Pasuk 6 of perek 30 reports that HaShem will help us reach a level of love for HaShem by removing (lit. ‘circumcising’) our decontaminating aspects that repel spirituality. The Ramban here notes that this is the source for the important concept (gemarra Shabbos 104a) ‘one who seeks to purify himself, they will purify him.’ In other words, if we make a genuine effort and really want to be pure people who serve HaShem, then HaShem will see to it that we do reach such heights and achieve our spiritual goals. As Chazal tell us, HaShem says ‘open for Me a hole the size of a needle, and I will open for you a breach big enough for wagons to go through.’
Rabeinu Bachayei cites an important principle and novel understanding of the pasuk (29:28) ‘the hidden things are for HaShem, our God, and the revealed things are for us and our children…’ in the name of the Rambam. He writes that all mitzvos have reasons for them, but these reasons are beyond our full comprehension. We might try to ascribe certain reasons for individual mitzvos, but they are ultimately beyond our comprehension - they are reflections of Divine wisdom, after all. Our main job is to perform the mitzvos and make sure to fulfil all their various halachos, regardless of what the reason for the mitzvah is. ‘The hidden ones are for HaShem’ - let Him worry about the reasons for the mitzvos, whilst ‘the revealed ones are for us’ - we should just worry about the halachos of the mitzvos; the things that we can be sure about.
The sedra opens with the words ‘you are all standing today,’ which the Ibn Ezra explains to mean that Klal Yisrael were encamped around the Aron. This represents the fact that when it comes to Klal Yisrael, the Torah is always at our centre. As Rav Elchonon Wasserman used to stress, not only is learning Torah the most important mitzvah (each word of Torah carries the reward of thousands of mitzvos), the Torah is the key to the survival of Klal Yisrael. If we put our hope in any other ideology other than Torah then we will not succeed.
It is a really short sedra this week; with 40 psukim, it’s more of a rugby score than the usual cricket score. But as one of my [short] friends used to say to me, good things come in small packages. This week, we are simply going to re-stress a bit of advice that we mentioned two weeks ago, finding new impetus and depth to it from our sedra and beyond. The Chofetz Chaim quotes a midrash [1] that if one speaks good and positively of other people, the angels will speak good of you to HaShem. We said that this is a great way to build up towards Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, when we are looking for HaShem to show mercy and good favour to us in judgment. In fact, on Wednesday it was the Chofetz Chaim’s yartzheit, which makes this idea a more meaningful and pertinent undertaking. This idea of stressing the positive has several expressions in the Torah and Chazal.
First, to our sedra. Although the following is true of the sedras of Bechukosai and Ki Savo too, the first time I noticed it was in our sedra. I am referring to the fact that whenever Bnei Yisrael are given blessings and curses for following
If you look carefully at our sedra, Moshe constantly switches between referring to Bnei Yisrael in the singular (lecha) and plural (lachem). What's the meaning here? I first thought that an answer could be that every time we are referred to in the plural it is in the contect of something bad, and in the singular it's re something good. This is certainly true in the final perek of our sedra. Therefore, the message would be that when we are together (singular) like one person with one body we'll get bracha, and if we are plural, separate, and not unified we get bad things. But though the message is correct, the theory doesn't work out for the beginning of the sedra's switching between sing-plural. So we need a new answer?!?! Maybe we can answer via the Vilna Gaon. He says elsewhere that even though the brachos (and curses) are given to klal yisrael as a whole, any individual can tap into them themselves even if klal yisrael don't all deserve them. That means that even if klal yisrael are not serving HaShem properly, if you are properly then you can get the wonderful brachos in parshas Bechukosai and Ki Savo yourself. Therefore, the message behind the switching between singular and plural is to tell us that the blessings and curses can happen to us as indivduals (singular) or to us as one nation (plural). GOOD SHABBES
In this week's parsha, Nitvazim-Vayeilech, we read a famous few verses:
"For this commandment that I command you today, it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. It is not in the heavens, so you could say 'Who can possibly go up to the heavens for us and take it for us, then we'll hear and perform it!?' Nor is it across the sea, so you could say "Who can cross to the other side of the sea for us and take it for us, and then we'll hear it, and perform it!?" Rather, the Torah is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to perform it." (Devarim 30:11-1)
These verses have great meaning to us, especially at this time of year, leading up to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Hashem tells us that teshuva, repentance, is not impossible. It might seem impossible, and just simply too difficult for us to do, but it's not! The Torah is always within arms reach. It's very close by.
A comforting message. But is it true? Teshuva is very, very hard. Imagine a person who doesn't keep any mitzvot at all. It's an easy thing for them to change their lives around and live a Torah observant life? Of course not! It's the hardest thing in the world! So what do these verses mean?
Rav Yisrael Salanter writes that people make a classic mistake around this time of year. We go to shule Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and we get inspired. That's not the mistake! It's good to be inspired :) The problem is we become so inspired and regretful of our previous mistakes that we decide to change.... Completely. We want to really impress Hashem and be blessed with a good year, so we guarantee Him big changes this year. BIG changes. And here lies the mistake. Because big changes take an incredible amount of strength to stick to, and more often than not, a few weeks after Yom Kippur, maybe even less, those big changes have disappeared out the window of all the temptations the outside world sticks in front of us, and we are back to our pre-Yom Kippur selves. Unchanged.
When this happens year after year we never get anywhere! So Rav Yisrael Salanter tells us that we should be doing teshuva differently. We have to focus on the small things. Things that are within our reach. Things that we know we will be able to stick to. And now we can understand how Hashem tells us in the weeks Torah portion not to worry, because teshuva is not so hard, and the Torah is never out of reach. Because Hashem Himself doesn't want us to bite off more than we can chew. The Torah itself speaks to each of us where we are and tells us to take that one step forward. That's not too hard. That's not out of reach. It's not way up in the heavens and it's not across the sea. It's right at your doorstep.
Interestingly, the gemara (Eruvin 55a) brings out an additional point from our verse:
"The Torah is not in Heaven", but if it was, you'd have to learn how to build a spacecraft and get up there and get it
Parshiyos Nitzavim-Vayelech; we’re all in it together!
These 2 sedras are almost definitely the shortest a double can get; and are indeed probably the 2 shortest parshiyos in the Torah individually, yet their shortness does not reflect itself as a lack of depth; one can see even at first glance that there is a lot of hidden depth in much of the sedras; particularly the end of Vayelech when HaShem reveals to Moshe future deeds of the Bnei Yisrael, and gives to him a ’shirah’ to accompany Bnei Yisrael through the difficult times. But we’ll discuss the opening few psukim of Nitzavim…
Moshe starts relaying to the Bnei Yisrael that ‘everyone is standing here today…’ and proceeds to list the people (your officers, your elders, etc) - Rashi explains (29;9) that the order is from the most important people downwards. Yet, the opening is that ’all of you’ are here ie a focus on the collective whole, so why does it then list the individuals? (this does not have to be a question, but
