Shabbat Hazon, Parashat Devarim, Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22

Shabbat Hazon, Parashat Devarim, Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22

Words can take on a life of their own.

There are quilting bees and spinning bees, logging bees and barn-raising bees. These aren't
characters from Bee Movie, but rather activities that bring together members of a community
to focus on a single action. Nobody really knows why these activities are called bees. One
might assume that the term comes from the communal "hive-like" aspect of the endeavour,
although the most common explanation is that "bee" is derived from the Middle English word
"bene" meaning "prayer," which is the source of the modern word "benefit." Certainly the
most well-known bee these days is the spelling bee, a relatively modern term dating to 1850.

In all these "bees" one can imagine the scene as swarming with activity. Anyone who has seen
Bee Movie can anthropomorphize these activities as being a united group working for the
betterment of the community. Perhaps it is this combination of swarming and focused energy
that occasioned a curious verse in this week's portion, Devarim, as Moses is recounting the
journey through the wilderness:

Then the Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you like so many
bees (devorim) and chased you, and they crushed you at Hormah in Seir. (Deuteronomy
1:44) A similar reference comparing adversaries to bees is found in the Hallel: They have
beset me like bees (devorim). (Psalms 118:12) All of us certainly have images from live action
and animated films of bees swarming and the panic that ensues.

Somewhat more subtle is the beginning of the parashah: These are the words (devarim) that
Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 1:1)Devarim has a
number of meanings: words, things, events. The fifth book of the Torah is all about the words
recounted by Moses. Yes, the same Moses who, at the beginning of his career, protested I am
not a man of words(devarim) (Exodus 4:10). In Hebrew, both devarim (words)
and devorim (bees) have the same root. Midrash Deuteronomy Rabbahnotes the play on words
commenting on the connection:

R. Samuel b. Nahman said: God said: 'My children have been guided through the world by the
righteous and the prophets like a swarm of bees.’ Another explanation: "These are the
words" [devarim]. Just as the honey of the bee is sweet and its sting sharp, so too are the words
of the Torah; any one who transgresses them receives his punishment … But any one who
fulfils the Torah merits life… R. Judah b. R. Simon said in the name of R. Levi: Just as

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 Shabbat Hazon, Parashat Devarim, Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22

everything the bee gathers, it gathers for its owner, so too whatever merits and good deeds
Israel accumulate, they accumulate for [the glory of] their Father in Heaven.
Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:6, Soncino translation

The Etz Hayim commentary develops the analogy:

The Midrash, noting the similar sound of d’varim (words) and d’vorim (bees), comments that
Moses’ criticisms of the people are like the stings of a bee. A bee’s sting hurts the person stung
but it hurts the bee more, causing its death. Moses dies at the end of Deuteronomy because
criticizing Israel has taken so much out of him (Deut. R. 1:6). This would imply that we should
judge the validity of criticism not only by its factual accuracy but by how much it pains the
critic to say it. The harsh criticisms of Moses are spoken with love, in contrast to the praises of
Balaam, spoken as flattery.
Etz Hayim commentary p. 981

These commentaries implicitly demonstrate the power of words. Words can create and
destroy. Words can take on a life of their own.In the novel Bee Season, young Eliza, who is
preparing for a spelling bee, discovers the power of words and of the letters that form them:

Paging through the dictionary is like looking through a microscope. Every word breaks down
into parts with unique properties–prefix, suffix, root. Eliza gleans not only the natural laws that
govern the letters but their individual behaviors. R, M, and D are strong, unbending and
faithful. The sometimes silent B and G and the slippery K follow strident codes of conduct.
Even the redoubtable H, which can make P sound like F and turn ROOM into RHEUM, obeys
etymology. Consonants are the camels of language, proudly carrying their lingual loads.

Vowels, however, are a different species, the fish that flash and glisten in the watery depths.
Vowels are elastic and inconstant, fickle and unfaithful. E can sound like I or U. -IBLE and -
ABLE are impossible to discern. There is no combination the vowels haven't tried, exhaustive
and incestuous in their couplings. E will just as soon pair with A, or O, leading the dance or
being led. Eliza prefers the vowels' unpredictability and, of all vowels, favors Y. Y defies
categorization, the only letter that can be two things at once.
Myra Goldberg, Bee Season p. 49

Thrilling as this may be Eliza finds out there is a dark side to this knowledge:

She dreams a sky black with swarming letters. They fly with thick, stubby wings barely able to
hold their fat bodies aloft. They brush against her skin, nest in her hair. They crawl up her
nose, into her eyes. The ground is covered in torn and broken letters that crunch beneath her

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 Shabbat Hazon, Parashat Devarim, Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22

feet with every step. The sound of letters fills the air, making thought impossible. The letters
squeeze themselves between her lips and flutter their terrible wings inside her mouth.
Myra Goldberg, Bee Season, p. 107

While Bee Season dabbles with mysticism, one doesn't have to delve into this realm to
understand what is taking place. Think of thoughts that arise within you, forming themselves
into words that have escaped your mouth—and that you wish never had. Think of times when
you received an enthusiastic compliment or strong criticism. Words indeed are powerful. As
Rabbi Eleazar observes in the Talmud (Shabbat 119b): How do we know that speech is like
action? Because it is said, By the word of the Lord the heavens were made (Psalms 33:6).

Devorim and devarim, bees and words, share a number of elements. Honey bees use their
stingers when the hive is threatened. We often lash out with words when we feel under attack.
Bees also produce that magnificent fluid: honey. Its uses range from a sweet delicacy to a
topical ointment with antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Words, too, can be used to
delight, soothe and heal.

This is Shabbat Hazon, the "Shabbat of Vision," that immediately precedes Tisha B'Av that
commemorates the destruction of theTemples in Jerusalem. Tradition teaches that
the Second Temple was destroyed due to sinat hinam, causeless hatred, and that lashon
ha'ra (malicious speech) was rampant at the time. The first form that hatred takes are the words
that escape our lips, swarming and taking on a life of their own.

Though it is a day of mourning, Tisha B'Av is also a period of transition, the beginning of the
period of consolation that leads to the High Holy Days. In the special haftarah (prophetic
reading) for this Shabbat, Isaiah urges us to cease to do evil; learn to do good. (Isaiah 1:16-17)
While we cannot take back words that have stung others, we can control our stingers, and we
can provide a healing balm. As always, the substance we need is readily available if only we
are open it:

The teaching of the Lord is perfect, renewing life;

the decrees of the Lord are enduring, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are just, rejoicing the heart;
the instruction of the Lord is lucid, making the eyes light up;
…more desirable than gold, than much fine gold;
sweeter than honey, than drippings of the comb. (Psalms 19:8-9, 11)

Shabbat shalom,
MS

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