Chazak! Be Strong and Holy

Parashat Vayelech, Deuteronomy 31:1–30

Michael Hillel, Netanya, Israel

It is often said that when something is repeated in Scripture, we should pay attention to it, and even make an effort to apply it to our lives. One example of this is the concept of being holy.

For I am Adonai your God. Therefore, sanctify yourselves, and be holy, for I am holy. You are not to defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth. For I am Adonai who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. Therefore, you shall be holy, for I am holy. (Lev 11:44–45)

Speak to all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: You shall be kedoshim (holy), for I, Adonai your God, am holy. (Lev 19:2)

You are to be holy to Me, for I, Adonai, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, so that you would be Mine. (Lev 20:26)

Four times in these four verses, Israel, the covenant people of Hashem, are commanded to be holy just as Hashem himself is holy. In other words, Israel is to be set apart, dedicated, and consecrated to Hashem. Notice that these verses are not simply focused upon the Kohanim and Levites, those responsible for the care, upkeep, and service of the Mishkan and later the Temple. These verses are not simply focused on those in leadership or authority. Instead the command to be holy, separate, and dedicated to Hashem was and still is incumbent upon all of Bnei Israel, regardless of rank or status wherever they might live. Before anyone states, fine, this is a Tanakh or Old Testament concept, not an Apostolic Writings or New Testament one, consider these verses, first from Rav Shaul and then from Peter:

I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service. (Rom 12:1)

Instead, just like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in everything you do. (1 Pet 1:15)

While it can be said that the passages from Leviticus may have been focusing upon Israel, the Apostolic Writings extend the need to be holy, separate, and dedicated to Hashem to the nations of the world as well, as they are grafted into Israel.  

With this introduction, let’s consider this week’s Torah portion, Vayelech, Deuteronomy 31:1–30, which is the shortest portion in the yearly reading cycle, only thirty verses. Three times in these thirty verses, however, Moses utters the phrase, “Chazak! Be courageous!” The first time he was speaking to all Israel, urging them to trust in Hashem’s leading and protection as they entered into the Promised Land.  

Chazak! Be courageous! Do not be afraid or tremble before them. For Adonai your God—He is the One who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. (Deut 31:6)

The second time was in front of all Israel, as Moses commissioned Joshua to lead the people into Canaan in his stead.

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong! (Chazak!) Be courageous! For you are to go with this people into the land Adonai has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you are to enable them to inherit it. Adonai —He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be discouraged.” (Deut 31:7–8)

This second Chazak! was an encouragement not only to Joshua but to all the people as Moses reiterated Hashem’s promises to be with the people as they enter the land of Canaan to possess it. He also was repeating the promise “He (Hashem) will not fail you or abandon you.”

Finally, there is the third time, when Moses actually commissioned Joshua to replace him.

Then he commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Chazak! Be courageous! For you will bring Bnei-Yisrael into the land I swore to them—and I will be with you.” (Deut 31:23)

One has to wonder whether Joshua needed a little extra encouragement to take over the leadership of Bnei Israel, knowing all that Moses had had to put up with over the last thirty-eight to forty years.  

There are a couple other verses that focus on Hashem encouraging his people to Be Strong, such as the words of the prophet Isaiah to Israel during the first exile: 

Say to those with anxious heart, “Be strong, have no fear!” Behold, your God! Vengeance is coming! God’s recompense—it is coming! Then He will save you. (Isa 35:4) 

In Psalm 27, which we have been reading daily during the month of Elul in preparation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the psalmist states with assurance, no matter what the situation, 

Wait for Adonai. Be strong, let your heart take courage, and wait for Adonai. (Psa 27:14)

And finally, Rav Shaul writes these words of encouragement to the Yeshua-believers in Corinth,

Be on the alert! Stand firm in the faith! Be men (and women) of courage! Be strong! (1 Cor 16:13)

I began by stating the repetition of certain concepts or statements in Scripture should cause us to take notice and even make an effort to apply them in our daily lives. I looked at the dual concepts of being holy and being strong, and I believe these two concepts are intertwined. First there is holiness, being separate from the ways of the world and dedicated to the ways of Hashem. This is not a monastic separation, living apart. Rather it is exemplifying the holiness of God in our daily lives and interactions with our fellow man. Instead of following the ways of the world that says everyone for themselves—focusing always on individual rights and freedoms—it is following the two-fold commandment of loving God and loving our neighbor, looking to the good of others instead of only ourselves.

Then there is the aspect of being strong, and by this I am not meaning Hercules or Charles Atlas (dating myself); rather it is depending on the strength of Hashem, knowing that because he is with us, together we can face anything the physical or spiritual world throws at us.

Therefore, let’s make a point to practice holiness, separated from the world while from a position of strength we exist in the world, exhibiting the love of God to those who are hurting, being the hands and feet of God to those in need, and being the voice of hope and reason in a time that is rife with chaos and confusion. Be holy as Hashem is holy, thereby being strong and courageous in a very needy world.

 Shabbat Shalom and tikatevu v’techatemu!