Musar untuk Ulangan 5:28

We have spoken about the three gifts G–d bestowed upon the Jewish people, i.e. the land of Israel, the Torah, and the Hereafter. Moses received the best possible portions of all of these gifts. I will explain how these respective gifts can be assimilated on different levels. The allusion to the World to Come is mentioned in the Torah chronologically, i.e. after the mention of ארץ ישראל and תורה when the Israelites asked: "why should we die, etc". The Israelites said to Moses: קרב אתה ושמע, "you approach and listen!" G–d also had said to Moses (5,27): ואתה פה עמוד עמדי, "you stand here next to Me!" The letters in the word אתה form the acronym ארץ-תורה-הבא. Even though Moses never entered terrestrial ארץ ישראל he did enter the equivalent of the terrestrial ארץ ישראל in the Celestial Regions even while his soul still lived inside his body. The Zohar in its commentary on פרשת ויחי explains that something similar happened to Jacob. I have copied the comments of the Zohar in my commentary on פרשת ויחי. The reason Jacob succeeded to be buried in terrestrial ארץ ישראל, was due to his close affinity to Celestial ארץ ישראל which represents the attribute of מלכות. What Jacob achieved only after his death, Moses already achieved during his lifetime because he was איש אלהים as he had demonstrated when he ascended to the region of Matronita, described in Pardes Rimonim as the guardian of Gan Eden. After Moses died he ascended to a still higher region called יובל עליון, part of the emanation of בינה. This is what we had in mind when we said that Moses succeeded in penetrating or assimilating the innermost secrets of the three concepts ארץ ישראל, תורה, עולם הבא.

The usual reason cited is that Moses had not wanted to publicise his escape from Pharaoh so that he could not again be informed against, as had happened to him in Egypt. However, if we view all the happenings in the light of the re-incarnation of Abel-- Shet-- Moses, we view the earthly existence of Abel as having been very brief. When his soul was in the body of Shet, he was still in ארץ נכריה, i.e. not within the body he was destined to inhabit ultimately. Once his soul inhabited his present body, it could be said of his body "his eye did not weaken, etc." (Deut 34,7). This proved that his body and soul were well matched. The reason the grave of Moses could not be located (Deut. 34,5) was because his body had not lost its vigour, had not become a cadaver. Not only at the revelation could it be said of Moses that he could stand next to G–d (Deut 5,28).