Parashat Vayelech (Deuteronomy 31:1-31:30)

Parashat Vayelech, one of the shortest portions in the Torah, is only thirty verses long. However, if we look carefully, we can find within it a recipe for rebellion:

For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death! (Deuteronomy 31:27)

This passage is written as a kal vachomer, an argument going from the light to the heavy: If A is true, then how much more so is B also true. Moses recognized that if the Children of Israel rebelled and strayed against the Torah’s instruction while he was with them to take them by the hand and guide them in its requirements, how much more would they stray from it after his death. But who rebels against God’s commands and why?

There are generally two types of rebels. The first is the one who simply denies the truth and the authority of the Scripture and walks in outright rebellion against it. There’s nothing spectacular about this. There will be those in every generation who follow this path. The second type, however, is one who claims that Scripture is still authoritative, yet rationalizes his behavior based on his own interpretations, rather than following the mesorah, the accepted interpretations and traditions. This is the more deceptive road to a wayward life. Let’s explore the implications of this.

The Hidden And The Revealed

This week’s Torah portion is a continuation of Moses’ adjuration to the Children of Israel to faithfully obey the instructions the LORD has given them in the form of the commandments. The Children of Israel are about to renew their covenant with the LORD before entering into the Promised Land. In the midst of this, Moses tells them:

The hidden [things] belong to the LORD our God, but the [things that are] revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Torah. (Deuteronomy 29:28 [29])

Most commentators understand this passage to be speaking about various types of sins. The “hidden” are the types of sins in a person’s life that were done unwittingly, and have not been revealed to him yet. According to this interpretation, a person is not responsible for those sins. They are the LORD’s responsibility, as the Psalmist states, “Who can discern his errors? Cleanse me from hidden faults” (Psalm 19:13). Obvious sins—“revealed” ones—however, we are personally responsible for. We will be held accountable for these sins.

However, I would like to suggest an alternate interpretation. What are the hidden and the revealed? What if they are the responsibilities of the two beings that support and sustain the world: the responsibility of God and the responsibility of man? Maybe we should think of the hidden things as the under workings of Creation, the hidden components of physical existence. As we know, these are entirely in the hands of Hashem. We have no control over them. But the revealed things are something entirely different. These are the things that place the world’s existence into our own hands. According to Simeon the Righteous, there are three components of our responsibility to insure against the collapse of the world: