solve the problem? And what can we learn from Moshe's use of the phrase "How can I bear” אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א and not " "אֵיך אֶשָּׂ֖א?

Our Parsha is always read in Shabbat Chazon close to Tisha’ Be’Av.

Why do some people read this Pasuk in the melody of the Book of Lamentations מגילת איכה?

According to Chazal, Moshe Rabbeinu had a contrasting and critical opposition:

משאכם - מלמד שהיו אפיקורסים: הקדים משה לצאת, אמרו מה ראה בן עמרם לצאת? שמא אינו שפוי בתוך ביתו? איחר לצאת, אמרו מה ראה בן עמרם שלא לצאת? מה אתם סבורים? יושב ויועץ עליכם עצות, ומחשב עליכם מחשבות, ק"ו משל בית און, כענין שנאמר ואון בן פלת בני ראובן, בידוע שאשתו יועצתו. לכך נאמר ומשאכם:

"and your heresy" — whence we are taught that they were "heretics" (against Moshe). If Moshe left his house (hurriedly to meet them), they would say: Why did the son of Amram leave (so hurriedly)? He is probably not at ease at home. If he was late to leave, they would say: Why isn't the son of Amram leaving? What do you think? He is plotting against you with his wife, as Korach did with his wife! — thus, "and your heresy." (Sifrei Devarim 12).

There is a wonderful description here of the 'anti-Moshe' opposition or in modern language 'just not Moshe Rabbeinu' that judged his leadership and personal conduct from the 'opposition'. No matter what he did they always found a way to criticize him and attribute malicious intent to him. The essence of this 'position' does not report the truth, the integrity or intelligence and therefore, even if the day after the criticism Moshe did the complete opposite, even then, they would find a 'creative' way to criticize him. In another version of the Midrash, the 'Position' brought the opposition to Moshe for a complete overthrow: "Another saying is: They were contentious, they were heretics, they were grumblers... - If Moshe left his house hurriedly to meet them, they would say: Why did the son of Amram leave so hurriedly? Him and his sons and his household are gathering the finest part of the Manna!  If he was late to leave, they would say: He was eating, drinking and sleeping! Moshe went in the middle of the road, they would say: He wants us to stand for him!  

Went to the sides of the road so not to make them stand in respect and they would say: We had the Mitzvah of standing for the elder and he asks this to be removed! (He is against us and does not allow us to keep the commandment of honoring) Moshe said to them: I went in the middle I did not get out of your hands; I went to the sides I did not get out of your hands!" (Sifrei ibid).

Moshe could have foreseen the position of his critics, he had no surprise at all, the only surprise was the creative way in which they managed to reason their criticism over and over again. The lack of 'intellectual honesty' that made it possible to claim something and its contrary without seeing it as absurd. Even if for that purpose there were lies and 'fake' facts, without blinking.

The contrarian neutralizes the leadership: "I cannot bear the burden of you by myself, etc. And here it is convenient to foster a child that is dragged by the foster parent’s opinion of what he himself understands are the needs of the child. And the child does not ask for more than the foster parent can give him, because when the child has very different opinions the foster parent cannot handle him. Thus, it is convenient for the generation to grow to carry the burden of the masses when they have the same opinions as their leader's opinion; from what he understands the generation needs the most. But when they have different opinions and everyone says this is the way it should be, no great person can handle their burden. And this is what Moshe proved to the generation that even then in Horeb he realized that their opinions were different from his opinions and they had no intention or desire to be dragged after Moshe’s opinion" (Haamek Davar on Devarim 1:9)

'Position - outlook' is a dead end. It is a mental position of 'anti' that no logical argument will help to disprove or restore trust and common sense. Contrarian is the conduct of parallel lines that do not meet, because there is no logic there that can bridge the contrarian disposition and it is impossible to create a common platform. Moshe Rabbeinu understood the dangerous potential in this situation for the cohesion of the people and the possibility of leading it and therefore he offers them representation and partnership in leadership "Pick from each of your tribes, men who are wise, discerning, and experienced, and I will appoint them as your heads " in the hope that he will bring redemption to the people  and will restore their trust in the leadership.

Sages identified common lines between Moshe's triple "Lamentation" איכה and Yirmiyahu's triple Lamentation on the destruction and Ishayahu’s "Lamentation": “Like the fable of a lady who had three patrons:

One saw her in peace, one saw her in a hurry and another one saw her in disgrace. Moshe saw her in peace and said: “I cannot bear the burden of you by myself”, Yishayahu saw her in a hurry and said: אֵיכָה֙ הָיְתָ֣ה לְזוֹנָ֔ה  “Alas, she has become a harlot” (Yishayahu 1:21), Yirmiyahu saw her in disgrace and said: אֵיכָ֣ה יָשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד “Alas! Lonely sits” (Lamentations 1:1). (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 801).

The plight of Jerusalem and the moral corruption is described in Yishayahu's 'lamentation' rebuke:

אֵיכָה֙ הָיְתָ֣ה לְזוֹנָ֔ה קִרְיָ֖ה נֶאֱמָנָ֑ה מְלֵאֲתִ֣י מִשְׁפָּ֗ט צֶ֛דֶק יָלִ֥ין בָּ֖הּ וְעַתָּ֥ה מְרַצְּחִֽים׃ כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ הָיָ֣ה לְסִיגִ֑ים סָבְאֵ֖ךְ מָה֥וּל בַּמָּֽיִם׃ שָׂרַ֣יִךְ סוֹרְרִ֗ים וְחַבְרֵי֙ גַּנָּבִ֔ים כֻּלּוֹ֙ אֹהֵ֣ב שֹׁ֔חַד וְרֹדֵ֖ף שַׁלְמֹנִ֑ים יָתוֹם֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁפֹּ֔טוּ וְרִ֥יב אַלְמָנָ֖ה לֹֽא־יָב֥וֹא אֲלֵיהֶֽם 

Alas, she has become a harlot, the faithful city that was filled with justice, where righteousness dwelt— but now murderers. Your silver has turned to dross; Your wine is cut with water. They will judge and a widow's quarrel will not come to them” (Yishayahu 1:21-23).

Even in the generation of destruction the controversy of 'position' and contrarian disposition tore the people apart. There Yirmiyahu was unable to cope and prevent the destruction that arose the 'triple lamentation': "And this Yirmiyahu lamented over, the three “Eichot”, and against these Moshe said: The trouble, the burden, and the bickering:  The trouble for אֵיכָ֣ה יָשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד “Alas! Lonely sits”. The burden for אֵיכָה֩ יָעִ֨יב בְּאַפּ֤ו “Alas! The Lord in His wrath Has shamed”. And the bickering אֵיכָה֙ יוּעַ֣ם זָהָ֔ב “Alas! The gold is dulled” which is all quarrels” (Sfatai Cohen Rabbi David HaCohen Talmid Rabbi Yosef Caro – Devarim 1:12)

In reading the verse of our Parasha on Shabbat 'Chazon' in the melody of 'Lamentations' we seek to hint at the connection between the 'Lamentations' of Moshe and Yirmiyahu. And in the reading of the triple 'Lamentation' in Tisha Be’Av we will ask ourselves and others, for God's sake, to draw the lessons of the past, and to heal our broken from the curse of the contrarian, that we may have the redemption of 'position' and a connecting discourse, because it is in our soul.

Contact Form

Please type your full name.
Invalid email address.
Invalid Input
Invalid Input
Invalid Input