And Moshe went, and he spoke the following words to all Israel. He said to them, "Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go or come, and Hashem said to me, "You shall not cross this Jordan." Hashem, your G-d He will cross before you; He will destroy these nations from before you so that you will possess them. Yehoshua he will cross before you, as Hashem has spoken.
Rashi explains the message of “Moshe went:...I can no longer go or come. One might think that Moshe’s strength had ebbed and that is why he could no longer go or come. This cannot be as the Torah however states regarding Moshe, “His eye had not dimmed, nor had he lost his natural moisture” (Devorim. 34:7) which teaches us that his powers were intact even on the day of his passing. So what then is the meaning of “I can no longer”? Here it means: “I am not permitted,” because authority was taken from him and granted to Yehoshua.
Moshe was preparing Klal Yisrael to accept his successor Yehoshua, for this was the will of Hashem. However,, why does the Torah have to elaberate “and Hashem said to me, "You shall not cross this Jordan." Hashem, your G-d He will cross before you; He will destroy these nations from before you so that you will possess them.” It would be suffice to simply state: "Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go or come, and Yehoshua he will cross before you, as Hashem has spoken?
Another difficulty is: Why does the Torah have to state “Hashem, your G-d He will cross before you; He will destroy these nations from before you so that you will possess them.” What is this connection to Yehoshua being the next leader of Klal Yisrael?
To understand this: We can say that Moshe was conveying a powerful message and lessson for Klal Yisrael then and for future generations. The nature of people when in a dire situation, whether in health or in money problems, is to seek material help. They will seek proffessional advice from doctors or lawyers to solve the situation. If G-d forbid, these avenues don’t find a solution, then as a last resort, they turn to Hashem to help them. However, the way that a Yid must act is to turn to Hashem right away, and pray that He sends the right messenger to alleviate the problem. Dovid Hamelech teaches this in Tehilim 85:8 and we say in everyday in Hodu:
Show us, O Lord, Your kindness, and Your salvation You shall give to us. We pray to Hashem to show us the way and send the right messenger to solve the problems, and then He will give salvation.
Moshe came to rebuke Klal Yisrael: They were in the desert forty years. Nothing was lacking for them. They had food and water. Their clothing was intact as new all the forty years. Therefore, they always felt secure. They had great leaders in Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam. The Gemarra Taanis 9a says that the food or Manna was in the merit of Moshe. The water was from the well of Miriam and in her merit. The clothing was kept intact from the Anani Hakavod, the spiritual clouds, in the merit of Aharon. The Yidden had their security. This sense of security would continue ias they proceed to enter Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, Moshe was relaying the message that this was the wrong attidude: Even great leaders have to rely and pray to Hashem. Only He can help.
This is what Moshe said: Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go or come. Yet you are destined to enter Eretz Yisrael. This is not in my merit, since “Hashem, your G-d He will cross before you;” You must know that Hashem is the source of all salvation, and not rely on the merit of your leaders. Moshe summarized this by saying: Yehoshua he will cross before you, however only as Hashem has spoken. Yehoshua will be your spiritual leader to guide you, but the salvation will be only from the words of Hashem.
Moshe proved that when Hashem commanded him to speak to the stone and water should fleece, Moshe hit the stone to draw water. This proved that only the words of Hashem will prevail. If Hashem said to speak to the stone, there is no merit to the greatness of Moshe. The proof was that he didn’t follow orders and instead of speaking he hit the stone. The message was that even leaders have to follow the order of Hashem. Therefore, Klal Yisrael have the duty to consult Hashem always with prayer and doing good deeds, Show us, O Lord, Your kindness, and Your salvation You shall give to us. As we prepare for the Holy days, we must be close to Hashem and pray for His mercy. Only Hashem is our salvation for a blessed year.
(Yehuda Z Klitnick)
