The Path: Present And Future

By: Rabbi Stewart Weiss

“And that prophet and dreamer shall be put to death, for he has spoken perversely against Hashem—Who took you out of Egypt—to make you stray from the path upon which G-d commanded you to go.” (Devarim13:6)

Our parashah discusses the false prophet who, despite his ability to somehow predict the future or even perform a “miracle,” is executed if he entices the nation to go against the word of Hashem and deviate from the Torah.

But something here is a bit perplexing: Why, davka in this instance, is Hashem referred to as “the G-d Who took you out of Egypt?” What does that specific quality have to do with the “perverse” designs of the navisheker?

I suggest that the Torah is painting the “big picture.” It begins with our liberation from Egypt. G-d set us on a path to our final destiny, on a journey that would take us to many places, to every corner of the Earth, where we would experience all the highs and lows of history. We would excel in many of the nations we visited along the way; but we would also be subject to fierce oppression and rejection, with every possible trial and tribulation.

We would continuously be thrown back on the path because it was never G-d’s plan that we stay too long at any of the “way-stations” we encountered. Our “mode of travel” was halacha, and it would guarantee our survival through the most treacherous terrain. But halacha was not the final goal; it was the driver, not the destination. That designation was reserved for Israel, and only Israel.

Along the way, we would meet many false prophets. They would tell us that we were meant to remain indefinitely in the Exile, that G-d preferred that we roam about forever, until some magical moment occurred to change everything. That would preach that Israel was just an elusive dream, a fanciful rhetoric—but not a viable reality. Many of these false prophets would be highly gifted and persuasive purveyors of perverse propaganda. It would take immense courage and faith to stay on the course, to ignore all the nay-sayers and remain fixated on our mission, on our goal. We would have to “put to death” all the false pronouncements that distracted us from our epic adventure and our rightful return to our own Land.

That struggle continues to this very day; the challenge, in fact, is greater than ever. As Israel grows larger, stronger, so do the voices of negativity trying to suppress the Jewish people’s will and divert us from our course. But for the wise and the faithful, the path is still the path—present and future. 

Rabbi Stewart Weiss is the director of the Ra’anana Jewish Outreach Center and a member of Mizrachi’s Speakers Bureau (mizrachi.org/speakers).