d’var torah
Don’t Abandon
Your Ideals
BY RABBI GERI NEWBURGE
Parshat Pinchas
M oses is a rather sympathetic
fi gure. While we likely have
not led a large group of peo-
ple through the wilderness for 40 years,
he is portrayed as remarkably human,
with characteristics to which we can all
relate, and which inspire us to strive to
live up to the best in ourselves.

In Parshat Pinchas, God directs Moses
to apportion the land according to each
tribe’s needs. Following Moses’ instruc-
tions to the Israelites, the daughters of
Zelophechad come forward and ask to
inherit their father’s portion since he had
no sons. Befuddled, Moses consults the
Holy One and is advised that the daugh-
ters can indeed inherit.

Aft er this sequence of events, God
tells Moses to climb to the top of Mount
Abarim from where he would see the
Promised Land before he died. Rashi,
the medieval commentator, asks, “Why
is this passage juxtaposed here with the
previous one?” While the two narratives
seem disconnected, Rashi points out that
earlier in the book of Numbers, Moses
was informed by God that he would not
be able to enter the Promised Land aft er
he struck the rock, instead of speaking to
it, to obtain water for the cantankerous
Israelites. In Rashi’s estimation, this most
certainly weighed on Moses’ mind and,
with all the discussion on inheritance, he
thought the decree to die outside the land
of Israel had been rescinded.

Rashi’s commentary is informed by
an earlier body of work, the Sifrei. Here
the rabbis off er an allegory: “Since Moses
had entered the territories of the descen-
dants of Gad and the descendants of
Reuben, he rejoiced, saying, ‘It seems
that the vow made regarding me has
been annulled.’ Th is can be compared to
a king who decreed that his son could not
enter the portals of his palace. Th e king
entered the gate, with the son following;
the courtyard, with him following; the
foyer, with him following. When he was
about to enter the inner chamber, he said
to him, ‘My son, from here on, it is for-
bidden for you to enter.’”
Sadly, like the son in the fable who
could not enter the palace, Moses’ fate
remains unchanged, and he is not per-
mitted to enter the land of Israel. He can
only view it from afar before he dies.

But the Torah portion is both a lesson in
humility as well as a lesson in reconciling
our expectations with reality.

Despite his decades of service, Moses
cannot reach the ultimate destination.

We never truly learn how Moses feels
about the circumstances, but it’s not hard
to imagine his frustration, disappoint-
ment and even a sense of loss over some-
thing he could never attain.

John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn
things; and whatever may be our wishes,
our inclinations, or the dictates of our
passion, they cannot alter the state of
facts and evidence.”
Like Moses, our reality does not always
reconcile with our expectations, leaving
us with a sense of discontent, as we inter-
act with the world and on a personal level.

Our world is a rapidly changing envi-
ronment, and we cannot anticipate
tomorrow’s headlines today. Th is real-
ity challenges us to dig deeper to sift
through the noise and determine the
facts. Living in such a deeply divided
society, it oft en feels the reality and our
perception of what it should be do not
always align.

Similarly, on a personal level, we may
possess certain hopes and desires for
ourselves, our families and our commu-
nities, but the facts on the ground may
inhibit realizing those dreams, either
through our own limitations, or external
factors which seem insurmountable.

I cannot help but think of the words
BUSINESS /
LEGAL DIRECTORIES
which have come to mean so much to
us as a Jewish community, composed by
Anne Frank: “It’s really a wonder that I
haven’t dropped all my ideals, because
they seem so absurd and impossible to
carry out. Yet I keep them, because in
spite of everything I still believe that peo-
ple are really good at heart. I simply can’t
build up my hopes on a foundation con-
sisting of confusion, misery, and death. I
see the world gradually being turned into
a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching
thunder, which will destroy us too, I can
feel the suff erings of millions and yet, if
I look up into the heavens, I think that it
will all come right, that this cruelty too
will end, and that peace and tranquility
will return again. In the mean time, I
must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the
day will come when I shall be able to
carry them out.”
Th is is not a time for us to abandon our
ideals, nor is it the time to stop dreaming.

Like Moses, we must continue to walk
on, leading, toward the Promised Land,
inspiring the next generations to create a
world where our hopes become reality. JE
Rabbi Geri Newburge serves at Main
Line Reform Temple-Beth Elohim in
Wynnewood. Th e Board of Rabbis of
Greater Philadelphia is proud to pro-
vide diverse perspectives on Torah com-
mentary for the Jewish Exponent. Th e
opinions expressed in this column are
the author’s own and do not refl ect the
view of the Board of Rabbis.

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