FEB 20

Throughout the chapters in Numbers, it is evident that the Israelites grow unfaithful to God. They began to excessively complain about the length of the journey and the conditions they were in. G-d was spiteful to the people, as none of them survived the journey. Moses happens to be the last original Israelite alive, yet eventually perished just outside the border of the promised land. This is a result of Moses’ failure to succeed in following his orders to keep his people faithful. Only after the death of Moses did the Israelites finally reach the Promised Land. I believe this occurs to continue the recurring theme of rebirth after death, because after the death of Moses, the ‘rebirth’ is the momentous change of finally reaching the Promised Land. Although I do agree that the situation is a let down, there is also an appeal to how poetic it truly is. Deuteronomy suggest that the readings of Joshua contain many parallels to the life of Moses. It essentially connects the success of the peoples in Joshua’s reading to Moses journey, it does this in order to accredit Moses for all Joshua is allowed to do. This also suggests that the readings will contain their fair share of troubles throughout the span of their time. Consequently, we can understand that these peoples will also experience a rebirth, but only after a death.