Sips From the Well by Rabbi Dovid Sipper - Devarim, 5770

Rav Simcha Bunim, author of Lev Simcha and son of the then Gerrer Rebbe, wasn’t blessed with children for many years after he was first married, and when his wife finally conceived nearly ten years after, one can imagine the joy that was felt throughout the Gerrer chassidus. When the time came for the baby to enter into the world, however, there were complications that endangered both mother and child, so much so that they needed to be separated and monitored individually. While they both struggled in recovery, unfortunately the infant didn’t survive and died while Rav Simcha Bunim was sitting next to her. What does one do in such a situation? To tell the mother, who herself is already struggling to live, that the child they waited ten years to have was lost would jeopardize her health even further. So despite all of his own anguish and pain, Rav Simcha Bumin acted as if their daughter was still alive, telling his wife of her growth and progress, never crying once nor lowering his face even the slightest. For six months he carried on the charade until his wife was finally released from the hospital and came home, only then breaking down and crying for the first time. What gave Rav Simcha Bunim the strength to do this was a lesson learned in this week’s parsha. In Moshe Rabeinu’s last few weeks alive, he delivers his farewell soliloquy to the Jewish people before they enter the land of Israel. He begins by reiterating Hashem‘s promise to bring them into the land of their ancestors. After which, Moshe tells of a conversation he has with Hashem “at that time,” where he says that he can’t carry the burden of governing the Jewish people on his own. Obviously he would be speaking with Hashem at that time, why do we need to know that that particular time he had this complaint? Rav Shamshon Refael Hirsh explains from this incident that the most opportune time to establish semblance of order is in a time of crisis. When tensions are high and the nerves are on edge, people aren’t able to think straight and inevitably things happen which spiral the tranquility and of society out of control. Therefore, Moshe tells us that at the time when Hashem promised them that they would be coming into the land of Israel, which would be a tremendously stressful time what with the wars and the dividing of land and the transition from desert living, that is the time to maintain order. The juxtaposition of the command to set up a confederacy of judges and the reminder of coming into Israel shows us, says Rav Hirsh, that the Torah is telling us that particularly in those times of intensified stress are when we must maintain order and balance. This is particularly acute for the time of Tisha b’Av, the time of year when we feel the incredible stress that the Jewish people experience in this prolonged exile. May we be able to see the Redemption speedily!