What's In a Question?

Moses' last ask

One of my mom’s favorite stories about me involves me coming home from school in elementary school and loudly complaining about all the “dumb questions people asked.” It wasn’t one of my kinder moments. Throughout life, I have always struggled in educational settings by what I perceive as questions that are unnecessary. It’s been a real growing edge to remind myself that I don’t fully understand why someone is asking a question. Better to err on the side of grace than judgement. It’s a work in progress!

When it comes to one specific question, Moses is a bit of a broken record through the latter parts of his journey. Namely, will God ever reconsider God’s ban on Moses entering the land of Israel? Over and over he asks and this week, as he continues his final speech, we get another iteration in Deuteronomy 3:23-25:

וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא לֵאמֹֽר׃אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֗ה אַתָּ֤ה הַֽחִלּ֙וֹתָ֙ לְהַרְא֣וֹת אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶ֨ת־גׇּדְלְךָ֔ וְאֶת־יָדְךָ֖ הַחֲזָקָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר מִי־אֵל֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם וּבָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה כְמַעֲשֶׂ֖יךָ וְכִגְבוּרֹתֶֽךָ׃ אֶעְבְּרָה־נָּ֗א וְאֶרְאֶה֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַטּוֹבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּעֵ֣בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן הָהָ֥ר הַטּ֛וֹב הַזֶּ֖ה וְהַלְּבָנֹֽן׃

I pleaded with God at that time, saying,“Oh Lord You who let Your servant see the first works of Your greatness and Your mighty hand, You whose powerful deeds no god in heaven or on earth can equal!Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country, and the Lebanon.”

At first glance, it could be seen as a bit petulant. Hasn’t he received a clear answer before? Even more than that, the demanding nature of his tone is read by some as rude.

Coming in to reread Moses is the Shlah Ha’Kadosh, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, a mystic and ethicist from the 16th and 17th centuries in Israel. He notes that there are a number of instances where Moses speaks to God in such a fashion. Far be it from us to assume that Moses was taking a harsh tone with God. Instead, he says:

It would be doing Moses a grave injustice to believe that he erred in the language he used vis-a-vis God, especially to have made the same mistake on four separate occasions! I therefore believe that what Moses wanted to know on those four occasions did not concern something in the future, but he wanted to make sure that God would explain something to him which God had told him previously but which Moses was not sure he had properly understood.

In other words, Moses wasn’t trying to convince God of anything. Rather, he was just trying to understand God more, to try to comprehend what was behind God’s decision. Moses was just like us. He may have been a renowned leader but in his humility, he was not afraid to ask a question of clarification.

The Shlah continues:

If an outstanding Torah giant such as Moses saw fit to seek elucidation from God concerning any doubts he entertained, how much more must we learn how important it is for us – who do not compare to Moses in the slightest degree – to constantly review the text we study in order to be certain that we have not misunderstood any of it.

He frames this in the context of learning Jewish text but I would broaden it to talk about life in general. How often do we find ourselves in situations where we just go, do, and only then process later? It’s part of the hectic nature of our lives. What the Shlah is offering here is an alternative framework.

There are so many instances in life where we’d behoove ourselves to slow down and ask more questions. In doing this, we shouldn’t be seen as being abrasive or disobedient but actually striving for more closeness and understanding to the subject matter. Think about all those moments in life where, instead of judging someone or something, we opened ourselves up to the question, of “what does that really mean?”

This seems like essential work in life. If we can cultivate a mindset of curiosity, then maybe we can be a bit more like Moses, even if the Shlah thinks that’s not possible. And then, I can finally teach that little Adir that still lives inside of me to just ask more questions and remember that others are doing the exact same thing.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Weekend!