Maintaining Inner Peace Amidst Chaos: Lessons from Sefer Devarim

With the Almighty carefully orchestrating every word, this divine drusha from our hallowed prophet, make up the content of Sefer. Devorem, eila had Dvarim. These are the words that Moshe Rabbein who delivered to the Jewish people. This is the message that he felt needed to be delivered and tailor made for there to be a fruitful and successful Jewish society, a society in which the Clalius Stroll was to cross the Jordan and live without magical clouds and magical wells. We were to be without Moshe Rabbein, who are great leader. And therefore, whatever it is that Moshe highlights, it's imperative that we sift out its messages, because it's what we needed to hear for our lives going forward. And, truthfully, it's a bit of a challenge, because Moshe was so careful with the honor of his holy flock that even when he gives rebuke, it is so veiled, so hidden, with so many conditions before the muster is delivered, that we must be such thinkers and probers to get to what Moshe Rabbein was hinting at. And in one such scenario, thank God, rashi does the hard work for us After Rabbein highlighting that terrible sin, the sins of the spies. Vatikra vu'a lai kulchem. When all of you approached me, were Moshe's words, the rebuke. Unsure what exactly it is here what Moshe is hinting at. But we know that on the night of Tisha be'ov it once began when we were trying to send spies and eventually they came back with a damning report and then everybody cried ab'chia be'china. I'm crying for no reason. Hashem said you don't trust in me, you don't believe in me and you're crying for nothing. I'll give you something to cry about. Hence all of the terrible tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people on the fateful day and night of Tisha be'ov. But Rashi tells us how did this happen? How could such a catastrophe and sin happen to such holy people? Well, vatikra vu'a lai kulchem, you all approached me. You know how you approached me, says Rashi, as a rabble. You approached me with chaos. You approached me with absolute madness, with pitchforks, with a mob. It was a whipped up emotion. Everyone's saying oh, we need to send spies, oh, spies. And Rashi explains how the older people were pushed over by the younger people, people speaking out of turn. It was madness, it was chaotic, it was a bunch of cohorts and rabble-rousers just feeding into this frenzy and madness. And Rabbi Rukhem explains that you see from here how so frequently Averos can be an outcome of just chaos and madness. And once a mob is formed, the snowball starts to roll. It is very hard to stop it and it goes to a bunch of funny unwanted places. And what they taught in Kelm although we don't paskin like this lahalacha was that even at a moment when one found themselves to be running late to Shul or to Yeshiva, you still don't run to make up the time because lest one lose their inner peace and manuka and give in to the evil inclination's desire for chaos madness. So for us, it is our job to hear the Musur, to try to protect our peace, to act with a very methodical and regal approach to life, to seek advice in certain areas, to move into certain undertakings with patience, with a discerning eye, but because the second that we become in a sort of quick thinking, chaotic madness, things become starting to turn downhill very quickly and just protect our peace with everything that we have and not mimic the ways of this rabble and take Moshe's lesson to heart to have total peace and act in a methodical, thoughtful manner.