בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב הוֹאִיל מֹשֶׁה בֵּאֵר אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת לֵאמֹר

On the other side of the Jordan (River), in the land of Moab, Moshe began to explain this Torah, saying: (1:5)

Did Moshe only begin to explain the Torah now? Surely he was doing so throughout the time he transmitted the Torah to the Jewish people.

Rashi in his commentary answers this question by citing the Midrash that Moshe began now to explain the Torah in the seventy languages of the ancient world.

Why did he do so and why now?

Chidushei HaRim (insights on the Torah from Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Alter, the first Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty) explains that although the Jewish people had not yet even entered the Land of Israel, Moshe prophetically knew that eventually they would be exiled from their land. The Jewish people would find themselves in a foreign land with its own language and culture. Inevitably they would adopt those languages and absorb (to some degree) those cultures. The Jewish people would need to continue studying and observing the Torah under these circumstances but these languages and cultures lack the purity and sanctity to conform to the Torah and its holy language known as Lashon HaKodesh (the Holy Tongue).

Therefore Moshe began to explain the Torah in the seventy languages. In doing so he instilled a holy spark of Torah in all those languages and in all those who speak them. Thus the Jewish people would be able to survive and even thrive in Galut (Exile).

Even though the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed and we were exiled from our land due to our sins, the Almighty has always protected us and guaranteed our spiritual and physical survival. We survive and even thrive.

But we must never forget that we survive in order to return to Eretz Yisroel with the return of the Beit HaMikdash and the coming of Moshiach. Nothing in our lives-even the “good times”- can come close to what life will be when that time arrives.

May we soon see the mournful day of Tisha B’Av become a joyous holiday with the coming of Moshiach!

Shabbat Shalom,
Yitzchak