The song of this week is the culmination of Moshe Rabbeinu's holy and fruitful life. Like a faithful shepherd, he gives an accounting of the flock he is about to leave, and in leaving, they will now be prey to the animals of the wild. It is a promise to the people of the turbulent albeit sanctified future ahead of them.
When people get married they imagine their future in the rosiest terms. They can already see themselves sitting around the Shabbos table with their children of all ages, singing songs of praise to the Creator in perfect harmony. Right there, under the chuppa (wedding canopy), the marriage contract is nevertheless read out loud for all to explicitly hear what will happen if things are not as rosy as expected.
Although Hashem never gave us a 'get' (divorce rite) and never will, He clarified from the very start that although His providence is never-ending, His Beneficence depends on our response. His love song is not pleasant to ears that are steeped in self-interest. Love means giving, and if it is not mutual, the love must express itself in a hidden form of caring that is less pleasant, but no less beneficial.
A lone sheep among seventy wolves has no chance at all if not for the shepherd watching from afar and throwing stones at any brazen intruder. The verse says, Halo hu kamus imadi — the predators are tucked away with Me. The uncommon word 'kamus' is spelt 'Kaf' 'Mem' 'Samech', without a 'Vav'. Without the 'Vav' — the live connection with the Divine — only Hashem's hand ('kaf') keeps the forces of Evil, the 'Samech Mem' at bay. The day will come though when the 'Vav' will come back, and then it will be eternal, as He swore: "Chai Anochi le'olam", I will live (even in the lower worlds) forever. If you add the last letter of the latter two words, 'Yud' 'Mem', to the 'Chai' you will see that it turns into 'Chaim', no longer a temporary guardian, but the recognized Ruler of all existence. But only at the end. Then we will see that the apparent rejection was really the soft firm hand of our loving G-d.
Based on Rabbi Vali's book on Dvarim. Questions and subscriptions can be mailed to: the Yeshiva