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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
36 Friday, July 26, 1985
TORAH PORTION
.
`Deuteronomy' Explains
Merits. Of Repetition
BY RABBI M. ROBERT SYME
Special to The Jewish News
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One of the criticisms leveled
against older people by the
younger generation, is that old
people tend to repeat themselves.
They tell the same stories over
and over again. There is some
truth in this.
Why do older people repeat the
same stories? One of the reasons is
that their past is usually more
eventful than their present or
their future. Yet, young people
make a mistake when they do not
listen to older people, because
there is much that they can learn
from the older generation.
Consider the fifth book of the
Torah which we begin to read on
this Sabbath. It is called
Deuteronomy, which means "re-
petition." The children of Israel
are standing at the gates of -the
Promised Land. Moses, their old
leader, stands before them, and
what does he do? He repeats the
story of his life. If we pay close
attention to his words, we will
learn some very important les-
sons.
Moses begins by saying to the
children of Israel: "Do you re-
member when we were in the land
of Egypt? Do you remember how I
went to Pharoah and demanded
•that he let our people go? Wasn't
that daring on my part? I couldn't
even speak properly. I used to
stutter, and I had to take my
brother Aaron with me.
"And then I persuaded you to
follow me out of Egypt. And we
came to the Red Sea. And we had
the courage to go right into the sea
and it opened wide. And then,
when we came into the desert, we
encountered so many trials. But
we didn't surrender, did we? And
now, here we are at the gates of
the Promised Land."
In a sense that is the story of
many a person's life. A young
bride and groom stand before a
Rabbi, about to get married. They
think that marriage consists of
"moonlight and roses." And then
they begin to discover that they
are entering the desert of life.
They begin to complain. Many of
them went to give up. Some of
them do. But there comes a time,
when they reach their 25th or
50th wedding anniversary, and
what do they do? They look back.
They repeat. They remind them-
selves of all the triumphs and
trials that they went through to-
gether. That is one of the great
lessons that older people can
teach the younger generation: not
to surrender, not to give up, but to
face up to the challenge of respon-
sibility that life presents to all of
us.
Secondly, Moses reminds them
of that tragic moment when his
sister Miriam and his brother
Devarim Shabbat
Chazon:
Deuteronomy
1:1-3;22. Isaiah
1:1-27.
Aaron died, and he was left alone.
He says: "I didn't think that I
could go on. I thought that my life
.was over. But somehow I found
inner strength and managed to
continue with the task of life."
Isn't that an experience that
comes to all of us at some time?
There are times when we are be-
reaved, and we wonder whether
we will be able to do op.
Most older people are usually
calm in the face of death. Because
they have been through the
storms before. They know that
death is part of life. They know
that we are lent to each other, and
therefore when the inevitable
storms of life face us, that we are
to go on with courage. When an
older person reacts with faith and
courage in the face of bereave-
ment, then that becomes a bless-
ing for the younger generation.
The 90t• Psalm is attributed to
Moses. The opening words say:
-"Moses was a man of God." It is his
manliness which is evidence of his
greatness.
This is why it is worth listening
to this old man as he repeats the
story of his life. Let us hope that
when we reach old age, our lives
also may be worthy of repetition.