We are directed to recite the first two sections of the "Shema" ("Shema Yisrael… Ve-ahavta…" and "Ve-haya im shamo'a…") twice daily – morning and evening. The most obvious reason for this requirement is the command that is included in both sections, that we must teach God's words to our children and speak of them "when you are sitting in your house and when you are walking on the way and when you lie down and when you rise up" (Devarim 6:7, 11:19). However, as we shall see below, there are other possible reasons for the mandate to recite these paragraphs every morning and evening.
"Shema" and the Aseret Ha-dibrot
As mentioned in the shiur on Parashat Devarim, Moshe's second speech in Sefer Devarim starts with Chapter 5, and it continues up to the end of Parashat Ekev.[1] In this speech, Moshe explains to the nation how the mitzvot were given and why they are obligated to observe them; this serves as a prelude to the third speech, in which he specifies the obligations and prohibitions themselves. Thus, the entire second speech revolves around the Aseret Ha-dibrot ("Ten Commandments") and the Revelation at Sinai, after which God had commanded that the mitzvot be transmitted to Bnei Yisrael.
The account of the giving of the first luchot (tablets) in Chapter 5 is immediately followed (after a few verses that round out the story) by "Shema Yisrael…" (6:4). Similarly, the account in Chapter 10 of the giving of the second luchot (which includes a slightly longer conclusion) is followed by "Ve-haya im shamo'a" (11:13)
The Gemara (Berakhot 12a) records that Chazal originally wanted to prescribe daily recital of the Aseret Ha-dibrot for all of Am Yisrael (rather than only in the Temple), but ultimately rejected the idea "because of the quarrel of the heretics," who claimed that only the Aseret Ha-dibrot were given by God at Sinai, and not the rest of the Torah. (A requirement to recite the Aseret Ha-dibrot every day could have been seen as lending credence to their belief.) It is possible that when Chazal decided against daily recital of the Aseret Ha-dibrot, they decided that the units appearing immediately after each appearance of the Aseret Ha-dibrot should be recited instead.
In addition to the fact that the units preceding "Shema" and "Ve-haya" describe the giving of the first and second luchot, respectively, there is also a striking parallel between these units in that they both conclude with the expression "a land flowing with milk and honey" (6:3 and 11:9) and both speak of long life ("in order that your days be lengthened" in 6:2, and "in order that you live long upon the land" in 11:9). If this parallel is indeed significant, then it may explain the puzzling conclusion of the first unit, which ends with the words "a land flowing with milk and honey" even though the preceding verses have no connection with the land or its inheritance. In light of the above, it is possible that this seemingly out-of-place verse is inserted at the end of the unit in order to create a parallel with the second unit.
The parallel between the paragraphs of "Shema" and "Ve-haya" themselves needs no elaboration: both mention the totafot ("frontlets") and the doorposts, and they include verses that are almost identical.
Two Passages of the Covenant
Also worthy of note are the parallels between the beginning of Parashat Ekev and the paragraph of "Ve-haya…," and between both of these units and the blessings set forth in Parashat Bechukotai and ParashatKi Tavo. There are themes common to all four units, as well as some identical expressions:
And He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, your corn and your wine and your oil, the calving of your herd and the lambing of your flock, in the land which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed of all peoples; there shall be among you no male or female who is barren, or among your cattle. And the Lord will remove from you all sickness, and He will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you have known, upon you, but will lay them upon all those who hate you. (Beginning of Parashat Ekev – Devarim 7:13-15)
And I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, [so that] you will gather in your corn, and your wine, and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. (Beginning of the paragraph of "Ve-haya im shamo'a" – Devarim 11:14-15)
And I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the tree of the field shall yield its fruit. And your threshing shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage shall reach to the sowing time; and you will eat your bread to satisfaction, and you will dwell securely in your land. And I will give peace in the land, and you will lie down and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause evil beasts to cease from the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And you will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. And I will turn [My favor] unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you; and I will establish My covenant with you. And you will eat old store long kept, and you will bring forth the old from before the new. (Parashat Bechukotai – Vayikra 26:4-10)
You [will be] blessed in the city, and you [will be] blessed in the field. Blessed [shall be] the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your animals, the calving of your herd and the lambing of your flock. Blessed [shall be] your basket and your kneading bowl. You [will be] blessed when you come in, and you [will be] blessed when you go out. The Lord will render your enemies, who rise up against you, smitten before you; they shall come out against you by one path and flee before you by seven paths. The Lord will command the blessing with you, in your barns and in all that your put your hand to; and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Parashat Ki Tavo – Devarim 28:3-8)
However, a closer look at these four units reveals a fundamental difference. In the blessings of Parashot Bechukotai and Ki Tavo, and in the unit of "Ve-haya im shamo'a," the Torah elaborates at greater length on the curses than on the blessings. At the beginning of Parashat Ekev, however, the Torah lists only the blessings; only afterwards – after shifting to a completely different topic – is a brief mention made of the curses.
It seems that the discrepancies between the beginning of our parasha and the three other units might be explained in light of the difference – discussed in the past[2] – between the first and second set of the Aseret Ha-dibrot. At the first giving of the Torah, in the description of the forging of the covenant, there is almost no mention of curses; Am Yisrael has not yet sinned with the golden calf, and there is no room to address such a possibility. Only after the golden calf, at the forging of the covenant of the second luchot, is there a need to consider sin and curses.
