It Took Forty Years

When Moshe Rabbeinu completed his thirty-seven day final discourse to the nation, he showed a certain degree of satisfaction. He successfully gave over all of the teachings of the Torah that he received on Mount Sinai.
He proclaimed that on that day the Jewish people officially became a nation. He reiterated the special role of the Jewish people in teaching the world goodness and morality.
He also instructed the people to take twelve large stones that were two feet wide, two feet long, six feet high. Miraculously the Torah would be chiseled onto the stones. They were to be placed in the Jordan River as evidence to all that was witnessed in Egypt and the desert. The stones were also designed to reinforce that the Land of Israel belonged to the Jewish people.
Moshe also felt that it was significant that forty years had passed since the exodus from Egypt. Sometimes it can take forty years for a rebbe’s teachings to be fully absorbed. We might need to experience more of the realities of life before we realize the great wisdom of our teachers.
When my studies were completed more than forty years ago, I asked my rebbe, Rabbi Zelig Starr, for a parting message. He simply said, “Don’t tell lies, not even white lies.” At the time, it was disappointing not to hear something more profound. But as the years went by, the wisdom of that simple advice became clear. Sadly, it was difficult to find people who never told any kind of lie.
Moshe Rabbeinu’s departing words were meant to strengthen the nation while creating a situation of evidentiary proof that the Torah is true and Hashem is truth.