When I read the Scriptural narrative of Moses' life, it's difficult to
escape a glaring question: Why was Moses left behind - to be buried in
the desert- when the Jews finally crossed into the Promised Land?
Think about it: The man had left the luxury of Pharaoh's palace and
taken a difficult stand against injustice. He had liberated the Jews
from Egyptian slavery and led them on a forty year journey - through
the desert - toward Israel.
And, then at the end, as Israel is in sight, G-d says "sorry, you're
staying here".
Moses was able to view the Land, but he would die - and be buried - in
the desert.
Where's justice?
All the years of service, all the aggravation, the rebellions and the
strife. He took it all for G-d's sake. Couldn't he just set foot in
the Holy Land? Could he at least be buried there?
Our Sages explain that a faithful shepherd never abandons his flock;
he doesn't come home until they ALL do.
Moses knew that a generation of Jews had died in "the great and
awesome desert [a land of] snakes and scorpions... (Deut 8:15). He
also knew that one day, with the Messianic era and Resurrection of the
Dead, they would yet enter Israel.
Moses would wait for them; he would wait to enter Israel until he
could be with his ENTIRE flock.
In a somewhat similar vein, our Matriarch Rachel was buried on the
road to Bethlehem.
Our Sages tell us that Rachel chose to be more accessible to her
future grandchildren in their trials and tribulations; with her grave
at the roadside, they would have a place to find faith and inspiration
as they travelled the road of future subjugation.
It's a leadership thing.
Interestingly, each Chabad Rebbe expressed a deep longing for the Land
of Israel, yet each has been buried outside the land of their longing.
As I type this, I am in Moscow, having just visited the graves of five
Rebbes in Russia and Ukraine. After I land at JFK Airport, I will be
visiting the graves of the Rebbe and his predecessor, the Previous
Rebbe, in Queens.
This morning, I woke up in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where I had been
visiting the grave of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneersohn (the Rebbe's
father), whose yahrtzeit we'll commemmorate this Shabbat.
The Communists exiled Rabbi Levi Yitzchok to Kazakhstan because it was
"the middle of nowhere".
Rabbi Levi Yitzchok passed away in 1944. The "middle of nowhere" now
has an active Chabad Center; and hundreds of local Jews will be
visiting Rabbi Levi Yitzchok's grave tomorrow and Sunday, re-affirming
and strengthening their Jewish identity.
It's amazing what a sheperd can accomplish by staying with his people,
even in the middle of nowhere.
ב"ה