The Ohr Hachaim asks about the word נא in this context. The term has multiple meanings; which one is applicable here?
Another question he asks is why did Moshe Rabbeinu add a request to see the good land. Is it not apparent that he would see the land by passing into it?
The Ohr Hachaim explains that there were two possible reasons for Moshe’s not being permitted to enter Eretz Yisroel:
- The Medrash Tanchuma writes that the time had come for Yehoshua to serve as leader of Klal Yisroel, and Moshe had to leave the scene to make room for Yehoshua to reign. The rule of monarchies is that they cannot overlap even by a hairsbreadth.
- Hashem knew that Klal Yisroel was destined to do aveiros, and He would have to punish them. Hashem had already decided to take the Beis Hamikdash away as collateral for their aveiros. The possuk in Parshas Pekudei hints at this, as it says ואלה פקודי המשכן משכן – these are the numbers of the Mishkan. The word משכן is repeated because the Mishkan was taken as collateral twice, and the word משכן has a similar source as the word משכון – collateral.
Another possuk in Tehillim teaches us this lesson too. The possuk says מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף א -לֹהִים בָאוּ גוֹיִם בְנַחֲלָתֶךָ טִמְאוּ אֶת הֵיכַל קׇדְשֶךָ - A Song of Asaph. Hashem, the heathens have come into Your inheritance. They have defiled Your holy temple. Chazal ask why this chapter is called a song; it should be an elegy and a sob. Chazal answer that under the suffering and pain of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, there is a glimmer of a song to be sung. Hashem poured his wrath on wood and stone instead of on the heads of Klal Yisroel. If Hashem would not have destroyed the Beis Hamikdash, Klal Yisroel would have had to suffer a worse fate, and they would have been destroyed.
Both of these sources tell us that the Beis Hamikdash was to be burned in lieu of destroying and punishing Klal Yisroel.
If Moshe Rabbeinu had survived and entered Eretz Yisroel at the head of Klal Yisroel, he would have built a Beis Hamikdash, and his Beis Hamikdash could never have been destroyed. Each of his actions was permanent, and no outside force would have been able to burn it. Klal Yisroel would have had to bear the burden of their punishment on their own bodies, which would have been worse for them. For this reason, too, Moshe Rabbeinu could not have his aveira forgiven.
Moshe Rabbeinu davened to Hashem, begging him to allow him into Eretz Yisroel. In the course of his Tefilla, he made sure to answer these two issues. First, he asked if he could merely cross over – אעברה נא. He wished to cross over just like anyone else who crossed over, not as a leader of Klal Yisroel, not as their king, but rather as a simple citizen. His monarchy would not overlap Yehoshua’s in any way, as he would no longer be king.
Second, he told Hashem that he would cross over and see. He was not planning on building anything in Eretz Yisroel, and Hashem could pour his wrath on Klal Yisroel if they were to deserve it.
With this, we can understand the word נא. Moshe was not saying ‘please’; the translation of the word, in this context, is ‘now.’ Moshe was asking to cross over now; he was willing to relinquish his monarchy right then, just that he should be able to enter Eretz Yisroel.
The Ohr Hachaim then suggests another explanation for the word נא. He refers to that which he has already explained in a previous piece, that this Tefilla of Moshe Rabbeinu’s was not said at the end of the forty-year sojourn in the desert. The possuk says וָאֶתְחַנַן אֶל ה' בָעֵת הַהִוא לֵאמֹר – And I begged Hashem at that time saying. The Ohr Hachaim explains the words at that time to mean at the time of the Meraglim – the spies.
Klal Yisroel had done a terrible aveira, and they were punished by not being permitted to enter Eretz Yisroel. But they were not liable for the Kares penalty and did not need to die before age sixty. They needed to spend forty years in the desert to ensure that they did not die before the age of sixty, yet did not enter Eretz Yisroel.
Based on this, the Ohr Hachaim explains again that the word נא is to be translated as ‘now.’ Moshe wanted to enter Eretz Yisroel immediately after the story with the Meraglim. He had not yet done his aveira at the Mei Meriva, and was not liable for any punishment. If he were to enter Eretz Yisroel, Klal Yisroel would have to follow him because they could not die right then, as they were not liable for Kares. This would remove and annul the decree from Klal Yisroel and save them from their punishment.
Another explanation of this possuk is offered by the Ohr Hachaim. Chazal tell us that the final redeemer will be Moshe Rabbeinu. The Zohar writes that the possukהֶּׁיְה יֶּׁש אוּה הָיָהֶּׁש הַמ - that which was, will be – is referring to the final redemption. The one who redeemed us in the past will save us in the future.
Moshe Rabbeinu was davening that this redemption should occur נא – now. He did not want to wait till the end of days; he asked Hashem to allow him to enter now.