It may be that the unit of "Shema" (which concludes at the end of Chapter 8) represents the covenant of the first luchot, prior to the sin of the golden calf. The unit of "Ve-haya im shamo'a" also opens with the words, "Hear, O Israel," but it represents the forging of the covenant of the second luchot, after the debacle of the golden calf, when it had become necessary to take into account the reality of sin and punishment.[3]
It may be that Chazal chose these two units for daily recitation because both point to the covenant between God and Am Yisrael – and for the same reason, the Torah commands that they be placed upon the hand, between the eyes, and upon the doorposts of the home.
The Second Covenant
We still need to explain why Chazal chose only the unit of "Ve-haya im shamo'a," without the preceding unit, which introduces it, or at least the verses that follow it, concluding Moshe's speech:
For if you will diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to perform it… then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves… (Devarim 11:22-23)
The excerpt of "Ve-haya im shamo'a" is clearly just the middle of the unit: it is preceded by the Torah's description of Eretz Yisrael as a land that needs rain from heaven, unlike Egypt; it is in light of this reality that rain is presented (in the verses of "Ve-haya im shamo'a") as being conditional upon observance of the commandments.
In order to answer this question, we must examine the covenant described in Moshe's second speech. This covenant, like any agreement, includes reward for its fulfillment and punishment for its nullification. Bnei Yisrael became obligated to fulfill the mitzvot, and the consequences for violating this commitment are the punishments specified in the covenant. Part of the reason for our daily recital of "Shema" and "Ve-haya" may be that these two units, respectively, introduce and (almost) conclude the covenant. Thus, they are chosen to remind every Jew, twice each day, of the covenant with God of which he is a part.
The Death of Aharon
As we have explained, the elements of the second speech center around the Aseret Ha-dibrot. A conspicuous exception is the account of Aharon's death (10:6), which appears in this speech despite bearing no apparent connection to the Aseret Ha-dibrot.[4]
We might have explained that Aharon's death is mentioned in order to remind us that Moshe and Aharon are punished for failing to sanctify God's Name in the incident of Mei Meriva, but then we would have to explain why Moshe makes no mention of his own (larger) part in that incident.
In fact, even if we find some way of resolving our question about the mention of Aharon's death, we will still have a problem with its placement. Aharon's death is mentioned in the verses after the fashioning of the ark for the luchot, and before the selection of the tribe of Levi. Why does Moshe make such a glaring departure from the chronological order of events, describing something that happened in the fortieth year in the wilderness in the midst of events from the second year?
Three times, our parasha mentions Moshe ascending Mount Sinai and praying for forty days on behalf of Bnei Yisrael (9:18, 25; 10:10), but at no point do we ever hear that he spent a hundred and twenty days atop the mountain (in addition to the original forty days, when he received the Torah). Therefore, it would seem that the purpose of the threefold mention of forty days is not to denote an additional forty days each time, but rather to divide the parasha into two parts.[5] The verses that appear in between the first mention and the second describe the "stiff-necked" nature of Bnei Yisrael. In this context, Moshe recalls their behavior at Masa and their forced drinking of the water mixed with the ashes of the golden calf. Between the second and third mention of forty days, Moshe describes the fashioning of the luchot and the death of Aharon.
Moshe describes how he prayed for Aharon (9:20) as well as for the rest of Am Yisrael after the sin of the golden calf, but while he emphasizes God's acceding to his prayer and forgiving Am Yisrael, he does not mention a favorable response to his prayer for Aharon. Indeed, in describing Aharon's death, the Torah hints that it was connected to the sin of the golden calf (as was the fashioning of the second luchot, which is described in immediate proximity to the mention of Aharon's death). This hint is underlined by means of the expression "at that time": at the time that Bnei Yisrael sinned with the golden calf, Moshe fashioned the luchot (10:1), and at that same time, the Leviim were separated from among Bnei Yisrael (10:8). The death of Aharon is mentioned in between these two events (which actually happened at the same time) in order to emphasize the connection between his death and his part in the sin of the golden calf.
(Translated by Kaeren Fish; edited by Sarah Rudolph)
[1] The beginning of Parashat Re'eh may also be regarded as part of this speech, since the list of commandments incumbent on Am Yisrael, which comprises the third speech, starts only in Chapter 12. There are also linguistic connections between the opening verses of Parashat Re'eh and the preceding unit. On the other hand, the mention of blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval suggests that these verses should be viewed as the beginning of the third speech.
[2] See the shiur on Parashat Vaetchanan.
[3] Along with the fact that the second luchot are on a lower spiritual level, since Moshe fashioned them (rather than God Himself), Bnei Yisrael themselves are on a lower level when they receive the second luchot. God commands Moshe to make a wooden ark and to place the luchot in it, and the text emphasizes that he does so, but there is no such instruction with regard to the first luchot. It seems that the importance of creating the ark lies in the fact that when the luchot are placed inside it, Bnei Yisrael are unable to see them. Unlike the first luchot, which are brought down to Bnei Yisrael with Divine revelation, the second luchot are placed inside an ark; only Moshe sees them.
[4] Other incidents mentioned in the second speech, such as the Exodus from Egypt and the rebellion of Korach, are easier to connect to the Aseret Ha-dibrot and to recognition of God's sovereignty.
[5] There is another division as well, aside from the one described here. The expression "You have been rebellious against God" appears in 9:7 and in 9:24, with the verses in between describing all the places where Bnei Yisrael angered God.
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