Some individuals, be they athletes, academics, artists, or political leaders, take for granted qualities with which they happen to be naturally and generously endowed. Sometimes, when speaking to others, these exceptional people glibly convey the impression that they believe that such special qualities should either come naturally to all, or if they have to be developed in others, they should be achieved easily, with a minimum of preparation and exertion. Needless to say, being on the receiving end of this type of exhortation can prove to be maddening and greatly discouraging. We say to ourselves, "How can someone be so insensitive, assuming that everyone is alike, and that the rest of us, who don't measure up to his/her standards, are either underachieving or unwilling to exert the requisite effort?"
But isn't this what Moshe, as HaShem's Representative, is saying to the Jewish people in Devarim 10:12-13: "And now Israel, 'Mah' (what) is the Lord Your God asking of you? 'Ki Im' (nothing more than) 1) to fear the Lord Your God, 2) to walk in all of His Ways, 3) and to love Him, 4) and to serve the Lord Your God with all of your heart and all of your soul. 5) To observe the commandments of HaShem, 6) and His Statutes that I am commanding you today in order to do good on your behalf." This appears to be a rather formidable list that should hardly be summararily dismissed as easily attainable by even the most spiritually gifted individuals.
ChaZa"L seem to have taken note of the somewhat dismissive tone that these verses appear to project, when they presented the following gloss in Berachot 33b, and Megilla 25a: Rabbi Chanina said, "All is in Heaven's Hands, with the exception of one's fear of Heaven, (the degree of which is freely determined by each individual without outside interference,) as it is said, 'What is the Lord Your God asking of you? Nothing more than to fear the Lord Your God.'" (R. Chanina's initial point is that only that which is under a person's control can be demanded of him. Whereas one does not have a great deal of choices when it comes to one's height, complexion, intelligence potential, historical epoch, the moral and religious dimensions of one's personality are very much in his/her control, as suggested by this proof text. A modern sensibility would have to additionally consider the effects of environment, upbringing and even genetic makeup as at least playing a partial role in the eventual ethical and spiritual orientation of a given individual.)
The Gemora then continues and poses the following question: Is the fear of Heaven such a trivial matter? Didn't Rabbi Chanina say in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, "The only thing that HaShem keeps in His Treasure House is the fear of Heaven"? (indicating that it is the sole thing that is valued by the Divine, and therefore is hardly an insignificant quality)…Yes (answers the Gemora. The fear of Heaven is a very significant thing.) But, as far as Moshe is concerned, it is only a small matter, as Rabbi Chanina said, "A parable. When you ask someone for a large vessel and he owns such a vessel, to him it is comparable to owning only a small vessel. However, when you ask someone for a small vessel, and he does not possess even that, it is as if you asked him for a large vessel."
The Talmudic passage above appears to assume that rather than presenting the people with six separate goals, Moshe was emphasizing a single religious quality that possesses five dimensions, i.e., 2)-6) are subcategories of 1), fear of Heaven. Apparently, the Rabbis of the Talmud who authored this interpretation of the verses in Devarim 10, posited that the manifestations of requisite fear of Heaven are: following God's Ways reflected in His Attributes (as in Shemot 34:6-7), loving Him, serving Him wholeheartedly and passionately, and adhering to all of the Tora's commandments.
Nevertheless, at least three obvious problems arise when such an approach is adopted. First, to what extent are we to assume that the Tora is comprised of Moshe's own words, as opposed to those that at the very least reflect God's particular, objective expectations of man? Even if we concede that the book of Devarim, Moshe's valedictory address to the Jewish people prior to his death, is the most likely of the books of the Tora to be Moshe's own language, particularly in light of Devarim 1:1, 5, as well as anecdotal information appearing in e.g., Ibid., 3:23 ff. and 4:21-22, are we to assume that the point of view expressed with regard to Tora commandments and sensibilities, is Moshe's rather than that of HaShem? If indeed Moshe was worthy to have his words recorded in Devarim, shouldn't we assume that it is due to his having virtually eliminated his personal emotions to the point where HaShem entrusts him to state objective truths, rather than those colored by the prophet's own perceptions and feelings? Why should the extent to which Moshe feels reaching the goal of possessing fear of Heaven does or doesn't constitute a personal challenge, be reflected in the words of a document that is meant to serve as God's Communication to the Jewish people?
