There will eventually be an entire section of the book of Devarim devoted to the listing of Mitzvot, but that doesn’t come for another few weeks. Nevertheless, the turn toward an emphasis on Mitzvot begins this week. The first speech Moshe Rabenu gave has now ended and he turns to what will be the essential subject of his address. He will get to the actual 10 commandments/statements, which stand as the grand emblem of the Mitzvot in general.
But first he takes up a preamble to convey the essential attitude or approach toward the Mitzvot. He tells us that one is not allowed to add to them, nor to subtract. We are not supposed to think that we’ve come up with a good one that should stand with the rest. Nor are we supposed to think that we’ve progressed in a way that we can second-guess the inclusion of a Mitzva.
Also, as we read on the morning of Tisha B’Av, there is a warning that the Mitzvot can get old. Our approach is supposed to keep them fresh, by deepening our knowledge about the details of a Mitzva or about its possible reasons. Staleness is the enemy of observance. A group of Baalei Teshuva once approached R’ Shimon Schwab to ask when they will no longer feel like novices. They asked it as an aspiration. He told them, when you talk in Shul during the repetition of the Shemone Esray, then you’re no longer a Baal Teshuva. Being a novice is great, he reminded them, because it keeps one from becoming jaded about observance.
Finally, Moshe gets to the actual 10 commandments, which are supposed to stand for all of the Mitzvot. But just before that, seemingly apropos of nothing, the text says that Moshe Rabenu actually did a Mitzva. He designates the three cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan River. Nothing before this suggests that this was about to happen. And it’s not really connected to the 10 statements, which come immediately afterward.
Why is this here? It too is connected to the approach to Mitzvot. Moshe Rabenu shows by example that one does them right away. If a Mitzva presents itself, then there’s no calculation about something that will come up in a few days or even a few minutes.
But there’s something else about this. None of these three cities will “work” yet. A city of refuge absorbs and protects someone who is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. But it will only do that when all six of them are in place, the three here and all three on the other side of the river.
Apparently, Moshe Rabenu is also modeling this: One does a Mitzva regardless of whether one can see its effect. Even if you do not see an effect, it still has an intrinsic value. This distinguishes the life of Mitzvot from the life of mere Chochma (wisdom). All Western wisdom is based on effectiveness, on accomplishment. Sometimes it’s about creating a more efficient society or even a safer society. Those are good goals, all goals with which the Torah agrees. But there is something that has to exist simultaneously with these goals, and that is the embodiment of values.
If one pursues only practical benefits, then all judgements will go after that standard. In the end, we’re about embodying values, regardless of the practical benefit. If one sees the observant life as something which is more pleasant, or more rewarding, then it won’t last. Something more pleasant or rewarding will always come along. By that standard, there is always something more glamorous or successful. By jumping to do something immediately even though it won’t yet be effective, Moshe Rabenu has shown the way in the life of Mitzvot -- they represent absolute value in a world sometimes consumed by the passing pleasure of the effective but evanescent.