Furthermore, were we to accept that these are indeed Moshe's words, how is such a turn of phrase consistent with the Tora's own assessment of Moshe, in BaMidbar 12:3, when he is referred to as the most humble of all men? Would his belittling of the quality of the fear of Heaven due to his own natural inclination towards such a sensibility, be symptomatic of an exemplary humble personality?
And finally, why should the Tora bother to record Moshe's feelings about this quality-how are his personal impressions relevant to the listeners of Moshe's generation, let alone to the contemporary Tora student, seeking to apprehend how God Desires for him/her to live his/her life?
Borrowing an insight into the verses in question suggested by R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin in his commentary Emek Davar (but not applying it in exactly the manner that he does), an intriguing answer presents itself. Noting that the Tora omits the conjunction "and" before the second and fifth elements in the list of six appearing in Devarim 10, the commentator states that the verses are to be understood as delineating a list of separate qualities, each of which can stand independently of the others. Consequently, Moshe never intended that the complete list of 6 be enacted by each member of the Jewish people, but rather that everyone, on his or her own level, should be able to focus upon some aspect of serving God, as enumerated in this list, and carry it out to the best of his/her ability. Since everyone will be capable of some form of Divine Service, the individual tasks are not insurmountable or daunting, but rather eminently attainable for all, i.e., a relatively minor matter (See Devarim 30-11-14.) R. Yaakov Ibn Chaviv, author of the Aggadic compendium Iyun Yaakov, as well as the commentary on these Talmudic passages entitled HaKotev, presents a different approach that would appear far less charitable in order to resolve the issues raised above. The commentator suggests that Moshe's thought process leading to the conclusion that anyone amongst the Jewish people can develop fear of Heaven included the following assumptions: a) Moshe started out like any other person, whereby due to his typical human qualities, it was difficult for him at the outset to subjugate his body to his mind and soul. b) Nevertheless, due to great diligence and motivation, Moshe successfully managed to overcome obstacles posed by his physical needs and achieve the state of fear of Heaven. c) It was specifically Moshe's humility that led him to presume that anyone could achieve what he managed to accomplish in this area of personal development. The commentator imagines Moshe to have said to his co-religionists, "And now Israel, why can't you be like me? All of you are the descendents of Avraham and Yitzchak (Yaakov is for some reason omitted.) You have the ability to achieve my level of fear of Heaven, since I am your brother."
(This approach is in stark contrast to Klee Yakar who posits that since Moshe is addressing at least some of the generation that saw the awesome miracles of Sinai and the desert wanderings, it should be easy for them to engender a fear of Heaven, in contrast to their descendents for whom it will be much more difficult due to their lack of first-hand experience. Therefore Moshe would never have implied that this is easy were he addressing the later generations, and only did so vis-à-vis those standing before him. But then one would have to deal with the question of why, if what the Tora records is meant to be for all generations, do we have to be told that for the generation of the desert, fear of Heaven should be an easy commodity to come by?)
Apparently, if Moshe saw fit to invoke the examples of Avraham and Yitzchak, it is to be concluded that to be able to achieve fear of Heaven, even in Moshe's mind, it is necessary to have role models, if not contemporary ones, then at least historical and traditional personalities from whose examples one can learn. "Ma'asei Avot Siman LaBanim" (the actions of the forefathers are precursors for their descendents) does not then merely signify that what happened to our ancestors will be reenacted by future generations, e.g., going down to Egypt, being saved by Divine Plagues, leaving Egypt with great wealth, engaging in conflicts over water and land, etc., but also the attributes that were exemplified by our ancestors, e.g., faith, persistence, courage, readiness for self-sacrifice, and fear of Heaven, are also meant to be emulated by us. Was Moshe being unreasonable when he set such high expectations for his people, and for us, or was he merely clearly stating what the moral and spiritual effects of Jewish history ought to be upon those who are the products of Jewish tradition? This is not just a theoretical question, but also one that has serious personal ramifications for each of us.
Shabbat Shalom!